Newsgroup: it.politica.pds
Titolo: The War Crimes Charges Against U.S./NATO

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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 12, 1999
issue of Workers World newspaper
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"WE ACCUSE U.S./NATO": THE WAR CRIMES CHARGES
By Gary Wilson
The Independent Commission of Inquiry into U.S. and NATO
War Crimes Against the People of Yugoslavia released its
initial findings July 30.
A 70-plus-page digest of the findings was made available
at the opening session of the Commission of Inquiry in New
York the next day.
The digest details a wide range of war crimes, though the
report is not yet complete. Most of the key investigators
believe that a great many more crimes have been committed.
Their work in uncovering these crimes has been greatly
hindered by the refusal of the U.S. government and NATO
officials to release all relevant documents and information.
Instead, all of the research results are dependent on the
slower but probably more accurate process of getting
information from the people affected by the war. This
includes civilians and soldiers in Yugoslavia as well as
U.S. and NATO military personnel who are not officers.
The military officers and civilian political leaders of
the imperialist powers are the ones who have the most to
cover up. They are the least reliable sources of information
about what happened during the war.
Research is also continuing through other independent
sources.
U.S. war propaganda was so pervasive that many in the
United States are unaware that much of what U.S. and NATO
military forces did during the war constitutes war crimes.
There are specific laws and conventions that are defined for
war that are meant to limit warfare to military objectives
and to minimize civilian damage.
For example, bombing any civilian target such as an oil
refinery or a passenger train for any reason, intentional or
unintentional, is a criminal act. Not only did the U.S.
generals order the bombing of civilian targets--many times
they purposely chose to bomb at times that would maximize
civilian deaths.
The selected initial findings released July 30 were
included in a document that had 15 chapters. Following are
summaries of those chapters:
1. NATO OCCUPATION OF KOSOVO
With U.S. and NATO forces now occupying Kosovo, a reign of
terror and murder is being directed against the minority
Serb and Roma populations as well as pro-Yugoslav ethnic
Albanians, who are being killed as "collaborators" with the
Yugoslav government.
Those being targeted by the so-called Kosovo Liberation
Army acting under U.S. and NATO military protection are the
same constellation of forces that constituted the anti-
fascist Partisan movement that defeated Hitler's massive
invasion of the Balkans 50 years ago.
In fact, the Yugoslav government has been subjected to
almost a decade of sanctions as well as war directed by the
United States government because the current government was
born from that Partisan struggle. Yugoslavia is the last of
the socialist governments that emerged in Eastern Europe
after World War II.
2. NATO'S SPONSORSHIP OF KOSOVO LIBERATION ARMY
The so-called Kosovo Liberation Army is really a mercenary
army that acted as agents for NATO both in provoking
incidents that were used to justify the U.S./NATO invasion
and as a NATO ground force during the war.
The KLA is completely dependent on foreign funding and
materiel for its existence. Most of the funds were funneled
through drug trafficking, much like the CIA funding of the
contras in the war against Nicaragua in the 1980s.
Like other similar fascist forces, the KLA is brazenly
racist. Its only publicly stated goal is to purge Kosovo of
all minorities, particularly the Serbian and Roma peoples.
3. U.S. CONSPIRACY TO OVERTHROW YUGOSLAV GOVERNMENT
The U.S. government has been engaged in a concerted
campaign to overthrow the legally elected government of
Yugoslavia. Reports indicate that President Bill Clinton has
authorized the CIA to take any action needed to topple the
government of Slobodan Milosevic.
The U.S. government is actively engaging in operations
designed to promote instability in the former Yugoslavia for
the apparent purpose of taking over the region.
4. DAMAGE TO CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE
During the 78-day bombing campaign, U.S. military and NATO
forces specifically targeted schools, hospitals, farms,
bridges, roads, railways, water lines, communications
facilities, factories, industries and other objects
necessary for the basic functioning of society.
The outright destruction of numerous economic facilities
has deprived hundreds of thousands of workers of their jobs,
with over 2 million more left completely without income or
other means of support.
Civilian damage was increased dramatically by the use of
exceptionally destructive ammunition, including ones banned
by international conventions.
The civilian infrastructure was intentionally targeted by
U.S. and NATO military commanders. This is shown in the
following quote from NATO Lt. Gen. Michael Short: "I think
no power to your refrigerator, no gas to your stove, you
can't get to work because the bridge is down--the bridge on
which you hold your rock concerts and you all stood with
targets on your heads. That needs to disappear at 3:00 in
the morning." (International Herald Tribune, May 14)
5. DESTRUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Among the targets NATO hit were oil refineries,
petrochemical plants, chemical fertilizer factories, fuel
storage tanks and power plants. The bombing strikes against
these industries caused a severe environmental crisis in
Yugoslavia.
The quantity of explosives dropped on Yugoslavia during
the war equaled the yield of several Hiroshima-type A-bombs.
Among the weapons used by the U.S. military and NATO forces
were several types of internationally outlawed explosives:
cluster bombs, gravity bombs and graphite bombs.
