Nauseating

What is wrong with the President sitting in a room, looking at lists and portraits of people—a Somali man, a seventeen-year-old girl, an American citizen—and deciding whom to kill? That, according to long and troubling articles in both the Times and Newsweek, is a job Barack Obama has assigned himself. His aides, notably John Brennan, his counter-terrorism adviser, portray it as a matter of taking responsibility—if we are going to assassinate someone, or call in a drone strike to take out a camp in Yemen, the President should make the call—as if our only alternative were some sort of rogue operation, with generals or C.I.A. agents shooting at will. But responsibility involves accountability, which is something, in this case, that appears to be badly lacking. Obama has not taken on a burden, but instead has given the Presidency a novel power. - Amy Davidson, The President's Kill List, in The New Yorker.

Finally, the Dutch government apologises for Rawagede massacre

 Radio Netherlands Worldwide

The Dutch ambassador to Indonesia has formally apologised on behalf of the Netherlands’ government for the 1947 massacre in a village on Java island, in an emotional ceremony on the anniversary of the executions.

"In this context and on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologise for the tragedy that took place in Rawagede on the 9 December 1947," the Netherlands' ambassador to Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, said

He then repeated the apology in the Indonesian language, to the applause of hundreds of people attending the ceremony, some of whom broke down in tears as they listened in front of a marble monument commemorating the dead

The number of victims has always a point of dispute between the Dutch and the Indonesians. Dutch officials claim some 150 people were killed, but a support group and the local community allege the death toll was 431.

Men and boys executed
During Indonesia’s fight for independence between 1945 and 1949 - in what became known as the Indonesian National Revolution - Dutch troops swooped into the village of Rawagede and executed its men and boys as their families and neighbours looked on.

In a landmark ruling last September, a civil court in The Hague found the Dutch state responsible for the executions and ruled in favour of eight widows and a survivor of the massacre who lodged the case. Two of the widows have since died, and so has the survivor, Saih Bin Sakam, who passed away in May at the age of 88

The Netherlands agreed to pay 850,000 euros to the community before the court's decision, and will now pay an additional 180,000 euros in compensation to the plaintiffs or their families.

Although the Dutch government in the past expressed "deep regret" over the conduct of some of its troops in pre-independence Indonesia, it had never formally apologised for any excesses, including the massacre at Rawagede.

The Hague court rejected the Dutch argument that no claim could be lodged because of a five-year expiry in the statute of limitations, saying it was "unacceptable".

“We will never forget that day”
Some 60 schoolgirls in white Islamic headscarves opened the ceremony with the Indonesian national anthem. They then presented a spoken word performance describing the pain the community has felt since the killings.

"We will never forget that day in Rawagede," the lead performer screamed. "We will remember forever in an independent Indonesia."

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa praised the Dutch government for making the apology.

Dutch embassy officials presented the widows with a wooden plaque with a windmill carved on the left and a palm tree on the right, with the words "Finally justice for the people of Rawagede" and the date of the court ruling inscribed on the plague.

See my previous posts about Rawagede.

OF COURSE THEY KNOW IT'S A CRIME, SO THEY DENY, DENY, DENY

Russia Today: NATO denies depleted uranium bombs blasted Libya.

Real News Video: Training that makes killing civilians acceptable

Murdered photographer’s brother denounces US military crimes

PULSE:

WikiLeaks, a website that publishes anonymously-sourced confidential documents, has published a previously unseen footage showing a US helicopter firing at civilians in Iraq, killing a dozen of them.

Among the dead were two journalists, Namir Nour El Deen, a photographer, and Saeed Chmagh, a driver, both employees of the Reuters news agency.

Namir’s brother, Nabil Nour El Deen, tells Al Jazeera after watching the footage that it is clearly a crime committed by the US military. (Apr 6, 2010)

Citizen's Arrest

It's a case of journalists acting as citizens.

Remember back in 2004 when RTE (Irish television) journalist Carole Coleman asked George Bush tough questions about the death toll in Iraq and European opposition to the invasion? This week, another Irish journalist - David Cronin - went further than Coleman.

On Monday, Tony Blair, Bush's lackey and "Middle East Peace Envoy," was in Brussels to report to MEPs about his current role in the Middle East. Cronin was close by Blair and rather than ask questions, he arrested him for "crimes against peace and the crimes of aggression." Radio Netherlands correspondent Vanessa Mock asked Cronin why he confronted Blair. It was no publicity stunt.

