Vanderbilt’s Newton can explain military prosecution process.
Mike Newton, acting associate clinical professor of law at Vanderbilt University, is an expert on war crimes and international criminal law. As a former military prosecutor, he can explain U.S. military law practices and the process of investigating and prosecuting crimes such as those that may have been committed in Haditha, Ishaqi and Hamdaniya. He also can discuss the relationship between domestic and international legal processes and what types of crimes might be turned over to the International Criminal Court. As a former instructor in international law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Newton can address how the U.S. military implements its legal obligation to teach moral and legal principles. Formerly on faculty at the Judge Advocate General’s School, Newton was senior adviser to the U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, where he implemented policies relating to international criminal law and the law of armed conflict. He was one of two U.S. delegates negotiating the Elements of Crimes document for the International Criminal Court.
Haditha, similar to My Lai, could become politicized, says Vanderbilt historian.
Vanderbilt University Professor of History Thomas Alan Schwartz says that one of the real dangers about the Haditha
investigation is that the truth about the incident could become secondary to opposing political agendas. The presidential historian and 20th century U.S. foreign policy expert draws comparisons between the Haditha and My Lai investigations. Schwartz says that opponents of the Vietnam War argued that individual soldiers like William Calley, the only man convicted for My Lai, were scapegoats and that the real responsibility rested with the leaders in Washington. On the other hand, supporters of the war excused the massacre with a “war is hell” attitude and rejected the idea that any American soldier be punished for war crimes. The result of this politicization was that the exceptional nature of the crimes at My Lai was lost, and a distorted view about the average behavior of American soldiers in Vietnam became widely accepted, according to Schwartz.
Vanderbilt has a broadcast facility with a dedicated fiber optic line for live TV interviews and an ISDN line. To interview Newton or Schwartz, call 615-322-2706. After business hours, call anytime at 615-951-5472 (the Vanderbilt News Service pager).
Media contact: Susanne Hicks, 615-322-2706
susanne.hicks@vanderbilt.edu