July has been the deadliest month yet for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. At least 27 troops have died so far this month, and an estimated…
Posts Tagged ‘operation’
Malou Innocent: Afghanistan: The Deadliest Month and It’s Time to Get Out
July 20th, 2009 |
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Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza
July 15th, 2009 |
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Israeli soldiers have described the use of "permissive" rules of engagement that cost civilian lives during the recent military campaign in Gaza.
The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said civilians were sometimes used as human shields.
Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered the anonymous accounts.
Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay.
Breaking the Silence described most of the testimonies of soldiers who took part in Operation Cast Lead as "sober, regretful and shocked".
GAZA REPORT Breaking the Silence report on Operation Cast Lead[469KB]Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader
Many of the testimonies are in line with claims made by human-rights organisations that Israeli military action in Gaza was indiscriminate and disproportionate.
According to testimonies from the 14 conscripts and 12 reserve soldiers:
• Rules of engagement were either unclear or encouraged soldiers to do their utmost to protect their own lives whether or not Palestinian civilians were harmed.
• Civilians were used as human shields, entering buildings ahead of soldiers
• Large swathes of homes and buildings were demolished. Accounts say that this was often done because the houses might be booby-trapped, or cover tunnels. Testimony mentioned a policy referred to as "the day after", whereby areas near the border where razed to make future military operations easier
• Many troops had a generally aggressive, ill-disciplined attitude
• There was widespread vandalism of property of Palestinians
• Soldiers firing at water tanks because they were bored, at a time of severe water shortages for Gazans
• White phosphorus was used in civilian areas gratuitously and recklessly
• Many of the soldiers said there had been very little direct engagement with Palestinian militants
The report says Israeli troops and the people who justify their actions are "slid[ing] together down the moral slippery slope".
DIFFERENT DEATH TOLLSPalestinians killed during Israeli military offensive in Gaza, 27 Dec to 18 Jan – Palestinian claims followed by Israelis claims:
- Total dead: 1,434 / 1,166
- Fighters: 235 / 710-870
- Non-combatants: 906 / 295-460
- Women: 121 / 49
- Children under 16: 288 / 89
Sources: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Israeli Defence Intelligence Research Dept
Amnesty details Gaza ‘war crimes’ Israelis followed law in Gaza Gaza conflict: Who is a civilian
"This is an urgent call to Israeli society and its leaders to sober up and investigate anew the results of our actions," Breaking the Silence says.
Israeli officials insist troops went to great lengths to protect civilians, that Hamas endangered non-combatants by firing from civilian areas and that homes and buildings were destroyed only when there was a specific military need to do so.
Israel said the purpose of the 22-day operation that ended on 18 January 2009 had been to end rocket fire from Gaza aimed at its southern towns.
Palestinian rights groups say about 1,400 Palestinians died during the operation. Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict, including 10 soldiers serving in Gaza.
According to the UN, the campaign damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties, 200 schools, 39 mosques and two churches.
Investigations
Reacting to the report, Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said:
"The IDF regrets the fact that another human rights organisation has come out with a report based on anonymous and general testimony – without investigating their credibility."
She dismissed the document as "hearsay and word of mouth".
"The IDF expects every soldier to turn to the appropriate authorities with any allegation," Lt Col Leibovich added. "This is even more important where the harm is to non-combatants. The IDF has uncompromising ethical values which continue to guide us in every mission."
There have been several investigations into the conduct of Israel’s operation in Gaza, and both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the territory, have faced accusations of war crimes.
An internal investigations by the Israeli military said troops fought lawfully, although errors did take place, such as the deaths of 21 people in a house that had been wrongly targeted.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has requested more than $11m (£7m) in compensation from Israel for damage to UN property in Gaza. A limited UN inquiry blamed Israel in six out of nine attacks on UN facilities, resulting in casualties among civilians sheltering there.
Meanwhile, a fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League concluded there was enough evidence to prosecute the Israeli military for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes".
It also said Palestinian militants were guilty of war crimes in their use of indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilians. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Cheney ‘hid plans to kill al-Qaida’
July 13th, 2009 |
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• Ex-CIA officials say foreign leaders were also in dark
• Investigation demanded into post-9/11 strategy
Dick Cheney, the former vice president, ordered a highly classified CIA operation hidden from Congress because it pushed the limits of legality by planning to assassinate al-Qaida operatives in friendly countries without the knowledge of their governments, according to former intelligence officials.
Former counter-terrorism officials who retain close links to the intelligence community say that the hidden operation involved plans by the CIA and the military to launch operations, similar to those by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, to hunt down and kill al-Qaida activists abroad without informing the governments concerned, even though some were regarded as friendly if unreliable.
