yep those bloodthirsty muslims should be brought to trial for crimes against humanity.
On Dec 31, 7:12 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > On Dec 31, 1:57 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Washington bears guilt for Gaza war crimes > > 29 December 2008 > > > The Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza is a war crime for which > > not only the government of Israel but also that of the United States > > bears full responsibility. > > > The relentless bombing campaign, which in its first 48 hours has left > > at least 300 dead and 1,000 wounded, is a deliberate slaughter of > > innocent civilians and an act of state terror. The toll of casualties, > > many of them women and children, is certain to rise. As Israeli > > Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenaz > > put it, "This is only the beginning." > > > The pretense that this assault is an act of retaliation for the recent > > scattered rocket attacks that have been carried out against Israeli > > territory from inside Gaza is preposterous. Israel, with the > > collaboration of Washington, has been preparing the current bombing > > campaign and threatened ground assault for months, under the cover of > > the supposed cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas-led administration. > > > "These people are nothing but thugs," said White House spokesman > > Gordon Johndroe, who insisted that Israel was only acting to "defend > > itself" against "terrorists." > > > This is the official story that is largely echoed by the mass media > > and endorsed by the leadership of the Democratic Party. > > > Few bother to point out that not a single Israeli was killed by the > > homemade rockets that supposedly justified Israel launching its Gaza > > bombardments and killing 300 (one Israeli died in a rocket attack > > afterwards.) Such a disproportionate response is hardly an aberration. > > During the last eight years, barely a score of Israelis have died in > > rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. During the same period, Israeli > > forces have killed nearly 5,000 Palestinians. > > > Nor is there much concern over the fact that Israel chose to launch > > its bombing in the most crowded and desperately poor urban area on the > > face of the earth precisely at the hour that schoolchildren were > > making their way home. Under these conditions, ritualistic US > > statements urging Israel to "avoid civilian casualties" amount to > > mocking the victims. > > > Having maligned an entire people as "thugs," the White House has given > > the green light for a bloodbath. More importantly, it has provided the > > indispensable resources for carrying out this crime, assuring Israel > > more than $3 billion a year in US military aid and supplying the IDF > > with the deadly tools of its trade—F-16 fighter jets, Apache attack > > helicopters, TOW and Hellfire missiles and the fuel and spare parts > > needed to keep them in operation. > > > The dispatches from inside Gaza provide a graphic accounting of what > > Washington got for its arms and money. > > > Safa Joudeh, a freelance journalist in Gaza City, writes: "There were > > piles and piles of bodies in the locations that were hit. As you > > looked at them you could see that a few of the young men were still > > alive, someone lifts a hand, and another raises his head. They > > probably died within moments because their bodies were burned, most > > had lost limbs, some of their guts were hanging out and they were all > > lying in pools of blood." > > > Ewa Jasiewicz reports from Gaza: "We saw a bearded man, on a stretcher > > on the floor of an intensive care unit, shaking and shaking, > > involuntarily, legs rigid and thrusting downwards. A spasm coherent > > with a spinal chord injury. Would he ever walk again or talk again? In > > another unit, a baby girl, no older than six months, had shrapnel > > wounds to her face. A relative lifted a blanket to show us her fragile > > bandaged leg. Her eyes were saucer-wide and she was making stilted, > > repetitive, squeaking sounds." > > > The Israeli newspaper Haaretz carried a report from its correspondent > > on the scene: "Relatives search among the bodies and the wounded in > > order to bring the dead quickly to burial. A mother whose three school- > > age children were killed, and are piled one on top of the other in the > > morgue, screams and then cries, screams again and then is silent." > > > The New York Times, hardly known for its sympathy for the > > Palestinians, acknowledged: "Still, there was a shocking quality to > > Saturday's attacks, which began in broad daylight as police cadets > > were graduating, women were shopping at the outdoor market, and > > children were emerging from school. > > > "The center of Gaza City was a scene of chaotic horror, with rubble > > everywhere, sirens wailing, and women shrieking as dozens of mutilated > > bodies were laid out on the pavement and in the lobby of Shifa > > Hospital so that family members could identify them. The dead included > > civilians, including several construction workers and at least two > > children in school uniforms." > > > This is not