You don't have to commit genocide to be a war criminal!

[BushOut06]

I've seen some people suggest that Gen. Petraeus is not a war criminal because he hasn't actually committed any war crimes himself, and that what he's done doesn't rise anywhere near the level of what the Nazis did before and during WWII. That may be true, but one can still be considered a war criminal even without going to such extremes. As many on this board have stated, the very occupation of Iraq is illegal. Simply by declaring someone to be an "Al Qaeda terrorist", they justify denying these people basic Geneva Convention protections. How many Iraqis have been "disappeared" during just the surge alone? How many Iraqi families have been terrorized by US soldiers bursting into their homes, and having family members taken away with no explanation whatsoever? This administration still believes that torture is an appropriate technique to gather "vital intelligence".

Gen. Petraeus himself may not be shooting any Iraqi civilians, or torturing any prisoners. But these things are happening under his command. As a commanding officer, he is responsible for everything that happens on his watch. And that, in my opinion (and many others on here), makes him a war criminal.