Chilcott Iraqi Inquiry • Blair denies doing secret deal with Bush at Crawford

I've been listening to Blair give testimony at the Chilcott Iraqi inquiry hearing and became nauseous. Had to turn it off (it's now finished for the day, thankfully). (Colin Murray was following it, too; maybe he has more stomach?) The only time I want to "hear" Blair again is when he'll be in the dock at The Hague! Same goes for Bush... and Obama, too, if he continues his warmongering.

US soldier raped and murdered, found guilty

Blogger/Journalist Evan Bright reports: An American soldier has been found guilty on 16 counts by a Federal court in Kentucky of the assault, rape and murder of a fourteen year old girl and the execution-style murder of her family. Sentencing will be Monday and he could get the death penalty on eight of the counts.

Three other soldiers/participants in the rape have already been sentenced to life.

In 2006, Steven Green, now 24, from Texas, assaulted the Hamza al-Janabi family in their house near Baghdad with his comrades from the 101 Airborne Brigade. The five American soldiers, wearing black "ninja uniforms,” had been drinking and hatched a plan to teach an Iraqi family a lesson.

Two of the solders raped Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi while Green shot dead the other members of the family (mother, father and six year old daughter) in a bedroom. After he had murdered the family, he raped and murdered the girl. The soldiers then burned the girl's body to hide the evidence of rape.

Photo: EPA

Guernica Anniversary

Democracy Now! remembers what happened on April 26, 1937:--

Seventy-two years ago this Sunday, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, on April 26th, 1937, the Basque town of Guernica was carpet bombed by Fascist Italian and Nazi German forces. Three-quarters of Guernica was destroyed, and as many as 1,600 civilians were killed. Boise, Idaho is home to one of the largest Basque populations in the United States. We speak with a survivor of the Guernica bombing and with the director Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise.

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The Image Above: a tapestry of the Pablo Picasso painting, Guernica, displayed on the wall of the United Nations building in New York City, at the entrance to the Security Council room. It was placed there as a reminder of the horrors of war. Commissioned and donated by Nelson Rockefeller, it is not quite as monochromatic as the original, using several shades of brown. On February 5, 2003 a large blue curtain was placed to cover this work, so that it would not be visible in the background when Colin Powell and John Negroponte gave press conferences at the United Nations. On the following day, it was claimed that the curtain was placed there at the request of television news crews, who had complained that the wild lines and screaming figures made for a bad backdrop, and that a horse's hindquarters appeared just above the faces of any speakers. Diplomats, however, told journalists that the Bush Administration pressured UN officials to cover the tapestry, rather than have it in the background while Powell or other U.S. diplomats argued for war on Iraq.

GAZA WAR CRIMES: USE OF HUMAN SHIELDS

“They would make us go first, so if any fighters shot at them the bullets would hit us, not them,” said 14-year-old Al’a al-Attar.

Clancy Chassay at the Guardian investigates claims from three brothers that the Israeli military used them as human shields during the invasion of Gaza. Part One of Three. Watch Part Two and Part Three.

REAL NEWS NETWORK: ISRAELI TROOPS ADMIT GAZA ABUSES

Phyllis Bennis takes a sober look at what happened in a TRNN interview with Paul Jay.



Additional background here.

Also, McClatchy on Israeli Jihad

IRAQ: 6 YEARS

Ten Percent

If you take a one second silence for every casualty of the Iraq invasion (on all sides) you will be silent for 15 days, 7 hours, 58 minutes & 7 seconds. You only get to the non-Iraq casualties in the sixth hour of the sixteenth day.

Last year as part of the blogswarm I wrote- Withdrawal, Reparations, Prosecutions. So what d’you reckon?

Withdrawal- Nope, unless you figure 50,000 troops are negligible and the various get out clauses won’t be exploited by the Pentagon or Obama.

Reparations- Sorry, the financial sector got all your cash for generations to come, Iraqis may be able to sell some of the bullets shot at them for (radioactive) scrap.

Prosecutions- Sorry folks but Nuremberg happened because of a victorious allied occupation, after all it excluded European colonialism and the American use of the atomic bomb. So unless the coalition countries are invaded and subjugated by some other power allied with Iraq, seems human society isn’t able to enact justice where the ruling classes are concerned, it’s all just fine words. Keep pushing of course, we may yet become civilised. Still, you can book some of the main criminals for several (hundred) thousands to give you a speech.

