  Israeili drone Heron
BY FAREED MAHDY
(IDN Middle East Special Correspondent) – 'Death in the Making' is the title of famed war photo-reporter Robert Capa’s heart-rending first picture documented work. It was printed in 1938 but it is acquiring new relevance as the big Western democracies are engaging with modern forms of death-making: the remote-controlled unmanned predator drones killing civilians everywhere in the ‘Greater Middle East’.
Here some examples.
PAKISTAN LIKE AFGHANISTAN
Following the model intensively used in Afghanistan, which caused the death of hundreds of civilians during social and family gatherings, wedding parties and funerals, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have been conducting unmanned drone strikes in the north-western tribal region of Pakistan.
The objective is to ‘clean-up’ the area from every ‘suspect’ Taliban or Al Qaeda militant.
The strikes are harvesting dozens of civilian victims. The Lahore-based newspaper, The News, reported in April that, according to Pakistani official sources, 687 civilians had been killed along with 14 al Qaeda leaders in some 60 drone strikes since January 2008 -- just over 50 civilians killed for every al Qaeda leader.
122 Dollars per Killing
Gareth Porter, known historian and investigative journalist specialising in U.S. national security policy, wrote on June 12 for Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency about press reports that the CIA is paying Pakistani agents for identifying al Qaeda targets by placing electronic chips at farmhouses supposedly inhabited by al Qaeda officials, so they can be bombed by predator planes.
Porter reports that the initial story on the CIA payments for placing the chips by Carol Grisanti and Mushtaq Yusufzai of NBC News April 17 was based on a confession by a 19-year-old in North Waziristan on a video released by the Taliban.
“In his confession, the young man says, 'I was given 122 dollars to drop chips wrapped in a cigarette paper at al Qaeda and Taliban houses. If I was successful, I was told, I would be given thousands of dollars'," Porter adds.
“He goes on to say, 'I thought this was a very easy job. The money was so good so I started throwing the chips all over. I knew people were dying because of what I was doing, but I needed the money'," the Washington-based historian writes.
“The video shows the man being shot as a spy for the United States.”
U.S. Denial, Des-authorized
“A U.S. official told NBC news that the video was "extremist propaganda," but a story in The Guardian May 31 said residents of Waziristan, including one student identified as Taj Muhammad Wazir, had confirmed that tribesman have been paid to lay the electronic devices to target drone strikes”, writes Porter, whose latest book 'Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam', was published in 2006.
On June 26, The BBC reported: “At least 43 people have died in missile strikes by a U.S. drone aircraft in a militant stronghold of Pakistan, a Taliban spokesman has told the BBC.” It added: “The people killed in South Waziristan had been attending the funeral of a militant commander who had been killed in an earlier strike.”
The day before, that is, on June 25, Tom Eley wrote for the World Socialist Web Site, published by the International Committee of the Fourth International, “On Tuesday, an unmanned U.S. Predator drone fired missiles into a funeral procession in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, killing as many as 80 people and maiming dozens more.”
Eley reports, “It was the deadliest US attack within Pakistan to date. The mourners had gathered for the funeral of seven victims of another US drone attack that had taken place earlier the same day.”
“Stop the drone attacks,” Pakistani Prime Minister, But…
On June 25, AFP reported from Islamabad: “Pakistan's prime minister Thursday (June 23) told Washington's visiting top security adviser that the United States must halt drone attacks on its soil, after they killed dozens of people in the northwest.”
“James Jones held talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as part of a short regional tour that has already taken in neighbouring Afghanistan to assess the United States' new strategy in the region”, the French news agency added.
But the killing of civilians did not stop. On July 3, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported from Islamabad “Missiles fired from U.S. Predator drones killed at least 15 people at a militant training facility in the South Waziristan tribal region, a stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of the Pakistan Taliban.” The report no did provide any evidence that the area bombed was in fact “a militant training facility.”
