PROPAGANDA WATCH
Sunday Times: Flashback - UK Ricin Plot Was A Pack Of Lies
The government is facing an embarrassing climbdown over its war on terror after prosecutors privately agreed to drop claims that the deadly poison ricin was found in London. Scientists at the Porton Down germ warfare laboratory have told the Crown Prosecution Service that toxicological tests on material recovered from a flat in north London mean they cannot prove ricin was present.
The alleged discovery of the ricin plot in January was reported by Downing Street, government officials and police as a significant escalation of the terrorist threat to Britain and appeared to bolster the case for war against Iraq.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Thursday, February 05, 2004
GERMANY: TERROR
Spiegel: Gericht spricht Mzoudi frei
Das Urteil im zweiten Hamburger Terrorprozess ist gefallen. Das Gericht befand, Abdelghani Mzoudi könne keine Beteiligung an den Anschlägen vom 11. September nachgewiesen werden, und sprach den Marokkaner frei. Von der Unschuld des Angeklagten zeigte sich der Richter jedoch keineswegs überzeugt.
Spiegel: Gericht spricht Mzoudi frei
Das Urteil im zweiten Hamburger Terrorprozess ist gefallen. Das Gericht befand, Abdelghani Mzoudi könne keine Beteiligung an den Anschlägen vom 11. September nachgewiesen werden, und sprach den Marokkaner frei. Von der Unschuld des Angeklagten zeigte sich der Richter jedoch keineswegs überzeugt.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Geostrategy-Direct.com: Iraqi Resistance May Have 5,000 Advanced SA-16 SAMS
The U.S. Army has assessed that Sunni insurgents in Iraq have obtained and deployed the advanced SA-16 anti-aircraft missile.
The determination was first reached in November 2003 and confirmed in Sunni surface-to-air missile attacks against U.S. Army helicopters over the last few weeks, U.S. military sources said. The SA-16 is believed to be the most advanced Soviet-origin anti-aircraft missile in the Sunni arsenal of at least 5,000 SAM missiles.
On Jan. 8, a SA-16 missile was used to down a UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. The helicopter, used for medical evacuation, crashed and nine crewmembers and passengers were killed.
Geostrategy-Direct.com: Iraqi Resistance May Have 5,000 Advanced SA-16 SAMS
The U.S. Army has assessed that Sunni insurgents in Iraq have obtained and deployed the advanced SA-16 anti-aircraft missile.
The determination was first reached in November 2003 and confirmed in Sunni surface-to-air missile attacks against U.S. Army helicopters over the last few weeks, U.S. military sources said. The SA-16 is believed to be the most advanced Soviet-origin anti-aircraft missile in the Sunni arsenal of at least 5,000 SAM missiles.
On Jan. 8, a SA-16 missile was used to down a UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. The helicopter, used for medical evacuation, crashed and nine crewmembers and passengers were killed.
CLIMATE CHANGE
unknowncountry: Pentagon Says Weather Wars in Our Future
In Major Media Finally Gets It, we wrote about Fortune Magazine's report on the Pentagon's concerns that global warming could cause weather changes that lead to war. Now the Soldiers for the Truth website reports on what the Pentagon actually said.
They report that "Pentagon planner Andrew Marshall, who heads up the DoD Office of Net Assessment…last year ordered up a long-range forecast of how a rapid onset of global warming could affect the security of the United States and its allies. The study, written by analysts Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, provides a dire scenario of potential catastrophic impacts from global warming on the natural resources, political and economic systems and day-to-day life not only of the United States but the entire world.
"CHECK IT"
unknowncountry: Pentagon Says Weather Wars in Our Future
In Major Media Finally Gets It, we wrote about Fortune Magazine's report on the Pentagon's concerns that global warming could cause weather changes that lead to war. Now the Soldiers for the Truth website reports on what the Pentagon actually said.
They report that "Pentagon planner Andrew Marshall, who heads up the DoD Office of Net Assessment…last year ordered up a long-range forecast of how a rapid onset of global warming could affect the security of the United States and its allies. The study, written by analysts Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, provides a dire scenario of potential catastrophic impacts from global warming on the natural resources, political and economic systems and day-to-day life not only of the United States but the entire world.
"CHECK IT"
ISRAEL
Counterpunch: The Only Democracy in the Middle East?
Most Israelis Don't Believe It (or Support It)
Anyone who follows the news has no doubt come across the claim that "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East." Usually, this claim is followed by its logical inference: "As an island of freedom located in a region controlled by military dictators, feudal kings and religious leaders, Israel should receive unreserved support from western liberal states interested in strengthening democratic values around the globe."
Over the years, some of the fallacies informing this line of argument have been exposed. Whereas many commentators have emphasized that foreign policy is determined by selfish interests rather than by moral dictates, few analysts have challenged the prevailing view that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
In order to examine this issue, one must first determine Israel's international borders. Insofar as Israel's borders extend from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean Sea -- the de-facto situation for over 36 years -- then the state of Israel currently consists of a population of over 9 million people, 3.5 million of whom cannot vote.
CHECK IT
Counterpunch: The Only Democracy in the Middle East?
Most Israelis Don't Believe It (or Support It)
Anyone who follows the news has no doubt come across the claim that "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East." Usually, this claim is followed by its logical inference: "As an island of freedom located in a region controlled by military dictators, feudal kings and religious leaders, Israel should receive unreserved support from western liberal states interested in strengthening democratic values around the globe."
Over the years, some of the fallacies informing this line of argument have been exposed. Whereas many commentators have emphasized that foreign policy is determined by selfish interests rather than by moral dictates, few analysts have challenged the prevailing view that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
In order to examine this issue, one must first determine Israel's international borders. Insofar as Israel's borders extend from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean Sea -- the de-facto situation for over 36 years -- then the state of Israel currently consists of a population of over 9 million people, 3.5 million of whom cannot vote.
