US weapons 'killing innocent civilians' in Gaza

[G_j]

OK, they spend our money on Afghanistan, Iraq, Halliburton, Blackwater...
now, we get to pay for blowing Gaza to pieces,
war, war, killing, war, and more killing.......is that what our money is good for?
it is absolutely criminal.


http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CNN_U.S._weapons_create_Gaza_civilian_0102.html

CNN: US weapons 'killing innocent civilians' in Gaza
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Friday January 2, 2009


As Israeli warplanes continue to bomb Gaza, attention is turning to the role of American-made weapons in the deadly attacks, which have now killed over 400 and wounded 2000, including many civilians.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr believes that Israel's use of American weapons against civilians "is becoming very problematic." She notes, for example, that the 2000 pound bomb which killed a Hamas leader and members of his family on Thursday "is part of the billions of dollars that Israel has spent buying weapons from the United States."

Israel's use of American-made weapons in attacking Gaza has been a matter of official concern for years. In 2002, the State Department announced it was monitoring possible violations of the Arms Export Control Act after the Israeli military used an American-made jet to drop a laser-guided bomb that killed a Hamas leader and 14 civilians in a crowded Gaza City neighborhood.

Just last September, Congress approved a $77 million dollar deal to sell a thousand Boeing GBU-39 bunker-buster "smart bombs" to Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that these small, GPS-guided missiles have now been used on underground tunnels and launchers in Gaza.

"Precision guided bombs are only precision in that they hit the target they are aimed at," Starr explained. "We're getting these civilian casualties. These weapons are supposed to be used for a country's self-defense. Israel, obviously, believes this is its self-defense against Hamas, but you see these civilian casualties. That's not why the US sells weapons abroad -- for the killing of innocent civilians."

"The world community only is going to stand for this for so long," continued Starr. "It's this reason that you're seeing people look for a political settlement." She added that Israel now intends to launch a ground campaign in Gaza to "get rid of Hamas once and for all," but -- as the US has learned in Iraq and Afghanistan -- it is impossible to wipe out an insurgency by military force along without first getting the civilian population on your side.

[madeline_con]

1. Now? We've been supplying death for years.

:(

[G_j]

2. yes, I know

who knows how many have died from our famous cluster bombs over the years, just one example

[AnOhioan]

3. I hope for a day when the sale of weaponry between nations...

is outlawed. Let the arms manufacturers, who profit from death and destruction, whine all they want. There is no reason for the US, China, France, or any nation to sell armaments, none whatsoever.

[OwnedByFerrets]

4. How can one be proud to be an american when we continue to

do this on a daily basis in the world.

[ShortnFiery]

5. I'm most ashamed of USA's supply of White Phosphorous munitions that literally "Shakes and Bakes"...

INCINERATES EVERYTHING that comes in contact with this HORRIFIC SUBSTANCE. :cry: :thumbsdown:

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=us_military_3197

US forces use white phosphorus (WP) gas munitions as incendiary weapons against human targets during its siege of Fallujah, Iraq. White phosphorus—also known as Willy Pete or Whiskey Pete—is used by the military for signaling, screening, and incendiary purposes. White phosphorus munitions, upon explosion, distribute the particles over a wide swath of area. It burns spontaneously in the air and will continue to burn until all white phosphorus particles have disappeared. Its smoke easily penetrates clothing and protective gear and can burn a person’s flesh to the bone. According to Jeff Englehart, a US soldier involved in the seige of Fallujah, “Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone.… Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 meters is done for.” “Poisonous gases have been used in Fallujah,” 35-year-old trader from Fallujah Abu Hammad tells reporter Dahr Jamail. “They used everything—tanks, artillery, infantry, poison gas. Fallujah has been bombed to the ground.” Another resident, Abu Sabah, from the Julan area, explains: “They used these weird bombs that put up smoke like a mushroom cloud. Then small pieces fall from the air with long tails of smoke behind them.” He says the pieces then explode into large fires that burn the skin even when water is applied. “People suffered so much from these,” he adds. Corroborating their accounts, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that some “Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin, a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns.” Kamal Hadeethi, a physician at a regional hospital, tells the newspaper, “The corpses of the mujahedeen which we received were burned, and some corpses were melted.”

http://www.asil.org/insights051206.cfm

WP Munitions Controversy

The use of WP munitions by U.S. military forces in Fallujah, and the response of the U.S. government to allegations of violations of international law, raise important international legal questions, the complexity of which has been lost in the media and Internet frenzy that the Italian documentary triggered. In all likelihood, the activities of U.S. military forces in Iraq and elsewhere will face heightened scrutiny in the aftermath of the WP controversy, including perhaps calls for independent investigations of the use of WP munitions in Fallujah and clarification of U.S. military doctrine on the future use of WP munitions.

[G_j]

6. violations of international law

seems to be the norm