Could the use of nuclear weapons be construed as a war crime?

[Bright Eyes]

There's been talk that if we bombed Iran (which Chimpy seems to be obsessed with), it could be with the use of tactical nukes. Given the destructive (and collateral) nature of nuclear weapons, could this be considered a War Crime? I mean, chemical weapons are banned, so why not nuclear weapons, especially if the end up killing thousands of civilians?

[rjones2818]

1. Good question,

particularly if the Iranians don't attack us first.

Chimpy would never attack a country that hadn't attacked us first, now would he??? :sarcasm:

[shance]

2. It should be the highest war crime of all.

n/t

[groovedaddy]

3. If it's unprovoked, absolutely

But, then again, Iraq didn't do anything to us.
Wholescale destruction of civilian populations should always be viewed as illegal, i.e. bombing raids by both sides in WWII.

[Bright Eyes]

4. I'm talking more from a legal prospective

Could Bush, having ordered the use of nukes preemptively, be tried for war crimes in The Hague? I understand it would be difficult, considering nuclear weapons were only used once. Any thoughts?

[TreasonousBastard]

5. If it's an illegal weapon, yes, but...

I'm not sure all nukes are illegal under international law.

More importantly, though, only the losers of a war are ever tried for war crimes. Not just losers, but the defeated and occupied are tried by the victors.

"Win" or "lose" in Iran if we nuke 'em, nobody's going to take us on for war crimes any time soon.