Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: Spanish pilot admits NATO attacked civilians

Spanish pilot admits NATO attacked civilians
From the Spanish weekly "Articulo 20"
No. 30, June 14, 1999
(NB: 'Article 20' is the Spanish constitutional
provision on the freedom of speech)
Jose Luis Morales
The pilots of Spanish planes who participated in bombing raids against
Yugoslavia do not feel like "supermen" nor as masters of air space. Quite
the
contrary, they say that our forces play to the tune of music played
by the North Americans, and accuse NATO of having honoured with medals the
bombing of civilian targets, what they otherwise name "collateral damages".
Captain Adolfo Luis Martin de la Hoz, who returned to Spain at the end of
May
after having participated in the bombings since the beginning, is an
"authentic expert on the dreadful F-18", the war plane commonly used in
the strategy of "scortched land" in the Balkans. He is quite categoric:
"The majority, even if not all, of my colleagues are against the war in
general,
and against this war of barbarity in particular."
Martin de la Hoz says that he and his colleagues "are burnt out". "A few
days ago there appeared in the papers certain statements by Commander
Maches Michavilla, who is now in the air base at Aviano with the pilots who
had
replaced us, in which he said that that our main helper in the air was our
mental and physical health.
"But let me tell you that our worst enemies are our own authorities, the
Defence Minister and his team, and our Government, who know nothing about
the
war, and go along with it without informing themselves about anything.
What is gravest, they are guilty of lying to the Spanish people through the
papers, radio and television, foreign correspondents and press agencies."
The suspicions that NATO's repeated bombings of civilian victims and
non-military targets are not the result of "errors", are confirmed by
Captain Martin de la Hoz: "Several times our Colonel protested to NATO
chiefs that they selected targets which are NOT military targets. They threw
him
out, with curses, threatening that the North Americans would
lodge a complaint with the Spanish Army, once through Brussels and then
to the Defence Minister.
"But there is more, and I want to tell it to the whole world: once there
was a coded order from the North American military that we should drop
anti-personnel bombs over the localities of Prishtina and Nish. The colonel
refused it altogether and, a couple of days later, the transfer
order came, removing him from our unit. But what I say now is nothing
compared to what I shall have to say when the time comes."
The Spanish military denounces that "the Spanish Government not only do
not try to inform themselves; they also accept the false reports that
are edited for them in Aviano, where there is a sort of military press
cabinet in the hands of North American generals and functionaries."
Ever since we arrived in Italy - the Captain goes on - there was no end
to humiliations and insults. "The order-givers are the North American
generals, and no one else. We were zeroes, just as our replacements were
going to be. But there is still more to that. Here they say that several
operations were directed by Spanish commanders and pilots. Lies over lies.
All the missions that we flew, all and each one, were planned by US high
military authorities. Even more, they were all planned in detail, including
attacking planes, targets and type of ammunition that we have to throw. We
never directed anything, and our missions were limited to flying over the
borders of Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia."
None of the pilots presently stationed at Aviano, who replaced those who
went to the Italian base a little before the start of war on March 23,
were there with clean conscience, says the Spanish military. "It is being
written to saturation that the disciplined and patriotic Spanish pilots -
according to Minister Eduardo Serra - 'are concentrating on the complexity
of their war missions'. But we read so many discrepancies, so many lies
that we agreed to not read a single newspaper until we return. Our anger
is enormous. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the
Defence Minister are lying brazenly each time they talk about the war.
"The North Americans - the White House, the Pentagon, the CIA, the U.S.
Embassy, the military intelligence, whoever - do not inform them about
anything.
How should they inform themselves if our own Javier Solana remains ignorant?
Solana is a puppet who has been put there by the Yankees
to do what they tell him he has to do. And so he does, standing 'attention'
before General Clark when he talks to him, or, more precisely, when he
issues
him the orders that Solana has to implement without delay."
On the subject of manipulation of information about the war, Captain de la
Hoz says that "no one has said anything about the incidents that took place
in Aviano, about the disastrous maintenance of Spanish machines, and about
the constant humiliations to which we were subjected from the beginning.
Not that we were even 'cannon fodder' - no! We were nothing! About the fatal
accidents, the losses suffered without connection to combats, the
contempt and sanctions, not a word. From no one!"
For the wrong selection of targets and humiliations the Spanish military
are ever more certain that there is no alibi. "We know perfectly well that
we are intervening in a conflict - says Martin de la Hoz - which is
rejected by the majority of the Spanish people, and this is acutely
important for us. But what they do not say in any information, commentary or
speech,
is that the Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese ... that we are there to cover up
for the North American generals who are dealing and wheeling in the war.
There is no journalist who has any slightest idea what is happening in
Yugoslavia.
"They are destroying the country, bombing it with novel weapons, toxic
nervous gases, surface mines dropped with parachute, bombs containing
uranium, black napalm, sterilization chemicals, sprayings to poison the
crops and weapons of which even we still do not know anything. The North
Americans are committing there one of the biggest barbarities that can be
committed against the humanity. Much and very bad things will be told in
the future about what was happening there, because, by the way, judging by
what we talked about with the British and German officers, it was designed
in order to divide the Europeans and keep us subjected for many decades."
Therefore, Captain Martin de la Hoz is enraged when there are talks about
the
costs of the war. There should be no doubts, he confirms that the
militaries detached in Aviano are receiving bonuses which "multiply by five
our salary, without considering the daily expenses and other perquisites.
We could say that we should be satisfied with what this war means
economically for each one of us, but it is not true, what they give us is
the
chocolate for the parrots. This war is going to cost the Spaniards more
than all the money allocated for the culture in the last five years. And
how, even if now no one says anything because of the elections, but it will
come in a few months and will be felt in our pockets. Because this brutal
solely
Yankees' war, no one's but Yankees', is going to be paid by all of us. Be
sure
that what I say is not to exculpate myself and to intone 'mea culpa' for
having
participated in it, because I will never be able to
forget that what was being committed there was one the biggest savageries of
history."

 crops and weapons of which even we still do not know anything.
Questa parte mi lascia perplesso. Se era plausibile postare un articolo del
genere *durante* la guerra, come diavolo si fa a postarlo adesso che è
*evidente* che queste sono balle? Dove sono le città spopolate dal gas nervino?
Dove sono i campi e le messi distrutte da questi fantomatici veleni? Che cacchio
sono gli "sterilization chemicals"? Agenti chimici che sterilizzano i Serbi per
farli estinguere? :)
Sinceramente questo signore, ammesso che sia veramente un ufficiale, mi sembra
abbia usato l'ignoranza del giornalista per sparare un po' di balle e sistemare
quella che sembra essere una questione personale con i militari americani.
Saluti
Eugenio
--
Agente K: "Allora Beatrice, non c'era nessun alieno.
Il lampo di luce che hai visto nel cielo non era un UFO.
Si trattava di gas di palude uscito da un pallone sonda
rimasto intrappolato in una sacca termica che rifletteva
la luce di Venere"

Oh dear...