Zionism and imperialism – two heads of the same grotesque beast, which advances the cause of robber barons who defend their own interests under the holy shibboleth of capitalism.

Palestine / Israel Links

Cheering Netanyahu’s Intransigence
A year of steadfastness in Israeli prison
Apartments Are Dedicated in Jerusalem
Palestinian UN bid: Israel’s battle for Europe
Egypt to open Rafah border permanently
Israel links EU support for Palestinians to anti-Semitism
Israel to UN: You say innocents, I say villains
Top UN official calls for end to Israel’s displacement of Palestinians :

“At 700 kilometres long, with 85 per cent of its route inside the West Bank, the Barrier cuts off communities from basic services, denies people access to their homes, and leaves thousands of people dependent on humanitarian handouts.”
Recounting a meeting she had with Palestinians who had been evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem to make way for Israeli settlements, Ms. Amos said they faced daily violence and threats from settlers, noting the attacks on Palestinians are rarely prosecuted.
Thousands of Palestinians had lost their right to live in East Jerusalem and those in the West Bank struggled to access specialized education and reach medical facilities that are only available in Jerusalem.

Fact-checking Netanyahu’s Speech
DePaul vote on Sabra hummus a victory for human rights: SJP’s strategy is not predicated on the elimination of an Israeli state. Rather, it deals purely with human rights. The logic is simple; boycotting Sabra hummus and other similarly problematic products sends a strong signal to owners of the companies that make them, which is that any profiteering from human rights violations will not be tolerated.

Nakba Day 2011: The Other Exodus

Other Links

Pilger: Murdoch keeps Australia’s dirty secret

Israel / Palestine Links

Medics: 3 injured as Israeli tanks shell Gaza
PROFILES FROM BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY: – Israeli academic heroes backing BDS
The slanderer as historian 20Apr11 April 22, 2011
Palestinians ask Subaru to act against spoof ad 21Apr11
Palestinian leader Ashrawi: “What we need from the Quartet is for it to uphold international law”, Netanyahu proposal “manipulation”

Other Links

My Absence on the Central Committee : Fidel Castro

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Washington and its allies also were committed to using nonmilitary means to force Kadafi out, including steps intended to cripple the Libyan economy and isolate him diplomatically.

As expected, Gaddafi is casting the assault as ‘Western colonialism and a Christian “crusader” mentality toward the predominantly Muslim countries of the Middle East’, which may play better in Libya than the rest of the region.

The LA Times also reports that

“Libyan officials accused international forces of hitting a hospital and other civilian targets. The armed forces said in a statement that 48 people had been killed in the strikes and 150 injured. Kadafi declared he was willing to die defending Libya, and in a statement broadcast hours after the attacks began, condemned what he called “flagrant military aggression.” He vowed to strike civilian and military targets in the Mediterranean.”

However, ABC Australia chronicles the observations of a resident of Tripoli who saw missiles hitting a Libyan army base near his home.

“We could hear this whistle coming from above the car,” he said.

“The car has moved and they dropped another two into this army base.

“It’s not far from the heart hospital really, but they missed it. That’s a very good shot.”

There are also unconfirmed reports that 3 French jets have been downed.

Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales note that the western intervention is an oil grab, while Fidel Castro sees ‘the Security Council ignored problems in countries that were friendly to the US’.

Has the West really calculated sufficiently the strength of Gaddafi’s support amongst the populace and the interpolation of historic internecine tribal rivalries?

Mark Quarterman, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington:

The risk in Libya is that the military operation will not end quickly or decisively. He said it is easy to imagine Gaddafi’s well-armed government remaining strong, despite the no-fly zone.

“After the first few days, this could settle into a protracted fight between Gaddafi and the rebels, essentially a stalemate with neither side able to retake ground or negotiate an end to the fighting,” he said. “Then what do you do?”

…

International military forces are operating under the command of Gen. Carter F. Ham, head of the U.S. African Command. The Pentagon says command will be turned over to the coalition in coming days, although which country will lead it remains unclear.

Here we have another open-ended intervention initiated without an exit strategy or clear plan, predestining yet another occupation by the West which may lurch on for years, crippling Libya and bringing its people little real freedom, as with the ill-fated US-led adventurism in Iraq and Afghanistan. Will the Western intervention be used by Obama as his very own proving ground, his blooding, playing to the near-campaign US electorate much of which is tired of being the bad guys?

How do the people resisting Gaddafi feel about western intervention? According to Gilbert Achcar, who thinks ‘from an anti-imperialist perspective one cannot and should not oppose the no-fly zone, given that there is no plausible alternative for protecting the endangered population’:

‘In watching on TV the crowds in Benghazi cheering the passage of the resolution, I saw a big billboard in their middle that said in Arabic “No to foreign intervention.” People there make a distinction between “foreign intervention” by which they mean troops on the ground, and a protective no-fly zone. They oppose foreign troops. They are aware of the dangers and wisely don’t trust Western powers.’

What does the Arab League really want?

The leader of the Arab League says that Arabs did not want military strikes by western powers when they had called for a no-fly zone over Libya. Secretary-General Amr Moussa said he was calling for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.

“What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” he said.

What we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians. Amr Moussa, Arab League

14.00 Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military commander, concedes the end-game of military action in Libya is “very uncertain”. He acknowledged it could end in a stalemate with Colonel Gaddafi.

What effect will the assault by the West have on the rest of the MENA revolutions? the hypocrisy of establishing a no fly zone over Libya whilst neglecting the protection of protesters in Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Morocco and Yemen is staggering.

Between imperialism and tyranny, there is no real choice – consider another path – to stand against both alongside the people who resist them.

UPDATES

Arab League condemns broad Western bombing campaign in Libya
Infantile Leftism
RT @SultanAlQassemi: Al Arabiya: Medical sources: More than 90 people were killed during the Gaddafi forces attack on Benghazi. #Libya #
Gaddafi denounces foreign intervention
RT @SultanAlQassemi: France 24 Arabic: #Libya calls for urgent UN Security Council meeting following coalition strikes. #
RT @SultanAlQassemi: France24Arabic: #Libya says it will no longer stem flow of illegal immigrants to Europe; considers UN res 1973 void. #
@SultanAlQassemi: Libyan State TV shows pictures of injured patients. Says 48 civilians killed & 150 injured following coalition airstrikes (via BBC World) #
UPDATE 1-Turkey to play appropriate role over Libya
Remains of Gaddafi’s force smolders near Benghazi
LIVE BLOG: Libya – Operation Odyssey Dawn

Remembering Sun Tzu in the Art of War:

1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best
thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact;
to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is
better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it,
to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire
than to destroy them.

2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles
is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists
in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to
balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent
the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in
order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field;
and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it
can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets,
movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take
up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over
against the walls will take three months more.

5. The general, unable to control his irritation,
will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants,
with the result that one-third of his men are slain,
while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous
effects of a siege.

6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s
troops without any fighting; he captures their cities
without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom
without lengthy operations in the field.

7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery
of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph
will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.

8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten
to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one,
to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army
into two.

Libya Links

What’s happening in Libya?
‘Foreign crusade against Libya will make Gaddafi a hero’
5 questions few are asking about Libya
Libya, Getting it Right: A Revolutionary Pan-African Perspective
Libya conflict: war on Gaddafi is personal – and he is unlikely to retreat
Bush Doctrine Revised: Obama puts his stamp “Western military intervention in Libya is far more dangerous: it is intended to legitimize the return of colonial powers to our region and 2) perhaps as importantly to abort democratic uprisings all over the region.”
A Poem At the Break of War
Meanwhile in other non-oil exporting nations: Deadly attacks on protests in Yemen, Syria : Security forces struck against unarmed demonstrators urging their leaders’ ouster.
Libya and the familiar patterns of war
US demonstrations against Libyan military intervention
Libyan no-fly zone: Gaddafi’s forces and rebels are hard to tell apart from the air
China, which abstained from UN vote, expresses regret over allied airstrikes against Libya
Relief will fade as we see the real impact of intervention in Libya : Welcome though it seems on humanitarian grounds, there are six serious problems with this UN resolution
Libya accuses rebels of breaching truce
Robert Fisk: First it was Saddam. Then Gaddafi. Now there’s a vacancy for the West’s favourite crackpot tyrant
U.S., allies launch missile strikes on Libyan targets
West launches first strike on Libya
Libya unrest: Nato military strength in the Mediterranean
The case against bombing Libya
Expose U.S. Fabrications About Libya
Images: Gaddafi forces destroyed on the road between Ajdabiya and Benghazi

Palestine/Israel Links

More disgusting ziocolonialist crimes go unpunished: Ayman’s horse killed by settlers
Palestinian Refugees: a Surplus Population
Maniacal Tipsy Livni calling for another round of collective punishment against the defenceless people of Gaza
Two Arrested During alMa’asara Demonstration
Boycott roundup: Canada campuses mobilize to divest
Settlers attack Zatari family in Al Buwayre, wounding father
Neged Neshek
Graffiti History Of Palestine: “It’s all on the walls.”
Libya crisis: Misrata ‘being razed to the ground’
Report: Palestinian anti-wall activist tortured, threatened with rape and execution by Shin Bet because of BDS activities
Video of the Bobigny trial (Press TV) – BDS activists on trial in France
Artists Against Apartheid Vol 1
Israelis retaliate for killing of settlers – where’s the no fly zone to protect Palestinians from Israel’s illegal activities?
I support a no fly zone over Palestine
Israeli shelling destroys Gaza power lines
Jewish settlers raze vast tracts of Palestinian agricultural land east of Yatta

Egypt Links

Workers Guarantee the Egyptian Revolution
Egypt votes on charter changes while youth movement would prefer a whole new constitution

Japan Links

Desperate nuclear chiefs to bury plant in concrete ‘tomb’

Syria Links

Syrian Revolution Protests in Dar’aa on 18th March 2011 p1

Bahrain Links

Bahrain opposition seeks UN, US help in crackdown
U.S. “deeply concerned” by arrests in Bahrain
Saudi Arabian intervention in Bahrain driven by visceral Sunni fear of Shias
Jamese Zogby: may not represent Arab-Americans, but he certainly represents UAE royal families

Afghanistan Links

North Waziristan drone strike: Tribesmen vow ‘jihad’ against US
Afghan warlord on US payroll accused of terror campaign

Wikileaks Links

WikiLeaks and Freedom Forum : John Pilger

Other Links

DoJ still protecting Bush eavesdroppers, says ACLU
Compare deaths by coal and nuclear energy

Egypt Links

@PJCrowley: There is a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in #Cairo and interfere with their reporting. We condemn such actions. #
Vodafone confirms the Mubarak regime forced them to send messages to the people of Egypt

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/foreign-ministry-seeks-release-of-israeli-jailed-in-egypt-1.341010

Reporters Held, Beaten in Egypt
UNESCO Director-General launches heritage and press freedom alert for Egypt
Demanding Change In The Middle East And North Africa
Cairo Exclusive: Interview with ‘Sandmonkey’
Egyptian prime minister apologises for violence (Extra)
Egypt: Doctors say 35 killed in Thursday morning clash
Egypt: Mubarak Reveals a Brutal Plan to Hold Power
‘We are not leaving until Mubarak leaves’
Who Is Omar Suleiman?
A letter from the barricades in Cairo
‘The Arab World Is on Fire’ : Noam Chomsky
What Zionism has done to my people
From an arrested thug: an MP brought him & others in truck saying: “let’s beat Americans in Tahrir”
Egypt: Were the Army and the Cops in Cahoots All This Time? – ugh, same boss
#Jan25 Women protesting in Tahrir Square
The End
Here’s the New Police-Special Forces of #Egypt. #Tahrir #Jan25
Netanyahu: Due to turmoil, Israel must get stronger
Mubarak backers open fire on protesters
Rachel Maddow – Tienanmen Square 1989 anniversary
Update: 5 protests killed by pro-gov’t attackers
Egypt – U.S. intelligence collaboration with Omar Suleiman “most successful”
Game over: The chance for democracy in Egypt is lost
More detentions in Ramallah at rally for Egypt
Robert Fisk: Blood and fear in Cairo’s streets as Mubarak’s men crack down on protests
”..the protester went to the feet of the soldier and asked him to help protect them from Mubarak’s thugs and the soldier is crying because he said that he can’t because he was not given the orders to.”
Why hate the US? (warning, very graphic)
Egypt attacks journalists to censor news: watchdog
Live From Egypt: The True Face of the Mubarak Regime

It’s a massacre,” said Selma al-Tarzi as the attack was ongoing. “They have knives, they are throwing molotov bombs, they are burning the trees, they are throwing stones at us…this is not a demonstration anymore, this is war.”

Some of the attackers were caught. Their IDs showed them to be policemen dressed in civilians clothes. Others appeared to be state sponsored “baltagiya” (gangs) and government employees. “Instead of uniformed guys trying to stop you from protesting. You’ve got non-uniformed guys trying to stop you from protesting,” Naguib said.

Democracy vs Thuggery
Open and Urgent Letter to Obama
Noam Chomsky: “This is the Most Remarkable Regional Uprising that I Can Remember”
Mona Eltahawy Should Be Careful What She Wishes For
Graphic photos
Live from tahrir square. 2 February – Eyewitness account
Traveller Within’s photostream
Update: 5 protests killed by pro-gov’t attackers
Clinton Urges Investigation Into New Cairo Violence – unbelievable US admin coverup:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke today to Egypt’s new vice president, Omar Suleiman, and urged him to conduct an investigation into violence that rocked Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

“She emphasized our condemnation of the violence that occurred today and the responsibility of the government to hold fully accountable those who did it,” said Philip J. Crowley, the State Department spokesman.

Crowley said the U.S. doesn’t know who is behind attacks on protesters, which left more than 1,000 injured, according to the Al Jazeera television network. “Whoever they are, there needs to be accountability here,” Crowley said. “This was clearly an attempt at intimidating the demonstrators.

Sulieman is BFF torturer for US rendered prisoners.
Revolution in Egypt – and the Hypocrisy of the US and the West
Egypt, Right Now! @sandmonkey – RT @RamyYaacoub: Breaking news: @Sandmonkey arrested by state security. They called his father & claimed he has revolution leaflets #Egypt

Palestine / Israel Links

‘Economic peace’ betrays the hand of a grasping Israeli right
UN Criticizes Destruction of Palestinian Water Resources
Israeli soldiers shot and killed 15 Palestinians, including three children, and kidnapped more than 200 others during the month of January.
Palestine: Israeli army kidnaps three children in Bil’in
Why isn’t the PA supporting the Egypt uprising?
Birthright puts the kibosh on J Street-led trip
Could US abandon Israel too?
Netanyahu: Due to turmoil, Israel must get stronger – Israel has its paw out for more already on the strength of the Egyptian people’s struggle for democracy
Palestine and the uprisings in the Arab World
New Zealand PM says foreign policy dictated by keeping Israel happy
Justin Bieber to play Israel in April – Spoof
Israel, Thy Name is Arrogance
Robert Fisk: Blood and fear in Cairo’s streets as Mubarak’s men crack down on protests

Wikileaks Links

At least somebody appreciates the vital importance of Wikileaks
Documents in Julian Assange Rape Investigation Leak Onto Web

Other Links

Public servant sacked for googling ‘knockers’ at home

As we know now from the mouths of Silvan Shalom and Nutanyahoo himself, Israel doesn’t want democracies around it as they tend to express the will of the people, to wit, disgust and indignation at zionist atrocities, land theft and genocide. Hamas was democratically elected, yet with fascist aplomb, Israel designates both the Hamas political and military wings as ‘terrorist’. Israel and the US collaborate with the PA, who collude against their own people to suppress Palestinian resistance to Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity.

I’ve highlighted what I think are the important parts in the cables below. For more related Wikileaks cables in the same time span, please use the Wikileaks drop down menu at the top of the page.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02

TEL AVIV 002864

SIPDIS E.O. 12958:

DECL: 12/22/2018

TAGS: PREL, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, KWBG, IS

SUBJECT: PREPARING FOR AN ISRAELI MILITARY OPERATION IN GAZA

Classified By: Ambassador James B. Cunningham, Reason 1.4 (b) (d) 1. (S)

Summary. Since Hamas announced the end of the “tahdiya” truce agreement December 19, pressure has been building in Israel for the IDF to respond more aggressively to daily barrages of rockets and mortars from Gaza. The Israeli cabinet meeting December 21 was largely devoted to a lively debate about the appropriate military response in Gaza. While Defense Minister Barak, supported by PM Olmert, has so far managed to resist the pressure for an immediate, large-scale operation, the IDF has prepared a range of contingencies, and we assume these options are now under active consideration. The contingencies range from resumption of targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders to a full-scale invasion and reoccupation of Gaza. In the current environment, even such limited operations as air strikes on Hamas or PIJ rocket launching teams could set off such an intensive barrage of rockets that the IDF could be drawn into a ground operation to stop the shelling. Foreign Minister Livni, who is one of the primary advocates of an immediate, large-scale military response to the rocket fire, has instructed the MFA to prepare a diplomatic campaign to explain and justify likely Israeli military action.

2. (S) We recommend that the Department also begin to prepare press guidance, talking points and Security Council reaction in the event that Israel acts in the near future. Our suggestions as to the content appear in para 6 below. We further recommend contingency planning for humanitarian relief that will likely be needed in the aftermath of an Israeli military operation. End Summary.

Pressure Building in Israel ————————— 3.

(C) Pressure inside Israel is building for a much tougher response to rocket and missile attacks from Gaza. While it appears that the GOI has yet to take a specific decision, the Hamas announcement of the end of the “tahdiya” truce and the daily rocket and mortar firing — over thirty rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza at Israeli communities over the weekend — is adding to the pressure for an Israeli military response. At the December 21 cabinet session, PM Olmert and Defense Minister Barak had to fend off demands from much of the rest of the government, but especially Foreign Minister Livni, Transportation Minister Mofaz and Deputy PM Ramon, for an immediate, strong military response to the rocket fire. Livni and Ramon have called for overthrowing Hamas rule in Gaza, which would probably entail occupying the entire Strip. Opposition Likud Party leader Bibi Netanyahu visited Sderot yesterday and blasted the government’s failure to take stronger military action in response to the shelling. Based on public statements by Barak and IDF Chief of General Staff Ashkenazi, it is clear that Barak and the military want to take action at a time of their choosing and not forewarn Hamas exactly what they have in mind. Nonetheless, the pressure on the GOI to “do something” is growing. Political posturing is part of the mix, as all of the players except Olmert — who has resigned and will not seek reelection — are focused on building public support in advance of the February 10 general elections.

