Day: August 5, 2014

War Crimes?

Opinion from the desk of the Editor

It appears that the hostilities are silent, at least for now….Israel is pulling its troops back across the border but they will be close at hand in case they are needed……and now a serious batch of finger pointing will begin.

The trending thing is that Israel should face a legal challenge for war crimes.  There will be lots of justification and innuendo thrown at each side…..what do we know for sure?  The was a conflict what the media called a war filled with death, destruction and injuries…..most of which was inflicted on the Palestinian people….so should Israel face war crimes charges will be debated in the coming days.

The story so far…….

Newser) – Israel’s attack on Gaza—which has reportedly killed more than 1,500 civilians—was indeed a war crime that flagrantly violated rules of international law, writes Manal Tellawi at Salon. Three of his main arguments:

  • While Article 51 of the UN Charter allows for self-defense, Israel can’t make that case regarding an occupied territory. Israel’s supporters say the country doesn’t occupy Gaza—it pulled out 8,000 settlers in 2005—but Tellawi notes that Israel “maintains control over its borders, water sources, electricity, [and] population registry.”
  • A protocol of International Humanitarian Law states that a military can only fire on military targets, or occasionally civilian establishments being used by the military. “In violation of this article,” Israel has attacked churches, mosques, homes, and residential buildings in the Gaza Strip, “one of the most densely populated places on Earth.”
  • As per a Geneva Convention protocol, warnings to civilians “must be clear, credible and allow [a] reasonable amount of time,” writes Tellawi, but witnesses to one Gaza attack say people who fled were at times arrested or blocked by IDF tanks.

Among those who disagree are Israel’s former UN ambassador Dore Gold, who argues in the LA Times that the Shajaiya neighborhood targeted by the IDF is full of underground bunkers and tunnels that “allow Hamas to cross under the border fence and penetrate Israeli territory to carry out attacks on civilians.” Meanwhile, human-rights defenders are gathering information in Gaza for a possible war-crimes case at the International Criminal Court—but the US and Israel will oppose such a move, and the AP notes that if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas makes the case, he could “expose Hamas … to the same charges.”

But first, just what constitutes a war crime?  according to the International Criminal Court (ICC)………

“War crimes” include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict and in conflicts “not of an international character” listed in the Rome Statute, when they are committed as part of a plan or policy or on a large scale. These prohibited acts include:

  • murder;
  • mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
  • taking of hostages;
  • intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population;
  • intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historical monuments or hospitals;
  • pillaging;
  • rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy or any other form of sexual violence;
  • conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities.

Now that we have an official definition the question should be did Israel violate any of the conditions that constitute a war crime?

In my opinion Israel was violated at least 4 of the conditions……murder, cruel punishment, attacking civilians, attacking public buildings such as schools, hospitals, churches, colleges…….now we have to see what justification they can offer……I am sure they will use the “just defending ourselves” defense.

The question now is where would Palestinians go to air their grievances?

The most logical would be the United Nations…..but that would be a waste of time….why?  The US has veto power and they will NEVER do anything to jeopardize losing their pimp, Israel.  The Palestinians although have official recognition will get NO justice from the organization that the US has veto power……however the Palestinians need to work with the countries that are showing support in this time of need…..involve these countries in every aspect of the rebuilding….the more capitalists they have helping the more it will deter Israel on any future incursions.

The most useful place to take on Israel for the Palestinians is the International Criminal Court (ICC)……..the US cannot run rough shod over the proceedings and since they cannot then the Palestinians may have a 50-50 chance of a conviction.

My suggestion to the Palestinians is to document everything and then contact your evidence to the ICC and let the chips fall where they may.  But be prepared for a Western push back in favor of Israel….not because Israel is considered right but rather because of a recent past event…….Israel defenders argue that the war crimes issue is rife with subjectivity and politics, and that if the standard were applied consistently, Western countries like the United States and Britain would be called to task for their actions in Iraq and elsewhere that also resulted quite predictably in loss of civilian life.

Personally, I would like to see Israel held responsible for war crimes………..I fear that little will come out of this hearing other than some PR successes…….in other words……….Palestine is screwed….as usual.

What Have We Accoplished?

Opinion from the desk of the Editor:

The question before us these days is….just what if anything have we accomplished in the Middle East?

For more than a century the US has had the worst foreign policy when concerned with the Middle East….we have NEVER been able to grasp the complexities of the region.  To be truthful, the region was never much interesting until the need for oil became paramount and then we tried to formulate a policy of dealing with the region…..funny how the need to make profit can override everything.

Since those dark days following World War One we have been struggling to find a one size fits all policy……and there is the biggest problem…..we have NEVER realized that one size fits all policy will NOT work in the Middle East.  In short, we have NO idea what to do in the Middle East.

Now ask, what have we accomplished in the Middle East in the last 20 years?  How about in Iraq?  And then in Libya?  Now in Syria?  And as always the Palestine-Israel conflict, what have we actually accomplished?

We have the leaders that we do not like….for whatever reason.  Look at Iraq…..we hated Saddam so we decided that the best way to control the region was to get rid of him.  Our first choice for the new leader was a guy named Chalabi convicted felony in Jordan for bank fraud…a FELON!  Not once did we consider the tensions between the different ethnic regions.  We execute Saddam and the country went into a tailspin that has resulted in its partition into 3 parts and the rise of ISIS…..which show NO signs of weakening.  I would say a job well done by a crackerjack State department (that is sarcasm in case it was missed)…….

Now move on to Libya.  Qaddafi was not a leader that we approved of at any time in his long reign…… then with the first successful insurgency against him we threw our support behind the rebels……Qaddafi was eliminated and all was well…..no it wasn’t!  The rebel factions have been battling for control ever since the dictator’s death…..with NO way out of the cycle of violence.  Another dynamite decision by that same crackerjack State department.

Now there is Syria, it is not as important or newsworthy as other stories but it still remains and it is still a bloody mess…….the Assad family have been in control of Syria for many years and recently there was a challenge to that rule…..and what did the US do?  We waited for the situation to disintegrate to the point that it needed fresh resources……..and then BAM!  in waltzes the Us to support the rebels…..the problem was the rebels…..we did not know enough about them to use our support successfully and now it is a damn bloody mess and it seems that the Assad family is making head way against the rebels we support…..another fine example of the US State department missing the boat.

That brings us to the most bloody and persistent situation in the Middle East…..Palestine/Israel situation…….this one the US will NEVER get right…..why?  We still cannot grasp what the two sides are truly after.  Is it peace?  Maybe it is the genocide of the opposing state.  Now because we cannot grasp the complexities of this situation or for that matter any situation in the Middle East we are doomed to keep making one bad decision after another.

Name one decision that we have made regarding the Middle East that has turned out well for us and for the people of the region…….(I will pause here for some reflection if needed)………

Time’s up!

The only successes in the Middle East have been from the Arab Spring, as it was called in the media, and why?  We pretty much stayed out of it and let the people handle their own lives and situations.

Is there an answer?  You betcha!  We, the US, need to revamp the State department and hire people that know the region and not because they went to school with someone’s mother or brother or father.  It will not be a quick fix but it would be a good start.