CHECK IT
UK: WMD LIES
Independent: Intelligence chief's bombshell: 'We were overruled on dossier'
The intelligence official whose revelations stunned the Hutton inquiry has suggested that not a single defence intelligence expert backed Tony Blair's most contentious claims on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
As Mr Blair set up an inquiry yesterday into intelligence failures before the war, Brian Jones, the former leading expert on WMD in the Ministry of Defence, declared that Downing Street's dossier, a key plank in convincing the public of the case for war, was "misleading" on Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological capability. Writing in today's Independent, Dr Jones, who was head of the nuclear, chemical and biological branch of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) until he retired last year, reveals that the experts failed in their efforts to have their views reflected.
Dr Jones, who is expected to be a key witness at the new inquiry, says: "In my view, the expert intelligence analysts of the DIS were overruled in the preparation of the dossier in September 2002, resulting in a presentation that was misleading about Iraq's capabilities."
Independent: Intelligence chief's bombshell: 'We were overruled on dossier'
The intelligence official whose revelations stunned the Hutton inquiry has suggested that not a single defence intelligence expert backed Tony Blair's most contentious claims on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
As Mr Blair set up an inquiry yesterday into intelligence failures before the war, Brian Jones, the former leading expert on WMD in the Ministry of Defence, declared that Downing Street's dossier, a key plank in convincing the public of the case for war, was "misleading" on Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological capability. Writing in today's Independent, Dr Jones, who was head of the nuclear, chemical and biological branch of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) until he retired last year, reveals that the experts failed in their efforts to have their views reflected.
Dr Jones, who is expected to be a key witness at the new inquiry, says: "In my view, the expert intelligence analysts of the DIS were overruled in the preparation of the dossier in September 2002, resulting in a presentation that was misleading about Iraq's capabilities."
USA VS. VENEZUELA
V-Headline: WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Bush 2 administration officials again seeking to stimulate a regime change in Venezuela -- question is no longer IF, but WHEN!
Sources in Washington D.C. have revealed that Bush 2 administration officials are again seeking to "stimulate" a regime change in Venezuela after a USA-backed coup d'etat against democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias failed when US puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga moved to dissolve parliament, the judiciary and the constitution in one fell swoop.
Our sources (which must remain confidential, but have been verified) say that Venezuelan nationals, recruited on the promise of fast-track US citizenship and benefits, have been trained in the arts of USA terror tactics at the US Army School of Americas-SOA (renamed 3 years ago as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation-WHISC) at Fort Benning (Georgia) were relocated to training camps at Iquitos in the northern jungles of Peru under the direction of US Southern Command (Latin America & Caribbean) regional HQ at Fort Buchanan (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
SOA/WHISC commanders are said to be "smarting" over their failure to impose a US-backed military/civilian dictatorship in Venezuela in April 2002 when democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias was swiftly returned to power after US-puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga dissolved parliament, the judiciary and Venezuela's constitution in one fell swoop. Carmona Estanga was not able to control the massive surge against him as millions of Venezuelans took to the streets repudiating his imposition and demanding the return of reformist Chavez Frias.
V-Headline: WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Bush 2 administration officials again seeking to stimulate a regime change in Venezuela -- question is no longer IF, but WHEN!
Sources in Washington D.C. have revealed that Bush 2 administration officials are again seeking to "stimulate" a regime change in Venezuela after a USA-backed coup d'etat against democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias failed when US puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga moved to dissolve parliament, the judiciary and the constitution in one fell swoop.
Our sources (which must remain confidential, but have been verified) say that Venezuelan nationals, recruited on the promise of fast-track US citizenship and benefits, have been trained in the arts of USA terror tactics at the US Army School of Americas-SOA (renamed 3 years ago as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation-WHISC) at Fort Benning (Georgia) were relocated to training camps at Iquitos in the northern jungles of Peru under the direction of US Southern Command (Latin America & Caribbean) regional HQ at Fort Buchanan (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
SOA/WHISC commanders are said to be "smarting" over their failure to impose a US-backed military/civilian dictatorship in Venezuela in April 2002 when democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias was swiftly returned to power after US-puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga dissolved parliament, the judiciary and Venezuela's constitution in one fell swoop. Carmona Estanga was not able to control the massive surge against him as millions of Venezuelans took to the streets repudiating his imposition and demanding the return of reformist Chavez Frias.
USA: WMD LIES
ISP: When In Trouble, Blame the CIA
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (IPS) - Badly wounded by the total collapse of its pre-war contentions that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, the administration of President George W. Bush has embarked on a strategy of diversion and delay.
It hopes to divert attention from the role played by senior administration officials in influencing and exaggerating the intelligence assessments of the Iraqi threat in the run-up to the war by focusing debate instead on flaws in the intelligence and how it can be improved in the future.
It hopes to delay until well after the November presidential elections the reporting deadline for a proposed commission that will study the fiasco.
''This is damage control'', said one Congressional aide, who added the president's re-election chances might well hinge on whether he is able to pull off the strategy. ''Bush wants to get this out of the headlines and into a commission that won't say anything until he's re-elected''
ISP: When In Trouble, Blame the CIA
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (IPS) - Badly wounded by the total collapse of its pre-war contentions that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, the administration of President George W. Bush has embarked on a strategy of diversion and delay.
It hopes to divert attention from the role played by senior administration officials in influencing and exaggerating the intelligence assessments of the Iraqi threat in the run-up to the war by focusing debate instead on flaws in the intelligence and how it can be improved in the future.
It hopes to delay until well after the November presidential elections the reporting deadline for a proposed commission that will study the fiasco.
