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Glenn Greenwald on “Heinous and Repugnant Crime” of Israel
Killer Israel
As we remember the fallen today, one thing is clear: Our troops and Marines did not die for the vicious, hateful state of Israel.
President Obama: Time to show your cards on this issue.
Israel attacks aid ship, kills at least 10 civilians
Late last night, Israel attacked a flotilla of ships in international waters carrying food, medicine and other aid to Gaza, killing at least 10 civilians on board and injuring at least 30 more (many reports now put the numbers at 19 dead and 60 injured). The Israeli Defense Forces is claiming that its soldiers were attacked with clubs, knives and “handguns” when they boarded the ship without permission, but none of the Israeli soldiers were killed while two are reported injured. Those on the ships emphatically state that the IDF came on board shooting. An IDF spokesman said: ”Our initial findings show that at least 10 convoy participants were killed.”
The six-ship flotilla was carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid along with 600 people, all civilians, which included 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Northern Ireland, European legislators and an elderly Holocaust survivor, Hedy Epstein, 85. In December, 2008, Israel, citing rocket attacks from Hamas, launched a 22-day, barbaric attack on Gaza, bombarding a trapped population, killing hundreds of innocent civilians (1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed), and devastating Gazan society. A U.N. report released earlier this monthdocumented that, as a result of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt (the two largest recipients of U.S. aid), “[m]ost of the property and infrastructure damaged . . . was still unrepaired 12 months later.”
The flotilla attacked by Israel last night was carrying materials such as cement, water purifiers, and other building materials, much of which Israel refuses to let pass into Gaza. At the end of 2009, a U.N. report foundthat “insufficient food and medicine is reaching Gazans, producing a further deterioration of the mental and physicalhealth of the entire civilian population since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead against the territory,” and also “blamed the blockade for continued breakdowns of the electricity and sanitation systems due to the Israeli refusal to let spare parts needed for repair get through the crossings.”
It hardly seemed possible for Israel — after its brutal devastation of Gaza and its ongoing blockade — to engage in more heinous and repugnant crimes. But by attacking a flotilla in international waters carrying humanitarian aid, and slaughtering at least 10 people, Israel has managed to do exactly that. If Israel’s goal were to provoke as much disgust and contempt for it as possible, it’s hard to imagine how it could be doing a better job.
It is appropriate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuis scheduled to meet with President Obama on Tuesday in Washington, because — as always — it is only American protection of Israel that permits the Israelis to engage in conduct like this. Initial reports speculate that Netanyahuwould cancel that meeting in order to return to Israel in light of this attack. But there would be something quite symbolically appropriate about having the U.S. stand at the side of Israel in the aftermath of this latest massacre, because it is only the massive amounts of U.S. financial and military aid, and endless diplomatic protection, that enables Israel to act with impunity as a rogue and inhumane state. So complete is the devotion of the U.S. Congress to the mission of serving and protecting Israel that it even overwhelmingly condemned the Goldstone report, which found that Israel and Hamas had both commited war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity during the Israeli attack on Gaza (the U.S. Congress, of course, never condemned the Israeli war crimes themselves — only the Report which documented those crimes). Israeli actions are a direction reflection on, and by-product of, the U.S. Government, because it is the U.S. which enables and protects the behavior.
The one silver lining from these incidents is that the real face of Israel becomes increasingly revealed and undeniable. Not even the most intense propaganda systems can prettify a lethal military attack on ships carrying civilians and humanitarian aid to people living in some of the most wretched and tragic conditions anywhere in the world. It is crystal clear to anyone who looks what Israel has become, and the only question left is how will the rest of the world — beginning with their American patrons — will react.
As Americans suffer extreme cuts in education for their own children and a further deterioration in basic economic security (including Social Security), will they continue to acquiesce to the transfer of billions of dollars every year to the Israelis, who — unlike Americans — enjoy full, universal health care coverage? How is the revulsion justifiably provoked by this latest Israeli crime going to impact American efforts in the Muslim world (as but one of many examples to come, Al Jazeera reportsthat “Moqtada al-Sadr has called for a large anti-Israel rally across from the Green Zone in Baghdad”)? How much longer will Americans be willing to pay the extreme prices for its endlessly entangled “alliance” with its prime Middle Eastern client state, whose capacity for criminal and inhumane acts appears limitless?
