The coalition forces have tried at least twice to kill Saddam Hussein. The attack yesterday was directed at a restaurant where Saddam was allegedly meeting. Of course it is not the first time: both Britain and the US tried to kill Khaddafi, killing his adopted daughter in the process. During the first Gulf War, they also tried to kill Saddam, and in turn he tried to kill George Bush (the father) during a visit to Kuwait. However it is becoming more open, and the media seem to take it for granted that assassination is legitimate practice - even the bombing of a civilian target for that purpose.

Now, it has been said many times before, that it a dangerous attitude for any political leader to take. There is a directly comparable incident in Britain: the IRA detonated a bomb in the Grand Hotel in Brighton, to assassinate Thatcher. She was lightly injured, but 5 Conservative Party members were killed. A bomb attack on a restaurant, where Tony Blair was meeting with Labour Party members, would shock British public opinion. However, if it was carried out by Iraqi troops in uniform, could they be prosecuted for a war crime?

Here are the relevant sections of the Geneva Conventions, as amended in 1979:


Article 50. -Definition of civilians and civilian population
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2. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians.

3. The presence within the civilian population of individuals who do not come within the definition of civilians does not deprive the population of its civilian character.

Article 51. -Protection of the civilian population
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2. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack.

4. Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Indiscriminate attacks are:

(a) Those which are not directed at a specific military objective;


5. Among others, the following types of attacks are to be considered as indiscriminate:

(b) An attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.


Article 52.- General protection of civilian objects
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1. Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. Civilian objects are all objects which are not military objectives as defined in paragraph 2.

2. Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives. In so far as objects are concerned, military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.