In addition, the United States and Britain continued to
use bullets, missiles and bombs tipped with deplete uranium,
or DU. These weapons were first introduced in the U.S. war
on Iraq.
These weapons use radioactive waste products and are
extremely toxic to humans.
NATO-created environmental damage is not limited to
Yugoslavia. Many of the chemical plants and oil refineries
bombed by NATO were on the banks of the Danube River or its
tributaries. The damage is expected to spread to all the
countries downstream--Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and
Ukraine. More than 10 million people depend on the Danube
for their drinking water.
6. DAMAGE TO AGRICULTURE
In testimony published in the Spanish weekly Articulo 20,
a pilot described what the NATO bombers were doing. Capt.
Adolfo Luis Martin de la Hoz, who returned to Spain at the
end of May after having participated in the bombings since
the beginning, said: times our colonel protested to NATO
chiefs about why they select targets that are not military
targets.
"Once there was a coded order from the North American
military that we should drop anti-personnel bombs over the
cities of Pristina and Nis. All of the missions that we
flew, each and every one, were planned in detail, including
attacking planes, targets and type of ammunition, by high-
ranking U.S. military authorities.
"They are destroying the country, bombing it with new
weapons, toxic nerve gases, surface mines dropped by
parachute, bombs containing uranium, napalm, sterilization
chemicals, poison sprays on crops, and using weapons that we
still do not know about."
With the destruction of crops, fertilizer plants, forests
and other agriculture-related facilities and resources, the
food-making capacity of Yugoslavia has been cut by at least
25 percent.
7. DESTRUCTION OF EDUCATIONAL  FACILITIES
More than 400 schools and facilities for students and
children were destroyed or damaged. Most of the educational
institutions that were bombed were elementary schools. Over
300 elementary schools were hit. The second most frequent
target was pre-school facilities.
The schools for 100,000 children were destroyed beyond
repair.
8. DAMAGE TO CIVILIAN HEALTH
At least a dozen hospitals and health-care institutions
were partially damaged or totally destroyed by NATO bombs.
In addition, the extensive damage to the economic
infrastructure and the environment has created a public-
health crisis.
In the coming winter months, the people of Yugoslavia are
faced with the problems of safe drinking water, shelter,
heating and food. They face a possible outbreak of dysentery
from contaminated drinking water and eating contaminated
food. Lack of shelter and heat can lead to an epidemic of
acute respiratory infections.
9. DESTRUCTION OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SITES
U.S. and NATO officials engaged in the willful destruction
of institutions dedicated to religion, charity, works of art
and sciences as well as historical monuments.
Churches, monasteries, mosques, forts, fortresses,
monuments, cemeteries, memorials, archeological sites,
museums and various historic or cultural sites and their
contents were damaged and even destroyed by NATO bombs.
In addition to the structural damage, priceless and
irreplaceable ancient frescos, literature, art, artifacts
and relics in many churches and monasteries were damaged or
placed in a condition that prevents their safe preservation.
These cultural and historic sites had survived the Nazi
bombing campaign during World War II, but not the widespread
NATO bombing campaign.
10. DESTRUCTION OF THE YUGOSLAV MEDIA
On the orders of the U.S. general command, NATO forces
destroyed the Serbian state television headquarters in
downtown Belgrade on April 23. Twenty civilian employees
were killed; many more were wounded.
U.S./NATO bombs destroyed at least 10 private radio and
television stations, and 36 TV transmitters.
NATO officials said that the Serbian media centers were
hit because they refused to drop their regular programming
and replace it with NATO war propaganda. The Serbian state
television was hit because it had become the primary source
for news that exposed the death and suffering caused by
NATO's bombing campaign.
Only days before the bombing, NATO Air Commander David
Wilby announced that unless the Yugoslav media stopped
showing such reports and replaced it with six hours of U.S.-
created programming, the media infrastructure would be
destroyed.
11. USE OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS
The use of cluster bombs is a prohibited act of war under
the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions and the
Nuremberg Charter. International law also prohibits the used
of depleted uranium weapons. Both were used by U.S. military
forces in the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia.
The indiscriminate nature of cluster bombs and depleted
uranium weapons make their use impossible to limit strictly
to military personnel and objects.
Aerosolized DU particles not only endanger soldiers in the
combat zones where DU weapons are used, but they also
endanger civilians in outlying communities. DU particles may
also contaminate farm animals, planting soil and water
supplies, making areas within at least a 25-mile radius a
toxic wasteland for generations to come.
Unexploded cluster bombs act as antipersonnel landmines.
It is usually children, who mistake the bright yellow
canisters and parachutes for toys, and unsuspecting
civilians who fall victim to unexploded cluster bombs.
Unexploded cluster bombs are a threat to civilians long
after the war is officially declared to be over.
The U.S. military commanders do not deny that they used
these weapons in their attacks on Yugoslavia. They claim the
right to defy international law and use these weapons in the
interest of ultimate victory.
12. ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS AND OTHER ATTACKS ON YUGOSLAV
LEADERS
Throughout the 79-day NATO bombing campaign, NATO leaders
intentionally attempted to assassinate Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic and numerous other high-level Yugoslav
government officials. NATO commanders made several attempts
to murder Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and his
family by demolishing his residence. Ronald Hatchett, a
former Pentagon official speaking on MSNBC April 23, said,
"There is no question about the fact that [the assassination
of Milosevic] was what we were trying to do in striking that
house."
CNN conspired with NATO to murder a high-level Serb
official. In the British newspaper the Independent, Robert
Fisk reported on July 2: "Two days before NATO bombed the
Serb television headquarters in Belgrade, CNN received a tip
from its Atlanta headquarters that the [Serbian TV] building
was to be destroyed. They were told to remove their
facilities from the premises at once, which they did.
"A day later, Serbian Information Minister Aleksander
Vucic received a faxed invitation from the Larry King Live
show in the U.S. to appear on CNN. They wanted him on air at
2:30 in the morning of 23 April and asked him to arrive at
Serb television half an hour early for make-up.
"Vucic was late--which was just as well for him since NATO
missiles slammed into the building at six minutes past two.
The first one exploded in the make-up room where the young
Serb assistant was burned to death."
13. U.S. MILITARY SPENDING
According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary
Assessments, the 78 days of air strikes against Yugoslavia
cost the U.S. people from $2.3 billion to $4 billion. These
funds were diverted from essential domestic social programs.
Immediately after the end of the air war, Congress and the
White House agreed to cut U.S. domestic programs by 11
percent, focusing on cuts in education, job training,
housing, health and human services, environmental
protection, and medical and technological research.
The U.S. government has the largest military in the world,
larger than the next 16 countries combined. The United
States has bases in over 100 countries around the world.
While military spending saw no limits during the war, the
cuts in social programs have been unprecedented, with $53
billion in cuts to domestic spending since 1994. More than
half the U.S. domestic budget is spent on the military, with
additional funds directly diverted from social programs to
pay for the war on Yugoslavia.
Aside from the direct profits made by the military-
industrial complex in selling the weapons of war, the
demonstration of the latest military technology in the air
war against Yugoslavia, such as satellite-guided bombs, will
mean increased sales of U.S. military equipment worldwide.
14. VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC LAWS AND
CONVENTIONS
NATO violated a number of international and domestic laws
and conventions by its declared aims, by starting the war on
Yugoslavia, and by the actions it took during its aggression
against Yugoslavia.
Specifically NATO's aggression is a violation of Article 2
of the United Nations Charter, as well as Articles 33, 37,
39, 41, 42, 51, and 79.
It is also a violation of Articles 1 and 7 of NATO's own
charter.
The so-called Rambouillet "Agreement" written by the U.S.
State Department is a violation of Articles 51 and 52 of the
1980 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which forbids
coercion and force to compel any state to sign a treaty or
agreement. The "Agreement" is also a violation of the
Helsinki Accords Final Act of 1975.
NATO violated the 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in time of War. It also
violated the 1977 Geneva Convention and the 1899 and 1907
Hague conventions, which provide that military operations
should not target and kill civilians.
NATO violated the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines. The U.S. military violated the UN resolution from
1996 against using depleted uranium weapons.
The list summarizing the international laws and
conventions that were violated fills four pages of this
report.
15. ECONOMIC MOTIVATION FOR THE U.S./NATO WAR AGAINST
YUGOSLAVIA
The U.S. military-industrial complex plays an active role
in formulating U.S. military and foreign policy. Yugoslavia
was the last country in Europe to retain characteristics of
a socialist economy, including political and economic rights
for the working class. Now that the bombing is over and the
destruction of parts of Yugoslavia almost total, the
profiteers are drooling over the new markets that have been
opened. There is a close connection between military
aggression and economic expansion.
This is the concluding chapter of the digest. In addition
to the 15 chapters there are three supplemental appendixes
that are independent in-depth reports: "NATO's War of
Aggression Against Yugoslavia: An Overview" by Michel
Chossudovsky; "Bringing Democracy to Bosnia-Herzegovina" by
Gregory Elich; and "The Dismemberment of Yugoslavia before
1999" by Tony Murphy.
The commission's reports will be available on the Web page
of the International Action Center at 
www.iacenter.org
.
Readers can also find out how to purchase a copy of the
selected findings and other materials on the Web site by
calling 
(212) 633-6646
, readers . The mail address is
Commission of Inquiry, c/o International Action Center, 39
W. 14 Street, No. 206, New York, NY 10011.
                         - END -
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1996 against using depleted uranium weapons.
Mai sentito di una tale risoluzione.
-Stefano

By Gary Wilson
-snip-
Grazie Dolly per i tuoi contribuiti. Te lo volevo dire gia` da qualche 
giorno ... 
PS non ti filare quell'essere che fa solo networkbombing.

PS non ti filare quell'essere che fa solo networkbombing.
Chi? Il Nato-spokesman? ;-)
Ciao!