''This is damage control'', said one Congressional aide, who added the president's re-election chances might well hinge on whether he is able to pull off the strategy. ''Bush wants to get this out of the headlines and into a commission that won't say anything until he's re-elected''
USA: WMD LIES
Mother Jones: The Lie Factory
Only weeks after 9/11, the Bush administration set up a secret Pentagon unit to create the case for invading Iraq. Here is the inside story for how they pushed disinformation and bogus intelligence and led the nation to war.
IT'S A CRISP FALL DAY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA, a hundred miles from Washington, D.C., and a breeze is rustling the red and gold leaves of the Shenandoah hills. On the weather-beaten wood porch of a ramshackle 90-year-old farmhouse, at the end of a winding dirt-and-gravel road, Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski is perched on a plastic chair, wearing shorts, a purple sweatshirt, and muddy sneakers. Two scrawny dogs and a lone cat are on the prowl, and tne air is filled with swarms
So far, she says, no investigators have come knocking. Not from the Central Intelligence Agency, which conducted an internal inquiry into intelligence on Iraq, not from the congressional intelligence committees, not from the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. All of those bodies are ostensibly looking into the Bush administration's prewar Iraq intelligence, amid charges that the White House and the Pentagon exaggerated, distorted, or just plain lied about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda terrorists and its possession of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. In her hands, Kwiatkowski holds several pieces of the puzzle. Yet she, along with a score of other career officers recently retired or shuffled off to other jobs, has not been approached by anyone.
"CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT"
Mother Jones: The Lie Factory
Only weeks after 9/11, the Bush administration set up a secret Pentagon unit to create the case for invading Iraq. Here is the inside story for how they pushed disinformation and bogus intelligence and led the nation to war.
IT'S A CRISP FALL DAY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA, a hundred miles from Washington, D.C., and a breeze is rustling the red and gold leaves of the Shenandoah hills. On the weather-beaten wood porch of a ramshackle 90-year-old farmhouse, at the end of a winding dirt-and-gravel road, Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski is perched on a plastic chair, wearing shorts, a purple sweatshirt, and muddy sneakers. Two scrawny dogs and a lone cat are on the prowl, and tne air is filled with swarms
So far, she says, no investigators have come knocking. Not from the Central Intelligence Agency, which conducted an internal inquiry into intelligence on Iraq, not from the congressional intelligence committees, not from the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. All of those bodies are ostensibly looking into the Bush administration's prewar Iraq intelligence, amid charges that the White House and the Pentagon exaggerated, distorted, or just plain lied about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda terrorists and its possession of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. In her hands, Kwiatkowski holds several pieces of the puzzle. Yet she, along with a score of other career officers recently retired or shuffled off to other jobs, has not been approached by anyone.
"CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT"
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
UK
Daily Mirror: Blair's Mass Deception
by John Pilger
02/03/04: (Daily Mirror) IN THE wake of the Hutton fiasco, one truth remains unassailed: Tony Blair ordered an unprovoked invasion of another country on a totally false pretext, and that lies and deceptions manufactured in London and Washington caused the deaths of up to 55,000 Iraqis, including 9,600 civilians.
Consider for a moment those who have paid the price for Blair's and Bush's actions, who are rarely mentioned in the current media coverage. Deaths and injury of young children from unexploded British and American cluster bombs are put at 1,000 a month. The effect of uranium weapons used by Anglo-American forces - a weapon of mass destruction - is such that readings taken from Iraqi tanks destroyed by the British are so high that a British Army survey team wore white, full-body radiation suits, face masks and gloves. Iraqi children play on and around these tanks. British troops, says the Ministry of Defence, "will have access to biological monitoring".
Daily Mirror: Blair's Mass Deception
by John Pilger
02/03/04: (Daily Mirror) IN THE wake of the Hutton fiasco, one truth remains unassailed: Tony Blair ordered an unprovoked invasion of another country on a totally false pretext, and that lies and deceptions manufactured in London and Washington caused the deaths of up to 55,000 Iraqis, including 9,600 civilians.
Consider for a moment those who have paid the price for Blair's and Bush's actions, who are rarely mentioned in the current media coverage. Deaths and injury of young children from unexploded British and American cluster bombs are put at 1,000 a month. The effect of uranium weapons used by Anglo-American forces - a weapon of mass destruction - is such that readings taken from Iraqi tanks destroyed by the British are so high that a British Army survey team wore white, full-body radiation suits, face masks and gloves. Iraqi children play on and around these tanks. British troops, says the Ministry of Defence, "will have access to biological monitoring".
ISRAEL
Haaretz: Analysis / Could Sharon finally be serious?
The news of Sharon's interview to Haaretz about the planned evacuation of the Katif bloc settlements hit them as they came out of the office. It was immediately clear that the evacuation, even if no more than a declaration, would ignite any party meeting like a barrel of kerosene.
Perhaps Sharon should have waited with such a statement. But the convention is not the foremost thing on his mind right now. The difficult police questioning about his affairs, reportedly due on Thursday, is bothering him more. So is Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's impending decision concerning the affairs.
Yesterday Sharon managed to deflect public attention from the approaching questioning. Without committing to a schedule, without ordering the evacuation of a single settlement and without even evacuating the quasi-legal outpost Migron, Sharon is already talking of evacuating the Gaza Strip, whose settlements he until recently saw as a strategic asset.
So far, it's all talk.
Verbally, over the past three years, Sharon has established a Palestinian state, expelled Arafat and made numerous painful concessions.
Haaretz: Qureia: Gaza plan is 'good news'; Peres: Labor will back PM
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Tuesday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate settlements in the Gaza Strip was "good news."
Sparking a political storm Monday, Sharon told Haaretz that he has ordered plans drafted for the relocation of 17 settlements in the Strip and three in the northern West Bank, a move that he said could take one to two years.
Reuters: Sharon Drops Bombshell -
Gaza Settlements To Go
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike.
"I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip," the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper. "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."
Sharon, once considered the godfather of the settlement movement, later spelled out his intentions in a closed-door meeting of his pro-settler Likud party, but gave no time frame.