WSJ added: “Three missiles hit the camp in Mochikel village in an area that has been the scene of recent fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taliban militants. Another missile hit a suspected militant hideout in the same area. A security official said at least 20 people also were wounded in the two strikes.”
ISRAEL
Repeatedly self-proclaimed, and widely heralded by the West, as the sole true democracy in the Middle East, Israel also used drones strikes during its wars on Palestinians, in particular the December 2008-January 2009 three-week bombing of Gaza strip, which caused over 7,000 victims, out of which 1,500 deaths.
The Washington-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), one of the major human rights watchdogs, released on June 30, a 39-page report titled 'Precisely Wrong: Gaza Civilians Killed by Israeli Drone-Launched Missiles'.
It says that Israeli attacks with guided missiles fired from aerial drones killed civilians during the recent Gaza fighting in violation of the laws of war. “The attacks with one of the most precise weapons in Israel's arsenal killed civilians who were not taking part in hostilities and were far from any fighting” HRW reports.
Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces failed to take all feasible precautions to verify that these targets were combatants, as required by the laws of war, or that they failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups have reported a total of 42 drone attacks that killed civilians, 87 in all, during the fighting in December 2008 and January 2009.
The report details six incidents resulting in 29 civilian deaths, among them eight children.
"Drone operators can clearly see their targets on the ground and also divert their missiles after launch," said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report. "Given these capabilities, Israel needs to explain why these civilian deaths took place."
The report is based on field research in Gaza, where Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed victims and witnesses, examined attack sites, collected missile debris for testing, and reviewed medical records.
The Israel Defence Forces turned down repeated Human Rights Watch requests for a meeting and did not respond to questions submitted in writing.
‘Israel Could Have Avoided the Killing of Civilians’
“Military experts have extolled armed drones, or Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles, and their precision-guided missiles as weapons that can minimize civilian casualties. Their use is rapidly expanding -- for example by the United States in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
"When used properly, drones and their precision missiles can help a military minimize civilian casualties," Garlasco said. "But drones are only as good at sparing civilians as the people who command and operate them."
In the six cases documented in the report, Human Rights Watch found no evidence that Palestinian fighters were present in the immediate area of the attack at the time.
“None of the civilians who were killed were moving quickly or fleeing the area, so the drone operators would have had time to determine whether they were observing civilians or combatants, and to hold fire if they were unable to tell the difference,” the report says.
“In three of the cases, drones fired missiles at children playing on rooftops in residential neighbourhoods, far from any ground fighting at the time”, asserts the human rights watchdog.
Human Rights Watch found no evidence to suggest that the children were acting as spotters, relaying Israeli troop locations, or trying to launch a rocket from the roof.
“On December 27, 2008, the first day of the Israeli offensive called 'Operation Cast Lead', a drone-launched missile hit a group of university students as they waited for a bus on a crowded residential street in central Gaza City, killing 12 civilians,” HRW reports.
The Israeli military has failed to explain why it targeted the group on a crowded downtown street with no known military activity in the area at the time, the Human Rights Watch adds.
On December 29, it says, the Israeli military struck a truck that it said was transporting Grad rockets, killing nine civilians.
“The (Israeli) military released video footage of the attack to support its case, but the video raises serious doubts that the target constituted a military objective -- doubts that should have guided the drone operator to hold fire. The alleged rockets, the military later admitted, proved to be oxygen canisters,” Human Rights Watch stressed
‘Egregious Violations’
The technological capabilities of drones and drone-launched missiles make these violations even more egregious, HRW said.
“Drones carry an array of advanced sensors, often combining radars, electro-optical cameras, infrared cameras, and lasers. These sensors can provide a clear image in real time of individuals on the ground during day and night, with the ability to distinguish between children and adults.”
The HWR report adds: “One Israeli drone operator who flew missions in Gaza during the recent fighting told an Israeli military journal that he was able to detect clothing colours, a large radio, and a weapon.”
“The missile launched from a drone carries its own cameras that allow the operator to observe the target from the moment of firing to impact. If doubts arise about a target, the drone operator can redirect the weapon elsewhere,” the report goes on.