The CIA apparently did not put the plan in to operation but the US military did, carrying out several assassinations including one in Kenya that proved to be a severe embarrassment and helped lead to the quashing of the programme.
A former intelligence official said the plan was hatched in the cauldron of the September 11 attacks when officials were pushing various forms of unilateral action and some settled on the Israelis as an example.
“One of the most sensitive areas has been what we do in friendly countries that don’t want to co-operate or maybe we don’t have enough confidence to entrust them with information. If you have an al-Qaida guy wandering around certain bits of the world we might decide that we need to deal with that ourselves, directly, without making a lot of noise,” he said. “There was a plan to deal with that. It was much talked about in the CIA and the military had its own operation.”
Another former senior intelligence official responsible for dealing with al-Qaida said that assassination plans were reined in after similar covert operations by the military were botched and proved to be embarrassing, particularly the killing in Kenya. He did not give details of the operation.
The official said he believes from conversations with serving members of the CIA that the area of real concern in Congress is that the planned operations may also have involved the covert surveillance of American citizens.
There appears to be common agreement among knowledgeable former intelligence officials that the controversy goes beyond the immediate question of assassination and capture of al-Qaida operatives as there have been numerous killings and detentions since the 9/11 attacks.
One former official said that the Bush administration discussed assassinations in the context of a ban introduced in the 1970s that responded to several failed CIA attempts to murder Fidel Castro, and concluded that as the US had declared itself at war with al-Qaida and the Taliban, this ban did not apply.
Peter Bergen, a senior security analyst at the New America Foundation, said that the secret operation must have gone further than that to have created such a backlash in Congress: “If it’s an assassination programme of al-Qaida leaders that is hardly surprising. Clinton had an assassination programme against bin Laden. There have been 27 drone missile strikes against al-Qaida alone this year.”
The CIA has declined to comment and members of Congress who were finally briefed about the issue by the CIA director, Leon Panetta, last month are bound by confidentiality.
Some former intelligence officials and Republicans have attempted to portray the programme as barely getting out of the planning stages but others in the intelligence community have said it is highly unlikely that the CIA would have kept such an operation going for eight years without advancing it.
The evident anger in Congress is fuelling demands for a full blown investigation in to the CIA’s failure to disclose the programme and Cheney’s role in the cover up. The Senate majority whip, Dick Durbin, said the programme could have been illegal: “The executive branch of government should not create programs like these programs and keep Congress in the dark. To have a massive program that was concealed from the leaders in Congress is not only inappropriate, it could be illegal.”
Anna Eshoo, a senior Democrat on the House of Representatives intelligence committee, is also calling for a probe. “We, by no means, have the full story. We don’t know who gave the order. We don’t know where the money came from. We don’t know all the people who were involved,” she told Politico. “We need a full investigation. My preference is that we hire an attorney to come in and run this, someone that is known for their prosecutorial knowledge as well as their knowledge of this particular area of the law.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
UK cuts Israel weapons contracts
July 13th, 2009 |
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The UK has revoked five export licences for equipment to the Israeli navy because of actions during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza this year.
The British Foreign office said the exports would now contravene its criteria for arms sales, but denied that it had imposed a partial embargo.
The UK says it does not sell weapons which might be used for internal repression or external aggression.
Israel says its troops complied fully with international law during missions.
The 22-day operation which ended on 18 January has been widely condemned as disproportionate by critics.
UK sued over Israel arms sales Amnesty details Gaza ‘war crimes’ Israelis followed law in Gaza
The British government has been challenged by human rights groups and members of the UK parliament over concerns raised by Amnesty International that British-made equipment was used illegally in Gaza.
Amnesty says both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during the conflict.
In April, the British government issued a statement saying it had not contravened its own guidelines, which it described as "stringent", but said it was was reviewing existing licences.
On Monday, the Foreign Office said in a statement that it had conducted the review, and found "in a small number of cases Israeli action in Cast Lead would result in the export of those goods now contravening the… criteria".
An unnamed Israeli official said five of 35 contracts for naval equipment had been cancelled.
Media reports quoted Israeli officials as saying these all related to the Saar 4.5 gunboat.
‘Not bothered’
In April, the British Foreign Office said there were "credible reports" that the vessels had been used in a "naval fire support role" during Operation Cast Lead.
DIFFERENT DEATH TOLLSPalestinians killed during Israeli military offensive in Gaza, 27 Dec to 18 Jan – Palestinian claims followed by Israelis claims:
- Total dead: 1,434 / 1,166
- Fighters: 235 / 710-870
- Non-combatants: 906 / 295-460
- Women: 121 / 49
- Children under 16: 288 / 89
Sources: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Israeli Defence Intelligence Research Dept
The British Foreign Office said future decisions would "take into account what has happened in the recent conflict".
