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43 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 281 (2011-2012)
Formulating a New Atrocity Speech Offense: Incitement to Commit War Crimes

handle is hein.journals/luclj43 and id is 301 raw text is: Formulating a New Atrocity Speech Offense: Incitement to Commit War Crimes Gregory S. Gordon* Loose and violent talk by an officer of high rank is always likely to excite to wrongdoing those among his subordinates whose wills are weak or whose passions are strong .... - Theodore Roosevelt' 1. INTRODUCTION Since the time of the Pharaohs, certain military commanders have sought to demonize the enemy in speeches given to troops before sending them into battle. If officers could equate their foes with filthy vermin, ferocious beasts, or unholy goblins, then their subordinates might take the field in a frenzy, ready to slaughter every last combatant-even those wounded or attempting to surrender. In certain cases, so whipped up with hatred, troops might even go so far as to kill women and children in the vicinity of the battlefield. And such speech has arisen in cases of military campaigns illegitimate from their conception-ethnic cleansing operations, for example, that have required dehumanizing the enemy and thereby conditioning and inspiring the rank and file to inflict violence on innocent civilians. Depending on the words used by the commanding officer in these situations, such speech would not necessarily amount to orders given to the troops. But what if, in spite of the noxious intent underlying them * Associate Professor of Law, University of North Dakota School of Law, and Director. University of North Dakota Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies. I would like to thank Kenneth Marcus and the organizers of the Hate Speech, Incitement & Genocide Conference held at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in April 2011. 1 want to express words of gratitude as well to Matthew Brunmeier and the editorial staff of the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal for their support and patience. I would like to thank Frank Smyth for inspiring me to take this piece to the next level with his invaluable research on the Guatemalan genocide. Without the tireless work of Jan Stone. our Faculty Research Librarian, this piece would not have been possible. Thanks are also due to Chris Jenks, Geoff Corn, and Kevin Jon Heller for helping me refine my research and ideas. And I am grateful, as always, to Laurie Blank for her insights and oversight. And last, but certainly not least. I could not do it without the love, patience, and encouragement of my family-especially my amazing wife. 1. GARY D. SOLIs, THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT: INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN WAR 65 (2010). 281

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