IDF’s Range of Military Options ——————————- 4.

(S) The IDF has prepared a range of operational plans over the past year. These range from renewed targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders to limited brigade or several brigade-size ground incursions (such as the IDF conducted last March) up to a full scale combined air-land-sea invasion of Gaza. An interim operation often discussed before the tahdiya was signed in June was the IDF’s seizure of the southern and northern ends of the Gaza Strip in order to stop the smuggling and make rocket launching more difficult. The precise mix of options is a political decision which the GOI probably has not yet taken and Barak is stressing the importance of limiting public discussion in order to preserve operational surprise. There is also the possibility, much discussed in the media here, that given the build-up in Hamas’ rocket stockpiles and the extension of their range, even such limited Israeli military operations as air strikes on rocket squads could lead Hamas and the other organizations to launch massive barrages of rockets, which could in turn force the IDF to go in on the ground to stop it. In this environment, there is no guarantee that what starts out as a limited operation will remain that way.

5. (C) Livni has instructed the MFA’s senior staff to prepare a diplomatic strategy to explain a large-scale Israeli military operation in Gaza. While international criticism of Israeli action is predictable, we anticipate that the tenor of the Arab and international response will be TEL AVIV 00002864 002 OF 002 determined by a number of unknown factors, including the scale and duration of the operation and the extent of the damage to the civilian populations on both sides. There is also the question of an Israeli exit strategy: if the GOI decides to reoccupy large parts of Gaza, as soon as the smoke clears the Israelis probably will be looking for a third party to whom they can transfer responsibility.

Action Recommendation: Consider U.S. Response Now ——————————————— —– 6.

(C) We strongly recommend that the Department consider now the U.S. response to the above-mentioned range of Israeli military operations, including press guidance, talking points and even Security Council action, bearing in mind that we are likely to have little to no advance warning and that even a relatively restrained operation could rapidly grow into something much bigger. Our recommendation is that the USG start with putting the blame on Hamas for the illegitimacy of its rule in Gaza, its policy of firing or allowing other factions to fire rockets and mortars at Israeli civilian targets, and its decision to end the “tahdiya” calming period; and support for Israel’s right to defend itself, while also emphasizing our concern for the welfare of innocent Palestinian civilians and U.S. readiness to provide emergency humanitarian relief. On this last point, USAID points out that large-scale U.S. and international humanitarian assistance will be urgently needed in Gaza if the IDF ends up carrying out a broad-scale military operation.

********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv’s Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM

Not sure where this next bit is from – is it an appendage to the above or from elsewhere?

23.12 from Jerusalem

Al Quds quotes a recent World Bank report that concludes trade in the West Bank cannot improve under the current Israeli restrictions and checkpoint regime. The report focused on the Allenby border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan where Palestinian exports must pass through several Israeli obstacles. It demands the lifting of existing Israeli limitations on the travel of Palestinian citizens and goods. The report also considers Gaza to be on the verge of economic collapse due to the Israeli siege.

Next cable:

29/12/08

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03

TEL AVIV 002906

NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958:

DECL: 12/28/2018

TAGS: KWBG, MOPS, PREL, PTER, PINR, EAID, EFIN, IS

SUBJECT: GAZA SITUATION REPORT, DECEMBER 29, 18:00

REF: JERUSALEM 2295

Classified By: A/DCM Marc Sievers for reasons 1.4 (B/D).

1. (C) Summary:

The IDF continued its deployment of ground forces around the Gaza periphery on December 29, with elements of at least three armored and two infantry brigades taking up positions opposite Gaza City and Beit Hanoun. Air strikes against strategic and tactical targets continued throughout the day, as did rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip. One Israeli civilian was killed when a rocket landed in Ashkelon on the morning of December 29. According to IDF contacts, 63 truckloads of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza via Kerem Shalom during the day on December 29, with further deliveries scheduled for December 30. Israeli political leaders, including FM Livni and MoD Barak, caution that military operations could continue for weeks, and that the goal is to change the strategic environment and destroy Hamas’ offensive rocket capabilities. Separately, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Discount announced that they will cease providing correspondent banking services to Gaza at midnight on December 31. End summary.

Military Operations ——————- 2.

(SBU) The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is continuing its strategic campaign against Hamas leadership, personnel and infrastructure throughout Gaza. In addition to targets associated with the manufacture, storage and deployment of Kassam rockets, the IAF has also attacked the Hamas Interior Ministry, Islamic University (which contains labs that the GOI says are active in weapons and explosives research for Hamas), and a Hamas guest house used for official visitors. The IDF Spokesperson announced that the office of Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh was attacked overnight (note: speaking on Israeli radio December 29, Deputy Defense Minister Vilnai denied that Haniyeh was personally targeted in the airstrike), as were “dozens of other Hamas-related targets.” Israeli Naval forces also attacked Hamas vessels and coastal structures overnight, according to the Spokesperson’s office. In his radio interview, Deputy Defense Minister Vilnai also said the IDF has high morale, and in contrast to the Second Lebanon War, all levels of the military know their task and what is expected of them. Vilnai said the operations will last a long time, “perhaps much longer than people expect.” Asked to comment on a possible ground campaign, he declined to answer, saying he did not intend to broadcast to Hamas Israel’s military intentions.

3. (S/NF) At 16:00 on December 28, the IDF bombed the Phiadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, destroying 39-40 smuggling tunnels. No Egyptian border guards were harmed. IDF contacts have repeatedly told DATT that the targeting of the tunnels was coordinated with Egypt, and that they had passed the coordinates of the attack points to the Egyptians to enable them to ensure the safety of their border forces.

4. (SBU) As of 15:00 local December 29, 50 rockets have been fired into Israel today from Gaza, according to press reports. One Israeli was killed and 14-16 wounded when a Grad-type rocket struck a construction site in Ashkelon during the morning. Two Israelis have been killed since the start of operation “Cast Lead” on December 27. On December 28, two 122 mm Katyusha rockets struck areas in or near the city of Ashdod, in what appears to be the first attack by rockets with a range in excess of 30 km.

5. (S/NF) The IDF is continuing its deployment of ground forces around the Gaza periphery, although no ground operations had been initiated as of 18:00. This morning the IDF closed most areas bordering the Gaza Strip to allow for the positioning of armor and infantry units. On December 28, DAO officers observed the movement of M-109 artillery and support/ammunition vehicles into the vicinity of Gaza. Heavy trucks laden with concrete shelters, water storage tanks and other logistical equipment intended to support ground operations were also observed deploying around the Gaza border. DAO also observed the movement of Merkava 3 tanks from the 188 Armor Brigade, which is normally deployed on the Lebanese border, into the vicinity of Gaza.

6. (S/NF) During a subsequent observation mission this morning, DAO officers observed a further significant increase in the IDF ground forces presence around Gaza. Elements of three armor brigades, including artillery batteries and Merkava 3 and 4 tanks, and two infantry brigades were deployed opposite Gaza City and Beit Hanoun.

TEL AVIV 00002906 002 OF 003 Political Developments ———————– 7.

(U) During a special Knesset session to discuss the military operations this morning, DefMin Barak called the operation an “all-out war against Hamas” and said it would be “widened and deepened as is necessary.” He said the security services had spent “months” preparing for the operation, and would carry it out until Hamas is not longer capable of launching rockets at Israeli towns. While somewhat less hawkish, FM Livni’s remarks to the Knesset made clear that Israel expects the international community to blame Hamas, not Israel, for the current hostilities and the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

8. (C) During a briefing in Sderot for the diplomatic corps on December 28, Livni and MoD Pol-Mil Director Amos Gilad stressed that Israel needs the support of the international community for an extended military operation designed not to overthrow the Hamas regime in Gaza, but to change the strategic environment by force. Israel will not tolerate continued rocket attacks on its citizens and the operation will continue for weeks. Livni said if the international community forces Israel to stop too soon, Israel will have to do it all over in the near future. She expressed understanding of President Abbas, dilemma and pressure on him to condemn Israeli actions, but she noted that even he had blamed Hamas while in Cairo, and she asked why the rest of the international community was finding it hard to do the same. “This is the minimum we expect of you,” she told the assembled diplomats. Livni also said the Gaza operation was in the longer run interests of peace with the Palestinians since Israel could not sign a peace agreement with a Palestinian Authority that did not have control over Gaza.

9. (C) Gilad said he attached high priority to cooperating with UNRWA, WFP, and Arab and Muslim states to ensure a steady flow of humanitarian relief. He said the objective is to force an end to the rocket fire and Israel will continue until that goal is reached. He reiterated comments by other political leaders that ground operations are an option to be used if necessary. Gilad emphasized that the targets have been only Hamas offices, military installations and rocket workshops and stockpiles. He said Israel is using sophisticated means to avoid civilian casualties but some are unavoidable. Asked if Israel was concerned about Hizballah opening a second front from the north, Gilad said the IDF is on high alert in the north and is “ready for all eventualities.” Gilad dismissed the possibility that the fighting in Gaza could touch off a third Intifada in the West Bank, saying that “all of our intelligence assessments are that the PA is in full control in the West Bank and has no interest in allowing a third Intifada.”

Humanitarian Assistance ———————– 10. (SBU)

The MFA and the IDF,s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) say they are prepared, to the extent possible given ongoing military operations, to facilitate the passage of all international humanitarian assistance destined for Gaza. According to COGAT, 23 trucks crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing on December 28, with 50 trucks scheduled for delivery December 29. As of 17:00 on December 29, 63 trucks had crossed into Gaza, according to an IDF contact at Kerem Shalom. The crossing was scheduled to remain open until 16:30 but closed late in order to get through an urgently needed donation of 600-1000 units of blood from Jordan. The IDF contact confirmed delivery of five ambulances from the PA, but said the Turkish ambulances, which were supposedly off-loaded in Ashdod, had not been found as of closing time.

11. (SBU) According to the IDF source, the 63 trucks included: — World Food Program: 15 trucks (450 metric tons, including 20 metric tons funded by USAID) of wheat flour; — UNWRA: 4 trucks of medical supplies and 10 trucks of food (rice, milk powder, sugar); — ICRC: 3 trucks of medical supplies and 5 ambulances transferred from the West Bank; — Jordan: 1 truck of 1000 liters blood products, 12 truck of food and medical supplies; — Egypt: 4 trucks of food; — Doctors Without Borders: 1 truck of medical supplies; — CARE: 1 truck of medical supplies;

12. (SBU) The IDF expects 50-60 trucks at Kerem Shalom again tomorrow, including five trucks of medical supplies for the ICRC.

TEL AVIV 00002906 003 OF 003

13. (SBU) Nahal Oz and Karni: As of 11:00, the MFA reported that plans to open the Nahal Oz terminal for cooking gas transfer was cancelled due to the ongoing military operations near the terminal. COGAT is planning to try again December 30. Plans to transfer 40 trucks of grain through the Karni conveyor terminal were also cancelled, with COGAT examining the possibility of rerouting the grain to Kerem Shalom.

14. (SBU) Erez: COGAT source confirmed several emergency crossings at Erez, including a number of UN staff entering Gaza and urgent medical cases exiting Gaza. As of 17:00, Erez was being held open waiting for the arrival of an ambulance to transport an injured individual to the West Bank for medical treatment. The Consular Section is coordinating with COGAT and Consulate General Jerusalem on any potential evacuations of Amcits through Erez, but COGAT knew of none seeking exit on December 29.

15. (SBU) Medical Supplies: The MFA argued today that inefficiencies on the part of the Palestinian Authority,s (PA) Ministry of Health (MOH), not the GOI, are responsible for the delay of medical supplies into Gaza. According to the MFA, the PA took responsibility for the provision of healthcare products to Gaza as of August. Since that time, it has become the responsibility of the PA MOH to gather, package, and transfer medical supplies to UNRWA for delivery to recipients in Gaza. Due to delays in preparing supplies, the PA MOH has not been able to deliver enough goods to UNRWA to keep pace with demand, the MFA said. The MFA emphasized that the GOI stood ready to approve for entrance any medical supplies that donors or the PA were prepared to send to Gaza. COGAT confirmed that the PA had advised of 30 truckloads of medical supplies slated to arrive at Kerem Shalom on December 29. However, only five had arrived before the crossing closed, and COGAT was told by PA officials that no more would be coming.

16. (SBU) MFA contacts said they were now working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve the supply of medical goods destined for Gaza. The MFA understands that the WHO has requested additional donations of supplies from its members and continues to coordinate its actions with the PA MOH. The MFA believes the WHO had underestimated the number of injured that would result from the current action and is now ramping up operations to meet demand as quickly as possible. The Israeli Ministry of Health has offered to send emergency medical supplies as well, and is coordinating with the MFA and COGAT to determine whether its assistance is required.

Other —– 17. (C) Gaza Cash: Bank Hapoalim and Bank Discount, the only two Israeli banks that maintain correspondent relationships with Palestinian banks, report that they plan to permanently discontinue provision of services to Gaza branches as of midnight on December 31st. Banking contacts have informed emboffs that Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel, has not requested that the banks extend their deadlines as he did in November. Without such a call from Fischer by close-of-business today, emboffs believe that Bank Hapoalim and Bank Discount will likely follow through on their plan as announced. Embassy contacts at the banks and in Fischer,s office have agreed to keep emboffs appraised of any changes.

********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv’s Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM

Next cable:

30/12/08 from Jerusalem

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02

JERUSALEM 002314

SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, IPA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND E.O. 12958:

DECL: 12/30/2018

TAGS: KWBG, IS, PGOV, PTER, ASEC

SUBJECT: SENIOR IDF, PASF COMMANDERS MEET TO DISCUSS WEST BANK SECURITY SITUATION

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1. (S) PA security chiefs met with top IDF and COGAT officers late December 29 at Bet El (outside Ramallah) to discuss the West Bank security situation in light of Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip. PA security chiefs told ConGenOffs that the PA urged the IDF to avoid Palestinian demonstrations and to refrain from using live ammunition, which killed three Palestinian demonstrators in recent days. According to PA commanders, the two sides agreed to expedite coordination and exchange information on disturbances and agreed both sides have an interest in avoiding violent clashes. Separately, PM Salam Fayyad confirmed to the Consul General that Israeli MoD officials have expressed their understanding of the need to avoid confrontations in the West Bank. End summary.

2. (S) According to PA National Security Forces (NSF) commander MG Thiab Mustafa Ali (Abu al-Fatah), PA Joint Security Committees (JSC) commander BG Qays Makhzumi and other senior security contacts, PA commanders met with IDF West Bank Division Commander BG Noam Tibon, West Bank COGAT Director BG Yoav (Poly) Mordechai and IDF staff principals late December 29 at Bet El DCL (District Coordination Liaison) office outside Ramallah. In addition to MG Ali and Makhzumi, PA police chief MG Hazim Attallah, Preventive Security (PSO) director MG Ziad Hab al-Rih, acting General Intelligence (Mukhabarat) chief Muhammad Thib Mansur, and Military Intelligence (Istikhbarat) chief BG Majid al-Farraj attended the meeting. Security commanders told ConGenOffs that they discussed the overall security situation the West Bank in light of Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, and better methods of dealing with protests.

PA Commanders Urge IDF to Avoid Use of Live Ammunition —————————- 3.

(C) PA commanders complained about IDF use of live ammunition, responsible for three Palestinian fatalities in December 27-28 protests. MG Ali said IDF commanders told them live ammunition is the last resort when dealing with Palestinian demonstrators, and IDF rules of engagement only authorize it when the lives of IDF soldiers or Israeli citizens are at immediate risk. PA security chiefs said IDF BG Tibon reported that the Nil’in village shooting (in which two Palestinian were killed by IDF fire) was quickly investigated by the IDF, and that an IDF officer has already been referred to a disciplinary board for improper use of live ammunition during the incident. According to MG Ali, both BGs Tibon and Mordechai said they re-issued instructions to all forces operating in the West Bank to abide strictly by rules of engagement and refrain from using live rounds against unarmed demonstrators.

4. (C) MG Ali added that IDF commanders said that in the Silwad incidents the Palestinian was about to throw a firebomb, thus endangering soldiers’ lives, and that according to IDF rules of engagement Palestinians with firebombs are a threat to life and can be engaged with live ammunition. He added that both IDF commanders agreed, however, that in most cases, even demonstrators with firebombs should not be engaged, and troops should find non-lethal means of controlling the situation.

Both Sides Agree to Increase Coordination —————————————– 5.

(S) According to PA security chiefs, the second part of the meeting was dedicated to a review the West Bank security situation. PA commanders said they told IDF officers that President Abbas and PM Fayyad both directed them to avoid situations that could develop into confrontations with the IDF. The security chiefs said Abbas and Fayyad passed a message to all Palestinian factions, at a PLO Executive Committee meeting on December 29, that only peaceful marches away from flashpoints would be permitted. PA commanders noted they have no control on over B/C areas such as Qalandiya and Nil’in, and would need IDF approval to move PA forces to those areas to prevent clashes between protesters and the IDF. PA commanders said both sides agreed that Hebron is a problem, and cooperation on a case-by-case basis is critical. PA commanders said their IDF counterparts agreed to expedite coordination and movement requests and exchange information on possible disturbances, as both sides have an interest in preventing West Bank violence. They said both sides also agreed not to leak substantive discussions about the meeting to the press, given the sensitivity of JERUSALEM 00002314 002 OF 002 PA-GOI security coordination in a time of Palestinian outrage over events in Gaza.

Fayyad Confirms MoD Contacts —————————- 6.