self-defense; it is premeditated mass murder. The aim of > > the "shock and awe" campaign, as the assault on Gaza is widely > > described in Israel, is similar to that conducted by the US against > > Iraq—regime change. > > > Neither the Zionist regime nor Washington accepted the victory of > > Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian election—hailed by the Bush > > administration (before the results were known) as part of a flowering > > of democracy in the Middle East wrought by American militarism. > > > In response, the US and its Israeli ally did their best to provoke a > > Palestinian civil war and military coup and, when this proved > > ineffective in ousting Hamas from power in Gaza, subjected the > > territory's one-and-a-half million people to relentless collective > > punishment. They imposed a siege that choked off supplies of food, > > medicine, potable water and electricity, condemning masses of people > > to poverty, unemployment, hunger and disease. The present killing > > represents a qualitative escalation of this merciless policy of making > > life for the people of Gaza so intolerable that the Hamas regime would > > fall. > > > The New York Times Sunday gave a concise analysis of the real > > relationship between the Israeli blockade and the rocket attacks from > > Gaza. The siege, it stated, had led to "the near death of the Gazan > > economy," adding, "While enough food has gone in to avoid starvation, > > the level of suffering is very high and getting worse every week." > > > Hamas had entered a cease-fire with Israel in a bid to reopen trade > > and alleviate this suffering. While the rocket attacks, supposedly > > Israel's main concern, fell "dramatically in the fall to 15 to 20 a > > month from hundreds a month," the Times noted, "Israel said it would > > not permit trade to begin again because the rocket fire had not > > completely stopped..." It was this intransigence that led to the > > collapse of the Israeli-Hamas cease-fire. > > > From the outset, Israeli actions have been motivated not by concerns > > for security, but rather by political aims. In the first instance, > > there is the desire to oust the Hamas administration in Gaza. Also in > > play are the desires of the Zionist establishment and military to > > offset the humiliation they suffered in Lebanon in 2006. > > > For Washington, support for and direct complicity in Israeli war > > crimes is bound up with a wider strategic policy of creating a new > > order in the Middle East, one designed to assure undisputed US > > domination of the region and its oil wealth. Israel represents the > > junior partner in this bloody venture and is allowed to satisfy its > > aggressive appetites because they are seen as furthering US > > imperialist interests. > > > Regime change in Gaza is viewed by US policymakers as a steppingstone > > to similar changes elsewhere, particularly in Syria and Iran. Indeed, > > the unfolding events in Gaza foreshadow a broader intervention in the > > Middle East and the threat of a new war against Iran. > > > It is not, it must be noted, merely a question of the US and Israel. > > The assault on Gaza has enjoyed the direct or tacit support of the > > Arab bourgeois regimes, in the first instance that of Egypt, which has > > set up machineguns on its border with Gaza to shoot down fleeing > > Palestinians. The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority of President > > Mahmoud Abbas has likewise offered justifications for Israel's crimes. > > > The Bush administration has pursued its policy in the Middle East with > > relentless violence for the past eight years. There is no indication, > > however, that it will fundamentally change with the transfer of the > > White House to President-elect Barack Obama in less than a month. > > > Obama has maintained a discreet silence on Gaza, while consulting with > > Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from his vacation home in Hawaii. > > His aides have complacently insisted that there is "one president at a > > time" and it would be inappropriate for the advocate of "change we can > > believe in" to voice an opinion on the slaughter being carried out > > with US-supplied warplanes, bombs and missiles. > > > Elements of the Zionist establishment in Israel have voiced suspicion > > about Obama's policies, and there have been some suggestions that his > > approaching January 20 inauguration may have played a role in the > > timing of the Israeli assault. > > > It strains credulity, however, that Israel would have carried out its > > actions without prior consultations not only with the Bush > > administration, but with the Obama camp as well. Rather than trying to > > push through its Gaza attack out of fear of a less sympathetic > > environment in Washington after Obama enters the White House, it is > > far more likely that the Israeli government was doing Obama a favor by > > carrying out a crime that he supported before he had to take public > > responsibility for it. > > > The reality is that the Democratic president-elect has sworn to > > maintain US support for > > ... > > read more » --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