Haaretz: Analysis / Could Sharon finally be serious?
The news of Sharon's interview to Haaretz about the planned evacuation of the Katif bloc settlements hit them as they came out of the office. It was immediately clear that the evacuation, even if no more than a declaration, would ignite any party meeting like a barrel of kerosene.
Perhaps Sharon should have waited with such a statement. But the convention is not the foremost thing on his mind right now. The difficult police questioning about his affairs, reportedly due on Thursday, is bothering him more. So is Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's impending decision concerning the affairs.
Yesterday Sharon managed to deflect public attention from the approaching questioning. Without committing to a schedule, without ordering the evacuation of a single settlement and without even evacuating the quasi-legal outpost Migron, Sharon is already talking of evacuating the Gaza Strip, whose settlements he until recently saw as a strategic asset.
So far, it's all talk.
Verbally, over the past three years, Sharon has established a Palestinian state, expelled Arafat and made numerous painful concessions.
Haaretz: Qureia: Gaza plan is 'good news'; Peres: Labor will back PM
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Tuesday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate settlements in the Gaza Strip was "good news."
Sparking a political storm Monday, Sharon told Haaretz that he has ordered plans drafted for the relocation of 17 settlements in the Strip and three in the northern West Bank, a move that he said could take one to two years.
Reuters: Sharon Drops Bombshell -
Gaza Settlements To Go
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike.
"I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip," the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper. "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."
Sharon, once considered the godfather of the settlement movement, later spelled out his intentions in a closed-door meeting of his pro-settler Likud party, but gave no time frame.
PEAK OIL
From the Wilderness: Revealing Statements from a Bush Insider about Peak Oil and Natural Gas Depletion: FTW EXCLUSIVE CHECK IT
Bush energy advisor to the secret Energy Task Force headed by Dick Cheney before 9/11, Matthew Simmons, spoke candidly about Peak Oil at a recent Paris conference attended by FTW Editor Mike Ruppert. The transcribed remarks of this CFR member at this exclusive conference are chilling affirmations of the only issue driving world events since 9/11.
"The uh, I think basically that now, that peaking of oil will never be accurately predicted until after the fact. But the event will occur, and my analysis is leaning me more by the month, the worry that peaking is at hand; not years away. If it turns out I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But if I'm right, the unforeseen consequences are devastating...But unfortunately the world has no Plan B if I'm right. The facts are too serious to ignore. Sadly the pessimist-optimist debate started too late
From the Wilderness: Revealing Statements from a Bush Insider about Peak Oil and Natural Gas Depletion: FTW EXCLUSIVE CHECK IT
Bush energy advisor to the secret Energy Task Force headed by Dick Cheney before 9/11, Matthew Simmons, spoke candidly about Peak Oil at a recent Paris conference attended by FTW Editor Mike Ruppert. The transcribed remarks of this CFR member at this exclusive conference are chilling affirmations of the only issue driving world events since 9/11.
"The uh, I think basically that now, that peaking of oil will never be accurately predicted until after the fact. But the event will occur, and my analysis is leaning me more by the month, the worry that peaking is at hand; not years away. If it turns out I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But if I'm right, the unforeseen consequences are devastating...But unfortunately the world has no Plan B if I'm right. The facts are too serious to ignore. Sadly the pessimist-optimist debate started too late
EMPIRE: OIL
From the Wilderness: IN YOUR FACE
- Connections between Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, 9/11 and Peak Oil “On the Table”
- July '04 Supreme Court Ruling on Secrecy, Task Force Documents Obtained through FOIA Suit on Collision Course as Cheney “Duck Hunts” with Scalia
- The Reason Why Activists of All Stripes are Ineffective
January 29, 2004 1700 PST ( FTW ) – Nothing can change the facts.
When, in May 2001, the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch filed suit to see the records of Dick Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), it was the first to protest the unheard of secrecy at the energy task force. As the White House stonewalled, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) filed suit the following February. Congress had, after all, funded the project. Non-governmental officials had played major roles in its deliberations and, under the Constitution, the GAO had an obligation to see how the money was spent and what was produced. White House refusals prompted media speculation about deals with Enron and big oil companies; a divvying of spoils, a rape of the environment. Judicial Watch was later joined in its suit by the Sierra Club. A scandal for everyone!
It's a sure bet that of all the plaintiffs; from Congressman Henry Waxman (D – CA) and Comptroller General David Walker who fought for the GAO; to Judicial Watch's Larry Klayman, who had previously fought Bill Clinton; to the environmentalists, none had a clue as to what they were really asking for or why Dick Cheney fought them so ruthlessly.
The fight was just beginning.
From the Wilderness: IN YOUR FACE
- Connections between Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, 9/11 and Peak Oil “On the Table”
- July '04 Supreme Court Ruling on Secrecy, Task Force Documents Obtained through FOIA Suit on Collision Course as Cheney “Duck Hunts” with Scalia
- The Reason Why Activists of All Stripes are Ineffective
January 29, 2004 1700 PST ( FTW ) – Nothing can change the facts.
When, in May 2001, the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch filed suit to see the records of Dick Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), it was the first to protest the unheard of secrecy at the energy task force. As the White House stonewalled, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) filed suit the following February. Congress had, after all, funded the project. Non-governmental officials had played major roles in its deliberations and, under the Constitution, the GAO had an obligation to see how the money was spent and what was produced. White House refusals prompted media speculation about deals with Enron and big oil companies; a divvying of spoils, a rape of the environment. Judicial Watch was later joined in its suit by the Sierra Club. A scandal for everyone!
It's a sure bet that of all the plaintiffs; from Congressman Henry Waxman (D – CA) and Comptroller General David Walker who fought for the GAO; to Judicial Watch's Larry Klayman, who had previously fought Bill Clinton; to the environmentalists, none had a clue as to what they were really asking for or why Dick Cheney fought them so ruthlessly.
