Not 48 hours after Amnesty International issued a report blasting Israel for its “callous indifference” to civilian deaths in the Gaza War, the Pentagon is openly talking about using the conflict as a model for their own wars.
According to UN figures, Israel killed 2,189 Gazans during the war, including 1,486 civilians. 513 of the slain were children. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey cheered this result.
It’s not just a rhetorical lauding of Israel, as Dempsey announced he is sending a “lessons learned team” to learn how Israel managed to limit civilian deaths to this extent (some 70% of overall deaths in the conflict), so that the US might follow their example.
Dempsey was particularly fond of Israel’s tactic of dropping leaflets to warn citizens away from potential targets, even though in practice Israel was ordering civilians out of every single part of the Gaza Strip at once, and with no place for them to go.
The massive civilian toll of the Gaza War appalled much of the world, and even if Israel managed to avoid any worse international scorn than they already did, it’s hard to imagine the Pentagon is really content that mimicking Israel is the best they can do.
Don't even know what to say…
The scary question is when, and against whom does Dempsey foresee using this round of israeli-lessons? People in Damascus? People in Moscow? … Americans in America?
Against whom ? – all of the above. When ? – when the time is ripe. My question is – "should we thank the guy kicking our face, for "his service to America"?
Thanks aren't necessary, just keep filling his bank accounts with US taxpayer money.
Iranians in Tehran most likely.
Morally, Israel and America are one.
Worse?
Now I understand why Stalin purged his officer corps periodically–
Must be a circus in town; there is Dempsey again in his clown suit. His proclamations mimic Bozo as well.
As Fred C. Dobbs put it at a pivotal moment in his life: "Conscience…" (derisive snort)"…what a thing."
And as we well know Porgy, "You can't fool Fred C. Dobbs".
The Jerusalem Post article demonstrates one of the lessons when it says:
"Roughly 2,100 Gazans were killed in 50 days of fighting… Determining just how many of those killed were civilians and how many were operatives is difficult to independently verify."
Whereas the independently verified figures were 1486 civilians including 513 children. Lesson #1 – never be specific, identify all the dead as "operatives".
When you are at the stage of dropping leaflets telling civilians to move because their neighbourhood is about to be bombed or "tapping" someone's roof to tell them their home is about to be bombed, you are already into war crimes territory, and there's something vaguely "nazi-esque" about it.
Gee, only 70% civilian deaths. And this is an improvement? Something the "embedded" US journos seem to have overlooked.
Why not study Soviet war tactics. In city warfare, they simply used heavy artillery and tanks to destroy entire city blocks at a time, Everything reduced to rubble. Very effective. Civilians never complained since they were nearly always dead.
Do not forget the torture they both demonstrated at ":ABU GARIB"
"GOD BLESS Mc Cain and America
Coincidence that Obama declares in late September, not long after Dempsey's little bitches go down on IDF to learn how to murder more effectively, that the minimal restraints on incinerating civilians in drone attacks don't apply in Syria?
Slippery slopes!