| U.S. "Security Concerns" Could Cost Many Lives in Haiti |
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Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that according to Partners in Health, 20, 000 people a day are dying because of lack of access to medical treatment. The necessary supplies can be delivered if they are prioritised. Yesterday, six days after the earthquake in Haiti, the U.S. Southern Command finally began to drop bottled water and food (MREs) from an Air Force C-17. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates had previously rejected such a method because of "security concerns." The Guardian reports that people are dying of thirst. And if they do not get clean water, there can be epidemics of water-borne diseases that could greatly increase the death toll. But the United States is now sending 10,000 troops and seems to be prioritizing "security" over much more urgent, life-and-death needs. This is in addition to the increase of 3,500 UN troops scheduled to arrive. On Sunday morning the world-renowned humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders complained that a plane carrying its portable hospital unit was re-routed by the US military through the Dominican Republic. This would cost a crucial 24 hours and an unknown number of lives. On Sunday, Jarry Emmanuel, air logistics officer for the UN's World Food Program, said, "There are 200 flights going in and out every day, which is an incredible amount for a country like Haiti," adding, "But most flights are for the U.S. military." Yet Lt. General P.K. Keen, deputy commander of the U.S. Southern Command, reports that there is less violence in Haiti now than there was before the earthquake hit. Doctor Evan Lyon, of Partners in Health, a medical aid group famous for its heroic efforts in Haiti, referred to "misinformation and rumours ... and racism" concerning security issues. "We've been circulating throughout the city until 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning every night, evacuating patients, moving materials. There's no UN guards. There's no U.S. military presence. There's no Haitian police presence. And there's also no violence. There is no insecurity." To understand the United States government's obsession with "security concerns," we must look at the recent history of Washington's involvement there. Long before the earthquake, Haiti's plight has been comparable to that of many homeless people on city streets in the United States: too poor and too black to have the same effective constitutional and legal rights as other citizens. In 2002, when a U.S.-backed military coup temporarily toppled the elected government of Venezuela, most governments in the hemisphere responded quickly and helped force the return of democratic rule. But two years later, when Haiti's democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped by the United States and flown to exile in South Africa, the response was muted. Unlike the two centuries of looting and pillage of Haiti since its founding by a slave revolt in 1804, the brutal occupation by U.S. Marines from 1915-1934, the countless atrocities under dictatorships aided and abetted by Washington, the 2004 coup cannot be dismissed as "ancient history." It was just six years ago, and it is directly relevant to what is happening there now. The United States, together with Canada and France, conspired openly for four years to topple Haiti's elected government, cutting off almost all international aid in order to destroy the economy and make the country ungovernable. They succeeded. For those who wonder why there are no Haitian government institutions to help with the earthquake relief efforts, this is a big reason. Or why there are three million people crowded into the area where the earthquake hit. U.S. policy over the years also helped destroy Haitian agriculture, for example, by forcing the import of subsidized U.S. rice and wiping out thousands of Haitian rice farmers. Aristide's first democratic government was overthrown after just seven months in 1991, by military officers and death squads later discovered to be in the pay of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Now Aristide wants to return to his country, something that the majority of Haitians have demanded since his overthrow. But the United States does not want him there. And the Preval government, which is completely beholden to Washington, has decided that Aristide's party -- the largest in Haiti -- will not be allowed to compete in the next elections (originally scheduled for next month). Washington's fear of democracy in Haiti may explain why the United States is now sending 10,000 troops and prioritizing "security" over other needs. This military occupation by U.S. troops will raise other concerns in the hemisphere, depending on how long they stay -- just as the recent expansion of the U.S. military presence in Colombia has been met with considerable discontent and distrust in the region. And non-governmental organizations have raised other issues about the proposed reconstruction: Understandably they want Haiti's remaining debt cancelled and grants rather than loans (the IMF has proposed a $100 million dollar loan). Reconstruction needs will be in the billions of dollars: Will Washington encourage the establishment of a functioning government? Or will it prevent that, channeling aid through NGOs and taking over various functions itself, because it of its long-standing opposition to Haitian self-rule? But most urgently, there is a need for rapid delivery of water. The U.S. Air Force has the capability to deliver enough water for everyone who needs it in Haiti, until ground supply chains can be established. The more water is available, the less likely there is to be fighting or rioting over this scarce resource. Food and medical supplies could also be supplied through air drops. These operations should be ramped up, immediately. There is no time to lose. This column was published by The Guardian Unlimited on January 20, 2010. Read more... |
The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how the children were injured.
After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S. military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement".
Consequently, WikiLeaks has released the classified Rules of Engagement for 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealing these rules before, during, and after the killings.
WikiLeaks has released both the original 38 minutes video and a shorter version with an initial analysis. Subtitles have been added to both versions from the radio transmissions.
WikiLeaks obtained this video as well as supporting documents from a number of military whistleblowers. WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives. We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident.
WikiLeaks wants to ensure that all the leaked information it receives gets the attention it deserves. In this particular case, some of the people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs: putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were killed while doing their work.
Responses
July 12th, 2007 New York Times reports that two Iraqi journalists were killed in a militia clash with U.S. forces - ''There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force,'' said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a spokesman for the multinational forces in Baghdad.
July 13th, 2007 Press statement from public affairs office in camp Victory reports on the event. There is no question that Coalition Forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force,
said Lt. Col Scott Bleichwehl, spokesperson and public affairs officer for MND-B.
July 13th, 2007 Reuters blog posts an entry on the killings of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Namir was the 109th journalist to be killed in Iraq since the invasion in 2003, and Saeed the 40th member of support staff.
July 16th, 2007 Reuters seeks U.S. probe into the killings of their staff. Our preliminary investigation raises real questions about whether there was fighting at the time the two men were killed,
said David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters. Specifically, Reuters wanted an explanation of why the two cameras were confiscated, access to any cameras onboard the Apache helicopters that were involved in the incident, access to any voice communications between the helicopter crews and U.S. ground forces and access to reports from the unit involved in the incident, in particular a log of any weapons taken from the scene.
July 16th, 2007 Counterpunch reports that The US military says US and Iraqi forces engaged "a hostile force" and, after coming under fire, called for air support that killed nine insurgents and two civilians. The police and witnesses tell a different story. A preliminary police report from al-Rashad police station said Mr Noor-Eldeen and Mr Chmagh were killed along with nine others by a "random American bombardment." One witness, Karim Shindakh, said: "The aircraft began striking randomly and people were wounded. A Kia [mini-van] arrived to take them away. They hit the Kia and killed ... the two journalists.
March 2008 Reuters opens website Bearing Witness
dedicated to the memory of the Reuters journalists that have been killed in Iraq during the war: Taras Protsyuk (2003); Mazen Dana (2003); Dhia Najim (2003); Waleed Khaled (2005); Saeed Chmagh (2007); Namir Noor-Eldeen (2007); and an anonymous Reuters journalist who was killed in 2007.
July 15th, 2008 Reuters posts memorial article. In it they mention that "Reuters News is seeking video footage from the U.S. military and other materials relating to the killing of Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh. The footage was taken by cameras on board the U.S. helicopters involved in the incident, in which nine other people were killed. The U.S. military said last week it is still processing the request"
April 5th, 2010 WikiLeaks releases video footage from Apache helicopter.
SOURCE: http://collateralmurder.com/ http://wikileaks.org/