(S) In a separate conversation with the Consul General, PM Fayyad said he had received messages from the Israeli MoD on December 29 indicating that the Israeli security leadership understands the need for the IDF to deploy in the West Bank in a way that will minimize confrontations with Palestinian civilians. Fayyad said he was encouraged by the messages, but would watch carefully to see how these instructions are implemented by IDF commanders on the ground. WALLES

Next cable:

30/12/08 Tel Aviv

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03

TEL AVIV 002922

NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958:

DECL: 12/30/2018

TAGS: KWBG, MOPS, PREL, PTER, PINR, EAID, EFIN, IS

SUBJECT: GAZA SITUATION REPORT, DECEMBER 30, 18:00

REF: TEL AVIV 2906

Classified By: A/DCM Marc Sievers, reasons 1.4 (b),(d) 1.

(S) Summary: The IDF continued to reinforce and increase ground forces around the Gaza periphery, including robust logistical support and elements from brigades not typically deployed in the Gaza sector. No ground operations have been initiated; the senior GOI leadership is discussing a range of options. Air strikes during the early morning hours of December 30 destroyed a number of Hamas strategic and tactical targets, including a government complex in Gaza City. Rockets and mortars from Gaza continued to strike Israel, reaching as far north as Yavne and as far east as Rahat; one Israeli woman in Ashdod and an IDF soldier near Nahal Oz were killed in rocket strikes during the evening of December 29. According to the IDF, 93 truckloads of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing during the day on December 30. During a strategic assessment meeting on December 29, PM Olmert challenged GOI officials to avoid talk of a ceasefire, and directed IDF forces to continue their operations with an undefined duration. An Israeli Navy vessel rammed a boat from the Free Gaza movement carrying humanitarian assistance to Gaza from Cyprus, forcing it to turn back. The Free Gaza boat sustained damage but was able to travel north to the Lebanese port of Tyre. The Embassy disseminated a warden message to avoid the 30km area from Gaza due to on-going IDF operations and rocket attacks. End summary.

Military Operations ——————- 2.

(SBU) Israeli air and naval forces attacked dozens of Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip overnight and during the morning hours of December 30. According to the IDF Spokesperson, targets included three buildings in the Hamas government complex — including the Hamas ministries of interior and foreign affairs and PM’s offices — in the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood, Hamas training camps and outposts, stations held by Hamas naval forces, a vehicle transporting a stockpile of Grad missiles, rocket launchers, a weaponry manufacturing facility, and sites used as headquarters by terror cells. Israeli media reported that two top Hamas weapons engineers were killed in the December 29 strike on research labs at the Islamic University.

3. (S/NF) The IDF continues its deployment of ground forces around the Gaza periphery, although no ground operations had been initiated as of 1800 local. Poor weather conditions may have been a contributing factor, although late-breaking press reports also indicate that “senior defense officials” may recommend a 48-hour truce to evaluate Hamas’ reaction prior to launching any ground offensive. Israel Defense Intelligence (IDI) sources told DAO officers that ground operations could begin at any time; a deciding factor would be weather conditions facilitating the ability to provide close air support and medical evacuation. During the evening of December 29, rain and lowered ceilings dominated weather conditions; overcast skies were prevalent over Gaza during much of the day on December 30. The tempo of air operations decreased greatly during the afternoon of December 30.

4. (S) The IDF continues to reinforce and increase its logistical footprint around Gaza. DAO officers observed more robust logistical support for units in assembly areas at Erez Crossing and at the artillery position located south of Kibbutz Nir’am. Unit flags, tents, and port-a-johns have been erected at these locations. Overnight, reinforcements from units previously unobserved in the Gaza sector arrived, including elements of the Givati Brigade, the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, and the Kfir Brigade’s Heruv Battalion. DAO reports that the preponderance of IDF units are located around the northern half of Gaza; the deployment of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) with mounted mock turrets may represent decoy attempts to portray a larger presence in the south.

5. (S) DATT reports that during a briefing to military attaches and UN military representatives on December 29, IDF Strategic Division Commander Brigadier General Yossi Heyman noted the 122mm rocket attacks on the port of Ashdod demonstrated that Hamas is capable of launching rockets of up to 35km — putting more than 500,000 Israelis in the range of rockets emanating from Gaza. BG Heyman said the IDF was “prepared for a long operation,” and stressed that the IDF was doing its best to minimize civilian casualties. Reserve Brigadier General Baruch Spiegel informally mentioned to embassy officers December 30 that the IDF is ready to carry out a detailed plan for ground operations with multiple TEL AVIV 00002922 002 OF 003 stages and a range of levels of intensity, but is waiting for orders from the political level — presumably the inner war cabinet of PM Olmert, Defense Minister Barak, Foreign Minister Livni, and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ashkenazi. Spiegel said he thought the decision whether to launch a ground operation would be made in the next 48 hours. He commented that the IDF is not in a hurry and can continue to build up ground forces without pressure to act. Spiegel and his colleague at the Economic Cooperation Foundation Boaz Karni told us that the GOI’s goal of a “sustainable ceasefire” was being complicated by the fact that senior Hamas officials in Gaza have all gone underground and are not able to communicate with potential mediators.

6. (SBU) As of 1715 local December 30, approximately 20 rockets have been fired throughout the day from Gaza, according to press reports. Most of these rockets landed in or near Sderot, injuring two Israelis and damaging several properties. One rocket struck as far east as the vicinity of Rahat; another Qassam rocket scored a direct hit on a kibbutz dining hall in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. According to the Israeli MFA, approximately 90 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel on December 29. Three Israelis were killed by rocket and mortar fire on December 29, including a construction worker in Ashkelon (Grad-type rocket), a soldier in the Nahal Oz area (Qassam/mortar attack), and a woman in Ashdod (Grad-type rocket). Four Israelis have been killed since the start of operation “Cast Lead” on December 27. During the evening of December 29, several rockets hit in or near Okafim in the east and Yavne in the north, demonstrating increasing range. Israeli schools in a 30km radius from Gaza remained closed on December 30.

Political Developments ———————- 7.

(SBU) According to media reports, during a December 29 evening situation assessment meeting with FM Livni, Defense Minister Barak, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ashkenazi, Shin Bet Director Diskin, and Mossad Director Dagan, PM Olmert reportedly instructed meeting attendees not to talk about a cease-fire with Hamas. He ordered the IDF to continue its actions with an undefined end to the operation. Olmert stressed that Israel will act against Hamas “with an iron fist,” but would treat the population in Gaza “with silk gloves” by ensuring the provision of humanitarian aid, food, and other needs.

8. (SBU) Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor Party) said to the press that Israel would not cease the operation in Gaza until Hamas stopped firing rockets at Israel. He said the operation will continue until a “new reality” is created in which communities on the Gaza periphery can “lead their lives quietly.” Minister for Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai (Shas Party) commented that the Israeli elections scheduled for February 10 should not be postponed due to the situation in Gaza.

9. (C) The MFA is closely following Egyptian-Turkish discussions of possible ceasefire terms, which they believe are backed by the USG. Israeli press reports, meanwhile, speculate on a joint French-British proposal to force a cease-fire on Israel and Hamas. According to the press, the proposal will be presented at an emergency session of the EU’s foreign ministers’ meeting on December 30. The Israeli press quotes Foreign Ministry sources as saying the “British are promoting a very bad proposal for Israel.” The same sources indicate the “international hourglass” would allow Israel to continue its operation in Gaza at most until January 5. Israeli press reports indicate that “senior defense officials” may recommend a short-term cessation of hostilities to evaluate Hamas’ reaction, although the cabinet’s views on any such suggestion were unclear as of 1800 local.

Humanitarian Assistance ———————– 10.

(SBU) The MFA and the IDF’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reiterated the GOI policy that any international aid will be permitted into Gaza. According to COGAT information relayed via the MFA, the Kerem Shalom crossing was open on December 30, but closed at 1500 local. One hundred and ten trucks carrying medical equipment and food were expected, but only 93 actually crossed into Gaza due to time constraints and lack of preparedness on the part of some trucks, according to COGAT.

11. (SBU) According to USAID, 14 UN World Food Program (WFP) TEL AVIV 00002922 003 OF 003 trucks with 400 metric tons of wheat flour and 21 metric tons of biscuits entered Gaza on December 30 through the Kerem Shalom crossing. USAID reports that all USAID-funded food commodities for non-refugee beneficiaries are already in Gaza; delivery will begin as soon as the security situation permits.

12. (SBU) The Nahal Oz crossing was closed after a mortar attack on the crossing on December 29; COGAT via the MFA reported that the security situation on December 30 prevented the opening of the terminal. The MFA also noted the GOI was aware that the Gaza power station needs diesel fuel, and is working on an alternative point of entry as the Nahal Oz crossing was closed. COGAT also reported that the Karni crossing remained closed December 30 due to on-going military operations in the area; it is not clear whether the security situation will allow for the crossing to be opened on December 31. According to the MFA, COGAT suggested to UNRWA that wheat originally destined to enter through Karni be repacked in sacks to allow for a transfer at the Kerem Shalom crossing. (Comment: We doubt this offers a realistic solution, given the very large volume of bulk wheat needed by UNRWA and the additional pressure it would place on the Keren Shalom crossing.)

13. (SBU) The MFA continued to argue on December 30 that inefficiencies on the part of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Ministry of Health (MOH) — and not the GOI — are responsible for the delay of medical supplies into Gaza. According to the MFA, several NGOs have complained about the PA MOH’s inefficiency.

14. (SBU) The MFA reports that the GOI has approved the following new humanitarian assistance shipments: — One aircraft from Norway with WHO medical supplies (expected in next few days) — One aircraft from Geneva with Red Cross medical supplies (expected in next few days) — Two aircraft from Russia with humanitarian goods (expected to arrive on or around January 2) 15. (SBU) USAID sources report that 45 to 50 truckloads of medical supplies, basic food items, and blankets donated by Qatar and Libya are waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing and are expected to enter Gaza on December 30. Four electrical generators for the Gaza Ministry of Health facilities are also at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing waiting to enter Gaza.

15. (SBU) According to press reports, Olmert, Livni and Barak agreed December 29 to allow Qatar to airlift humanitarian aid to Gaza in coming days. Several aircraft from Qatar will land in Israel; food and medicine will subsequently be trucked to Gaza. 16. (SBU) The MFA expects the GOI to approve the full list of foreign citizens wishing to be evacuated from Gaza, including any American citizens. The GOI is now working with Jordan to permit the expeditious entry of these potential evacuees into Jordan via the Allenby Bridge with departure through Amman airport. The MFA expects the GOI to allow the evacuation within the “coming days.”

********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv’s Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM

Next cable:

31/12/08 Tel Aviv

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 002930 NOFORN E.O. 12958:

DECL: 12/31/2018

TAGS: KWBG, MOPS, PREL, PTER, PINR, EAID, EFIN, IS

SUBJECT: GAZA SITUATION REPORT, DECEMBER 31, 14:30 REF: A. TEL AVIV 2922 B. TEL AVIV 2906

Classified By: Classified by Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Marc Siever s, reason 1.4 (b) and (d) 1. (S)

SUMMARY: While IDF troops remained on hold but still poised for a ground attack, rocket fire continues into Israel from Gaza, including increased attacks beyond 30km, and the first hit in the city of Be’er Sheva. Israeli airstrikes are ongoing, although at a slowed tempo, with attacks reported along the Philadelphi corridor, in northern Gaza, and on government buildings including the Hamas “Prime Minister’s Offices.” Meanwhile, according to press reports, the “security kitchen cabinet” of PM Olmert, DM Barak and FM Livni decided to reject the French proposal for a 48-hour humanitarian cease-fire, calling it unrealistic because it was not permanent, placed limited demands on Hamas, and was unnecessary as no humanitarian crisis has developed in Gaza. According to COGAT, over 100 truckloads of humanitarian aid are scheduled to enter Gaza on December 31 through the Kerem Shalom crossing, while the Karni and Nahal Oz crossings remain closed due to ongoing mortar fire in the area. The Erez crossing remains open but restricted. With Karni and Nahal Oz closed, COGAT says it is working with UNRWA on logistically feasible options for bringing bulk grain and fuel through Kerem Shalom. Finally, the Bank of Israel has also given its approval for Bank Hapoalim and Discount Bank to end their correspondent relationship with Gaza banks as of January 1.

Military Operations ——————- 2. (S) DAO sources report that the IAF conducted 35 strikes overnight, withIsraeli Naval forces also striking targets withinGaza. This includes attacks against a reported Hamas training camp in northern Gaza, a second strie along the Philadelphi corridor against smuggling tunnels, and the bombing of additional government buildings including the office building of Hamas “Prime Minister” Ismayil Haniyah. No casualties were reported in these actions, although there are reports of civilian casualties in other strikes, including one that targeted a house in the Jabalya refugee camp.

3. (S) At 1430 local, DAO observers reported an increase in IDF ground forces (over levels observed December 30) along the Gaza border, including elements of at least four infantry and three armor brigades. Unlike during previous observation missions, IDF forces outside the northern Gaza Strip were observed wearing full combat gear and deployed in a combat-ready stance. Additional roads, including highway 4 north of the Erez crossing, were closed, and a large staging area — with lights, generators, field tents, water tanks and other structures — had been completed adjacent to the northeast corner of the Gaza Strip.

4. (S//NF) Rocket fire into Israel continues as several more towns suffered their first hit, including at least 5 impacts in Be’er Sheva, the principal city in the Negev. Be’er Sheva is Israel’s sixth largest city, after Ashdod (which is also under attack), with a population of 200,000. The first rocket strike into Be’er Sheva was a 122mm Grad that the IDF told the DAO they believe the Grad was made in China but are analyzing it further before confirming.

5. (U) While no one was injured in the initial Be’er Sheva attack, it hit an empty kindergarten and the news photos of the burned dolls and destroyed children’s toys elicited a strong response from authorities and the public. The IDF has expanded its orders to close the schools to additional “third ring” cities, including Be’er Sheva, and asked residents to stay in or near shelters and avoid public gatherings. At least five more rockets have hit Be’er Sheva on December 31, and attacks are reported on other towns including Ashkelon and Yavneh. Early estimates are over 40 Qassam, Katyusha and Grad rockets fired as of 1430 local on December 31.

Humanitarian Assistance ———————– 6.

(U) COGAT told Emboffs that Kerem Shalom and Erez remain open, while Nahal Oz and Karni are still closed due to continued attacks in the vicinity of the crossings. COGAT says as of mid-day over 80 trucks have passed through Kerem Shalom, with a target of over 100 trucks before the crossing closes at 1500. As of 1430, COGAT was not able to provide the number of people that have crossed through Erez, though at least four crossing permits have been issued.

7. (SBU) COGAT officials also said that they have yet to receive a response from UNRWA on the feasibility of transferring the bulk grain at the Karni crossing into 1-ton plastic sacks and moving them through Kerem Shalom. COGAT says it is also still investigating ways that it can move cooking gas and diesel fuel through Kerem Shalom that meet public safety standards. COGAT officials also told EconCouns that two planeloads of aid are expected today and tomorrow from Greece, Norway and the WHO. However, the COGAT official warned that, due to capacity issues, it will take a week and a half to move these goods through Kerem Shalom.

Political Developments ———————- 8. (C)

Prime Minister Olmert, Minister of Defense Barak and Foreign Miniter Livni met last night and rejected the possibility of a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire as suggested by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson called the proposal unrealistic because it was a unilateral Israeli ceasefire with no mechanism to ensure Hamas ceases rocket fire, smuggling, and other terrorist activity. Barak was reportedly in favor of the ceasefire to calm the international community, while Olmert and Livni took a harder line according to press reports. Nimrod Barkan, head of the MFA Political Research Department, told A/DCM on December 31 that Barak’s primary interest in the 48-hour ceasefire was due to the poor weather expected over the next two days.

9. (U) The full security cabinet met on December 31 to receive a security briefing and discuss a ground operation. Barak has already requested that another 2,500 reservists be activated. During the meeting, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin reportedly said that the operations against Hamas infrastructure had been more effective than anticipated and that no humanitarian crisis exists in Gaza.

10. (U) In the press, pundits are divided over whether Israel should accept a ceasefire or continue to a more-costly ground operation. Speculation is also growing over the political motivations of the Gaza operation. Opposition leader and PM candidate Benjamin Netanyahu has so far expressed complete support for the government, while the first polls released since the operation began show gains for both Labor and Kadima, with Kadima now even with Likud at 29 seats apiece.

11. (SBU) Israeli Arabs: Protests against the Gaza operation continue in Israeli-Arab and mixed Jewish-Arab towns and cities. While most of these demonstrations have ended peacefully, others have resulted in clashes with police or Jewish counter-protesters. Minor clashes between Arab and Jewish students at Haifa University have occurred each day since December 29. The far-left and predominantly Arab Hadash Party is organizing what it hopes will be a very large demonstration in Tel Aviv on the evening of January 3. At the same time, small groups of Israeli-Arab youths continue to throw stones at cars and block roads throughout the north, with incidents reported in Uhm al-Fahm, Nazareth, Akko and dozens of smaller towns. Media reports on December 31 indicate that police have arrested over 300 Israeli Arabs, a large portion of them minors, for causing violent disturbances and disrupting traffic. POL and DAO officers have seen very large numbers of Israeli police and border police deployed in visible locations throughout the north since the start of military operations on December 27.

********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv’s Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM

Next cable:

2 Jan 09

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02

TEL AVIV 000005 SIPDIS E.O. 12958:

DECL: 01/01/2019 TAGS: KWBG, MOPS, PREL, PTER, PINR, EAID, IS

SUBJECT: GAZA SITUATION REPORT, JANUARY 2, 15:00

REF: A. TEL AVIV 2930 B. TEL AVIV 2922 C. TEL AVIV 2906

Classified By: A/DCM Marc Sievers for reasons 1.4 (B/D).

