Smedley Butler pointed out already in 1935 that war is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the very many. One of the clearest examples is probably the Iraq war. From start, this war of agression was illegal, although some tried to justify it based on false information. After over 100.000 deaths, 3 trillion US dollars spent and many other severe consequences, we are still waiting for justice for this huge crime against humanity. In this process, let’s not forget the war profiteers, who were obviously involved in creating the war. The war resulted in an enormous transfer of wealth to them. One well known example is the company Halliburton, with ties to former US Vice President Cheney.

In 2008, the Constitutional Litigation Clinic sued President Bush over the Iraq war, but this was dismissed by courts. A book has also been written on the subject of prosecuting Bush. This year, we have seen a new lawsuit started against key members of the Bush administration. Not surprisingly, the US Department of Justice has requested that the accused receive full exemption from being tried for the Iraq war. This is the way impunity works and a main reason why government-related crime can thrive. However, it is surprising to see so little reaction from US taxpayers on this giant rip-off.

The Oscar-nominated documentary ‘The Gatekeepers’ can be viewed online during one more month, until the 22 Oct. 2013. See the film on UR Play.

Media has recently reported that a number of Chinese officials stand trial, after torturing a man to death during an investigation. Hopefully, the trial will be a landmark for stopping impunity for such horrible interrogation methods and also find an answer to who approved the use of torture. Prosecuting only low-ranked officials is not enough. Also political heavyweights must be accountable for their actions.

The world is also waiting for such trials to one day be held in other countries, which are believed to have tortured captives. Sadly, the list of such countries is long, and also includes countries normally called democracies.

The civil war in Syria has caused millions of people to become refugees. It is unfortunately one in the row of humanitarian disasters, caused to a large extent on purpose by governments. While the Syrian government has big role in this, it is obvious that other countries have also been very involved in destabilizing Syria and fueling the civil war. It is time to demand accountability from all governments involved, also for the human suffering and huge cost they are creating for refugees.

Tension between the USA and Russia has caused Barack Obama to cancel a planned bilateral meeting in Moscow. One reason for this tension is the Magnitsky Act and the subsequent Russian reaction, including the Guantanamo List, which publish names of suspects of government-related crime. It is extremely sad to see that none of these countries seem able to deal with the shortcomings of their own legal systems, which have been highlighted in this affair.

A terrible pattern of governments trying to silence witnesses of government-related crime, while the big perpetrators go free, can be seen in many countries around the world. We have been sad to see some staggering examples lately of why an organization like Accoun needs to demand government accountability.

In Egypt, many hundred supporters of the overthrown president Mursi have recently been killed in the streets during the government’s brutal crackdowns. Last week, also a number of journalists witnessing the violence are reported to have been killed, detained, injured or threatened. However, the former dictator Hosni Mubarak, with much blood on his hands, is set free by a court. Among many other atrocities, Mubarak’s regime partnered with the USA to torture suspected terrorists, which have in some cases been found innocent afterwards.

Yesterday the US whistleblower Bradley Manning, who has revealed war crimes in Irak through Wikileaks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. During the last months, we have also been able to follow the US government hunt for another whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who has exposed that NSA broke privacy laws thousands of times a year. The UK government has obviously been complicit in many of these crimes. A newspaper in the UK, the Guardian, have even reported that they were forced by their government to destroy documents leaked by Snowden, and thus to destroy possible evidence of government-related crime. Nobody else than Manning and Snowden have been held accountable, despite the serios crimes they have revealed.

These cases are unfortunately like the tip of an iceberg of government-related crime and dysfunctional legal systems, which are unacceptable. The public has reason to be very thankful to whistleblowers and reporters who dare to try to tell the truth, despite the harsh consequences it may have for them personally. Without these heroes, the situation would probably be even worse.

Fourty years ago, the last Chagos Islanders, also known as Ilois or Chagossians, were forced to leave their homes in the Chagos Archipelago. Ever since, they have been denied to return to live there by the British government. The reason is that the British government leased Diego Garcia, the main island of the archipelago, to the USA. While the expulsion of the indigenous inhabitants is a public abuse of power by the British government, some of the secret activities on the military base on Diego Garcia can probably be classified as illegal.

Human rights groups believe the base has been used for extraordinary rendition operations, including that prisoners were incarcerated there. Such renditions are extrajudicial transfers of persons, often in combination with illegal abductions of these persons and subsequent torture.

Now is the time to stop renewal of the lease of Diego Garcia and enable the Chagossians to return. The suspected illegal activities connected to the military base must also be fully investigated.

Barack Obama, who is planning to visit Sweden in September 2013, was last week reported to Swedish police for crimes against humanity. One of the crimes listed in the report is extrajudicial executions by unmanned airplanes, so called drones.

Attacks by drones have been carried out by the USA in a number of countries, including countries that the USA is not in war with. It is estimated by independent sources that thousands of innocent humans have been killed or wounded in these attacks, authorized by Barack Obama. In Pakistan alone, it is estimated that over 100 children have been killed in such attacks. Earlier this year, a Pakistani court ruled that the drone strikes in Pakistan were illegal.

We are now starting up this organization and web site. If you are interested in joining, please contact us on info@accoun.org