* * * * *
On a day when the meaning of “heroism” is often discussed, the people on these ships who tried to deliver aid to Gazans, knowing that they could easily find themselves in a confrontation with the Israeli Navy but doing it anyway in order to bring attention to the extraordinary injustice and cruelty of the blockade, are pure, unadulterated heroes.
UPDATE: Regarding the blockade of Gaza itself — about which“Dov Weisglass, an adviser to Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister [said when it was first imposed]: ‘The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger’” — this post documents just some of the effects, with ample links to U.N. reports, including:
* since the intensification of the siege in June 2007, “the formal economy in Gaza has collapsed” (More than 80 UN and aid agencies[.pdf])
* ”61% of people in the Gaza Strip are … food insecure,” of which “65% are children under 18 years” (UN FAO)
* since June 2007, “the number of Palestine refugees unable to access food and lacking the means to purchase even the most basic items, such as soap, school stationery and safe drinking water, has tripled” (UNRWA)
* ”in February 2009, the level of anemia in babies (9-12 months) was as high as 65.5%” (UN FAO)
The Washington Post‘s Jackson Diehl, whose entire political world view is shaped by his devotion to Israel, today criticizes President Obamafor rejecting ”Bush’s conclusion that the promotion of democracy and human rights is inseparable from the tasks of defeating al-Qaedaand establishing a workable international order.” That’s ironic, because if “human rights” played any role whatsoever in American foreign policy, the massive American aid and other protection for Israel which Diehl cherishes above all else would instantaneously disappear.
UPDATE II: Just ponder what we’d be hearing if Iran had raided a humanitarian ship in international waters and killed 15 or so civilians aboard.
UPDATE III: One of the ships attacked by Israel belonged to a Turkish aid organization, and it’s been reported that among the dead are at least two Turks. Turkey today “warned that further supply vessels will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy.” Among other things, Turkey is a NATO member with increasing tensions with Israel. Its Prime Minister today condemned the Israeli action as “state terrorism.” Amidst worldwide protests aimed at Israel, along with possible internal unrest if (as has been reported) an Israeli Arab leader was among the wounded or dead, it’s possible that this incident could produce some serious unforeseen consequences for the Israelis.
UPDATE IV: So, to recap what seems thus far to be the central claim of Israel apologists: Israel is the official Owner of international waters (which is where the flotilla was when it was attacked). As such, they have the right to issue orders to ships in international waters, and everyone on board those ships is required to obey and submit. Anyone who fails to do so, or anyone in the vicinity of those who fail to do so, can be shot and killed and get what they deserve.
What’s so odd about that is that the U.S. has been spending a fair amount of time recently condemning exactly such acts as “piracy” and demanding ”that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes.” When exactly did Israel acquire the right not only to rule over Gaza and the West Bank, but international waters as well? Their rights as sovereign are expanding faster than the BP oil spill.
UPDATE V: Israel’s foreign minister is now actually claiming that attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza are “an attack on Israel’s sovereignty.” Is that supposed to be some kind of a joke? The only claim that I can recall that’s remotely comparable is when the U.S. General serving as Commander of Guantanamo condemnedsuicides by three detainees there as an “act of asymmetric warfare waged against us.” The U.S. and Israel are very adept at claiming victimhood: even when they’re killing large numbers of civilians and locking people up in cages with no charges, they’re the ones who are the suffering, wronged parties.
Thus, there are at least 10-20 dead passengers and 50-60 wounded on those ships — compared to no Israeli fatalities and virtually no wounded — but it’s the passengers, delivering humanitarian aid in international waters when Israel seized their ships, who are the aggressors and were “attacking Israeli sovereignty.” The only thing worse than this claim is how many apologists for Israel will start parroting it (see Andrew Sullivan on the claim that it was the passengers who were somehow the “aggressors”).