"We do not grant export licences where there is a clear risk that arms will be used for external aggression or internal repression," it said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli public radio: "We’ve had many embargoes in the past… We can manage. This shouldn’t bother us."
Palestinian rights groups say about 1,400 Palestinians died during the operation.
Thirteen Israelis died during the conflict, nine of them were soldiers serving in Gaza.
Israel said its operation aimed to reduce rocket fire from Gaza aimed at its southern towns.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Greek police flatten migrant camp
July 13th, 2009 |
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Greek riot police have led an operation to demolish a makeshift camp housing illegal immigrants in the western port city of Patras. The camp was used by migrants hoping to smuggle themselves onto ships bound for Italy and Western Europe.
Greek police flatten migrant camp
July 12th, 2009 |
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By Malcolm Brabant
BBC News, Athens
Greek riot police have led an operation to demolish a makeshift camp housing illegal immigrants in the western port city of Patras.
The camp was used by migrants hoping to smuggle themselves onto ships bound for Italy and Western Europe.
Its closure is more proof of Greece’s tougher stance on illegal immigration.
The camp had been a source of tension with many Greeks who regarded it as a major eyesore for themselves and for tourists arriving from Italy.
‘Terrorising migrants’
About 100 riot police escorted bulldozers into the camp before dawn.
They levelled scores of cardboard and plastic hovels.
Only a makeshift mosque and a tent used by volunteer doctors were left untouched.
The camp in Patras had been in existence in some form or another for 13 years.
A few months ago, it accommodated about 1,800 people, mainly from Afghanistan.
But that number had dwindled to about 100 following large-scale arrests and also because the port authorities had made it nearly impossible to get on board ferries to Italy.
The early morning operation was described by Red Cross officials in Patras as "terrorising" the migrants.
One worker said it was designed to send a message to all illegal immigrants that they had no future in Greece.
‘Migrant threat’
The conservative government in Athens has started taking tougher measures against the so-called "clandestines" in recent weeks, especially since the success of the right-wing nationalist Laos party in the European parliamentary election.
A new law has been passed which makes deportation easier.
Greece has been criticised internationally for its handling of would-be asylum seekers.
But recently the EU Justice Commissioner, Jacques Barrot, acknowledged that the "uncontrollable flow of immigration" posed a major threat to the equilibrium of Greek democracy.
The clampdown in Patras will push some migrants into the hands of traffickers in Athens and Italy who are demanding up to $8,000 (£4,940) for passage out of Greece.
Others have given up trying to catch a boat to Western Europe and have headed for Greece’s land borders with Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Footballer’s wife dies after botched operation
July 10th, 2009 |
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The wife of the former Scotland football captain Colin Hendry died today following surgery to correct the botched liposuction procedure that almost killed her seven years ago.
Denise Hendry, who was 43, had been in intensive care at Salford Royal hospital for several weeks suffering from a meningitis-like infection after undergoing an operation to repair the damage.
She nearly died in April 2002 after the liposuction procedure at the private Broughton Park hospital in Preston, Lancashire, went badly wrong, leaving her with multiple complications.
Hendry, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, fell ill just two days after the surgery and was treated for septicaemia at the Royal Preston hospital.
Her heart also stopped for four minutes as she went into a cardiac arrest following the botched operation. She suffered nine punctures to her bowel and colon, causing blood poisoning and multiple organ failure, and needed a 16-hour operation in May as part of the long recovery process.
Gustav Aniansson, the cosmetic surgeon who carried out the liposuction procedure, voluntarily applied to be removed from the General Medical Council’s register, and lawyers for the couple later secured a £300,000 damages settlement in November 2006.
Speaking afterwards, Hendry said: “I felt so bad when I thought Colin could have lost his wife and my children would have lost their mother. I felt overwhelming guilt at how stupid I’d been.”
She had been receiving treatment from a specialist in the unit of the National Intestinal Failure Centre, which is based at the hospital.
Her husband, the ex-Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Rangers central defender, had been at her bedside throughout the ordeal.
The couple have four children aged between 19 and nine.
Yesterday, Colin Hendry paid tribute to his wife and spoke of his family’s sense of loss.”Words cannot describe the desolation we feel,” he said.
“I cannot begin to imagine life without her, but we are a strong and devoted family and somehow, if only for Denise’s sake, we will get through.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
The CIA’s Rogue Operation
July 10th, 2009 |
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Everyone is playing the guessing game regarding the secret program which the CIA hid from Congress.The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein is guessing that it is Cheney’s executive assassination squad. Yesterday, I guessed it might have been continuity of gove…