Israeli defense chief calls pilots traitors

[Resistance]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

JERUSALEM -- Israel's defense minister rebuked 27 air force pilots Monday, accusing them of aiding the enemy after they declared in a petition last week they no longer would carry out what they called "immoral and illegal" combat operations in Palestinian territories.

The petition was the first time in Israel's history that a group of air force pilots, traditionally considered the nation's most elite warriors, announced they would refuse to carry out orders.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Monday that the petition amounted to no more than "pretentious sniveling," adding, "Providing terrorists with immunity makes peace harder to attain."

During the following debate, lawmakers of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's right-wing Likud Party called the pilots traitors and said their dissent was tantamount to treason.

(snipped the rest)

[Brucey]

1. It's about time that military people spoke out against

illegal and immoral orders from sadistic, madmen civilian leaders. If only more American soldiers would do the same. Of course, the American sheeple think the soldiers will go to hell if they don't robotically follow every damn order given by Cheney, Rumsass, and other psychos. They MUST follow orders... it's the American way!

[T Wolf]

2. one would think

that Israelis, of all people, would be wary of wanting soldiers to "just follow orders" without question.

[Flying_Pig]

3. Traitors? They should look in the mirror!

It is those Israelis who have signed up with, and support the fascist Likud, that are the traitors. They have taken what could have been, and was supposed to be, a fully democratic nation, a beacon of hope in the Middle East, and turned it into a fascist-military-imperialistic republic, despised by much of the world. So who's the traitors here?

The Israelis, as we need to do here, needs to round up their betrayers of democracy, and try THEM for treason! Were there justice, our PNAC'er-fascist oligarchists here, would join their Likud allies in chains, and perhaps, someday there will be justice.

[Violet_Crumble]

4. The world needs more traitors..

Anyone who refuses to harm innocent civilians and views it as immoral and illegal deserves respect and praise, not the panicked smearing that the Israeli govt seems to be dishing out on them. The insistance that they must blindly follow every order seems to be overlooking the point that when it comes to war-crimes, the 'I was just following orders' excuse isn't an excuse and the war-crimes tribunals at the end of WWII didn't allow it as a defence...

Violet...

[Brucey]

5. Thanks Violet. Agreed!

[tinnypriv]

6. It's still 27, but yet another change

Another pilot withdrew support today with a letter in Yediot Aharonot.

Another signed up.