UPDATE VI: Among the countries condemning Israel for its attack are Russia, Turkey, India, China, Brazil, France, Spain and many more. By stark contrast, the White House issued a statement which conspicuously refused to condemn the Israelis (Obama “expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today’s incident, and concern for the wounded”), while the U.S. State Department actually hinted at condemning the civilians delivering the aid (“we support expanding the flow of goods to the people of Gaza. But this must be done in a spirit of cooperation, not confrontation”).
Obama’s call for “learning all the facts and circumstances” is reasonable enough, but all these other countries made clear that this attack could never be justified based on what is already indisputablyknown: namely, that the ship attacked by Israel was in international waters and it resulted in the deaths and injuries to dozens of civilians but no Israeli soldiers were killed and a tiny handful injured. In any event, Obama’s neutrality will have to give way to a definitive statement one way or the other, and soon.
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=33745
Posted by Yanira Farray on May 31 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Corruption, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Right Wingers will blindly claim Israel is the victim. They are just towing the party line! Obama knows Israel is a rogue state but he’s got the Zionist Gun to his head and he’s NOT Ghandi! We, the good American Taxpayer continue to pay for Terrorists Acts. Sadly, the US Taxpayer is GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION and we should all be indicted for crimes against humanity> But we won’t! And the USA will NOT do a dam thing about it because we are UNDER SEIGE by the Zionists here who buy our humanity and morality. We have no morality left! We are a gross disgusting once proud people who cannot stand for anything anymore! We stand for nothing! We are lost!
As an American I am deeply shamed by the support my own government has shown to the unacceptable behavior of Israel in the issue of Gaza, and now with the attack of those attempting to do the right thing and supply aide to those in danger of losing their lives to a lack of food and basic health care. I hope the rest of the world, not willfully blinded to the truth, will help these people that desperately require aide.
freedom activists dont come armed to the teeth. get some facts, not plagerise from arabic news
Published: 05.31.10, 15:44 /
Our Navy commandoes fell right into the hands of the Gaza mission members. A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of the elite Flotilla 13 unit.
The original plan was to disembark on the top deck, and from there rush to the vessel’s bridge and order the Marmara’s captain to stop.
Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation’s commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck. The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks, and tied to an antenna with the hopes of bringing the chopper down. However, Flotilla 13 fighters decided to carry on.
Navy commandos slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back.
However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paint ball rifles used to disperse minor protests, such as the ones held in Bilin. The paint balls obviously made no impression on the activists, who kept on beating the troops up and even attempted to wrest away their weapons.
One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandos were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations. When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other “don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” even though they sustained numerous blows.
‘I saw the tip of a rifle’
The Navy commandos were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters. The soldiers were told they were to verbally convince activists who offer resistance to give up, and only then use paint balls. They were permitted to use their handguns only under extreme circumstances.
The planned rush towards the vessel’s bridge became impossible, even when a second chopper was brought in with another crew of soldiers. “Throw stun grenades,” shouted Flotilla 13’s commander who monitored the operation. The Navy chief was not too far, on board a speedboat belonging to Flotilla 13, along with forces who attempted to climb into the back of the ship.
The forces hurled stun grenades, yet the rioters on the top deck, whose number swelled up to 30 by that time, kept on beating up about 30 commandos who kept gliding their way one by one from the helicopter.
At one point, the attackers nabbed one commando, wrested away his handgun, and threw him down from the top deck to the lower deck, 30 feet below. The soldier sustained a serious head wound and lost his consciousness.
Only after this injury did Flotilla 13 troops ask for permission to use live fire. The commander approved it: You can go ahead and fire. The soldiers pulled out their handguns and started shooting at the rioters’ legs, a move that ultimately neutralized them. Meanwhile, the rioters started to fire back at the commandos.
“I saw the tip of a rifle sticking out of the stairwell,” one commando said. “He fired at us and we fired back. We didn’t see if we hit him. We looked for him later but couldn’t find him.” Two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds to their knee and stomach after rioters apparently fired at them using guns wrested away from troops.
2 errors
During the commotion, another commando was stabbed with a knife. In a later search aboard the Marmara, soldiers found caches of bats, clubs, knives, and slingshots used by the rioters ahead of the IDF takeover. It appeared the activists were well prepared for a fight.
