Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal
The Opening Session of The Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal began on November 12, 2023. This People’s Tribunal will hold accountable — through testimony of witnesses and documentary evidence — four U.S. weapons manufacturers which produce and sell products that attack and kill not only combatants but non-combatants as well. These four defendants— Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics—are representative of the entire U.S. War Industry. On November 10, 2022, the four defendants were served with subpoenas and asked to participate. All four defendants declined. This Tribunal alleges these weapons manufacturers have committed War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. The Judges of the Tribunal will hear the evidence, render a verdict, and issue an extensive report. Testifying will be Dr. Cornel West, Richard Falk, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Norman Solomon, John Pilger, Jeremy Kuzmarov, Christian Sorensen, Jeffrey Stern, William Astore, Aisha Jumaan, Matt Aikens, Marie Dennis, Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug, and numerous others. The testimonies of the witnesses for the Tribunal have been video-recorded during the last year as investigative teams identified witnesses and elicited their testimony. This included testimonies from the victims of war, military and weapons analysts, lawyers, journalists, moral philosophers and theologians. Once the Opening Session concludes, the entire Tribunal will be streamed via video links over consecutive weeks examining War Crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Gaza, and Yemen. The role of Lobbying, Think Tanks, the “Revolving Door,” and other means by which these predatory capitalists enrich themselves through war will be explored. These recorded testimonies will be presented to the Jurors of the Tribunal and a worldwide audience (via livestream). The first segment of the Tribunal aired on November 12, 2023. The Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal was recently recognized by the US Peace Memorial Foundation for its work in opposing militarism and holding United States weapons manufacturers accountable for creating needless war and suffering across the globe.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
The Tribunal's close examination continues into how lobbying is used by weapons makers to bribe elected officials into rewarding enormous weapons contracts and to manipulate mainstream media into creating a pro-war narrative needlessly causing suffering and death across the globe.
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
The pernicious influence of lobbying within the U.S. war industry and how it creates needless suffering and death abroad is closely examined in this segment of the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal.
Friday Feb 14, 2025
Friday Feb 14, 2025
A fascinating conversation with Dr. Kelly Denton-Borhaug, whose work began soon after the events of 9/11 with her investigation into what she calls “U.S. war-culture.” In more recent years, Denton-Borhaug’s focus moved to “military moral injury.” This invisible epidemic (linked to the frighteningly high numbers of servicemember and veteran suicides) springs from the intolerable moral pain and suffering experienced by too many of the 1% fighting on the front lines of our war-culture.
Tuesday Jan 28, 2025
Tuesday Jan 28, 2025
The Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal closes its case with international lawyer Richard Falk providing the summation. Mr. Falk is a professor emeritus at Princeton University in international Law and has written over 20 books on international law, arms control, and United Nations.
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
The Tribunal interviews Lt. Col William Astore who shares his experience and knowledge working within and against the military industrial complex. William J. Astore is a retired lieutenant colonel of the United States Air Force and a current professor of history. He is a senior fellow at the Eisenhower Media Network (EMN), an organization of critical veteran military and national security professionals.
Saturday Jan 11, 2025
Saturday Jan 11, 2025
The 2008-2009 Israeli invasion of Gaza. Subscribe to the Merchants of Death email list to receive notifications as weekly videos are released throughout the Tribunal: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-emails-from-the-merchants-of-death-war-crimes-tribunal?clear_id=true
Thursday Jan 09, 2025
Thursday Jan 09, 2025
Retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (U.S. Army) was Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. In dramatic testimony Col. Wilkerson exposes the corruption of the Military Industrial Complex.