The fight was just beginning.
USA ECONOMY
NY Times Editorial: The Pinocchio Budget
The president's new budget proposal is an exercise in election-year cynicism. It calls for cuts in programs President Bush knows Congress will protect and future tax cuts he knows the nation cannot afford. Meanwhile, vital domestic programs, like environmental protection and housing for the poor, wind up as the sacrificial victims.
The budget acknowledges the need to increase spending on homeland security. But the rest of the domestic budget, excluding Medicare and Social Security, would be financed at less than 1 percent growth — a cut, in effect, when inflation is factored in. "Listen, government has got plenty of money," the president insisted last week. It is easy to tell people that a $2.4 trillion budget should have enough in it for everything we need. But when specifics pop to the surface, people will discover that a great deal is lacking — including fiscal responsibility.
NY Times Editorial: The Pinocchio Budget
The president's new budget proposal is an exercise in election-year cynicism. It calls for cuts in programs President Bush knows Congress will protect and future tax cuts he knows the nation cannot afford. Meanwhile, vital domestic programs, like environmental protection and housing for the poor, wind up as the sacrificial victims.
The budget acknowledges the need to increase spending on homeland security. But the rest of the domestic budget, excluding Medicare and Social Security, would be financed at less than 1 percent growth — a cut, in effect, when inflation is factored in. "Listen, government has got plenty of money," the president insisted last week. It is easy to tell people that a $2.4 trillion budget should have enough in it for everything we need. But when specifics pop to the surface, people will discover that a great deal is lacking — including fiscal responsibility.
USA ECONOMY
NY Times: Another Bogus Budget by Paul Krugman
Well, whaddya know. Even as the Republican leadership strong-armed the Medicare drug bill through Congress, the administration was sitting on estimates showing that the plan would cost at least $134 billion more than it let on. But let's not make too much of the incident. After all, it's not as if our leaders make a habit of faking their budget projections. Oh, wait.
The budget released yesterday, which projects a $521 billion deficit for fiscal 2004, is no more credible than its predecessors. When the administration promises much lower deficits in future years, remember this: two years ago it projected a fiscal 2004 deficit of only $14 billion. What's new this time is that the administration has decided to pay lip service to conservative complaints about runaway spending.
Over the past few months, many pundits have obediently placed the onus for rising deficits on "a vast increase in discretionary domestic spending," or words to that effect. By the way, the Heritage Foundation, which has orchestrated this campaign, is cagier than those pundits; it covers itself by relying on innuendo, never saying outright that domestic discretionary spending is the source of the deficit.
To mollify these critics, the new budget purports to shrink real domestic discretionary spending. This won't happen; even if it did, it would have a negligible impact on the deficit. But it isn't just a fake solution — it's a response to a fake problem.
NY Times: Another Bogus Budget by Paul Krugman
Well, whaddya know. Even as the Republican leadership strong-armed the Medicare drug bill through Congress, the administration was sitting on estimates showing that the plan would cost at least $134 billion more than it let on. But let's not make too much of the incident. After all, it's not as if our leaders make a habit of faking their budget projections. Oh, wait.
The budget released yesterday, which projects a $521 billion deficit for fiscal 2004, is no more credible than its predecessors. When the administration promises much lower deficits in future years, remember this: two years ago it projected a fiscal 2004 deficit of only $14 billion. What's new this time is that the administration has decided to pay lip service to conservative complaints about runaway spending.
Over the past few months, many pundits have obediently placed the onus for rising deficits on "a vast increase in discretionary domestic spending," or words to that effect. By the way, the Heritage Foundation, which has orchestrated this campaign, is cagier than those pundits; it covers itself by relying on innuendo, never saying outright that domestic discretionary spending is the source of the deficit.
To mollify these critics, the new budget purports to shrink real domestic discretionary spending. This won't happen; even if it did, it would have a negligible impact on the deficit. But it isn't just a fake solution — it's a response to a fake problem.
Monday, February 02, 2004
USA/PAKSITAN
Chicago Tribune: US Plans Al Qaeda Offensive
The Bush administration, deeply concerned about recent assassination attempts against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and a resurgence of Taliban forces in neighboring Afghanistan, is preparing a U.S. military offensive that would reach inside Pakistan with the goal of destroying Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, military sources said.
U.S. Central Command is assembling a team of military intelligence officers that would be posted in Pakistan ahead of the operation, according to sources familiar with details of the plan and internal military communications. The sources spoke on the condition they not be identified
Chicago Tribune: US Plans Al Qaeda Offensive
The Bush administration, deeply concerned about recent assassination attempts against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and a resurgence of Taliban forces in neighboring Afghanistan, is preparing a U.S. military offensive that would reach inside Pakistan with the goal of destroying Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, military sources said.
U.S. Central Command is assembling a team of military intelligence officers that would be posted in Pakistan ahead of the operation, according to sources familiar with details of the plan and internal military communications. The sources spoke on the condition they not be identified
DEAD SCIENTISTS
Rense: More Dead Top Microbiologist Scientists
Dr. Mike Patrick Kiley, Ebola, Mad Cow Expert, top of the line world class, dies of massive heart attack.
Dr. Robert Shope, Virus Expert Who Warned Of Epidemics dies in the same week.
Coincidently, both Dr. Shope and Dr. Kiley were working on the lab upgrade to BSL 4 at the UTMB Galvaston lab for Homeland Security. The lab would have to be secure to house some of the deadliest pathogens of tropical and emerging infectious disease as well as bioweaponized ones.
I have also noted a commonality of most of the now, 44 scientists who met their demise since 9/11/01 and that is all were expert in emerging infectious diseases especially Ebola, Mad Cow, HIV.
Dr. Shope had accumulated his own collection of virus samples gathered from all over the world.
