The new Pentagon Law of War Manual attempts to distinguish between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” acts of military violence against civilians, according to nuclear weapons expert Steven Starr. It authorizes the use of depleted uranium munitions, napalm, cluster munitions, mines, and herbicides.
It also attempts to legitimize the use of nuclear weapons. The Manual states: “There is no general prohibition in treaty or customary international law on the use of nuclear weapons.” This flies in the face of a number of existing international covenants. Under the UN Charter as interpreted by the World Court in its Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, even threatening to use nuclear weapons, as the U.S. and Israel have threatened Iran, is illegal and thus a war crime.