1. (C) SUMMARY: Local and international media highlighted FM Livni’s January 1 comments in Paris that a ceasefire was unnecessary and would give Hamas time to regroup. Israeli troops deployed around Gaza have relaxed their posture, but remain prepared for ground incursions. Rocket and mortar strikes against southern Israeli towns have decreased, but Grad-type rockets continue to impact Be’er Sheva; no additional Israeli deaths were reported on January 1 or 2. Israeli Air Force (IAF) operations against Hamas targets continued on January 1 and 2, killing Nizar Rayan, reportedly one of the IDF’s top targets and the first senior Hamas official killed in Operation Cast Lead, along with 15 members of his family, according to press reports. The IAF also destroyed a mosque reportedly serving as a weapons depot and communications hub. On the morning of January 2, Embassy Tel Aviv, Consulate-General Jerusalem and Embassy Amman facilitated the evacuation of 27 American citizens and their family members from Gaza. END SUMMARY.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 2. (SBU) After meeting with French President Sarkozy in Paris on January 1, FM Livni reiterated the cabinet’s December 31 decision to reject a 48-hour ceasefire, saying there was no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and therefore no need for a humanitarian ceasefire. Sarkozy restated his intention to visit the region next week. On January 1, France ceded the rotating EU presidency to the Czech Republic, which announced plans to dispatch a delegation to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Amman, and Cairo on January 4 in support of the French ceasefire proposal. Turkish PM Erdogan’s diplomatic tour continued on January 1 with a stop in Cairo after meeting Syrian President Asad on December 31; he is expected to visit Riyadh on January 3. Turkish DCM Bozay provided a readout of President Gul’s January 1 conversation with President Peres. Gul reportedly expressed understanding of Israel’s need to take action against terrorist attacks, noting that Turkey was also a victim of terrorism, but cautioned Peres that the operation needed to be brought to a quick conclusion due to the impact on Muslim public opinion. Peres responded that he hoped Israeli military operations could be completed soon, but said Hamas was not showing any sign of readiness to accept a ceasefire on terms acceptable to Israel. Local reaction to the December 31 statement by Arab League FMs has been muted.

3. (C) Neither the inner cabinet nor full security cabinet have convened since the December 31 meeting in which cabinet members agreed upon conditions for a ceasefire and ended press speculation of dissent by DM Barak; the next regular cabinet meeting will be on January 4. While reportedly pushing for a major but brief ground incursion, Ha’aretz reports that defense officials recommend parallel preparation of a diplomatic exit strategy that would include an agreement brokered with Hamas; FM Livni remarked in Paris that a ceasefire negotiated directly with Hamas was unacceptable as it would legitimize the group’s hold over Gaza.

4. (U) Polling results in advance of Knesset elections still scheduled for February 10 continue to show gains for DM Barak,s Labor Party, with unclear results for FM Livni’s Kadima Party and former PM Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Media commentators agree that Barak has the most to gain from the Gaza operation, though much depends upon its outcome. A Ma’ariv-Teleseeker poll published January 2 shows the Labor Party earning 16 Knesset seats if elections were held today (up from 11 on December 25), while Likud and Kadima would each take 28 (down from 29 for Likud and 30 for Kadima). The same poll showed public support for the ongoing operations against Hamas at 93 percent, with 40 percent favoring continued air attacks only, 41 percent in favor of a ground incursion, and nine percent advocating an immediate ceasefire. 77 percent of the public believes Israel should only accept a ceasefire if it includes negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit. (Note: The Ma’ariv-Teleseeker poll showed significantly stronger support for ongoing operations in Gaza than a January 1 Ha’aretz poll that included Israeli Arabs, though their influence on government decision making is minimal, leading us to believe they were excluded from the Ma’ariv poll.) The Likud Party has put up billboards all over Tel Aviv with the slogan “strong together” and in smaller print, “Likud supports our soldiers and the residents of the south.” In keeping with Bibi Netanyahu’s pledge to suspend his electoral campaign during the fighting, the billboards do not refer to Netanyahu directly.

MILITARY OPERATIONS 5. (S) The Israeli Defense Forces, (IDF) ground buildup appears to have slowed after the initial influx of armor and infantry to the Gaza perimeter. Elements of at least three armor and four infantry brigades remain deployed along the TEL AVIV 00000005 002 OF 002 northern Gaza strip. DAO reports no indications of an imminent ground incursion. IDF maintenance and logistical activity continued on January 2, but IDF troops displayed a more relaxed posture than on January 1. DAO assesses that the IDF has not yet deployed sufficient forces for a deep, sustained ground operation, but that more limited incursions into northern Gaza could occur with little or no warning.

6. (SBU) Despite cleared skies over Gaza, the pace of Israeli Air Force (IAF) operations has decreased, with 48 sorties on January 1, according to the IDF. Media reports speculate that the IAF is running out of quality targets and may soon be forced to either scale back operations or turn the fighting over to ground forces. IAF operations on January 1 included a strike that killed senior Hamas official Nizar Rayan in his Jabaliya home, reportedly along with his four wives and 11 of his children. Rayan was reportedly on the IDF’s list of top Hamas targets, and was the first senior Hamas political official killed in Operation Cast Lead. IAF jets also bombed a mosque in the Jabaliya area that, according to IDF sources, served as a command and control hub for Hamas militants and storage site for Grad-type and Qassam rockets. As of 12:00 on January 2, the IAF had carried out an additional 20 strikes, mostly targeting the homes of Hamas militants; IDF sources stress that residents received prior warnings to evacuate by leaflet, phone, or text message, although one prominent commentator quoted military sources as saying that at least in the Rayan attack, no one answered the phone when it rang 10 minutes prior to the attacl.

7. (SBU) IDF sources report that 35 rockets, including 10 Grad-type, and four mortar rounds were fired into Israel on January 1, with several rockets striking in or around Be,er Sheva, with no deaths or injuries. As of 15:00 on January 2 approximately 20 additional rockets had been launched from Gaza, impacting Ashkelon, Sdot Negev, and Eshkol; one woman was reported injured by shrapnel. Israeli towns and cities within 40km of Gaza remain under special alert, expanded from 30km after rockets began striking Be,er Sheva on December 31. Schools remain closed, and residents have been asked to stay in or near shelters.

AMCIT EVACUATION 8. (SBU) On the morning of January 2 Embassy Tel Aviv, Consulate-General Jerusalem, and Embassy Amman coordinated the evacuation of 27 American citizens (Amcits) and non-Amcit family members from Gaza via the Erez crossing; an additional seven Amcits on the initial evacuation list chose to remain in Gaza. As of 14:00 the 27 evacuees were proceeding through the Allenby border crossing from Israel into Jordan after transiting Israel under embassy escort. A total of 234 third country nationals were evacuated through Erez during the day.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 9. (SBU) The Office for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced that 60 trucks carrying 1,360 tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing on January 1, including 10 UN Relief and Works Agency trucks with cooking oil and seven with flour, three trucks with medical supplies from Egypt, seven trucks with food from Jordan, and two International Committee of the Red Cross trucks carrying medical supplies. 64 trucks entered Gaza on January 2, according to COGAT (of 72 that were initially expected). According to USAID, the Kerem Shalom crossing remained open as of 15:00 on January 2, while the Rafah crossing into Egypt opened only briefly for the evacuation of 17 wounded Palestinians and entry of six Egyptian trucks carrying medical supplies. The Karni grain conveyor and Nahal Oz fuel pipeline remained closed on January 1 and 2.

10. (SBU) Turkish DCM Bozay told us today that Turkey had completed the coordination with COGAT of substantial Turkish humanitarian assistance, including five ambulances, 330 tons of flour, 11,000 dried food parcels (11 tons), and 13 tons of medical supplies, all of which has now entered Gaza. Bozay said he received full cooperation from Israeli officials, including clearance of the ambulances through the Ashdod port within two days. Based on the success of these shipments, the Turks reportedly are planning additional humanitarian relief, including a number of small generators for Gaza’s hospital.

********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv’s Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM

Next cable – Please Protect name unredacted? why?:

Talking with Gazans

2 Jan

C O N F I D E N T I A L

SECTION 01 OF 02

JERUSALEM 000017

SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND E.O. 12958:

DECL: 01/02/2019

TAGS: KWBG, IS, PHUM, ECON, EAID

SUBJECT: GAZA CONTACTS DESCRIBE A MISERABLE LIFE UNDER FIRE

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1. (C)

Summary. A wide selection of Gaza Strip political, business, civil society, academic and NGO contacts report fear of airstrikes, deteriorating conditions, minimal or no electricity, increasing food pressures, and a gloomy outlook for resolution of current hostilities. Several who are strongly opposed to Hamas said they have little hope that Hamas will lose control or change its behavior due to Israel’s military operations. End summary.

Gaza PLO ExComm Member: Situation Deteriorating; Hamas Unwilling to Return to Ceasefire; ————————————– 2. (C)

Gaza City-based PLO Executive Committee member Riyad al-Khudari (independent, please protect) told PolOff January 2 that he doubts Hamas will accept a mutual cessation of hostilities, as Hamas’ objective is permanently reopening the crossings, not halting Israeli attacks or protecting Gaza’s population. He said ending the fighting will be difficult, as Hamas has made Gaza into an armed camp and does not fear an Israeli invasion. They are too stubborn, he believes, to agree to a ceasefire that does not include guarantees on the crossings. Al-Khudari said most airstrikes have killed civil police, not Izz al-Din al-Qassam fighters, and, except for Nizar Rayyan, few Hamas leaders have been hit. He said his neighborhood (an upscale part of Shaykh Radwan) has been without electricity for three days, and their house has no heat, with only cooking gas left. Al-Khudari, who is also a university trustee, said all schools and universities in Gaza are closed and will not open anytime soon.

Gaza PLC Member: Outraged at Israeli Targeting of Non-Hamas Institutions ———————————— 3. (C)

Gaza-based Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Rawiya al-Shawwa told PolOff that she and most Gazans are outraged by Israeli targeting of the PLC building, where she and several Fatah PLC members kept offices. She said the building had only recently been completed and complained it was a PA facility, not used by Hamas as a faction, and its destruction is an affront to the PA and delegitimizes the PLC as an institution. She worries that her home in Shuja’iya will be destroyed in fighting, as houses nearby have been bombed by the IAF and it lies on a main avenue of approach to Gaza City from the border with Israel.

Key UN OCHA Contact’s House Destroyed, Airstrikes Jarring Children ————————— 4. (C)

Hamada al-Bayari, a key Economic/crossings contact, told EconOff January 2 that his house was largely destroyed when IAF ordnance struck a house nearby. He said the bomb targeted a single house but destroyed or heavily damaged all the houses on his street. He said airstrikes are having a severe psychological impact on his children, who have become distant and distrustful. He said he was fortunate to have relocated his family to an in-laws’ house the night before his house was wrecked.

American Corner Director: Situation Terrible for the Children; Food Shortages Acute ————————————– 5. (C)

Gaza City-based Dr. Awni Karzon, Director of Gaza’s American Corner, told PDoff January 2 that his house was heavily damaged in IAF strikes on Justice Ministry buildings, and he had to relocate his family to a friend’s house. He said his family could not take anything from the remains of his house, and they are sharing food provided by his hosts. The adults are eating little themselves so the children can eat. Most food stores in his area are closed, he said, and few Gazans will venture outside because of airstrikes.

Governor’s Office Contact: No Electricity for Days, No Confidence Hamas Will Weaken —————————————– 6. (C)

The Gaza Governor’s office manager, a 35-year-old mother who lives in Rimal (northwest Gaza City) near the ocean, said she has had no electricity for three days, and only had a few hours of electricity daily since Israeli airstrikes began on December 27. She said her home has no heat, and her family must simply bundle up throughout the day for warmth. She said she hates Hamas and sympathizes with Israel’s need to stop rockets, but commented that she sees little connection between Israel’s bombing targets and Hamas, JERUSALEM 00000017 002 OF 002 and doubts current military operations will weaken Hamas’ grip on power.

Democracy Program Manager: Israel Targeting Our Civil Infrastructure More than Hamas ———————————— 7. (C)

Manal al-Bashti, program manager of a USAID-funded civil society/democracy project, told USAID staff that Israeli airstrikes have frequently targeted government institutions, such as the PA Education Ministry building and PLC headquarters, that have no connection to Hamas’ military forces or rockets. She commented that Israel’s military campaign seemed more directed at destroying Palestinian civil infrastructure than degrading Hamas’ capabilities to attack Israel. She said moderates and civilians are suffering the most from the fighting.

AMIDEAST Director: Bombing, Food Shortages Threaten Civilians —————————- 8. (C)

Gaza AMIDEAST Director Anis Abu Hashim told PDoff January 2 that his multi-story apartment building shook so much from nearby bombings that he worried his home had become structurally unsound. He said his family has had no electricity or water for four days, and must transport jugs of water from street level. He said he does not go outside except when forced to look for food, but on a recent search did not find any stores open except for a donkey cart selling vegetables. He wanted to buy bread, but said the line outside the bakery was at least four hours long, and did not want to risk being exposed during airstrikes. WALLES

Next cable:

4 Jan Cairo

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02

CAIRO 000007

SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958:

DECL: 01/04/2019

TAGS: KPAL, PGOV, PREL, PHUM, EG, IS

SUBJECT: EGYPT: GAZA ROUND-UP: JANUARY 4

REF: A. CAIRO 0003 B. CAIRO 0002

Classified By: Minister Counselor William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) —– Rafah —– 1. (S)

As of 1500 hrs. local on January 4, Egyptian military contacts said Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing on January 4 after the Israelis gave advanced warning of their ground invasion and additional air strikes on the smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Rafah border. According to the Egyptian military, the air strikes against the tunnels “appear to be effective8 and the Egyptian Border Guards have seen “no tunnel smuggling activity8 since Israel began bombing Gaza. The Ministry Of Defense will brief military attaches and diplomats on January 5 on their views of the Gaza situation.

2. (SBU) The Egypt-Gaza border remains stable, with a reported 7000 central security forces (civilian, not military) providing additional security throughout Rafah, al-Arish, and the major roads across northern Sinai.

3. (SBU) On January 3, an Egyptian border guard was shot and wounded by Palestinian gunfire. Until January 4, the Egyptians continued to open the Rafah crossing for the transfer of medical supplies into Gaza and to receive injured Palestinians. The transfer of humanitarian assistance had been slow, as all shipments were transferred by hand between Egyptian and Palestinian trucks. However, even this traffic across the Rafah border has now ceased.

4. (U) According to press reports, 102 Palestinians have been treated in Egyptian hospitals since hostilities began and 294 Palestinians have been allowed back into Gaza. Wounded Palestinians are being initially taken to two hospitals in al-Arish ) al-Arish General and Mubarak Armed Forces ) and then transferred as needed to Ministry of Health or military hospitals in Cairo and Ismailia.

—————————— Demonstrations January 3 and 4 —————————— 5. (C)

According to independent daily “Al-Masry Al-Youm (AMAY),” on January 3, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) organized a mass demonstration of 10,000 at the Doctors’ Syndicate in Kafr El-Sheikh in the northern Delta. If this estimate is accurate, it would probably be the largest demonstration in Egypt since the Israeli attacks on Gaza began December 27. According to press reports, there were small demonstrations January 3 in the Delta governorates of Sharkia and Dakahlia. We have confirmed there were demonstrations January 3 in El-Arish approximately 20 miles south of the Gaza border, following the January 2 El-Arish demonstrations when police prevented protestors from moving to the Gaza border. A prominent blogger told us that the AMAY journalist whom police beat unconscious at a downtown Cairo demonstration on Friday, January 2, has left the hospital and returned to work. According to this blogger, the journalist told the police that he was covering the demonstration for “AMAY,” but the police continued to beat him anyway. The blogger said that the police prevented opposition journalists from covering downtown Cairo demonstrations December 31, and subsequently transported the journalists to a desert area bordering Cairo and left them there.

6. (SBU) Contacts told local staff that police had violently suppressed a January 4 demonstration in the port city of Damietta, and have arrested several demonstrators. Contacts have estimated 1,500 demonstrators in Damietta January 4. The MB called for a demonstration the afternoon of January 4 outside the Engineers’ Syndicate in downtown Cairo. We noticed a moderately heavy security presence in the vicinity around mid-day, and we will continue to monitor developments related to this demonstration.

————————- Inside the Demonstrations ————————- 7. (C)

A prominent blogger told us January 4 that the MB has tried to avoid chanting anti-Mubarak slogans during demonstrations as it realizes that the police will move in to stop demonstrations when such chanting begins. The blogger said that when leftist opposition members begin chanting such slogans during demonstrations, MB members try to drown them CAIRO 00000007 002 OF 002 out with shouts of “God is great (Allahu Akbar).”

8. (C) A leading member of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) told us that MB members tried to stop an EOHR press conference at the Journalists’ Syndicate during the week of December 28 by shouting insults accusing the organization of being an agent of the U.S. and the West, before the press conference eventually proceeded. This EOHR contact told us that his organization is asking the GOE to disclose the number of demonstrators it is currently holding in detention. He said the EOHR believes that the GOE has released most demonstrators from custody after a few hours of detention. SCOBEY

Next cable:

5 Jan Cairo

S E C R E T CAIRO 000017

SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958:

DECL: 01/04/2019 TAGS: KPAL, PGOV, PREL, PHUM, EG, IS

SUBJECT: EGYPT: GAZA ROUND-UP: JANUARY 5

REF: A. CAIRO 0007 B. CAIRO 0003 C. CAIRO 0002

Classified By: Minister Counselor William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) —– Rafah —– 1. (S)

On January 5, Egyptian military officials briefed defense attaches on the situation in Gaza. The Egyptian military reports that the Egyptian-Gaza border remains stable, with no breaches since December 28. Egyptian border guards successfully prevented subsequent attempts to breach the border by a small number of unorganized individuals. Egyptian forces continue to receive occasional gunfire from the Gaza side of the border.

2. (S) The Egyptian military estimates that Israeli air attacks have destroyed 50 percent of the main smuggling tunnels between Rafah and Gaza. They anticipate that the Israeli Defense Force will take additional measures to destroy the tunnels during the ground invasion. The Egyptian military stressed that the Rafah border would not be permanently opened until the Palestinian Authority regained control of the border crossings. They expressed concern that the Israelis were attempting to sever Gaza from the West Bank, leaving an independent Gaza as “Egypt’s problem”.8

3. (SBU) According to the Egyptian military, 325 tons of medical aid has been delivered to Gaza since December 28, including 60 tons donated by the GOE. Assistance is being delivered through Rafah, Kerem Shalom, and most recently al-Aouja (Egyptian-Israeli border crossing in Central Sinai) due to the high volumes of goods. All material is being thoroughly searched for weapons and ammunition.