Muntazer al-Zaidi is now in jail for 3 years after being beaten and tortured, he threw his shoes at George Bush, Bush laughed it off, both the act and and I am sure the knowledge of al-Zaidi’s abuse and coming years in prison, he likes that kind of thing. Our media continues to shy away from calling torture torture and the few mea culpas over pimping the lies that led to war have not changed their behaviour significantly, one consequence of this is a likely attack on Iraq’s neighbour Iran and a spreading war in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The humanitarian disaster in Somalia goes almost unmentioned as does the particular involvement of the US. Also unmentioned mostly is the Neocon/Zionist axis, but perhaps it is coming into the open a little more.

Mostly I think we are in the invidious position of still many people do not regard this supreme crime as a crime- nationalism, militarism and tribalism remain unexamined, and as such many see no need to stop it, make recompense and punish the guilty. Until that changes we are in for much more bloodshed, empire is a recidivist and the pantry is bare.

SHOCKER: ISRAELI SOLDIERS ADMIT GAZA ABUSES

Guardian (19/03/09)

Striking testimony has emerged from Israeli soldiers involved in the Gaza war in which they describe shooting unarmed civilians, sometimes under orders from their officers.

One soldier described how an Israeli sniper shot dead a Palestinian mother and her two children, adding that fellow troops believed the lives of Palestinians were "very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers".

The testimony, published in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz today, gives a rare insight into how Israeli soldiers fought the war on the ground; reinforces Palestinian accounts of disproportionate Israeli force; and sharply contradicts the Israeli military's official version of events.

Haaretz

Another squad leader from the same brigade told of an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman be shot and killed; she was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered.

The squad leader said he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand. After the orders were changed, the squad leader's soldiers complained that "we should kill everyone there [in the center of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist."

The squad leader said: "You do not get the impression from the officers that there is any logic to it, but they won't say anything. To write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can. I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It's what I'll remember the most."

It has been rare for Israeli soldiers to speak out about the killing of Palestinian civilians in the December war on the Gaza Strip. More soldiers' testimonies will be published in Haaretz over the coming days.

Analysis by Amos Harel in Haaretz:

Can Israel dismiss its own troops' stories from Gaza?

The soldiers are not lying, for the simple reason that they have no reason to. If you read the transcript that will appear in Haaretz Friday, you will not find any judgment or boasting. This is what the soldiers, from their point of view, saw in Gaza. There is a continuity of testimony from different sectors that reflects a disturbing and depressing picture.

The IDF will do everyone, and most of all itself, a big favor if it takes these soldiers and allegations seriously and investigates itself in depth. When statements came only from Palestinian witnesses or "the hostile press," it was possible to dismiss them as propaganda that served the enemy. But what can be done when the soldiers themselves tell the story?
...
If the IDF really never heard about these incidents, the reasonable assumption is that it did not want to know. The soldiers describe the reality in combat units, from the level of company commander down. In the debriefings, the participants usually include company commanders up. It seems that except for isolated incidents, the rule is "you don't ask, we won't tell."

(Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

STORIES OF OUR TIMES

"I was taken to another room where I was made to stand on tiptoes for about two hours during questioning. Approximately thirteen persons were in the room. These included the head interrogator (a man) and two female interrogators, plus about ten muscle guys wearing masks. I think they were all Americans. From time to time one of the muscle guys would punch me in the chest and stomach. Here cold water from buckets was thrown onto me for about forty minutes. Not constantly as it took time to refill the buckets. After which I would be taken back to the interrogation room.

"On one occasion during the interrogation I was offered water to drink, when I refused I was again taken to another room where I was made to lie [on] the floor with three persons holding me down. A tube was inserted into my anus and water poured inside. Afterwards I wanted to go to the toilet as I had a feeling as if I had diarrhoea. No toilet access was provided until four hours later when I was given a bucket to use. Whenever I was returned to my cell I was always kept in the standing position with my hands cuffed and chained to a bar above my head." — New York Review of Books- US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites
By Mark Danner
ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen “High Value Detainees” in CIA Custody by the International Committee of the Red Cross

"We need to get to the bottom of what happened—and why—so we make sure it never happens again."
— Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee

NORMAN FINKELSTEIN RUSSIA TODAY INTERVIEW

(Via P U L S E)

IRAQ

DutchNews.nl

Monday 19 January 2009

Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende's contuing refusal to agree to a public inquiry into events surrounding Dutch support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is beginning to look like the petulant behaviour of a stubborn teenager.

