Olmert and Hussein Cross the Same Line on Disproportionate Actions

According to the Opinion* in the verdict against Saddam Hussein, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert crossed a very similar line, thus commited crimes in his July 2006 decisions to assault Lebanon. However, in the case of Olmert, his actions were leveled against an entire county not just one town. See: Lebanon Damage Report 2006.

"Saddam’s main defense was that as a leader, he was entitled to take action against a town that had tried to assassinate him and was populated by insurgents and terrorists allied with Iran at a time when Iraq and Iran were at war. The Opinion* details why the actions taken against the town of Dujail and its inhabitants “was not necessary to stop an immediate and imminent danger” and how the actions were disproportionate to the threat. In this way, the Opinion makes clear that there is a line to be drawn in every country’s fight against terrorism, and that Saddam and the other defendants crossed that line."
-- Source: Observations on the Dujail Trial Opinion, By Michael P. Scharf, co-author of SADDAM ON TRIAL: UNDERSTANDING AND DEBATING THE IRAQI HIGH TRIBUNAL (2006)

* On December 4, 2006, the Iraqi High Tribunal publicly issued the long-awaited English translation of its Opinion supporting the November 5 Judgment in the Dujail Trial – the first trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants. Available at: Iraqi High Tribunal Opinion