————– Demonstrations ————– 4.

(SBU) Contacts told us that the police prevented the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) from holding a large demonstration planned for Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on the afternoon of January 5; however, our contacts said the demonstration will be held elsewhere in the city either today or tomorrow. The police allowed the MB to lead a smaller demonstration at the Press Syndicate, not far from Tahrir Square, where approximately 400 people demonstrated as of 1430 hrs. local. Emboff observed a demonstration of about 200 people in front of the Mogamma (an enormous government building about half a kilometer from the embassy). The protestors were waving a Palestinian flag and chanting, “We are with you, Hamas!” There were at least 1500 police in full riot gear scattered throughout the public square in front of the Mogamma.

5. (SBU) Contacts told us January 5 that about 17,000 demonstrated in a peaceful protest January in the Delta town of Tanta. Contacts remarked that police allowed the demonstrators to protest, and did not attack the crowd. The MB has claimed that it led demonstrations January 4 of at least 10,000 protestors each in the Delta town of Mansoura and in Fayoum (about 100 kilometers south of Cairo), and of 25,000 protestors in Alexandria. SCOBEY

Next cable:

5 Jan 2009

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04

TEL AVIV 000015 NOFORN

SIPDIS E.O. 12958:

DECL: 01/05/2019

TAGS: KWBG, MOPS, PREL, PTER, PINR, EAID, ASEC, IS

SUBJECT: GAZA SITUATION REPORT, JANUARY 5, 16:00

REF: A. JANUARY 5 KAPLAN E-MAIL B. JANUARY 4 REIDHEAD E-MAIL SITREP C. JANUARY 4 KAPLAN E-MAIL D. TEL AVIV 0005 E. 08 TEL AVIV 2930 F. 08 TEL AVIV 2922 G. 08 TEL AVIV 2906

Classified By: DCM Luis G. Moreno, reasons 1.4 (b),(d) 1. (S)

Summary: IDF ground operations continued January 5 with heavy artillery fire and troop advances on Gaza City. After bisecting the Gaza Strip, IDF ground forces are methodically closing in on Gaza City. IDF leadership describes a “root canal” ground operation aimed at preventing rocket fire, seeking and destroying ammunition storage sites and Hamas combatants, and apprehending terrorists for further interrogation. IDF forces continue to hold ground in northern Gaza used earlier as rocket launching grounds. The number of rocket attacks has decreased, although 28 rockets were fired at Israel as of 1600 local. “Tens of thousands” of reservists were called up January 4 and 5, according to press reports, which indicated that some are intended to reinforce the northern border while others are being held in reserve for any expansion of operations in Gaza. PM Olmert made a number of phone calls to international leaders in the effort to convince the international community that Israel is making efforts to assist the population of Gaza as much as possible. Israeli press widely covers French President Sarkozy’s anticipated arrival in Israel during the evening of January 5. The GOI continues to restrict media access to Gaza; while the MFA said it would allow a few foreign journalists to enter Gaza January 5, no foreign journalists in fact entered Gaza. On January 4, the GOI announced the establishment of a humanitarian coordination cell within the MOD. IDF sources confirmed that 49 out of 80 planned trucks of humanitarian supplies crossed into Gaza on January 5. IDF sources reported that approximately 200,000 liters of diesel fuel were transferred through the Nahal Oz fuel depot, but the Gaza power station contractor refused to pick up the delivery. Local embassies were planning to evacuate an additional 198 foreign nationals on January 5; no U.S. citizens were evacuated. However, the Canadian Embassy informed us that 18 Canadians and 16 other third country nationals were unable to leave Gaza via bus due to IDF-implemented road obstacles north of Gaza City. Continued call ups of local guards for reserve duty could affect Embassy Tel Aviv’s security operations. End summary.

Military Operations ——————- 2. (S)

As of 1230 local, DAO members on the border with Gaza reported heavy artillery fire throughout the Northern Gaza Strip (from southern Gaza City to the northern border), which has been on-going throughout the morning. Apache and Cobra helicopter gunships provided tactical support for on-going troop advances toward and around Gaza City. DAO observers reported at 1400 local that there were no signs of ground operations along the border south of Karni. According to DAO, military police continued to deny foreign journalists access to the exclusive military zone surrounding Gaza, but did allow DAO personnel and other diplomats past checkpoints to areas near the Sufa crossing.

3. (SBU) According to Israeli media outlets, the security establishment has set three main goals for the described “root canal” ground operation to destroy terror infrastructure in Gaza: 1) prevent further rocket launches; 2) seek and destroy ammunition storage sites and Hamas operatives; and 3) apprehend if possible those involved in terrorism for further interrogation. After bisecting the Gaza Strip, IDF troops have surrounded Gaza City, and are now cautiously and methodically closing in. IDF ground forces lay to the north, south, and east of the city, with Israeli naval vessels deployed off-shore to the west. IDF ground forces deployed from the Karni crossing to the Mediterranean have cut off Gaza City from potential Hamas reinforcements and supplies from the south.

4. (SBU) IDF forces continue to hold ground in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya; ministers were briefed during the January 4 cabinet meeting that 73 percent of all rockets fired at Israel during the last week were launched from these areas seized by IDF forces. The number of rocket attacks has decreased as a result, although approximately 28 rockets as of 1600 local have thus far been fired at Israel on January 5, including at least 4 long-range grads. No Israeli casualties were reported as a result of these strikes as of 1600 local. The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck over 30 targets during the evening of January 4, including tunnels, TEL AVIV 00000015 002 OF 004 homes of Hamas operatives, and ammunition and rocket stores. Following the death of an IDF soldier on January 4, there have now been five Israeli fatalities — two soldiers and three civilians — since Operation Cast Lead began. According to Reuters and AFP, over 530 Palestinians have been killed since the operation began. Approximately 50 IDF soldiers have been wounded as a result of the ground combat operation.

5. (SBU) Israeli press outlets speculate that Hamas is attempting to draw IDF forces into dense urban areas in order to maximize IDF casualties or attempt soldier kidnappings. Several press outlets report comments from “security sources” cliaming that the IDF has internalized the lessons learned from the 2006 war in Lebanon: for example, by maneuvering constantly around the combat zone in order to prevent creating stationary targets for Hamas — as well as opportunities to kidnap IDF soldiers.

6. (SBU) The press reported an attempted kidnapping by Hamas of an IDF soldier on January 4. According to the press, the IDF soldier from the Golani infantry brigade had been cut off from his unit, and engaged in a firefight with Hamas operatives who attempted to pull him into a tunnel. The soldier was apparently able to escape following the arrival of helicopter air support. In response to the intense media coverage — both local and international — of the alleged kidnapping of two IDF soldiers, the IDF spokesperson stated the IDF will not respond to false Hamas-generated rumors, and would report in the future any factual kidnappings to the public in an appropriate manner.

Northern Border ————— 7. (S/NF)

DAO reports Israel Defense Intelligence (IDI) concerns regarding possible action by Hizballah, Iran, or Global Jihad organizations, particularly with the one-year anniversary of Imad Mughniyah’s death on February 12. On-going IDI and Israel Naval Intelligence analysis strongly indicates a possible maritime attack scenario within the region or abroad. The current IDI assessment is that Hizballah may act now, as Hizballah may see Israel as less likely to be drawn into additional fighting over a one-time Hizballah terrorist response due to on-going IDF operations in Gaza.

8. (SBU) The Israeli press covered January 4 comments made by Director of Military Intelligence Major General Amos Yadlin suggesting Hizballah may open a second front against Israel in the north. The IDF called up “tens of thousands” of reservists on January 4, which could be used against potential attacks in the north and the West Bank. Israeli media outlet YNET picked up Syrian newspaper al-Watan’s coverage of significantly increased Lebanese and UNFIL patrols in southern Lebanon.

Political and Diplomatic Developments ————————————- 9. (SBU)

The regular Sunday cabinet meeting was moved to Tel Aviv on January 4 as is customary in times of major military operations. The cabinet discussed the continued fighting in the south and in addition to hearing a statement from PM Olmert (ref B), was briefed by Defense Minister Barak, Foreign Minister Livni, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ashkenazi, as well as by senior intelligence chiefs. Livni briefed ministers on the various diplomatic issues related to the operation in the south. Education Minister Tamir discussed school cancellations in the south during the emergency. Shin Bet Director Diskin suggested Hamas was “at a breaking point,” and was searching for a formula which would provide an exit point without causing the organization further humiliation.

10. (SBU) The Israeli press widely reports on the impending arrival of French President Nicholas Sarkozy during the evening of January 5. Sarkozy will meet with Olmert, Livni, and President Peres during the visit. Olmert spoke to Sarkozy on the phone in advance of the visit, assuring Sarkozy that Israel is making efforts to assist the population in Gaza as much as possible, and in this context, is transferring “considerable humanitarian aid.” Israeli media outlets note Sarkozy’s comments to three Lebanese newspapers that Hamas “bears heavy responsibility” for the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. The Israeli press also widely covered criticism by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, who reportedly accused Israel of conducting “inhuman acts” in Gaza which would cause Israel to “destroy itself.”

11. (SBU) According to press, Olmert also spoke by phone with TEL AVIV 00000015 003 OF 004 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on January 4, telling him that Israel will be unable to halt its military operation until the goals that it has set are accomplished. Olmert reportedly said this could be carried out by military means or by those diplomatic measures that must be formulated by the international community. Olmert said Israel has done much to allow the passage of equipment that will prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and added that IDF forces have been instructed to refrain from attacking innocents. The press reported Medvedev as stating no country could tolerate terrorism against its citizens and added that ways to conclude the operation and achieve a stable quiiet must be considered.

12. (SBU) Olmert and Barak met with Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair on January 4. Olmert reportedly repeated Israeli military goals to Blair, but also said that Israel does not rule out diplomatic activity by the international community which could bring about a situation in which the rocket fire at Israeli communities ceases and Hamas no longer constitutes a threat to southern Israel. On January 4, Livni met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov; according to the press, Livni rejected a Russian initiative to mediate between Israel and Hamas. FM Livni met January 5 with the EU Troika.

13. (SBU) Defense Minister Barak briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on January 5. According to press, Barak said the IDF had struck Hamas a “a very heavy blow,” and expressed certainty that Israel would end the operation in Gaza with “the upper hand.” However, Barak said the GOI had yet to achieve its objectives and therefore would continue the operation. Echoing a note struck repeatedly by Olmert in his phone conversations with international leaders, Barak noted that Israel was engaged in diplomatic dialogue with international officials regarding the operation.

Elections ——— 14. (SBU)

Minister for Pensioners’ Affairs Rafi Eitan proposed January 4 that the Israeli general elections scheduled for February 10 be postponed by six weeks; senior officials in Kadima, the Labor Party and Likud continue to oppose any postponement. According to a poll taken by the Panels Polling Institute, a small majority (49 percent of 1,045 polled) oppose delaying the elections. Forty percent favor postponing the elections, while 11 percent were uncertain.

Media Access ———— 15. (SBU)

The GOI continues to control media access to Gaza. Foreign journalists have been barred from entering Gaza since November 4, despite a December 31 High Court ruling that they be allowed in. Journalists on the Gaza border also have been pushed back as the IDF has steadily expanded the closed military zone surrounding Gaza. Most are now covering the conflict from vantage points northeast of Gaza around Nir Am and Sderot. On January 3, the IDF also confiscated the personal cell phones of soldiers involved in the ground campaign. MFA Deputy Director General for Economic Affairs Irit Ben Abba told EconCouns that a small number of foreign correspondents would be allowed into Gaza January 5. However the IDF’s Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) confirmed late in the day that none of the journalists had entered Gaza.

Humanitarian Assistance ———————– 16.

(SBU) Per ref C, MFA DDG Ben Abba and MFA Deputy Director for International Organizations Eviator Manor briefed on January 4 representatives from UN agencies, the ICRC, the EU, the Office of the Quartet Representative (OQR), as well as USAID and PRM. According to Ben Abba and Manor, a humanitarian coordination cell has been established in the Israeli MOD to improve the GOI’s humanitarian response capacity by catering to the humanitarian needs identified by international organizations. The cell will allow rapid coordination between the MOD, MFA, and COGAT. For now, international organization representatives are not being invited to join the cell, although the MFA would like to meet twice weekly with the UN and other aid agencies.

17. (SBU) On January 5, COGAT confirmed the crossing of 49 truckloads of medical supplies, medication, and food commodities from Greece, Jordan and Egypt through Kerem Shalom into Gaza. According to COGAT sources, the fact that 49 truckloads made it through the crossing was “a miracle.” TEL AVIV 00000015 004 OF 004 This included 18 truckloads of wheat flour for UNRWA. COGAT also confirmed that 196,400 liters of diesel were shipped through the Nahal Oz fuel depot. However, COGAT sources say the Gaza power contractor did not pick up the diesel. According to COGAT, UNRWA volunteered to have their contractor make the delivery but the UNRWA contractor was threatened by the power company and dissuaded from delivering the fuel. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates the minimum basic food needs in Gaza at 1,219 metric tons per day, or approximately 40-45 truckloads of food alone per day.

18. (C) A total of 198 foreign nationals were expected to be evacuated through Erez during the day. However, the Canadian embassy informed us that a busload of 18 Canadian citizens and 16 other third country nationals was unable to make it to Erez due to IDF-implemented road obstacles. The Canadian sent an armored bus from Erez to the site of the obstacles with the hope of picking up the Canadian citizens, but artillery shelling was too intense and the bus had to turn back to Erez.

19. (S) Israeli officials maintain that Hamas combatants are using religious and medical facilities as cover for their operations, believing the IDF will be reluctant to strike mosques, hospitals and humanitarian operations. During a January 4 meeting with UN and other aid agencies, including USAID and PRM, senior MFA officials asked for help evicting Hamas militants from Gaza’s main hospital, Shifa. According to an unnamed defense officials quoted in the Jerusalem Post on January 5, “Hamas operatives are in (Shifa) hospital and have disguised themselves as nurses and doctors.” DAO reports growing concern among IDF officers at what they see as Hamas’ effort to reconstitute certain command and control capabilities at Shifa Hospital.

Embassy Local Guards Being Called-Up ———————————— 20. (S)

Embassy Tel Aviv RSO reports 15 local guards have been called up for IDF reserve duty. RSO estimates embassy security operations will not be affected as long as the number of local guards called up for reserve duty does not exceed 20. RSO plans to petition the MFA via letter for a special exception to further call ups.

********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy el Aviv’s Classified Website: http://www.state.sov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************* CUNNINGHAM

Next cable:

6 Jan Gaza (from Jerusalem)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02

JERUSALEM 000049

SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND, S/ES-O FOR S TRAVELING PARTY E.O. 12958:

DECL: 01/06/2019

TAGS: EAID, ECON, IS, KWBG, MOPS, PHUM SUBJECT: AS IDF MOVES IN, GAZA CONTACTS EXPRESS ANGER AND DESPERATION

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1. (SBU)

Summary.

A wide range of ConGen Gaza contacts showed signs of increased trauma as they recounted a night of heavy IDF bombardment, an attempt by militants to fire rockets from civilian areas, and shortages of essential materials, including food, water, and fuel. Contacts expressed mounting anger at what they termed the “randomness” of Israeli attacks. CNN’s bureau chief described a woman at Shifa Hospital who said her baby died after four days without food or water. End Summary.

STRESS MOUNTS WITH INTENSE BARRAGES ON JANUARY 5 AND 6 =========================== 2. (C)

Amideast Gaza Director Anees Abu Hashem, clearly exhausted after a sleepless night, told PDoff that he could not believe he survived the night. He said the IDF commenced a barrage on Gaza City at 17:00 local time January 5. Airstrikes began at nightfall. He said that, each time the bombs struck, he closed his eyes and crouched down: “Every time I opened my eyes again, I couldn’t believe I was still alive.” He characterized the bombing as “totally random,” saying there were no militants visible in his area of the city. Abu Hashem expressed anger at the mounting civilian death toll: “The IDF is not organized. I am a witness here. They have lost their minds. They are killing civilians.” He did not know what he would do if the IDF were to invade his neighborhood, and remarked, “I am afraid tonight will be even worse.”

3. (C) Former Fulbright Senior Scholar and Al-Azhar University professor Dr. Jamil Salem told PDoff that his town of Saftawi, located between Gaza City and Jabalya, had been increasingly hit by what he termed “indiscriminate” Israeli fire. Just prior to the phone conversation, Dr. Salem said that two Israeli tank shells struck his next-door neighbors’ home, destroying a whole portion of the house. Fortunately, no one was in the destroyed part of the house, so there were no injuries. Sounding angry and agitated, Salem said that no emergency personnel had been able to get through to the worst-hit areas in the past two days, and many dead and wounded were still trapped beneath mounds of rubble.

4. (C) While speaking with EconOff about rumors of an IDF-imposed 18:00 curfew on Gaza City, USAID project employee Salem Al-Raiz abruptly cut off the phone call after the sound of a huge explosion on his end of the line, followed by loud screams. “I don’t know where it came from. A shell,” Raiz said. He cut the call short, saying he had to go and help.

MILITANTS MOVE INTO NEW NEIGHBORHOODS ===================================== 5. (C)

Al-Azhar University professor Dr. Nehaya El-Telbani reported to PDoff that a Qassam rocket crew tried to fire from an olive grove near her neighborhood in the central Gaza town of Zawayda, but that “Israeli F-16s” had responded almost immediately. She was surprised the militants had tried to launch Qassams from her area, as she does not live close to the Israeli border. She suspected they had been pushed back by Israeli forces. Telbani said that her six children are screaming day and night, and her eight-year-old has started wetting his bed again. She added that they are completely cut off from north Gaza, with the IDF surrounding Khan Younis.