Rense: More Dead Top Microbiologist Scientists
Dr. Mike Patrick Kiley, Ebola, Mad Cow Expert, top of the line world class, dies of massive heart attack.
Dr. Robert Shope, Virus Expert Who Warned Of Epidemics dies in the same week.
Coincidently, both Dr. Shope and Dr. Kiley were working on the lab upgrade to BSL 4 at the UTMB Galvaston lab for Homeland Security. The lab would have to be secure to house some of the deadliest pathogens of tropical and emerging infectious disease as well as bioweaponized ones.
I have also noted a commonality of most of the now, 44 scientists who met their demise since 9/11/01 and that is all were expert in emerging infectious diseases especially Ebola, Mad Cow, HIV.
Dr. Shope had accumulated his own collection of virus samples gathered from all over the world.
IRAQI RESISTNANCE
Knight Ridder: Iraq Revolt Brewing
Iraqi Whispers Mull Repeat Of 1920s Revolt
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Whispers of "revolution" are growing louder in Baghdad this month at teahouses, public protests and tribal meetings as Iraqis point to the past as an omen for the future.
Iraqis remember 1920 as one of the most glorious moments in modern history, one followed by nearly eight decades of tumult. The bloody rebellion against British rule that year is memorialized in schoolbooks, monuments and mass-produced tapestries that hang in living rooms.
Now, many say there's an uncanny similarity with today: unpopular foreign occupiers, unelected governing bodies and unhappy residents eager for self-determination. The result could be another bloody uprising.
"We are now under occupation, and the best treatment for a wound is sometimes fire," said Najah al Najafi, a Shiite cleric who joined thousands of marchers at a recent demonstration where construction workers, tribal leaders and religious scholars spoke of 1920.
Knight Ridder: Iraq Revolt Brewing
Iraqi Whispers Mull Repeat Of 1920s Revolt
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Whispers of "revolution" are growing louder in Baghdad this month at teahouses, public protests and tribal meetings as Iraqis point to the past as an omen for the future.
Iraqis remember 1920 as one of the most glorious moments in modern history, one followed by nearly eight decades of tumult. The bloody rebellion against British rule that year is memorialized in schoolbooks, monuments and mass-produced tapestries that hang in living rooms.
Now, many say there's an uncanny similarity with today: unpopular foreign occupiers, unelected governing bodies and unhappy residents eager for self-determination. The result could be another bloody uprising.
"We are now under occupation, and the best treatment for a wound is sometimes fire," said Najah al Najafi, a Shiite cleric who joined thousands of marchers at a recent demonstration where construction workers, tribal leaders and religious scholars spoke of 1920.
JIHAD
Memri: Al-Qa'ida's 'Voice of Jihad' Magazine: Issue No. 9
The online magazine 'The Voice of Jihad,' which is published by Al-Qa'ida members in Saudi Arabia and describes itself as a "biweekly dealing with Jihad and the Mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula," devoted its ninth issue to two main subjects: Osama bin Laden's most recent speech, excerpts of which were broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, and the ongoing debate in Al-Qa'ida over attacks in Saudi Arabia. The following are excerpts from this issue: [1]
Memri: Al-Qa'ida's 'Voice of Jihad' Magazine: Issue No. 9
The online magazine 'The Voice of Jihad,' which is published by Al-Qa'ida members in Saudi Arabia and describes itself as a "biweekly dealing with Jihad and the Mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula," devoted its ninth issue to two main subjects: Osama bin Laden's most recent speech, excerpts of which were broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, and the ongoing debate in Al-Qa'ida over attacks in Saudi Arabia. The following are excerpts from this issue: [1]
ISRAEL
AFP: Israel Calls For End Of 'Syrian
Occupation' Of Lebanon!
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called on the international community to put an end to the "Syrian occupation" of Lebanon.
"Since 1976, Syria has been occupying Lebanon and stealing its resources and it is time for the world to order it to leave," Shalom told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He called on "the countries of the free world to start a diplomatic campaign" to force a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"Da kann man ?ber die Heuchlerei nur noch lachen"
AFP: Israel Calls For End Of 'Syrian
Occupation' Of Lebanon!
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called on the international community to put an end to the "Syrian occupation" of Lebanon.
"Since 1976, Syria has been occupying Lebanon and stealing its resources and it is time for the world to order it to leave," Shalom told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He called on "the countries of the free world to start a diplomatic campaign" to force a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"Da kann man ?ber die Heuchlerei nur noch lachen"
WMD LIES
Rense: In His Own Words - Bush
On Saddam's WMD
"States like these (Iraq, Iran, North Korea) ... constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 29, 2002
"The Iraqi regime possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.... If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do -- does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?" - President George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 2002
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of Sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003
"The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now." - President George W. Bush, March 17, 2003
"We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime because the regime is no more." - President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003
"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so." - President George W. Bush, May 3, 2003
"We based our decisions on good, sound intelligence, and the - our people are going to find out the truth. And the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind." - President George W. Bush, July 17, 2003
"Our coalition has made sure that Iraq's former dictator will never again use weapons of mass destruction. We are interviewing Iraqi citizens and analyzing records of the old regime to reveal the full extent of its weapons programs and its long campaign of deception." - President George W. Bush Sept. 23, 2003
"He (Saddam) had a weapons program." - President George W. Bush, Oct. 29, 2003
"Already the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004
"We know from years of intelligence - not only our own intelligence services, but other intelligence-gathering organizations - that [Saddam] had weapons." - President George W. Bush, Jan. 27, 2004
David Kay, top Iraq weapons inspector for the Bush administration, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jan. 28, 2004: "We were almost all wrong."
