[JURIST] The US has failed to adequately prevent and prosecute war crimes and other abuses during its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions [official website] Philip Alston [oficial profile, DOC] said in a report [text, PDF] released Thursday. The report found, "Some aspects of the rule of law have been taken seriously during U.S. operations." Alston also warned, however, that:

there have been chronic and deplorable accountability failures with respect to policies, practices and conduct that resulted in alleged unlawful killings – including possible war crimes – in the United States’ international operations. The Government has failed to effectively investigate and punish lower-ranking soldiers for such deaths, and has not held senior officers responsible under the doctrine of command responsibility. Worse, it has effectively created a zone of impunity for private contractors and civilian intelligence agents by failing to investigate and prosecute them.