Some passengers on the ship stood at the back and pounded the soldiers’ hands as they attempted to climb on board. Only after a 30-minute shoot-out and brutal assaults using clubs and knifes did commandos manage to reach the bridge and take over the Marmara.
It appears that the error in planning the operation was the estimate that passengers were indeed political activists and members of humanitarian groups who seek a political provocation, but would not resort to brutal violence.
The soldiers thought they will encounter Bilin-style violence; instead, they got Bangkok. The forces that disembarked from the helicopters were few; just dozens of troops – not enough to contend with the large group awaiting them.
The second error was that commanders did not address seriously enough the fact that a group of men were expecting the soldiers on the top deck.
Had they addressed this more seriously, they may have hurled tear-gas grenades and smoke grenades from the helicopter to create a screen that would have enabled them to carry out their mission, without the fighters falling right into the hands of the rioters, who severely assaulted them.
VIN you miss the greater point. Sir, you, we in the USA are on the wrong side of morality and standing the wrong side of history. Sadly, I am indicting you for Crimes Against Humanity! You’re Guilty and every taxpayer in the US is now guilty!
Vin,
The blockade of Gaza by Israel is illegal under international law – rejected by the United Nations. The attack by military personnel of non-military personnel is illegal. A military assault in international waters is a violation of international law. No matter the facts afterward…the Israelis were acting illegally by attacking these vessels carrying non-military personnel from several nations from around the world. Perhaps these people aboard the flotilla were exercising “self-defense” – an argument that Israel likes to use all too often. Israel’s biggest mistake was attacking civilians from the international community on a ship sent by a member of NATO. They need to release these people immediately – unless Israel wants to add kidnapping to its long list of heinous acts.
Mokkak, quoting international to a criminal is a waste of time. I appreciate your kind gesture but I insist that VIN like myself be indicted for conspiracy to commit terrorism against humanity. As US Taxpayers, we are guilty by association and since, our people do NOT listen to international law unless it’s convenient, we must be taken to jail and put on trial. This is the only way to help the world rid itself of our crimes by the gun….We are guilty!
Glenn, nice work. It is well past time for better journalists such as yourself to face the issue of Israeli involvement in 9/11. Dr. Alan Sabrosky has recently concluded that Israel pulled off 9/11. As the former Director of the Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, his views should be widely known and discussed. There’s an interview with him here http://iamthewitness.com/audio/Dr.Alan.Sobrosky/TiU.TFC.SMITH.OGNIR.Dr.Alan.Sabrosky.29-03-2010.mp3
Please don’t dismiss the topic. The evidence dwarfs the rubbish put out by the MSM pre and post-waterboarding of “KSM.” A collection is available at http://theinfounderground.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5367.
Mr. Henry,
Dr. Sabrosky is not, in fact, a former Director of the Strategic Studies Institute. His association with SSI ended more than two decades ago. To the best of my knowledge, all of the current staff at SSI consider the allegation that Israel was responsible for the 9/11 attacks to be bizarre and delusional.
Mr. Metz, I’ll confirm what you say, but I’m far more interested in facts such as:
a) the Kurzberg brothers filming, celebrating, and posing for photos with the WTC in the background (with cigarette lighter held aloft – see NYT 20 Nov 2001)
b) the role of Israeli owned ICTS in airport security at Newark, Logan, and, more recently Amsterdam’s Schipol airports where obviously questionable “passengers” board
c) the free fall collapse of three skyscrapers. As Dr. Sabrosky has said, “if one was wired, they all were” which is undeniable
d) Israel’s long history of false flag terror attacks: King David Hotel, Lavon Affair, USS Liberty, attacks on Jews in Iraq, etc. to name a few
e) Mr. Silverstein’s insurance windfall following the attacks, his prescient planning “in case” the WTC ever was taken down, his absence from work on 9/11, his son’s absence from work on 9/11, his daughter’s absence from work on 9/11
I could go on. “To the best of your knowledge” is holding zero water if you attempt to suggest that anything besides the official story is “bizarre” or “delusional”.
