Civilians 'put at greater risk to save military lives' in winter attack - revelations that will pile pressure on Netanyahu to set up full inquiryA high-ranking officer has acknowledged for the first time that the Israeli army went beyond its previous rules of engagement on the protection of civilian lives in order to minimise military casualties during last year's Gaza war, The Independent can reveal. The officer, who served as a commander during Operation Cast Lead, made it clear that he did not regard the longstanding principle of military conduct known as "means and intentions" - whereby a targeted suspect must have a weapon and show signs of intending to use it before being fired upon - as being applicable before calling in fire from drones and helicopters in Gaza last winter. A more junior officer who served at a brigade headquarters during the operation described the new policy - devised in part to avoid the heavy military casualties of the 2006 Lebanon war - as one of "literally zero risk to the soldiers".
A high-ranking officer has acknowledged for the first time that the Israeli army went beyond its previous rules of engagement on the protection of civilian lives in order to minimise military casualties during last year's Gaza war, The Independent can reveal.
The officer, who served as a commander during Operation Cast Lead, made it clear that he did not regard the longstanding principle of military conduct known as "means and intentions" - whereby a targeted suspect must have a weapon and show signs of intending to use it before being fired upon - as being applicable before calling in fire from drones and helicopters in Gaza last winter. A more junior officer who served at a brigade headquarters during the operation described the new policy - devised in part to avoid the heavy military casualties of the 2006 Lebanon war - as one of "literally zero risk to the soldiers".
Crimes of War > The Book
Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know, our flagship book, is an A-Z guide to the laws governing armed conflict and their application in practice. The chapters include discussions of the crimes prohibited by international humanitarian law, key terms relating to modern warfare, analysis of legal categories, and case studies showing the place of war crimes in recent conflicts. A revised and updated edition of the book, Crimes of War 2.0, was published in November 2007. The full text of all articles from the revised edition is available below, along with chapters from the first edition that were not included for reasons of space in the second edition, and articles specially commissioned for the French edition.
Civilian immunity dates back to the 16th century
Crimes Of War Project > The Book
The concept of immunity, the rule that certain people and places should be "protected and respected" during wartime, can be dated back at least to 1582, when a Spanish judge suggested that "intentional killing of innocent persons, for example, women and children, is not allowable in war." The Geneva Conventions of 1949 confirmed immunity for civilians, hospitals, and medical staff, and the 1977 Additional Protocols to the conventions state: "The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations."
The US and China are already the two most powerful countries in the world. As allies, they would be unstoppable. Is the era of a double superpower taking shape? When China sneezes, the whole world gets a cold. Bill Clinton recognized this during his term as United States president, speaking of the "potential challenge that a strong China could present to the United States in the future." At the same time, he warned of the risk presented by a "weak China," which could destabilize large regions of Asia. Now Clinton's successor and fellow Democrat Barack Obama is looking for ways to work more closely with the giant nation, with its 1.3 billion people. Obama believes that cooperation with China is essential in the coming years. "The major challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to nuclear proliferation to economic recovery, are challenges that touch both our nations, and challenges that neither of our nations can solve by acting alone," the US president said during his recent visit to China.
The US and China are already the two most powerful countries in the world. As allies, they would be unstoppable. Is the era of a double superpower taking shape?
When China sneezes, the whole world gets a cold. Bill Clinton recognized this during his term as United States president, speaking of the "potential challenge that a strong China could present to the United States in the future." At the same time, he warned of the risk presented by a "weak China," which could destabilize large regions of Asia.
Now Clinton's successor and fellow Democrat Barack Obama is looking for ways to work more closely with the giant nation, with its 1.3 billion people. Obama believes that cooperation with China is essential in the coming years. "The major challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to nuclear proliferation to economic recovery, are challenges that touch both our nations, and challenges that neither of our nations can solve by acting alone," the US president said during his recent visit to China.
The US and Russia have agreed in principle on a deal to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) that expired in December after 15 years as the centerpiece of nuclear arms control, the Wall Street Journal reports today. The deal, which officials said could be ready to sign in two months, would cut each side's nuclear arsenal to between 1,500 and 1,675 operationally deployed warheads -- down from 2,200 on the American side and 2,800 in Russia, which has also kept an unknown number in reserve. Both countries would also commit to deeper cuts in the number of operational launch vehicles, whether missiles, submarines or aircraft. The total number would be limited to between 700 and 800 on each side. "There may be finessing and fine-turning, but the issues, from our perspective, are all addressed," a US official said. Chief among these issues was Russian resistance to international inspections of its launch sites and a proposal for both powers to share missile test data.
The US and Russia have agreed in principle on a deal to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) that expired in December after 15 years as the centerpiece of nuclear arms control, the Wall Street Journal reports today.
The deal, which officials said could be ready to sign in two months, would cut each side's nuclear arsenal to between 1,500 and 1,675 operationally deployed warheads -- down from 2,200 on the American side and 2,800 in Russia, which has also kept an unknown number in reserve.
Both countries would also commit to deeper cuts in the number of operational launch vehicles, whether missiles, submarines or aircraft. The total number would be limited to between 700 and 800 on each side. "There may be finessing and fine-turning, but the issues, from our perspective, are all addressed," a US official said. Chief among these issues was Russian resistance to international inspections of its launch sites and a proposal for both powers to share missile test data.
I'm waiting for Tom Campbell to do one about Fiorina and HP.
