The Hague Convention
The USA signed the ageement this century, not last. It was put into practice here in early 2009.
It only covers declared war if all parties are part of the convention. Otherwise it is not relivant.
A little illumination on United States Military History, from "American Military History", Oxford Companion Guide, viewable on the Oxford Law Library Online:
The first Hague Convention was actually a peace conference proposed by Czar Nicolas II of Russia in 1899, initially as a means of limiting arms (and maintaining parity with) the arms of other countries, most notably Germany, and to discuss limitation of arms at sea, an extension of the 1894 Geneva Convention (regarding treatment of prisoners, also signed by the United States), as well as the first discussion of the laws of land warefare. After it was labelled a "peace conference" (as opposed to arms limitation talks), a total of 26 countries attended (and later signed and ratified) this conference. Great Brittain, mindful of the outcome of the War of 1812, insisted the US attend. Officially talks began at the Dutch capital, The Hague, on 18 May 1899. By 29 July of the same year, all 26 participanting governments met once more at The Hague to sign what became known as The Hague Convention, including President Garret A Hobart, on behalf of the United States of America. The agreement was ratified and took effect on 4 September 1900. In the strictest technical terms, the terms of the Convention were agreed upon in the late 19th century, but did not take effect until the start of the 20th century. The year "2009" was still 109 years into the future.
In 1904, US President Theodore Roosevelt proposed to The Hague Conference (ref The Hague Convention of 1899) a second "peace conference" to deal with real discussions on limitations of arms and other topics, and the Second Peace Conference was held, again at The Hague, beginning 15 June 1907 and was attended by 44 governments (including the United States). Most of the topics at the Second Peace Conference had to do codifying what has come to be known as the Rules For Land Warfare, an extension of those rules to govern war at sea, and an added clause (proposed by the Russians after the unannounced Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1904) that required belligerent countries to formally declare a state of war before initiating hostilities. The 1907 Convention dealt in detail with rules of warfare on the high seas, with Russia still suffering from the Russo-Japanese War (the first big war of the 20th century) from 1904 to 1905, ending with Russia suing for peace after Japan had invaded and occupied Port Arthur in Manchuria and the Sakhalin Island chain (some of these islands still belong to Japan, and were contested by the former Soviet Union). The original members of the First Peace Convention proposed to call both the First and Second Peace Conferences collectively as "The Hague Convention", and it was accepted by the 44 countries (including the United States) that signed it on 18 October 1907, and it took effect on 26 January 1910.
The Hague Convention led to the concept of a World Court, which later led to the foundation of the League of Nations (to which the United States did not participate) and was largely ineffective, and later to the United Nations (to which the United States did become a member). The World Court still exists, it is still held in The Hague in the Netherlands.
Since that time, many world conferences have taken place under the auspices of The Hague (and also called part of The Hague Convention), including provisions for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (ratified in 2009) and the terms for International Abduction, the Abduction of Children, and international Adoption of Children. There have also been many numerous conferences on the protection of international patents and copyrights, most of which have taken place late in the 20th century or early this century.
The Hague Convention applies only to parties who are assignatories to either the First Hague Peace Conference and/or the Second Hague Peace Conference. The United States is an assignatory to both, and it governs how the United States Military is allowed to act and with what limitations on arms. Parties that did not sign either agreement have no obligation to obey the terms. But the United States is under obligation, and has been under the obligation, to obey the terms of The Hague Convention, from the first writing in 1899 to the present time.
I could not find any reference to any ban, prohibition, or discussion, on the use of napalm or other incendiary devices, or any conventions related to warfare or military action, that took place on or took effect in the year 2009.
If there is such a reference, please illuminate me by posting the details of such a declaration, convetion, discussion or proposal.
My apologies to the Original Poster, and to other posters to this thread. I felt it was important to present the correct, factual and substantiated information, instead of making what could be interpreted as an unsubstantiatable declaration.
Thank you for your patience.