Rense: In His Own Words - Bush
On Saddam's WMD
"States like these (Iraq, Iran, North Korea) ... constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 29, 2002
"The Iraqi regime possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.... If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do -- does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?" - President George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 2002
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of Sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003
"The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now." - President George W. Bush, March 17, 2003
"We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime because the regime is no more." - President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003
"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so." - President George W. Bush, May 3, 2003
"We based our decisions on good, sound intelligence, and the - our people are going to find out the truth. And the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind." - President George W. Bush, July 17, 2003
"Our coalition has made sure that Iraq's former dictator will never again use weapons of mass destruction. We are interviewing Iraqi citizens and analyzing records of the old regime to reveal the full extent of its weapons programs and its long campaign of deception." - President George W. Bush Sept. 23, 2003
"He (Saddam) had a weapons program." - President George W. Bush, Oct. 29, 2003
"Already the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004
"We know from years of intelligence - not only our own intelligence services, but other intelligence-gathering organizations - that [Saddam] had weapons." - President George W. Bush, Jan. 27, 2004
David Kay, top Iraq weapons inspector for the Bush administration, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jan. 28, 2004: "We were almost all wrong."
SWITZERLAND: WEF
20Min: «Landquarter Kessel»: Vorwürfe an die Polizei
Die Kontrolle von Hunderten von WEF-Gegnerinnen und -gegnern im Bahnhof Landquart (GR) ist laut Direktbetroffenen von der Polizei von langer Hand vorbereitet worden.
Der Zug sei nur gestoppt worden, um zu fichieren. Die unnötige Polizeigewalt im «Landquarter Kessel» soll nun Anzeigen und Untersuchungen nach sich ziehen
Nach Angaben des grünen Berner Stadtrats und Augenzeugen Daniele Jenni war der Zug «vorgeplant» durch die Polizei blockiert worden. Keinerlei Verhaltensweisen der Zuginsassen seien für die Blockierung ursächlich gewesen. Ein riesiges Polizeiaufgebot habe den Zug umzingelt und diesen brutal geräumt. «Bahnhofplatz, Tiefgarage, Einvernahmeräume, Bürocontainer und Warteräume waren dabei von langer Hand eingerichtet», sagte Jenni. Es sei nie darum gegangen, Zwischenfälle zu verhindern oder Sachbeschädigungen und Täterschaften abzuklären, sondern einzig darum, die Betroffenen zu fichieren und vom Widerstand abzuschrecken. Die Verantwortlichen des Polizeieinsatzes hätten dafür Freiheitsberaubung, Körperverletzung, die Gefährdung durch giftige Gase und die Störung des öffentlichen Verkehrs in Kauf genommen. Der Einsatz gegen die friedlichen Zugpassagiere sei unnötig, unangemessen und ungeeignet gewesen und habe auch die Grundrechte der Versammlungsfreiheit und freien Meinungsäusserung verletzt, sagte der Politiker.
Indymedia: Landquart? - COOPeration!
es geht nicht darum, die polizeirepression in landquart über die repressalien in davos und sargans/mels zu stellen, geschweige denn, aus der repression gewinn zu schlagen. aber darum, der verdrehten berichterstattung der schweizer medienlandschaft (von t wie tagi bis t wie tagesschau) entgegenzuwirken und das geschehene zu verstehen versuchen, um daraus einen gemeinsamen umgang entwickeln zu können
20Min: «Landquarter Kessel»: Vorwürfe an die Polizei
Die Kontrolle von Hunderten von WEF-Gegnerinnen und -gegnern im Bahnhof Landquart (GR) ist laut Direktbetroffenen von der Polizei von langer Hand vorbereitet worden.
Der Zug sei nur gestoppt worden, um zu fichieren. Die unnötige Polizeigewalt im «Landquarter Kessel» soll nun Anzeigen und Untersuchungen nach sich ziehen
Nach Angaben des grünen Berner Stadtrats und Augenzeugen Daniele Jenni war der Zug «vorgeplant» durch die Polizei blockiert worden. Keinerlei Verhaltensweisen der Zuginsassen seien für die Blockierung ursächlich gewesen. Ein riesiges Polizeiaufgebot habe den Zug umzingelt und diesen brutal geräumt. «Bahnhofplatz, Tiefgarage, Einvernahmeräume, Bürocontainer und Warteräume waren dabei von langer Hand eingerichtet», sagte Jenni. Es sei nie darum gegangen, Zwischenfälle zu verhindern oder Sachbeschädigungen und Täterschaften abzuklären, sondern einzig darum, die Betroffenen zu fichieren und vom Widerstand abzuschrecken. Die Verantwortlichen des Polizeieinsatzes hätten dafür Freiheitsberaubung, Körperverletzung, die Gefährdung durch giftige Gase und die Störung des öffentlichen Verkehrs in Kauf genommen. Der Einsatz gegen die friedlichen Zugpassagiere sei unnötig, unangemessen und ungeeignet gewesen und habe auch die Grundrechte der Versammlungsfreiheit und freien Meinungsäusserung verletzt, sagte der Politiker.
Indymedia: Landquart? - COOPeration!
