Ah yes. The only time anything in war/illegal occupations/invasions is considered a war crime is when it’s not Israel or the United States doing it. See? If you’re not Israel or the United States, then you are a war criminal and committing war crimes, even if there’s evidence to the contrary. It’s okay for Israel to purposely target a UN shelter full of children under the guise, “But Hamas is hiding in there! They always do this! We just know they are!”, even though, the UN specifically gave the coordinates of it’s shelter to Israel so Israel would not target them. Oh, but if you’re the Propaganda Machine of the Middle East as Israel is (they got good practice from the Bush Regime now didn’t they?!), then you try to convince the world that every death is needed to get some peace and proceed to lie your ass off about that pesky war crime that just happened!
Not one Hamas militant died in this UN school attack by Israel. How come? And isn’t it strange that not one Hamas militant member was killed yesterday and it was only civilians who did?
Who said Israel wasn’t as good as George Bush in the propaganda department! Shame on you for even thinking these two weren’t two peas in a pod! “America does not torture”, said George Bush with a twinkle in his eye.
Spit.
Letter to Rice from Dennis Kucinich:
Dear Dr. Rice:
I am writing concerning Israel’s military offensive against Gaza, which began on December 27th. I support Israel’s security and its right to exist in peace, without the fear of rocket attacks from Hamas. Moreover, I abhor the violence being visited upon the citizens of our firm ally. However, no nation is immune from the legal conditions placed on the receipt of U.S. military assistance. I believe that with the current escalation of violence in Gaza, a legal threshold has been reached, warranting a Presidential examination and report to Congress. I hereby request an examination of Israel’s compliance with the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA).[1]
While neither the AECA nor the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) define “internal security” and “legitimate self-defense,” I believe that Israel’s most recent attacks neither further internal security nor do they constitute “legitimate” acts of self-defense. They do, however, “increase the possibility of an outbreak or escalation of conflict,” because they are a vastly disproportionate response to the provocation, and because the Palestinian population is suffering from those military attacks in numbers far exceeding Israeli losses in life and property.
Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza has inflicted a significant toll on Palestinian civilians and society. Israel’s recent aerial and ground offensive against Gaza has killed nearly 600 and injured over 2,500. The Associated Press reported: “children are paying the price. . . . The United Nations has said the death toll includes 34 children. . . . But the broad range of Israel’s targets–police compounds, fire stations, homes of militants, Hamas-run mosques and university buildings–means most shelling is occurring in residential areas.”[2] The extensive destruction of such civilian institutions violates Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the wanton destruction of property and collective punishment of a civilian population. There have also been reports of bombings of United Nations (UN) schools, despite the fact that Israeli Defense Forces were allegedly given coordinates of the facilities prior to the current escalation in violence.[3][4] The blockade that Israel has imposed on Gaza since 2006 has further exacerbated the extent of collateral damage, as hospitals and morgues have been unable to cope with the magnitude of deaths and injuries as a result of the current escalation in violence and hospitals lack proper supplies needed to treat the injured.
I believe that Israel’s use of defense articles provided by the U.S in the current Gaza military attacks may constitute a violation of the AECA. At a minimum, the conflict is sufficient to warrant an immediate report to Congress as required by 22 U.S.C. §2753. Please contact my office by close of business on January 7, 2009 with the date the report will be submitted.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Kucinich
Member of Congress
Israel knows it has the unconditional support of virtually every politician in America, so they can do anything they want (including war crimes) and get away with it.
Yes, I think you are right, but I am hoping that PE Obama will now see things in a new light after all this uproar over this latest crisis.
Our policy has to change, it can’t go on like this indefinitely with the whole world watching and even they have the guts to condemn Israel. He made that statement about talking to enemies and as well as our friends…well, I think that time has come and we have to speak to Hamas.
Israel can’t be controlling the situation anymore and I think PE Obama needs to make that perfectly clear to them.
Carol, exactly! Something needs to be done over there and if we look back over the last 8 years, nothing was done under George Bush because he was focused ONLY on Iraq during that time (including before 9/11/01). That said, Israel and the Bush Regime were obviously conspiring together (and still are) and this could be why we rarely if ever heard anything on the news about Israel.
Remember the wing-nuts version of IOWARDI (It’s OK when a republican does it)?
Well they have a corollary for Israel and their own deluded neo-cons;
IOWIDI (It’s OK when Israel does it)
…… any similarity to hypocrisy, double standards, or outright war crimes are to be ignored by the wingnut rules see above.