6. (C) El-Telbani told PDoff that she had received a pre-recorded call on January 5 saying in Arabic: “This is the Israeli Defense Forces. We do care about you civilians. If you have terrorists living near you, please call this number. Do not let yourself become a cover for terrorists. If you know they are there, then get out.” Other ConGen contacts reported receiving similar calls.

RUNNING LOW ON ESSENTIALS ========================= 7. (C)

Gaza American Corner director Dr. Awni Karazon, who has moved three times since his home was partially destroyed several days ago, told PDoff that he risked his life to return to his bombed-out house to gather some powdered milk, canned foods, and clothes for his kids. He said his old neighborhood was a “ghost town”. He managed to procure two gallons of water, a mix of 25 percent mineral and 75 percent tap water, being distributed by employees at a local mineral water plant. When asked if he might consider moving into an JERUSALEM 00000049 002 OF 002 UNRWA shelter for the displaced, Karzon said he would consider this only as a last resort, noting that the IDF had struck UNRWA shelters in the last 24 hours.

8. (C) Deposed independent Gaza City Mayor Majid Abu Ramadan told Poloff that he used his remaining gasoline last night to power a generator for three to four hours, allowing five neighboring families to obtain running water.

9. (C) Other contacts said they are also facing increasing shortages of food, water, fuel, and electricity. CNN’s Jerusalem bureau chief Kevin Flower told PD chief that his cameraman had encountered a woman at Shifa Hospital who said her six-month-old baby died after four days without food or water. Amideast Director Abu Hashem told PDOff that he has not had electricity or running water for five days, and his pregnant wife and children are all surviving on potatoes, rice, and olives. He mentioned that thousands of displaced persons are staying at UNRWA schools, but, as they do not have sufficient blankets, some local families are contributing extra blankets and bedding to UNRWA. Dr. Telbani said that she has been making bread at home, but is down to her last bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables are an expensive luxury, she added. Just today, her husband took a risky trip to Maghazi camp to buy food for the family. He returned with only a single orange. WALLES

The Price Is Ongoing

From an August 09 Wikileaks cable, Madeleine Albright, apologist for US genocide in Iraq, was once more elevated, this time within NATO:

(U) According to Rasmussen the twelve individuals were chosen in order represent a broad range of Allies, as well as to bring a broad range of skills and expertise to the job.
They are:

- Madeleine Albright as Chair of the Experts Group, the United States, former Secretary of State

To recap on Albright’s sociopathic admission:

Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq: We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price–we think the price is worth it.

–60 Minutes (5/12/96)

The disgraceful US sanctions and its successive wars of plunder and aggression against Iraq have been highlighted through Wikileaks’ publication of the relevant cable chronicling April Glaspie’s duplicitous ‘Green Light’ to Saddam. A year after the deranged Albright made her appalling statement, she was confirmed by the US Senate as Clinton’s Secretary of State.

Sheldon Richman adequately disposes of Albright’s bleating attempt to recant in her autobiography:

Albright has just published her memoirs, Madam Secretary, in which she clarifies her statement. Here’s what she writes:

I must have been crazy; I should have answered the question by reframing it and pointing out the inherent flaws in the premise behind it. Saddam Hussein could have prevented any child from suffering simply by meeting his obligations…. As soon as I had spoken, I wished for the power to freeze time and take back those words. My reply had been a terrible mistake, hasty, clumsy and wrong. Nothing matters more than the lives of innocent people. I had fallen into the trap and said something I simply did not mean. That was no one’s fault but my own. (p. 275)

In the paragraph before this one she complains about the 60 Minutes report because “little effort was made to explain Saddam’s culpability, his misuse of Iraqi resources, or the fact that we were not embargoing medicine or food.”

When one reviews the facts, it is clear that Albright’s explanation is woefully inadequate. First, it contains an apparent contradiction. She says food and medicine were not embargoed, but then she says Saddam Hussein could have avoided the suffering “simply by meeting his obligations.” Does that mean more food would have been available had Hussein done what the U.S. government wanted? If so, weren’t American officials at least partly responsible for the harm done to the Iraqi people? Hussein certainly did not let his people starve. The New York Times and Washington Post have reported that in answer to the sanctions, Saddam Hussein maintained an elaborate food-rationing program for rich and poor, presumably to hold the loyalty of the Iraqi people, which the sanctions were supposedly intended to dissolve. Iraqis are reported to be reluctant to give up the program even though Hussein is gone and the sanctions are over.

Albright is being disingenuous. Although food wasn’t formally embargoed when the sanctions began in 1990, Iraq was hampered in importing it because initially Iraqi oil couldn’t be exported. No exports, no imports. The UN’s “oil for food” program, started six years later, after Hussein dropped his opposition, was supposed to remedy that. But it didn’t entirely. Counterpunch.org reported in 1999, “Proceeds from such oil sales are banked in New York…. Thirty-four percent is skimmed off for disbursement to outside parties with claims on Iraq, such as the Kuwaitis, as well as to meet the costs of the UN effort in Iraq. A further thirteen percent goes to meet the needs of the Kurdish autonomous area in the north.” With the remaining limited amount of money, the Iraqi government could order “food, medicine, medical equipment, infrastructure equipment to repair water and sanitation” and other things. But — and here’s the rub — the U.S. government could veto or delay any items ordered. And it did.

As Joy Gordon reported in the November 2001 Harper’s,

The United States has fought aggressively throughout the last decade to purposefully minimize the humanitarian goods that enter the country…. Since August 1991 the United States has blocked most purchases of materials necessary for Iraq to generate electricity, as well as equipment for radio, telephone, and other communications. Often restrictions have hinged on the withholding of a single essential element, rendering many approved items useless. For example, Iraq was allowed to purchase a sewage-treatment plant but was blocked from buying the generator necessary to run it; this in a country that has been pouring 300,000 tons of raw sewage daily into its rivers.

For Albright to say that food and medicine were not embargoed is to evade the fact that critical public-health needs could not be addressed because of the sanctions. Preventing a society from purifying its water and treating its sewage is a particularly brutal way to inflict harm, especially on its children. Disease was rampant, and infant mortality rose because of the sanctions. Let’s not forget that destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure was a deliberate aim of the U.S. bombing during the 1991 Gulf War.

No wonder two UN humanitarian coordinators quit over the sanctions. As one of them, Denis Halliday, said when he left in 1998, “I’ve been using the word ‘genocide’ because this is a deliberate policy to destroy the people of Iraq. I’m afraid I have no other view.”

Albright now writes that her answer to Stahl was “crazy” and that she regretted it “as soon as [she] had spoken.” Yet she did not take back her words between 1996 and Sept. 11, 2001. According to journalist Matt Welch, after being plagued by student protesters she “quietly” expressed regret for her statement in a speech at the University Southern California shortly after 9/11. But neither her office nor the Clinton administration issued a prominent clarification to the American people or the world. Could that be because her initial answer was sincere and that her belated apology was issued with her legacy in mind? We can be sure of one thing: word of her response spread throughout the Arab world. Maybe even among some of the 9/11 terrorists.

Albright resigned from her position on the NYSE Board in 2005 after the Grasso scandal.

Since the US has been caught redhanded spying on UN diplomats and others via Wikileaks cables, the ‘unparalled serpent’ Albright should hand in her jewelled bug brooch collection.

Future forecast – Albright should be in the dock at Le Hague, not wafting around Europe at lofty heights plotting more mass murder.

Related Links

Madeleine Albright
Democracy Now! Confronts Madeline Albright on the Iraq Sanctions: Was It Worth The Price?
Clinton aide’s idea: Let Iraq shoot down U.S. plane
Madeleine Albright at Wikipedia – needs updating
Baghdad gets less than one hour of electricity a day
For Albright and Rice, Josef Korbel Is Tie that Binds
Clinton’s New Foreign Affairs Team: Good on Bosnia, Bad on Palestine
The Missing Pieces in The Missing Peace – Dennis Ross
The genesis of the US tilt toward Saddam – American Dreamers:

‘JONATHAN HOLMES: The Soviet Union was the main enemy in the ’70s and early ’80s. But there were others too. In 1979, a certain Saddam Hussein became dictator in Baghdad. That year in the Pentagon, Paul Wolfowitz was studying America’s war plans for the Persian Gulf. He and his assistant Dennis Ross warned that the new Iraqi leader could soon become a threat to the oil-rich Gulf States.

DENNIS ROSS, FORMER US MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: At that point, the Arab neighbours were looking at Iraq as a kind of bulwark against the Iranians. We were looking beyond that, saying, “Look, we’re not so sure that Iraq has such benign intentions towards its neighbours. And if it becomes very powerful, we’re going to find that it may use its power either directly or coercively.”

JONATHAN HOLMES: You actually recommended effectively setting up what became Central Command, didn’t you?

DENNIS ROSS: Absolutely. Much of what we subsequently did in the Gulf and the basis for what we even do today was drawn from that study which Paul directed.

JONATHAN HOLMES: But within a year, a much more dangerous challenge had appeared in the Gulf. The Iranian Revolution replaced America’s closest friend, the Shah, with a charismatic and implacable enemy, the Ayatollah Khomeini. As Saddam Hussein fought a bloody eight-year war against Iran, the Reagan Administration overcame its moral distaste for tyrants. He was treated as a favoured American ally.

PHYLLIS BENNIS, INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES: Throughout the1980s, it was United States resources from a…particularly from a country right here outside of Washington, DC, a small company called the American Type Culture Collection, that sold Iraq the seed stock for biological weapons, the seed stock for E. coli, for anthrax, for botulism, for a host of horrific diseases. And even at that time, it was known that Iraq had used chemical weapons against Iranian troops and against Kurdish civilians. And yet, Donald Rumsfeld, who was then a special envoy of President Reagan, went to Baghdad simply to shake hands with Saddam Hussein and urge the reopening of full diplomatic relations.’

Text: Condoleezza Rice at the Republican National Convention

RICE: And tonight, we gather to acknowledge this remarkable truth: The future belongs to liberty, fueled by markets in trade, protected by the rule of law and propelled by the fundamental rights of the individual. Information and knowledge can no longer be bottled up by the state. Prosperity flows to those who can tap the genius of their people.
…
George W. Bush will never allow America and our allies to be blackmailed. And make no mistake about it, blackmail is what the outlaw states seeking long-range ballistic missiles have in mind.

Today’s Palestine / Israel Links

Chomsky: who says Israeli apartheid can’t last forever?
South African Jewish group prepares war-crimes charges against Livni in advance of visit
Israel Tests on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay
Israël : Vanessa Paradis annule son concert à Tel Aviv

Today’s Wikileaks Links

Assange: Wikileaks timing “no coincidence”
Swiss whistleblower Rudolf Elmer plans to hand over offshore banking secrets of the rich and famous to WikiLeaks

Other Links

Combat in Our Genes?

The Chair of the US House Committee on Homeland Security shows why Wikileaks is essential. His words are simply repellent and fascistic.

WikiLeaks today condemned calls from the chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security to “strangle the viability” of WikiLeaks by placing the publisher and its editor-in-chief, Julian Assange, on a US “enemies list” normally reserved for terrorists and dictators.

Placement on the US “Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List” would criminalize US companies who deal with WikiLeaks or its editor. “The U.S. government simply cannot continue its ineffective piecemeal approach of responding in the aftermath of Wikileaks’ damage,” King wrote in a letter to the Secretary of the US Treasury, Geithner. “The U.S. government should be making every effort to strangle the viability of Assange’s organization.”

’The Homeland Security Committee chair Peter T. King wants to put a Cuban style trade embargo around the truth—forced on US citizens at the point of a gun,’ said Julian Assange.

’WikiLeaks is a publishing organization. It is time to cut through the bluster. There is no allegation by the US government or any other party, that WikiLeaks has hurt anyone, at any time during its four-year publishing history, as a result of anything it has published. Very few news organizations can say as much.’

’WikiLeaks has “terrorized” politicians from Kenya to Kansas over the last four years. Quite a few have lost office as a result. That doesn’t mean we are “terrorists”—it means we doing our job. We intend to “terrorize” Peter King, Hillary Clinton, corrupt CEOs and all the rest for many years to come, because that is what the people of the world demand.’

King noted that some U.S. companies had voluntarily cut off ties to Wikileaks, but that a New York publisher had recently agreed to pay Assange for an autobiography. Assange has said the eventual book royalties would help ’keep Wikileaks afloat’.

’By targeting WikiLeaks and the US publisher Knopf for economic censorship, King reveals his abiding hatred for the US constitution. When the founding fathers wrote, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”, they did not provide an exception for blustering fools like Peter T. King.’

Related Links

Bradley Manning Charge Sheet 5th July, 2010 [.pdf]

Today’s Wikileaks Links

Exclusive Interview: Julian Assange on Murdoch, Manning and the threat from China
Wikileaks volunteer detained and searched (again) by US agents
Welcome to AnonOps Network
Wikileaks: Publication of Twitter data may violate EU law
I’ve got secret files on Murdoch as ‘insurance’, claims Assange
“WikiLeaks condemns US embargo move”
The Media’s Continuing War On Wikileaks

Today’s Palestine / Israel Links

Rabbi: Sins led to woman’s murder
Israeli ambulances refuse to enter ‘unrecognized’ Palestinian villages
Iran says US, Israel ‘sabotaged’ Lebanon govt
Israeli troops capture Lebanese man: army
Torture by Israel : 1999 to the present
The Holocaust, Palestine and the Arab World: Gilbert Achcar interviewed
Israel’s Orthodox Rabbis: ‘Palestinians to the Ovens!’
Thirteen homes and three school buildings destroyed by Israeli forces
DANKNER: Decline to brutality – I am ashamed
Israeli FM’s visit protested in Greece
Erdogan says Israeli FM is despicable

Other Links

What if Tunisia had a revolution, but nobody watched?
Police Stopped Loughner’s Car on Day of Shooting
The social significance of the Arizona massacre
Mayhem Spreads in Tunisia; Curfew Decreed
Soldiers on the streets as Tunisian violence reaches capital
Tomgram: William Hartung, Lockheed Martin’s Shadow Government
Steve Bell on Sarah Palin’s ‘blood libel’
Tunisia in turmoil
Letters from Tunisia
Ghetts, the census and Guantánamo Bay
Flood shark sightings have residents on edge
The CIA File on Luis Posada Carriles
How Haiti was abandoned : the broken promises of support for Haiti from the world’s most powerful governments–and the neoliberal agenda they are pursuing instead.

The convoy’s aid cargo was expected to arrive in Gaza later in the day, after travelling separately from Syria to Egypt by boat. … Egyptian authorities had prevented several activists from entering Gaza at the Rafah border crossing. … The boat is carrying $US1 million worth of medicine, foodstuffs and toys as well as four buses and 10 power generators for hospitals, Palestinian officials said.

A couple of hours later, Egypt is still not permitting the aid ship to dock.

Egyptian authorities have prevented an Asian convoy’s ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.

The ship has not allowed to dock at the Egyptian port of El Arish.

The vessel, which is part of a sizeable pro-Palestinian relief mission, is said to be carrying eight activists as well as $1 million worth of relief supplies for the Israel-blockaded Gaza Strip.

“Egypt still didn’t allow the aid ship to dock. It is 50 hours,” dpa quoted the activists as saying on Monday, noting that they are in a “bad situation.”

UPDATE

@Asia2Gaza 8 activists suffered 65 hours on #Asia2Gaza aid ship until #Egypt allowed ship to dock by receiving 10000$ bribe! #

In Kensington, England, protestors draw attention to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people of Gaza.

What will the convoy find in Gaza? Two years after Israel’s monstrous Cast Lead attack on Gaza’s 1.5 million people, the water which Gazans drink is largely unsafe for human consumption.

The water quality control authority in the Gaza Strip said that more than 90% of the Strip’s potable water was contaminated, warning of a serious threat to lives of the Strip’s inhabitants.

The report published on Monday said that the Palestinian citizens were increasingly using home desalination and purification systems especially with the high concentration of chlorine in the water wells.

It noted that the sewage water, agricultural chemicals, and “dangerous waste” spewed by the former Israeli settlements in the Strip were contaminating the underground water reservoir.

The report said that the people in Gaza consume 170 million cubic meters of the underground water per annum with no equal natural feeding of the water wells due to the scarcity of rain.

In the West Bank, the zionist apartheid state has been on a rampage, demolishing Palestinian homes and electricity structures to make way for invading colonists who steal Palestinian land for more illegal settlements.

Israel’s Civil Administration patrols on Sunday delivered 17 demolition orders to an extended family near the West Bank city of Jericho, residents said.

Members of the Az-Zayed family received orders to demolish a mosque, electricity infrastructure and tents north of An-Nuwei’ma village.

The electricity structures slated for demolition were recently installed by the Palestinian Authority at a cost of 79,000 shekels ($22,225)

North of Sheikh Jarrah, in Lafta village, the zionist oppressor demolished part of a Palestinian home, leaving a family of 9 to “live in one bedroom, one lounge and a corridor”.

Seyam told Ma’an a legal dispute began in 2004, when he received a demolition order which was frozen three times. The Jerusalem municipality said his license was conditional on submitting a plan for the surrounding area, which he could not afford.
…
On Wednesday, Israeli forces demolished 11 structures in the At-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem, which authorities said were constructed without permits.
…
Palestinians say it is virtually impossible to secure Israeli permission to build in East Jerusalem.

In late December, two Palestinian families destroyed their own homes in compliance with Israeli demolition orders.

Director of UNRWA Operations West Bank Barbara Shenstone said the families opted to demolish their own homes rather than wait for Jerusalem municipality to do so because a municipal demolition would cost them up to 120,000 shekels ($33,389).

“These condemnable acts have a devastating impact,” Shenstone said in a statement at the time.

“While children around the world are enjoying the holiday season in their homes, these children have suffered the trauma and indignity of watching their homes destroyed in the presence of their parents. It is extremely cruel and distressing.”

On 23 December, Maxwell Gaylard, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, offered his own condemnation after visiting the site of a home that had been demolished 24 hours earlier.

“The destruction of this home and the displacement of these people raises serious concerns with regard to Israel’s obligations under international law,” he said.

