My Nguyen - Week 3

The book Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam by Nick Turse clearly indicates the war crimes of many American soldiers and the sufferance of Vietnamese people. In this reading, the Vietnam War was viewed by the world through the My Lai Massacre. This incident, together with many more unreported or hidden massacres, was a chain of cover up by many high rank military officers. Furthermore, the concept of “body count” was widely used in the military as a method to measure American success in this war. This concept was deployed under many forms, including killing to meet quota or using area bombings. As a result, many places in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are still covered with bombs and explosive devices.

Unfortunately, these criminal misconducts or war crimes are still present in the modern day. To achieve the War on Terror in the Middle East, the US military secretly started using unmanned drones to kill terrorists, especially under the Bush Administration. These strikes, however, always come with high civilian casualties. Many of them even hit schools, mosques, or hospitals. In addition, the establishment of a series of detention camps, the most infamous one – the Guantanamo Bay, and the use of torture in interrogating accused terrorists without any due process rise a huge question about the integrity of the US military.

Question: What actions can the Supreme Court take to make sure the justice is served?

Shire, Emily. "Obama Appointee Ruled Gitmo Prisoners Had No Rights.” PopularResistance.Org. N.p., 16 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.