There are a number of questions which need to be answered about the Dutch position, and continually repeating the same tired arguments is not working.

There is evidence that civil servants had their doubts about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, doubts which the government of the day - led by Balkenende himself - ignored. The Dutch also ignored the fact there was no UN mandate for action. [read the rest]

COROLLARY

A comment at Lenin's Tomb

The signature phrase of the 1960s cult classic The Prisoner [its star, Patrick McGoohan, died yesterday in Los Angeles]- "I am not a number. I am a free man!"- could have its corollary in Gaza [as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq] with the people declaring:

"We are not non-entities. We are a free people!"

EYEWITNESS IN GAZA

GISHA Legal Center for Freedom of Movement

Testimony received from a parent of three children and resident of Gaza City

The situation is very hard today. I heard something from a friend that simply gives me no peace – about two families who are fighting over the identity of someone who is lying in the hospital. Since it is impossible to identify the wounded person because his face is very badly hurt, one family claims that he is their nephew and the other family says that he is their cousin. They are fighting about it because they realize that if this is not their relative, that means that their relative is dead.

I can see all of Beit Lahiya from the roof and it’s all going up in flames. There is a very big cloud over the entire northern area. Gaza is packed like a can of sardines, everything is small and crowded. People don’t understand this.

You could die anywhere in Gaza today – at home, in the street. Every place in Gaza is under attack. There is no safe place. This is what Hamas is telling people: why should you die at home? Come out and fight and at least you’ll die while defending Gaza and your home. Who can say no to such a thing?

There is no bread. I called all the bakeries in Gaza and I didn’t find even one where I could buy pitas for my children. In the end I stood in line for half an hour and got cookies. Even that was being rationed – only 1 kilo and no more. I can’t even get pitas for my children.

I’m telling you – I’m willing to come and help in Israel, in Sderot. What they are going through hurts us too but give us a chance. Just give us a chance. Don’t use our children in order to change the political reality. Do you understand that I – someone who has a respectable job and livelihood – burnt my hands while trying to heat water for my children on an open fire! My hands got burnt! Gaza is one big graveyard.

Unfuckingbelievable!

Here are other testimonies received by Israeli human rights groups.

A FATHER'S LAMENT

The father of Rachel Corrie has written a commentary on the current massacre in Gaza. On March 16, 2003, Ms Corrie was killed on the Gaza Strip by an Israeli military bulldozer while trying to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian family's home.

I know something of the loss felt by my Israeli friend Yitzhak, whose son Arik was captured and murdered by Hamas in 1994, and by my Palestinian friend Bassam whose daughter Abir was shot and killed by Israeli solders as she walked home from school in her West Bank village in 2007.

I cannot, though, know the loss felt by Anwar Khalil Ba'lousha, whose five daughters, asleep in their beds, were killed in Gaza by Israeli bombing on Dec. 28. I haven't the courage to imagine his pain.
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The U.S. must make clear that we will not support either side when it uses violence beyond its borders. We must demand that humanitarian aid as well as press and U.N. observers be permitted to enter Gaza without delay -- and that hostilities cease so that lifesaving commodities can be distributed.

LEFT BEHIND?

I just heard Chris Gunness, UNRWA spokesperson in Gaza, describe the situation in their compound on today’s BBC Radio 4 News at One. Three white phosphorus shells have landed there. 700 Gazans have taken refuge in the compound. He was particularly concerned about the effects of these incendiary shells on the five fuel tanks in the compound. “Words cannot discribe’ the situation, says Mr Gunnes. Richard Seymour (lenin) believes that Israel is doing everything to force the UN to abandon Gaza.

Much more importantly, it is a message to the UN to pull out. Bear in mind that UN staff have already had to suspend operations because of the risk posed by the IDF. Other aid agencies such as the Red Cross have also had to suspend crucial activities after attacks by the IDF. Eventually, the UN might well be forced to withdraw its staff entirely if it can't guarantee their safety. At that point, the UN and its few millions and scant food and supplies, will no longer be available to the civilian population. This terrorised and starving population will soon be almost completely alone.