“These actions have a severe social and economic impact on the lives and welfare of Palestinians and increase their dependence on humanitarian assistance,” he added.

“The government of Israel must take immediate steps to cease demolitions and evictions in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem.”

And from Bil’in, whose non-violent protesting inhabitants suffered a despicable attack by the Israeli Occupation Forces a couple of days ago, Mohammad Khatib writes:

“…my next letter will likely be written from inside a prison cell”

At the threshold of the New Year, I write to wish you a new year of freedom and liberation. This has been an unbelievable year for me in both highs and lows. A year during which I have witnessed how, despite repression, ordinary people all across Palestine take to the streets for freedom.

In my village, Bil’in, thousands of people marched on the Wall today to take it down. During the demonstration, one protestor, a 36 year old resident of the village, Jawaher Abu-Rahmah, was critically injured by severe tear-gas inhalation. She is currently hospitalized in Ramallah, unresponsive to medical treatment as the doctors are fighting for her life. [The morning after this was written, Jawaher lost her life. Cause of death: Poisoning from over exposure to CS gas.]

Bil’in has been struggling for almost six years against the Wall that was built on our lands. The illegality and absurdity of this wall has been recognized worldwide, and even by the Israeli Supreme Court, which ruled it must be dismantled over three years ago. Yet the Wall still stands. We, the people of Bil’in, the people of Palestine, have waited enough. Today was therefore declared by the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements as the last day of the Wall. Together with our supporters, we managed to bring a substantial part of the wall down but we still have a long way to go.

On a personal note, the beginning of 2011 also strikes notes of fear. In just a few days, on January 3rd, 2011, my trial in front of an Israeli military court will draw into conclusion. Captain Sharon Rivlin, the soldier-judge presiding in my case, will hand down my verdict. If found guilty of “incitement”, my next letter will likely be written from inside a prison cell; If found guilty, despite having proved that evidence against me was falsified, I will proudly join my friend and comrade,Abdallah Abu Rahmah, who is now spending his second new year’s eve behind bars. PSCC’s media coordinator, my friend and brother in struggle, Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak, will also be going to prison, again, for three months on January 11th, for protesting Israel’s siege on Gaza.

We are all facing tremendous challenges, as individuals and as a movement. It is our pride and strength that keeps us going. It is your support and involvement, which is becoming more crucial than ever. Join us – take our struggle forward, so that the year of 2011 will become an historical year of Palestinian liberation and a just peace.

In solidarity,
Mohammad Khatib

Palestine / Israel Links

Palestinians to pressure US with UN resolution
Second Palestinian dies on Israeli roadblock in W. Bank
Canadian Boat to Gaza campaign is legal, ethical, and necessary
Global silence over 7000 Palestinian prisoners
Who will teach Israeli Jewish kids that the world hates them?
We will not go down, for the Gaza tonight
Pirate Party Bilin Report Public Pad
Breaking the Israel-Palestine Deadlock
Kensington Vigil for Gaza 2 years on
The Wall In Palestine [vid]
Legal official slams bill that would expel Israelis’ foreign partners with undetermined residency status

Wikileaks Links

Not trusting Sweden
WikiLeaks: US targets EU over GM crops
Bradley Manning : Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Speedy Trial
2011-1-4: James Richardson’s Collateral Damage in the Guardian: WikiLeaks & Tsvangirai
2011-01-03 PsySR Open Letter on PFC Bradley Manning’s Solitary Confinement
Psychologists protest ‘inhumane, harmful’ treatment of Bradley Manning
The Rove/Assange Story Hits the International Press in Sweden
Window on Eurasia: ‘Wikileak-ization’ of Media Transforming Russian Politics, Analyst Says

Other Links

Global Warming by Banksy
A New Year’s Plea to Close Guantánamo by a Clear-Sighted American
The Toppling: How the Media Inflated the Fall of Saddam’s Statue in Firdos Square
Dear Australian Retailers
More Retailer Fascism: The internal email from Revealed: retailers’ secret tax strategy
Belmarsh – Britain’s Guantanamo Bay?
Continued detention of Papuan prisoners violates basic rights
Chewing Gum for Terrorists
Nuclear war: Iran snubs US, invites Russia, China
Are we living in the end times? – Slavoj Zizek with Riz Khan
The Internet is far too valuable to become an agent of Washington’s digital diplomats.

Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
90BAGHDAD4237 1990-07-25 12:12 2011-01-01 21:09 SECRET Embassy Baghdad

O 251246Z JUL 90
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4627
INFO AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY CAIRO IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY KUWAIT IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY RIYADH IMMEDIATE
ARABLEAGUE COLLECTIVE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 05 BAGHDAD 04237

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR
TAGS: MOPS PREL US KU IZ
SUBJECT: SADDAM’S MESSAGE OF FRIENDSHIP TO PRESIDENT BUSH

¶1. SECRET – ENTIRE TEXT.

¶2. SUMMARY: SADDAM TOLD THE AMBASSADOR JULY 25
THAT MUBARAK HAS ARRANGED FOR KUWAITI AND IRAQI
DELEGATIONS TO MEET IN RIYADH, AND THEN ON
JULY 28, 29 OR 30, THE KUWAITI CROWN PRINCE WILL
COME TO BAGHDAD FOR SERIOUS NEGOTIATIONS. “NOTHING
WILL HAPPEN” BEFORE THEN, SADDAM HAD PROMISED
MUBARAK.

–SADDAM WISHED TO CONVEY AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO
PRESIDENT BUSH: IRAQ WANTS FRIENDSHIP, BUT DOES
THE USG? IRAQ SUFFERED 100,000′S OF CASUALTIES
AND IS NOW SO POOR THAT WAR ORPHAN PENSIONS WILL
SOON BE CUT; YET RICH KUWAIT WILL NOT EVEN ACCEPT
OPEC DISCIPLINE. IRAQ IS SICK OF WAR, BUT KUWAIT
HAS IGNORED DIPLOMACY. USG MANEUVERS WITH THE UAE
WILL ENCOURAGE THE UAE AND KUWAIT TO IGNORE
CONVENTIONAL DIPLOMACY. IF IRAQ IS PUBLICLY
HUMILIATED BY THE USG, IT WILL HAVE NO CHOICE
BUT TO “RESPOND,” HOWEVER ILLOGICAL AND SELF
DESTRUCTIVE THAT WOULD PROVE.

–ALTHOUGH NOT QUITE EXPLICIT, SADDAM’S MESSAGE
TO US SEEMED TO BE THAT HE WILL MAKE A MAJOR PUSH
TO COOPERATE WITH MUBARAK’S DIPLOMACY, BUT WE MUST
TRY TO UNDERSTAND KUWAITI/UAE “SELFISHNESS” IS
UNBEARABLE. AMBASSADOR MADE CLEAR THAT WE CAN
NEVER EXCUSE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES BY OTHER THAN
PEACEFUL MEANS. END SUMMARY.

¶3. AMBASSADOR WAS SUMMONED BY PRESIDENT
SADDAM HUSAYN AT NOON JULY 25. ALSO PRESENT
WERE FONMIN AZIZ, THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
DIRECTOR, TWO NOTETAKERS, AND THE IRAQI
INTERPRETER.

¶4. SADDAM, WHOSE MANNER WAS CORDIAL,
REASONABLE AND EVEN WARM THROUGHOUT THE ENSUING
TWO HOURS, SAID HE WISHED THE AMBASSADOR TO
CONVEY A MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT BUSH. SADDAM
THEN RECALLED IN DETAIL THE HISTORY OF IRAQ’S
DECISION TO REESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
AND ITS POSTPONING IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT
DECISION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR, RATHER THAN BE
THOUGHT WEAK AND NEEDY. HE THEN SPOKE ABOUT THE
MANY “BLOWS” OUR RELATIONS HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO
SINCE 1984, CHIEF AMONG THEM IRANGATE. IT WAS
AFTER THE FAW VICTORY, SADDAM SAID, THAT IRAQI
MISAPPREHENSIONS ABOUT USG PURPOSES BEGAN TO
SURFACE AGAIN, I.E., SUSPICIONS THAT THE U.S. WAS
NOT HAPPY TO SEE THE WAR END.

¶5. PICKING HIS WORDS WITH CARE, SADDAM SAID
THAT THERE ARE “SOME CIRCLES” IN THE USG,
INCLUDING IN CIA AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT,
BUT EMPHATICALLY EXCLUDING THE PRESIDENT AND
SECRETARY BAKER, WHO ARE NOT FRIENDLY TOWARD
IRAQ-U.S. RELATIONS. HE THEN LISTED WHAT HE
SEEMED TO REGARD AS FACTS TO SUPPORT THIS
CONCLUSION: “SOME CIRCLES ARE GATHERING
INFORMATION ON WHO MIGHT BE SADDAM HUSAYN’S
SUCCESSOR;” THEY KEPT UP CONTACTS IN THE GULF
WARNING AGAINST IRAQ; THEY WORKED TO ENSURE
NO HELP WOULD GO TO IRAQ (READ EXIM AND CCC).

¶6. IRAQ, THE PRESIDENT STRESSED, IS IN SERIOUS
FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, WITH 40 BILLION USD DEBTS.
IRAQ, WHOSE VICTORY IN THE WAR AGAINST IRAN
MADE AN HISTORIC DIFFERENCE TO THE ARAB WORLD
AND THE WEST, NEEDS A MARSHALL PLAN. BUT “YOU
WANT THE OIL PRICE DOWN,” SADDAM CHARGED.

¶7. RESUMING HIS LIST OF GRIEVANCES WHICH HE
BELIEVED WERE ALL INSPIRED BY
“SOME CIRCLES” IN THE USG, HE RECALLED THE
“USIA CAMPAIGN” AGAINST HIMSELF, AND THE
GENERAL MEDIA ASSAULT ON IRAQ AND ITS PRESIDENT.

¶8. DESPITE ALL THESE BLOWS, SADDAM SAID, AND
ALTHOUGH “WE WERE SOMEWHAT ANNOYED,” WE STILL
HOPED THAT WE COULD DEVELOP A GOOD RELATIONSHIP.
BUT THOSE WHO FORCE OIL PRICES DOWN ARE ENGAGING
IN ECONOMIC WARFARE AND IRAQ CANNOT ACCEPT SUCH
A TRESPASS ON ITS DIGNITY AND PROSPERITY.

¶9. THE SPEARHEADS (FOR THE USG) HAVE BEEN KUWAIT
AND THE UAE, SADDAM SAID. SADDAM SAID CAREFULLY
THAT JUST AS IRAQ WILL NOT THREATEN OTHERS, IT
WILL ACCEPT NO THREAT AGAINST ITSELF. “WE HOPE
THE USG WILL NOT MISUNDERSTAND:” IRAQ ACCEPTS,
AS THE STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID, THAT ANY
COUNTRY MAY CHOOSE ITS FRIENDS. BUT THE USG KNOWS
THAT IT WAS IRAQ, NOT THE USG, WHICH DECISIVELY
PROTECTED THOSE USG FRIENDS DURING THE WAR–AND THAT
IS UNDERSTANDABLE SINCE PUBLIC OPINION IN THE USG,
TO SAY NOTHING OF GEOGRAPHY, WOULD HAVE MADE IT
IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE AMERICANS TO ACCEPT 10,000 DEAD
IN A SINGLE BATTLE, AS IRAQ DID.

¶10. SADDAM ASKED WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE USG
TO ANNOUNCE IT IS COMMITTED TO THE DEFENSE OF
ITS FRIENDS, INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY.
ANSWERING HIS OWN QUESTION, HE SAID THAT TO IRAQ
IT MEANS FLAGRANT BIAS AGAINST THE GOI.

¶11. COMING TO ONE OF HIS MAIN POINTS, SADDAM
ARGUED THAT USG MANEUVERS WITH THE UAE AND KUWAIT (SIC)
ENCOURAGED THEM IN THEIR UNGENEROUS POLICIES. THE
IRAQI RIGHTS, SADDAM EMPHASIZED, WILL BE RESTORED
ONE BY ONE, THOUGH IT MAY TAKE A MONTH OR MUCH
MORE THAN A YEAR. IRAQ HOPES THE USG WILL BE
IN HARMONY WITH ALL THE PARTIES TO THIS DISPUTE.

¶12. SADDAM SAID HE UNDERSTANDS THAT THE USG IS
DETERMINED TO KEEP THE OIL FLOWING AND TO
MAINTAIN ITS FRIENDSHIPS IN THE GULF. WHAT HE
CANNOT UNDERSTAND IS WHY WE ENCOURAGE THOSE WHO
ARE DAMAGING IRAQ, WHICH IS WHAT OUR GULF MANEUVERS
WILL DO.

¶13. SADDAM SAID HE FULLY BELIEVES THE USG WANTS
PEACE, AND THAT IS GOOD. BUT DO NOT, HE ASKED,
USE METHODS WHICH YOU SAY YOU DO NOT LIKE,
METHODS LIKE ARM-TWISTING-

¶14. AT THIS POINT SADDAM SPOKE AT LENGTH ABOUT
PRIDE OF IRAQIS, WHO BELIEVE IN “LIBERTY OR DEATH.”
IRAQ WILL HAVE TO RESPOND IF THE U.S. USES THESE
METHODS. IRAQ KNOWS THE USG CAN SEND PLANES AND
ROCKETS AND HURT IRAQ DEEPLY. SADDAM ASKS THAT
THE USG NOT FORCE IRAQ TO THE POINT OF HUMILIATION
AT WHICH LOGIC MUST BE DISREGARDED. IRAQ DOES NOT
CONSIDER THE U.S. AN ENEMY AND HAS TRIED TO BE
FRIENDS.

¶15. AS FOR THE INTRA-ARAB DISPUTES, SADDAM SAID
HE IS NOT ASKING THE USG TO TAKE UP ANY PARTICULAR
ROLE SINCE THE SOLUTIONS MUST COME THROUGH ARAB
AND BILATERAL DIPLOMACY.

¶16. RETURNING TO HIS THEME THAT IRAQ WANTS
DIGNITY AND FREEDOM AS WELL AS FRIENDSHIP WITH THE
U.S., HE CHARGED THAT IN THE LAST YEAR THERE WERE
MANY OFFICIAL STATEMENTS WHICH MADE IT SEEM THAT
THE U.S. DOES NOT WANT TO RECIPROCATE. HOW, FOR
EXAMPLE, SADDAM ASKED,CAN WE INTERPRET THE
INVITATION FOR ARENS TO VISIT AT A TIME OF CRISIS
IN THE GULF? WHY DID THE U.S- DEFENSE MINISTER
MAKE “INFLAMMATORY” STATEMENTS?

¶17. SADDAM SAID THAT THE IRAQIS KNOW WHAT
WAR IS, WANT NO MORE OF IT–”DO NOT PUSH US TO IT;
DO NOT MAKE IT THE ONLY OPTION LEFT WITH WHICH WE
CAN PROTECT OUR DIGNITY.”

¶18. PRESIDENT BUSH, SADDAM SAID, HAS MADE NO MISTAKE
IN HIS PRESIDENCY VIS-A-VIS THE ARABS. THE DECISION
ON THE PLO DIALOGUE WAS “MISTAKEN,” BUT IT WAS
TAKEN UNDER “ZIONIST PRESSURE” AND, SADDAM SAID, IS
PERHAPS A CLEVER TACTIC TO ABSORB THAT PRESSURE.

¶19. AFTER A SHORT DIVERSION ON THE NEED FOR THE
U.S. TO CONSIDER THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF 200,000
ARABS WITH THE SAME VIGOR AND INTEREST AS THE HUMAN
RIGHTS OF THE ISRAELIS, SADDAM CONCLUDED BY
RESTATING THAT IRAQ WANTS AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP
“ALTHOUGH WE WILL NOT PANT FOR IT, WE WILL DO OUR
PART AS FRIENDS.”

¶20. SADDAM THEN OFFERED AN ANECDOTE TO ILLUSTRATE
HIS POINT. HE HAD TOLD THE IRAQI KURDISH LEADER
IN 1974 THAT HE WAS PREPARED TO GIVE UP HALF OF
THE SHATT AL-ARAB TO IRAN TO OBTAIN ALL OF A
PROSPEROUS IRAQ. THE KURD HAD BET THAT SADDAM WOULD
NOT GIVE HALF THE SHATT–THE KURD WAS WRONG. EVEN
NOW, THE ONLY REAL ISSUE WITH IRAN IS THE SHATT, AND
IF GIVING AWAY HALF OF THE WATERWAY IS THE ONLY
THING STANDING BETWEEN THE CURRENT SITUATION AND
IRAQI PROSPERITY, SADDAM SAID HE WOULD BE GUIDED
BY WHAT HE DID IN 1974.

¶21. THE AMBASSADOR THANKED SADDAM FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS DIRECTLY WITH HIM SOME OF
HIS AND OUR CONCERNS. PRESIDENT BUSH, TOO, WANTS
FRIENDSHIP, AS HE HAD WRITTEN AT THE ‘ID AND ON
THE OCCASION OF IRAQ’S NATIONAL DAY. SADDAM
INTERRUPTED TO SAY HE HAD BEEN TOUCHED BY THOSE

¶22. AMBASSADOR RESUMED HER THEME, RECALLING THAT
THE PRESIDENT HAD INSTRUCTED HER TO BROADEN AND
DEEPEN OUR RELATIONS WITH IRAQ. SADDAM HAD REFERRED
TO “SOME CIRCLES” ANTIPATHETIC TO THAT AIM. SUCH
CIRCLES CERTAINLY EXISTED, BUT THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION
IS INSTRUCTED BY THE PRESIDENT. ON THE OTHER HAND,
THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT CONTROL THE AMERICAN PRESS;
IF HE DID, CRITICISM OF THE ADMINISTRATION WOULD NOT
EXIST. SADDAM AGAIN INTERRUPTED TO SAY HE UNDERSTOOD
THAT. THE AMBASSADOR SAID SHE HAD SEEN THE DIANE
SAWYER SHOW AND THOUGHT THAT IT WAS CHEP AND UNFAIR.
BUT THE AMERICAN PRESS TREATS ALL POLITICIANS
WITHOUT KID GLOVES–THAT IS OUR WAY.