“The drones deployed by the Israeli military -- the Israeli-produced Hermes and Heron drones -- have video-recording devices so that everything viewed by the operator is recorded. Every Israeli drone missile strike during Operation Cast Lead would therefore be registered on video,” it explains.
‘War Crimes’
“The Israeli government is obligated under international law to investigate serious violations of the laws of war. Israeli military or civilian personnel found responsible for committing or ordering unlawful drone attacks should be disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate,” Human Rights Watch said.
“Individuals who have committed serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent -- that is, intentionally or recklessly -- are responsible for war crimes.”
A fact-finding team from the United Nations Human Rights Council headed by the respected international jurist Richard Goldstone is currently investigating alleged violations of the laws of war by both Israel and Hamas.
Israel has said it will not cooperate with the investigation because the Human Rights Council is biased against Israel. Hamas has said it will cooperate.
Human Rights Watch called on Israel and Hamas to cooperate fully with the Goldstone investigation. Regarding drone-launched missiles, Israel should provide the recorded video footage and other documentation of its attacks in which civilians were wounded or killed.
Amnesty International: Israel Used White Phosphorus On Civilians
During the Israeli war on Gaza, another major human rights organisation, Amnesty International (AI), denounced the Israeli bombing with phosphorous on civilian area in Gaza.
On January 19, AI reported: “The Israeli army used white phosphorus, a weapon with a highly incendiary effect, in densely populated civilian residential areas of Gaza City, according to indisputable evidence found an Amnesty International fact-finding team which reached the area last Saturday (January 17).
“When white phosphorus lands on skin it burns deeply through muscle and into the bone, continuing to burn until deprived of oxygen”, explains Amnesty.
“Amnesty International’s delegates found still-burning white phosphorus wedges all around residential buildings on Sunday (January 18).”
“These wedges were further endangering the residents and their property; streets and alleys are full of children playing, drawn to the detritus of war and often unaware of the danger,” it reports.
The carrier shells which delivered the wedges were also still lying in and around houses and buildings. Some of these heavy steel 155mm shells have caused extensive damage to residential properties, informs Amnesty International.
"Yesterday, we saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army," said Christopher Cobb-Smith, a weapons expert who is in Gaza as part of the four-person Amnesty International team.
"White phosphorus is a weapon intended to provide a smokescreen for troop movements on the battlefield," said Cobb-Smith. "It is highly incendiary, air burst and its spread effect is such that it that should never be used on civilian areas.”
Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories said that such extensive use of this weapon in Gaza's densely populated residential neighbourhoods is inherently indiscriminate. "Its repeated use in this manner, despite evidence of its indiscriminate effects and its toll on civilians, is a war crime," she said
Hitting Areas of the Size of a Football Pitch
“When each 155mm artillery shell bursts, it deploys 116 wedges impregnated with white phosphorus which ignite on contact with oxygen and can scatter, depending on the height at which it is burst (and wind conditions), over an area at least the size of a football pitch.”
In addition to the indiscriminate effect of air-bursting such a weapon, firing such shells as artillery exacerbates the likelihood that civilians will be affected”, she added.
"Artillery is an area weapon; not good for pinpoint targeting. The fact that these munitions, which are usually used as ground burst, were fired as air bursts increases the likely size of the danger area,” said Chris Cobb-Smith.
“Among the places worst affected by the use of white phosphorus was the UNRWA compound in Gaza City, at which Israeli forces fired three white phosphorus shells on 15 January. The white phosphorus landed next to some fuel trucks and caused a large fire which destroyed tons of humanitarian aid.”
“Prior to this strike, the compound had already been hit an hour earlier and the Israeli authorities had been informed by UNRWA officials and had given assurance that no further strikes would be launched on the compound.”
Amnesty International then informed that “In another incident on the same day a white phosphorus shell landed in the al-Quds hospital in Gaza City also causing a fire that forced hospital staff to evacuate the patients.” - 05.07.2009
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