Of course they do, as Anthony and Stephan note below. They are the political sons and daughters of Lincoln, who ignored the Constitution and international law to wage total war on his own country. In his excellent 8th chapter of When in the Course of Human Events Charles Adams explains the origins of this brand of military aggression.
“By the nineteenth century, the concept of a just war became a part of the law of nations even though it had been an unwritten rule of society since the Middle Ages.” War was only legitimate if waged or “defense, recovery of [stolen] property, and punishment.” (The Confederates offered to pay for all federal property in the South and for their share of the national debt, but Lincoln wanted to go to war instead).
“At West Point cadets were taught the principles of . . . international law under General Order no. 12, by none other than Lincoln’s top commander, General Henry Halleck . . . . No [Union] general during the Civil War can claim ignorance of the laws, especially the laws againt the plunder and devastation of private property.”
But during the entire Lincoln regime international law “was disregarded and pillage and plunder became the general order . . .”
“As Sherman and Sheridan were undertaking the devastation of civilian life and property, sixteen European nations met in Geneva, Switzerland, to codify the laws of war in what we call the first Geneva Convention on War,” the last of which was in 1949.
The Lincoln regime ignored the rules of civilized societies, as codified by the first Geneva Convention, by purposely murduring, raping, and plundering civilians, burning entire towns to the ground, and confiscating tens of millions of dollars worth of jewelry, furniture, clothing, and other personal items from their fellow citizens. They were all war criminals who knew they would have all been hanged had they lost the war. Perhaps that’s why they were so barbaric in their treatment of Southern civilians. Sherman stated this publicly.
Adams notes that “prestigious” historians such as James McPherson routinely refer to all of this as “brillant war strategy.” The neocons obviously agree, which is another reason why they are all such slavish Lincoln idolaters.
9:30 am on September 7, 2007
