Author: Dave

Fake faith and epic crimes

In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger describes a worldwide movement that is ‘challenging the once-sacrosanct notion that imperial politicians can destroy countless lives and retain an immunity from justice’. In Tony Blair’s case, justice inches closer.

These are extraordinary times. With the United States and Britain on the verge of bankruptcy and committing to an endless colonial war, pressure is building for their crimes to be prosecuted at a tribunal similar to that which tried the Nazis at Nuremberg. This defined rapacious invasion as “the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole”. International law would be mere farce, said the chief US chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, Supreme Court justice Robert Jackson, “if, in future, we do not apply its principles to ourselves”.

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Changing the rules of war

George Bisharat, professor of law at Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, writes, in the San Francisco Chronicle, that “what is less appreciated is how Israel is […] brutalizing international law, in ways that may long outlast the demolition of Gaza.”

The extent of Israel’s brutality against Palestinian civilians in its 22-day pounding of the Gaza Strip is gradually surfacing. Israeli soldiers are testifying to lax rules of engagement tantamount to a license to kill. One soldier commented: “That’s what is so nice, supposedly, about Gaza: You see a person on a road, walking along a path. He doesn’t have to be with a weapon, you don’t have to identify him with anything and you can just shoot him.”

What is less appreciated is how Israel is also brutalizing international law, in ways that may long outlast the demolition of Gaza.

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Riz Khan – Chas Freeman and the Israeli lobby

Charles “Chas” Freeman was selected last month by the administration of Barak Obama, the US president, for one of the country’s top intelligence jobs, chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

Within hours, pro-Israel advocates launched a major offensive to make sure Freeman’s appointment did not stand.

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Ali The Don – Arab Blood

Ali’s The Don’s debut music video for his hard hitting single “Arab Blood”.  An inspiring track starting with a great Malcolm X quote: If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ”freedom” out of your vocabulary.  For more see Ali the Don’s Myspace or Facebook.

Chomsky On Gaza

Noam Chomsky interviewed by Christiana Voniati.

Voniati: The international public opinion and especially the Muslim world seem to have great expectations from the historic election of Obama. Can we, in your opinion, expect any real change regarding the US approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

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This counter-terror plan is in ruins. Try one that works

Seumas Milne writes that “ministers want Muslims to accept shared values. Luckily they already do, including opposition to wars of aggression.”

The British government’s brand new counter-terrorism strategy is already in disarray – and ministers have only themselves to blame. The souped-up plan to fight al-Qaida, confound dirty bombers, halt suicide attacks and confront “extremism” in the country’s Muslim community was unveiled by the prime minister with much fanfare on Tuesday. But even before the 175-page “Contest 2” document had been launched, the credibility of its promise to engage with the Muslim mainstream had been thrown into question by the decision of Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, to cut all links with the Muslim Council of Britain.

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Tom Hurndall: A brave man who stood alone

Tom Hurndall was murdered by the IDF in Gaza.   Mr Hurndall’s father described a “culture of impunity” saying “they just lied continuously … it was a case of them shooting civilians and then making up a story. And they were not used to being challenged.”  Now as Hurndall’s journals are to be published Robert Fisk writes “I wish I had met Tom Hurndall, a remarkable man of remarkable principle.”

I don’t know if I met Tom Hurndall. He was one of a bunch of “human shields” who turned up in Baghdad just before the Anglo-American invasion in 2003, the kind of folk we professional reporters make fun of. Tree huggers, that kind of thing. Now I wish I had met him because – looking back over the history of that terrible war – Hurndall’s journals (soon to be published) show a remarkable man of remarkable principle. “I may not be a human shield,” he wrote at 10.26 on 17 March from his Amman hotel. “And I may not adhere to the beliefs of those I have travelled with, but the way Britain and America plan to take Iraq is unnecessary and puts soldiers’ lives above those of civilians. For that I hope that Bush and Blair stand trial for war crimes.”

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Campaign Against the Guardian

guardian230309Following the Guardian’s excellent feature Gaza War Crimes Investigation the Zionist Federation and Israeli Embassy have coordinated a disingenuous campaign against the paper.  The same story has also been picked up by ‘Honest’ Reporting and pro-Israel writers such as Melanie Philips whose article in the Spectator is embarrassingly titled The Guardian goes to Pallywood (I’m really surprised this clown gets her work published).

It’s worth remembering that the brutal assault on Gaza is a greater crime than any of the war crimes contained within it.  Noam Chomsky explains that “it is […] a mistake to concentrate too much on Israel’s gross violations of jus in bello, the laws designed to bar practices that are too savage. The invasion itself is a far more serious crime.” 

UN envoy, and expert on international law, Richard Falk agrees, describing the attack on Gaza as a war crime of the “greatest magnitude” stating it had no legal justification and may represent a “crime against peace”.  This is because Israel had not employed all peaceful options and ignored Hamas’s calls for a ceasefire based on an easing of the siege.  The siege is also an attack against the people of Gaza, a collective punishment that breaches Geneva conventions.  Clearly Israel’s action most certainly were not defensive; given Israel’s illegal occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands, it can only be seen as part of an ongoing aggressive policy. Continue reading “Campaign Against the Guardian”

The American Way of War

The Real News interviews Eugene Jarecki, the maker of the excellent film Why We Fight (watch it on Google Video).

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