The Law of Nations
At the present time war is carried on by regular armies: the people, the peasantry, the townsfolk play no part in it, and generally have nothing to fear from the sword of the enemy...As soon as your enemy has laid down his arms and surrendered his body, you no longer have any right over his life.
Emmerich de Vattel, The Law Of Nations (1758)
I am again confronted with the repugnant duty of passing final judgment on a former adversary...The proceedings show that the defendant lacked the basic firmness of character and moral fortitude essential to officers charged with the high command of military forces in the field. No nation can safely trust its martial honor to leaders who do not maintain the universal code which distinguishes between those things that are right and those things that are wrong. The testimony shows a complete failure to comply with this simple but vital standard. The savageries which resulted have shocked the world. They have become synonyms of horror and mark the lowest ebb of depravity in modern times. There are few parallels in infamy and tragedy with the brutalization of troops who in good faith had laid down their arms.
Statement by General Douglas MacArthur to the press upon confirming the death sentence of General Masaharu Homma, 21 March, 1946, Quoted in Lawrence Taylor, A Trial of Generals, Icarus Press (1981) at 172.
Emmerich de Vattel, The Law Of Nations (1758)
I am again confronted with the repugnant duty of passing final judgment on a former adversary...The proceedings show that the defendant lacked the basic firmness of character and moral fortitude essential to officers charged with the high command of military forces in the field. No nation can safely trust its martial honor to leaders who do not maintain the universal code which distinguishes between those things that are right and those things that are wrong. The testimony shows a complete failure to comply with this simple but vital standard. The savageries which resulted have shocked the world. They have become synonyms of horror and mark the lowest ebb of depravity in modern times. There are few parallels in infamy and tragedy with the brutalization of troops who in good faith had laid down their arms.
Statement by General Douglas MacArthur to the press upon confirming the death sentence of General Masaharu Homma, 21 March, 1946, Quoted in Lawrence Taylor, A Trial of Generals, Icarus Press (1981) at 172.
No comments: