Newsgroup: it.cultura.militare
Titolo: Libano/Israele : When rockets and phosphorous cluster

When rockets and phosphorous cluster 
By Meron Rapoport 
"In Lebanon, we covered entire villages with cluster bombs, what we did
there was crazy and monstrous," testifies a commander in the Israel
Defense Forces' MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) unit. Quoting his
battalion commander, he said the IDF fired some 1,800 cluster rockets on
Lebanon during the war and they contained over 1.2 million cluster bombs.
The IDF also used cluster shells fired by 155 mm artillery cannons, so the
number of cluster bombs fired on Lebanon is even higher. At the same time,
soldiers in the artillery corps testified that the IDF used phosphorous
shells, which many experts say is prohibited by international law.
According to the claims, the overwhelming majority of the weapons
mentioned were fired during the last ten days of the war. 
The commander asserted that there was massive use of MLRS rockets despite
the fact that they are known to be very inaccurate - the rockets'
deviation from the target reaches to around 1,200 meters - and that a
substantial percentage do not explode and become mines. Due to these
facts, most experts view cluster ammunitions as a "non-discerning" weapon
that is prohibited for use in a civilian environment. The percentage of
duds among the rockets fired by the U.S. army in Iraq reached 30 percent
and the United Nations' land mine removal team in Lebanon claims that the
percentage of duds among the rockets fired by the IDF reaches some 40
percent. In light of these figures, the number of duds left behind by the
Israeli cluster rockets in Lebanon is likely to reach half a million. 
According to the commander, in order to compensate for the rockets'
imprecision, the order was to "flood" the area with them. "We have no
option of striking an isolated target, and the commanders know this very
well," he said. He also stated that the reserve soldiers were surprised by
the use of MLRS rockets, because during their regular army service, they
were told these are the IDF's "judgment day weapons" and intended for use
in a full-scale war. 
The commander also said that at least in one case, they were asked to fire
cluster rockets toward "a village's outskirts" in the early morning: "They
told us that this is a good time because people are coming out of the
mosques and the rockets would deter them." In other cases, they fired the
rockets at a range of less than 15 kilometers, even though the
manufacturer's guidelines state that firing at this range considerably
increases the number of duds. The commander further related that during
IDF training exercises hardly any live rockets are fired, for fear that
they would leave duds behind and fill the IDF's firing grounds with mines. 
After being discharged from his reserve duty, the commander sent a letter
to Defense Minister Amir Peretz and protested the number of cluster
rockets fired in Lebanon, which "perhaps the generals forgot to mention."
"As far as the duds are concerned," he wrote, "we have no control over who
is hurt. Sooner or later they will explode in people's hands." He has yet
to receive a response from the defense minister. 
At the same time, soldiers are reporting that they fired phosphorous
shells, which are supposed to be used by the IDF for marking or setting
fire to areas, in order to start fires in Lebanon. The artillery commander
says he saw trucks with phosphorous shells en route to artillery batteries
in the North. 
A direct hit from a phosphorous shell causes severe burns and a painful
death. Around a year ago, there was an international scandal after a
television crew presented harsh pictures of the charred bodies of Iraqis
injured by phosphorous bombs during the course of the American attack on
the city of Fallujah. 
International law prohibits the use of weapons that cause "excessive
damage and unnecessary suffering," and many experts feel that phosphorous
is included in this category. The International Red Cross determined that
international law prohibits the use of phosphorous against humans. The
American "Book of War," published in 1999, which sets down the rules of
war for the American army, states: "The ground war law prohibits the use
of phosphorous against human targets." The pact on prohibiting or limiting
flammable weapons bans the use of phosphorous against civilian targets and
against military targets found amid large civil populations. 
The IDF Spokesperson said: "International law does not contain a sweeping
ban on the use of cluster bombs. The Conventional Weapons Pact does not
stipulate a ban on the use of inflammatory weapons (i.e., phosphorous -
M.R.), rather it only offers rules for organizing the use of this weapon.
For understandable operational reasons, the IDF will not comment on a
detailed listing of the weaponry at its disposal. The IDF uses only
methods and weapons that are permitted according to international law. The
firing of artillery in general, including the firing of artillery to
demolish a target, was initiated in response to firing at the State of
Israel only." The defense minister's bureau said in response that it had
yet to receive an inquiry on the matter of firing cluster rockets. 
da 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/761910.html
-- 
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http://www.comunisti-italiani.it/frames/index.htm
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http://www.loosechange911.com/
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 methods and weapons that are permitted according to international law.
E in tutto l'articolo non c'è traccia del contrario.

 antiuomo da Israele. Una piccola mancanza, no?
ci sono le denunce fatte durante la guerra da medici libanesi (ma anche
dei palestinesi a Gaza). Dato che non posso escludere che tu non abbia
seguito bene la guerra israeliana contro il Libano ti ricordo alcuni
articoli su queste denunce :
vedi
http://www.peacereporter.net/dettaglio_articolo.php?idpa=&idc=2&ida=&idt=&idart=5950
vedi
http://www.giovaniemissione.it/index2.php?option=content&task=view&id=1026&pop=1&page=0



Articoli in cui, a parte appunto il problema dell'attendibilità come sopra
evidenziato, si riportano storie di ustioni. Supponendo anche che si siano
verificate, questo non dimostra un intenzionale uso anti-uomo. E'
possibilissimo decidere di bruciare un edificio, e che nell'edificio si
trovino combattenti nemici la cui salute non ne trarrà giovamento.

 verificate, questo non dimostra un intenzionale uso anti-uomo. 
ma nemmeno lo esclude questo uso intenzionale.


 
Per fortuna che ci sono Fidel Castro e Kim Jong Il ad illuminare l'umanità.
Rotfl.
K.F.H.
-- 
Karl Friedrich Hieronymus - Freiherr von Münchhausen
C.I.S.C.O. - Comitato Italiano Sbugiardatori Comunisti Ottusi


Certo che no. grazie a Dio, però, possiamo ancora contare sul principio
della presuzione di innocenza fino a prova contraria.