Israeli troops tell of tactics to abuse Palestinians

[newyorican]

FORMER soldiers in the Israeli Defence Force have come forward with claims of widespread abuses against the Palestinians amid what they say is a growing climate of "moral corruption".

A group of 300 ex-service personnel gathered together by the Breaking the Silence group made a series of damaging allegations about the behaviour of soldiers.

In public testimonies, the troops alleged the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) routinely carried out "deterrent gunfire" into Palestinian areas without a specific target and also used Palestinian civilians to investigate suspected bombs and as human shields during arrest operations.

The claims, which are beginning to filter into the Israeli media, contrast sharply with government assertions that the Israeli army is a "role model for the world" because of its particularly moral behaviour.

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[pelsar]

1. have you compared?

"role model for the world"....I wouldnt know....but I do know that the US army, The British forces, and others who have been and are involved in wars, be they low level conflicts or more intense ones all have written and unwritten rules of what is done.....and also that many of those rules are ignored or "bent" by those same forces.

so the real question is: how many servicemen of those forces have come forth and spoken out?....and when those few who actually did, did the population of the country accept them or cry out "traitor"!

I wouldnt know if we're better or worse than others in similar situations, but what is certain is that our population supports those who speak out and the army doesnt scream traitor and "throws them out" of their reserve service...so in essence they will have an affect over many years on the army as they continue their service .....i wonder how many armies/societies would tolerate that?

as a footnote, i definitly believe the situation that these kids find themselves with impossible missions is definitly destroying their own morality, hence its good to see that when they get out they have the ability to look back, reflect and speak out....but again, it would be interesting to see if such a character exists elsewhere...these guys had a museum exhibit last year of what they themselves did-any other country dare do such a thing?

[bemildred]

2. Hard to compare. Don't know if it helps that much.

Every situation is different.

But there was a lot of this in VietNam, for example, and we see it now in Iraq. In the Iraq case, it appears to me that service people who speak out are ignored as much as possible rather than attacked.

I think the proper focus in these situations ought to be on the command level; authority and responsibility go together, and this is a very foolish policy to allow and encourage.