es geht nicht darum, die polizeirepression in landquart über die repressalien in davos und sargans/mels zu stellen, geschweige denn, aus der repression gewinn zu schlagen. aber darum, der verdrehten berichterstattung der schweizer medienlandschaft (von t wie tagi bis t wie tagesschau) entgegenzuwirken und das geschehene zu verstehen versuchen, um daraus einen gemeinsamen umgang entwickeln zu können
SWITZERLAND
Indymedia: UPDATE zum Brücken"FALL" von Aubonne
Hier ein Update zur Unterstützungskampagne "Aubonne- Brücke". Es geht dabei um den Polizeieinsatz während des G8- Gipfels in Evian im Juni 2003 auf der Aubonne Brücke, bei dem eine Person schwer verletzt wurde (andere leiden heute noch an den psychischen Folgen), weil ein Polizist das Seil an dem zwei AktivistInnen hingen, um den Verkehr zu blockieren, ohne jede Vorwarnung durchtrennte.Im März findet nun voraussichtlich der Prozess gegen drei der AktivistInnen (!) statt, während gegen die verantwortlichen Polizisten noch kein Verfahren eingeleitet wurde
Indymedia: UPDATE zum Brücken"FALL" von Aubonne
Hier ein Update zur Unterstützungskampagne "Aubonne- Brücke". Es geht dabei um den Polizeieinsatz während des G8- Gipfels in Evian im Juni 2003 auf der Aubonne Brücke, bei dem eine Person schwer verletzt wurde (andere leiden heute noch an den psychischen Folgen), weil ein Polizist das Seil an dem zwei AktivistInnen hingen, um den Verkehr zu blockieren, ohne jede Vorwarnung durchtrennte.Im März findet nun voraussichtlich der Prozess gegen drei der AktivistInnen (!) statt, während gegen die verantwortlichen Polizisten noch kein Verfahren eingeleitet wurde
SWITZERLAND: MEDIA WATCH
Tages Anzeiger: Interviewsperre f?r Gewaltbereite
Die Sicherheitspolitische Kommission des St?nderats will im Fernsehen DRS Interviews mit Aktivisten verhindern, die zum gewaltt?tigen Widerstand aufrufen.
Das Fernsehen DRS hatte vor dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos Ausz?ge einer Pressekonferenz von vermummten Aktivisten gezeigt. Nach Meinung der St?nderatskommission sollte das ?ffentliche Fernsehen k?nftig darauf verzichten, gewaltbereiten Personen eine Plattform zu bieten. Sie plant einen entsprechenden Vorstoss bei den zust?ndigen Instanzen. (nab/sda)
"Die Sichherheitspolitische Kommision des St?ndesrates scheint die Pressefreiheit und die unabh?ngigkeit des SFDRS nicht sonderlich zu m?gen. Unliebsame Meinungen sollen unterdr?ckt werden. Das ist Zensur. Diesesmal steht es ausnahmsweise in der Zeitung wieviel Einfluss hat die Politik auf die Berichterstattung des Schweizer Fernsehens wirklich?"
Tages Anzeiger: Interviewsperre f?r Gewaltbereite
Die Sicherheitspolitische Kommission des St?nderats will im Fernsehen DRS Interviews mit Aktivisten verhindern, die zum gewaltt?tigen Widerstand aufrufen.
Das Fernsehen DRS hatte vor dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos Ausz?ge einer Pressekonferenz von vermummten Aktivisten gezeigt. Nach Meinung der St?nderatskommission sollte das ?ffentliche Fernsehen k?nftig darauf verzichten, gewaltbereiten Personen eine Plattform zu bieten. Sie plant einen entsprechenden Vorstoss bei den zust?ndigen Instanzen. (nab/sda)
"Die Sichherheitspolitische Kommision des St?ndesrates scheint die Pressefreiheit und die unabh?ngigkeit des SFDRS nicht sonderlich zu m?gen. Unliebsame Meinungen sollen unterdr?ckt werden. Das ist Zensur. Diesesmal steht es ausnahmsweise in der Zeitung wieviel Einfluss hat die Politik auf die Berichterstattung des Schweizer Fernsehens wirklich?"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Electronic Intifada: Israeli army in Hebron uses PRCS ambulance as shield
Hebron (Bani Na'em village) -- A PRCS ambulance was transporting an elderly patient to her home in Al-Aroub Refugee Camp after undergoing hospital treatment. Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the entrance of the refugee camp and initially denied it permission to continue. At this point, the Israeli soldiers began searching the ambulance, and one of the soldiers threatened the crew that they would be shot if they did not follow orders. The soldier then ordered the ambulance driver to drive into the camp very slowly without turning on the siren. As the ambulance entered the camp, the crew was taken by surprise as three Israeli soldiers suddenly jumped onto the back of the ambulance. The driver was obliged to continue driving further into the camp when suddenly the soldiers began to fire at the direction of camp residents and then proceeded to chase them. It is evident that the soldiers deliberately used the vehicle and crew as a human shield.
This incident constitutes a breach of articles 19, 24, 26 and 35 of the first Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of medical units, establishments and personnel in addition to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of civilians. Moreover, the Israeli Army in using medical personnel and ambulances as a shield to conduct a military operation placed the patient and crew in a life threatening situation, also constitutes a grave violation to article 15 (1) of Protocol 1: (Protection of civilian medical and religious personnel), article 21: Medical vehicles shall be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol, in addition to article 51(7): The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favor or impede military operations.
Electronic Intifada: Israeli army in Hebron uses PRCS ambulance as shield
Hebron (Bani Na'em village) -- A PRCS ambulance was transporting an elderly patient to her home in Al-Aroub Refugee Camp after undergoing hospital treatment. Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the entrance of the refugee camp and initially denied it permission to continue. At this point, the Israeli soldiers began searching the ambulance, and one of the soldiers threatened the crew that they would be shot if they did not follow orders. The soldier then ordered the ambulance driver to drive into the camp very slowly without turning on the siren. As the ambulance entered the camp, the crew was taken by surprise as three Israeli soldiers suddenly jumped onto the back of the ambulance. The driver was obliged to continue driving further into the camp when suddenly the soldiers began to fire at the direction of camp residents and then proceeded to chase them. It is evident that the soldiers deliberately used the vehicle and crew as a human shield.
This incident constitutes a breach of articles 19, 24, 26 and 35 of the first Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of medical units, establishments and personnel in addition to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of civilians. Moreover, the Israeli Army in using medical personnel and ambulances as a shield to conduct a military operation placed the patient and crew in a life threatening situation, also constitutes a grave violation to article 15 (1) of Protocol 1: (Protection of civilian medical and religious personnel), article 21: Medical vehicles shall be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol, in addition to article 51(7): The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favor or impede military operations.
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