Mr. Metz, I should add that I have NO doubt that the current Director and staff are silent and complicit in ignoring the facts. Congress has failed the survivors of the USS Liberty attack for 53 years. Better yet, they pledge there undying support (and our financial) to the criminal state of Israel. You should give Ben Freedman a listen. It’s here http://iamthewitness.com/archive.php?dir=audio%2FBenjamin.H.Freedman%2FWillard.Hotel.1961%2F
His Seven US Presidents-Jewish Pawns might as be helpful (http://iamthewitness.com/audio/Benjamin.H.Freedman/Seven.U.S.Presidents-Jewish.Pawns.htm)
Sabrosky claimed that his “contacts” indicated that it is well known among the American “military brass” that Israel was behind 9/11. If you find it believable that the many tens of thousands of people with better and more up to date information than Dr. Sabrosky are all “complicit” and one guy who was a professor at the Army War College 25 years ago somehow found and revealed the truth, knock yourself out. I do hope you understand, though, why reasonable people find that story a bit, shall we say, far fetched.
Mr. Metz, if you visit http://www.patriotsquestion911.com you’ll find plenty of reasonable, highly qualified people with lots of legitimate questions the official theory cannot explain. Sabrosky may have been at the War College 25 years ago, but was qualified to be there.
What facts have you to offer? I’ve listed a few which you didn’t respond to.
Any idea why Voltaire called the Jews the greatest pack of liars in history (I paraphrase)? I grew up thinking they were paragons of virtue and intellect but have been disabused of that nonsense.
As I mentioned, Sabrosky’s assertion requires that tens or hundreds of thousands of people who have better and more up to date information than him (including me) are “complicit.” If you find that persuasive, I suggest that your tinfoil hat is on too tight.
And no court or jury of sane people on earth would accept the idea that the things you listed somehow make a persuasive case that the September 11 attacks were undertaken by the government of Israel.
Mr. Leon
A lot of people complaining they can’t post here, being knocked off the message at the bottom here appeared on one of them. I had to use my big computer to post this. I think it is going through. Check mate zios.
f anyone who hasn’t figured it out yet about our unbreakable bond the politicians have with these people who are addicted to American tax money and we are going to fight the war that is never going to end with them, here is the way it is.
“Our race is the Master Race. We Jews are divine gods on this planet. We are as different from the inferior races as they are from insects. In fact, compared to our race, other races are beasts and animals, cattle at best. Other races are considered as human excrement. Our destiny is to rule over the inferior races. Our earthly kingdom will be ruled by our leader with a rod of iron. The masses will lick our feet and serve us as our slaves.” (Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in a speech to the Knesset [Israeli Parlament], quoted by Amnon Kapeliouk, “Begin and the Beasts,” New Statesman, June 25, 1982)”
See that means you can go in international water and kill anybody you want no questions asked. The western policiticians go on vacation so they don’t say anything to offend their masters.
They can have their mason buddies put wifi towers next to your house, fry you with terrahertz wave at airport security, steal your organs, have Hitachi make up micro chips so small you won’t know the dentist is giving you one. Tell you to inject your children with them so they can go to school. spread corexit in your seafood supplies, poison your oceans with oil, just knowing nobody is going to do shit. Because he has the gold makes the rules.
I am surprised they didn’t come up with a film of binny laden hiding in the closest of the peace flotilla.
You have selected to delete the file ‘Israel’ and all its contents.
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Hmm whats this plug for…
ZAP
Checkmate; Israel
take a pill
Arabs are people.
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The world is calling for international investigation yet our U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff at the UN today made no mention of an international probe, saying: “We expect a credible and transparent investigation and strongly urge the Israeli government to investigate the incident fully.”
The killers investigating themselves? Really? Wow! LOL! This would be funny if it wasn’t so serious!
You know, a long time ago during WWII we stood for something. Today, we stand for NOTHING!
vin, you’re nothing more than a zionist fuckhead and a a shit brained jew ass licker. Go jack off into your yarmulka while you watch jew child porn.
Fuck you and fuck israhell. I hope this next time Turkey blows the israhelli navy right out of the water, which they no doubt can accomplish.
Oh how I would love to see these murdering piece of shit jew bastards get what they deserve.
The world is turning against that zionist toilet in the middleast and soon we can flush it down with the rest of the shit.
JohnZ, oh how I enjoy your telling us how you really feel!!!
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