¶23. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
VERY RECENTLY REAFFIRMED HIS DESIRE FOR A BETTER
RELATIONSHIP AND HAS PROVEN THAT BY, FOR EXAMPLE,
OPPOSING SANCTIONS BILLS. HERE SADDAM INTERRUPTED
AGAIN. LAUGHING, HE SAID THERE IS NOTHING LEFT
FOR IRAQ TO BUY IN THE U.S. EVERYTHING IS
PROHIBITED EXCEPT FOR WHEAT, AND NO DOUBT THAT WILL
SOON BE DECLARED A DUAL-USE ITEM- SADDAM SAID, HOWEVER,
HE HAD DECIDED NOT TO RAISE THIS ISSUE, BUT RATHER
CONCENTRATE ON THE FAR MORE IMPORTANT ISSUES AT HAND.

¶24. AMBASSADOR SAID THERE WERE MANY ISSUES HE
HAD RAISED SHE WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON, BUT
SHE WISHED TO USE HER LIMITED TIME WITH THE
PRESIDENT TO STRESS FIRST PRESIDENT BUSH’S DESIRE
FOR FRIENDSHIP AND, SECOND, HIS STRONG DESIRE, SHARED
WE ASSUME BY IRAQ, FOR PEACE AND STABILITY IN THE MID
EAST. IS IT NOT REASONABLE FOR US TO BE CONCERNED
WHEN THE PRESIDENT AND THE FOREIGN MINISTER BOTH
SAY PUBLICLY THAT KUWAITI ACTIONS ARE THE
EQUIVALENT OF MILITARY AGGRESSION, AND THEN WE
LEARN THAT MANY UNITS OF THE REPUBLICAN GUARD
HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE BORDER? IS IT NOT REASONABLE
FOR US TO ASK, IN THE SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP, NOT
CONFRONTATION, THE SIMPLE QUESTION: WHAT ARE YOUR
INTENTIONS?

¶25. SADDAM SAID THAT WAS INDEED A REASONABLE
QUESTION. HE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE SHOULD BE
CONCERNED FOR REGIONAL PEACE, IN FACT IT IS OUR
DUTY AS A SUPERPOWER. “BUT HOW CAN WE MAKE THEM
(KUWAIT AND UAE) UNDERSTAND HOW DEEPLY WE ARE
SUFFERING.” THE FINANCIAL SITUATION IS SUCH THAT
THE PENSIONS FOR WIDOWS AND ORPHANS WILL HAVE
TO BE CUT. AT THIS POINT, THE INTERPRETER AND
ONE OF THE NOTETAKERS BROKE DOWN AND WEPT.

¶26. AFTER A PAUSE FOR RECUPERATION, SADDAM SAID,
IN EFFECT, BELIEVE ME I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING: WE
SENT ENVOYS, WROTE MESSAGES, ASKED FAHD TO
ARRANGE QUADRAPARTITE SUMMIT (IRAQ, SAG, UE,
KUWAIT). FAHD SUGGESTFD OIL MINISTERS INSTEAD AND
WE AGREED TO THE JEDDAH AGREEMENT ALTHOUGH IT WAS
WELL BELOW OUR HOPES. THEN, SADDAM CONTINUED,
TWO DAYS LATER THE KUWAITI OIL MINISTER ANNOUNCED
HE WOULD WANT TO ANNUL THAT AGREEMENT WITHIN TWO
MONTHS. AS FOR THE UAE, SADDAM SAID, I BEGGED
SHAYKH ZAYID TO UNDERSTAND OUR PROBLEMS (WHEN
SADDAM ENTERTAINED HIM IN MOSUL AFTER THE BAGHDAD
SUMMIT), AND ZAYID SAID JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET
BACK TO ABU DHABI. BUT THEN HIS MINISTER OF OIL
MADE “BAD STATEMENTS.”

¶27. AT THIS POINT, SADDAM LEFT THE ROOM TO TAKE
AN URGENT CALL FROM MUBARAK. AFTER HIS RETURN,
THE AMBASSADOR ASKED IF HE COULD TELL HER IF
THERE HAS ANY PROGRESS IN FINDING A PEACEFUL WAY
TO DEFUSE THE DISPUTE. THIS WAS SOMETHING PRESIDENT
BUSH WOULD BE KEENLY INTERESTED TO KNOW. SADDAM
SAID THAT HE HAD JUST LEARNED FROM MUBARAK THE
KUWAITIS HAVE AGREED TO NEGOTIATE. THE KUWAITI
CROWN PRINCE/PRIME MINISTER WOULD MEET IN RIYADH
WITH SADDAM’S NUMBER TWO, IZZAT IBRAHIM, AND THEN
THE KUWAITI WOULD COME TO BAGHDAD ON SATURDAY,
SUNDAY OR, AT THE LATEST, MONDAY, JULY 30.

¶28. “I TOLD MUBARAK,” SADDAM SAID, THAT “NOTHING
WILL HAPPEN UNTIL THE MEETING,” AND NOTHING WILL
HAPPEN DURING OR AFTER THE MEETING IF THE KUWAITIS
WILL AT LAST “GIVE US SOME HOPE.”

¶29. THE AMBASSADOR SAID SHE WAS DELIGHTED TO HEAR
THIS GOOD NEWS. SADDAM THEN ASKED HER TO CONVEY
HIS WARM GREETINGS TO PRESIDENT BUSH AND TO
CONVEY HIS MESSAGE TO HIM.

¶30. NOTE: ON THE BORDER QUESTION, SADDAM REFERRED
TO THE 1961 AGREEMENT AND A “LINE OF PATROL” IT
HAD ESTABLISHED. THE KUWAITIS, HE SAID, HAD TOLD
MUBARAK IRAQ WAS 20 KILOMETERS “IN FRONT” OF THIS
LINE. THE AMBASSADOR SAID THAT SHE HAD SERVED IN
KUWAIT 20 YEARS BEFORE; THEN, AS NOW, WE TOOK NO
POSITION ON THESE ARAB AFFAIRS.

¶31. COMMENT: IN THE MEMORY QF THE CURRENT
DIPLOMATIC CORPS, SADDAM HAS NEVER SUMMONED AN
AMBASSADOR. HE IS WORRIED.

ACCORDING TO HIS OWN POLITICAL THEORIZING
(U.S. THE SOLE MAJOR POWER IN THE MIDDLE EAST),
HE NEEDS AT A MINIMUM A CORRECT RELATIONSHIP
WITH US FOR OBVIOUS GEOPOLITICAL REASONS,
ESPECIALLY AS LONG AS HE PERCEIVES MORTAL
THREATS FROM ISRAEL AND IRAN. AMBASSADOR
BELIEVES SADDAM SUSPECTS OUR DECISION SUDDENLY
TO UNDERTAKE MANEUVERS WITH ABU DHABI IS A
HARBINGER OF A USG DECISION TO TAKE SIDES.
FURTHER, SADDAM, HIMSELF BEGINNING TO HAVE AN
INKLING OF HOW MUCH HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT
THE U.S., IS APPREHENSIVE THAT WE DO NOT
UNDERSTAND CERTAIN POLITICAL FACTORS WHICH
INHIBIT HIM, SUCH AS:

–HE CANNOT ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE PERCEIVED AS
CAVING IN TO SUPERPOWER BULLYING (AS U/S HAMDUN
FRANKLY WARNED US IN LATE 1988);

–IRAQ, WHICH LOST 100,000′S OF CASUALTIES, IS
SUFFERING AND KUWAIT IS “MISERLY” AND “SELFISH.”

¶32. IT WAS PROGRESS TO HAVE SADDAM ADMIT
THAT THE USG HAS A “RESPONSIBILITY” IN THE
REGION, AND HAS EVERY RIGHT TO EXPECT AN
ANSWER WHEN WE ASK IRAQ’S INTENTIONS. HIS
RESPONSE IN EFFECT THAT HE TRIED VARIOUS
DIPLOMATIC/CHANNELS BEFORE RESORTING TO
UNADULTERATED INTIMIDATION HAS AT LEAST THE
VIRTUE OF FRANKNESS. HIS EMPHASIS THAT HE
WANTS PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT IS SURELY SINCERE
(IRAQIS ARE SICK OF WAR), BUT THE TERMS SOUND
DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE. SADDAM SEEMS TO WANT
PLEDGES NOW ON OIL PRICES AND PRODUCTION TO
COVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

GLASPIE

What happened in Iraq before Glaspie’s fateful meeting with Saddam? Robert Parry writes:

According to a sworn affidavit by former Reagan national security staffer Howard Teicher, the
administration enlisted the Egyptians in a secret “Bear Spares” program that gave the United States access
to Soviet-designed military equipment. Teicher asserted that the Reagan administration funnelled some of
those weapons to Iraq and also arranged other shipments of devastating cluster bombs that Saddam’s air
force dropped on Iranians troops.

In 1984, facing congressional rejection of continued CIA funding of the Nicaraguan contra rebels, President
Reagan exploited the “special status” again. He tapped into the Saudi slush funds for money to support the
Nicaraguan contra rebels in their war in Central America. The President also authorized secret weapons
shipments to Iran in another arms-for-hostages scheme, with the profits going to “off-the-shelf” intelligence
operations. That gambit, like the others, was protected by walls of “deniability” and outright lies.

Some of those lies collapsed in the Iran-Contra scandal, but the administration quickly constructed new
stonewalls that were never breached. Republicans fiercely defended the secrets and Democrats lacked the
nerve to fight for the truth. The Washington media also lost interest because the scandals were complex
and official sources steered the press in other directions.

‘Read Machiavelli’

When I interviewed Haig several years ago, I asked him if he was troubled by the pattern of deceit that had
become the norm among international players in the 1980s. “Oh, no, no, no, no,” he boomed, shaking his
head. “On that kind of thing? No. Come on. Jesus! God! You know, you’d better get out and read Machiavelli
or somebody else because I think you’re living in a dream world! People do what their national interest tells
them to do and if it means lying to a friendly nation, they’re going to lie through their teeth.”

But sometimes the game-playing did have unintended consequences. In 1990, a decade after Iraq’s messy
invasion of Iran, an embittered Saddam Hussein was looking for pay-back from the sheikhdoms that he felt
had egged him into war. Saddam was especially furious with Kuwait for slant drilling into Iraq’s oil fields
and refusing to extend more credit. Again, Saddam was looking for a signal from the U.S. president, this
time George Bush.

When Saddam explained his confrontation with Kuwait to U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie, he received an
ambiguous reply, a reaction he apparently perceived as another “green light.” Eight days later, Saddam
unleashed his army into Kuwait, an invasion that required 500,000 U.S. troops and thousands more dead to
reverse.

Francis Boyle describes in his 1992 paper the heinous Bush Senior & Co. war crimes during Gulf War 1. He describes the “Green Light” thus:

12. The Defendants showed absolutely no opposition to Iraq’s
increasing threats against Iraq. Indeed, when Saddam
Hussein requested U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie to explain
State Department testimony in Congress about Iraq’s threats
against Kuwait, she assured him that the United States
considered the dispute to be a regional concern, and that it
would not intervene militarily. In other words, the United States
government gave Saddam Hussein what amounted to a
“green light” to invade Kuwait.

13. This reprehensible behavior was similar to that of the
Carter administration during September of 1980, when
United States government officials gave Saddam Hussein the
“green light” to invade Iran and thus commence the tragic
Iraq-Iran War. A decade later, Saddam Hussein simply
surmised that he had been given yet another “green light” by
the United States government to commit overt aggression
against surrounding states. Only this time, the Defendants
knowingly intended to lead Iraq into a provocation that could
be used to justify intervention and warfare by United States
military forces for the real purpose of destroying Iraq as a
military power and seizing Arab oil fields in the Persian Gulf.

9. Sometime after the termination of the Iraq-Iran War in the
Summer of 1988, the Pentagon proceeded to revise its
outstanding war plans for U.S. military intervention into the
Persian Gulf region in order to destroy Iraq. Defendant
Schwarzkopf was put in charge of this revision. For example,
in early 1990, Defendant Schwarzkopf informed the Senate
Armed Services Committee of this new military strategy in the
Gulf allegedly designed to protect U.S. access to and control
over Gulf oil in the event of regional conflicts. In October 1990,
Defendant Powell referred to the new military plan developed
in 1989. After the war, Defendant Schwarzkopf referred to
eighteen months of planning for the campaign.

10. Sometime in late 1989 or early 1990, the Pentagon’s war
plan for destroying Iraq and stealing Persian Gulf oil fields
was put into motion. At that time, Defendant Schwarzkopf was
named the Commander of the so-called U.S. Central
Command – which was the renamed version of the Rapid
Deployment Force – for the purpose of carrying out the war
plan that he had personally developed and supervised. During
January of 1990, massive quantities of United States
weapons, equipment, and supplies were sent to Saudi Arabia
in order to prepare for the war against Iraq.

11. Pursuant to this war plan, Defendant Webster and the CIA
assisted and directed Kuwait in its actions of violating OPEC
oil production agreements to undercut the price of oil for the
purpose of debilitating Iraq’s economy; in extracting
excessive and illegal amounts of oil from pools it shared with
Iraq; in demanding immediate repayment of loans Kuwait had
made to Iraq during the Iraq-Iran War; and in breaking off
negotiations with Iraq over these disputes. The Defendants
intended to provoke Iraq into aggressive military actions
against Kuwait that they knew could be used to justify U.S.
military intervention into the Persian Gulf for the purpose of
destroying Iraq and taking over Arab oil fields.

The U.S. “Green Light” to Invade Kuwait

12. The Defendants showed absolutely no opposition to Iraq’s
increasing threats against Iraq. Indeed, when Saddam
Hussein requested U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie to explain
State Department testimony in Congress about Iraq’s threats
against Kuwait, she assured him that the United States
considered the dispute to be a regional concern, and that it
would not intervene militarily. In other words, the United States
government gave Saddam Hussein what amounted to a
“green light” to invade Kuwait.

13. This reprehensible behavior was similar to that of the
Carter administration during September of 1980, when
United States government officials gave Saddam Hussein the
“green light” to invade Iran and thus commence the tragic
Iraq-Iran War. A decade later, Saddam Hussein simply
surmised that he had been given yet another “green light” by
the United States government to commit overt aggression
against surrounding states. Only this time, the Defendants
knowingly intended to lead Iraq into a provocation that could
be used to justify intervention and warfare by United States
military forces for the real purpose of destroying Iraq as a
military power and seizing Arab oil fields in the Persian Gulf.

Bush Is the Bigger War Criminal

14. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait
without significant resistance. The Kuwaiti government itself
estimated that approximately 300 people were killed as a
result of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and a few hundred more as
a result of the military occupation. By comparison, Defendant
Bush’s invasion of Panama in December of 1989 took
between 2,000 and 4,000 Panamanian lives, and the United
States government is still covering up the actual death toll.
Defendant Bush killed more innocent people in Panama than
Saddam Hussein did in Kuwait.

15. Defendant Bush’s invasion of Panama was even more
illegal, reprehensible, and criminal than Saddam Hussein’s
invasion of Kuwait. The world must never forget that the first
step in the construction of Bush’s “New World Order” was his
illegal invasion of Panama and the murder of thousands of
completely innocent Panamanian civilians. America’s
self-anointed policeman in the Persian Gulf had the blood of
the Panamanian People on his hands.

Bush’s Perversion of the Constitution

16. Pursuant to the Pentagon’s war plan for destroying Iraq
and stealing Persian Gulf oil fields – and without consultation
or communication with Congress – Defendant Bush initially
ordered 40,000 U.S. military personnel into the Persian Gulf
region during the first week of August 1990. He lied to the
American People and Congress when he stated that his acts
were purely defensive. Right from the very outset of this crisis
– and even beforehand – Defendant Bush fully intended to go
to war against Iraq and to seize the Arab oil fields in the
Persian Gulf. Defendant Bush deliberately misled, deceived,
concealed and made false representations to the Congress
to prevent its free deliberation and informed exercise of
legislative power.

17. Defendant Bush intentionally usurped Congressional
power, ignored its authority, and failed and refused to consult
with the Congress. He individually ordered a naval blockade
against Iraq – itself an act of war – without approval by
Congress or the U.N. Security Council. Defendant Bush
waited until after the November 1990 elections to publicly
announce his earlier order sending more than 200,000
additional military personnel to the Persian Gulf for offensive
purposes without seeking the approval of Congress. Pursuant
to the Pentagon’s war plan, Defendant Bush switched U.S.
forces from a defensive position and capability to an
offensive capacity for aggression against Iraq without
consultation with, and contrary to assurances given to,
Congress and the American People.

18. On the very eve of the war, Defendant Bush then
strong-armed legislation through Congress that approved
enforcement of U.N. resolutions vesting absolute discretion in
any nation, providing no guidelines, and requiring no reporting
to the United Nations. Defendant Bush knew full well that he
intended to destroy the armed forces and civilian
infrastructure of Iraq. Those acts were undertaken to enable
him to commit a Nuremberg Crime Against Peace and war
crimes. This conduct violated the Constitution and Laws of the
United States and especially the War Powers Clause found in
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the U.S. War Powers
Act of 1973, 87 Stat. 555, and the United Nations Charter,
which is the “Supreme Law of the Land” under Article 6 of the
Constitution. For this reason alone, Defendant Bush and his
co-conspirators committed “High Crimes and
Misdemeanors” that warrant their impeachment, conviction,
removal from office, and criminal prosecution.

On the 2nd August, 1990, Iraq began its onslaught.

Another cable 90BAGHDAD4397 relates that the US phone calls were ignored.

O 020411Z AUG 90
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC NIACT IMMEDIATE 4708
AMEMBASSY KUWAIT NIACT IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY RIYADH IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY CAIRO IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY DOHA IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY MANAMA IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY AMMAN IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY MUSCAT IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS IMMEDIATE

S E C R E T BAGHDAD 04397

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR
TAGS: PREL IZ KU AS
SUBJECT: IRAQI INCURSION ACROSS KUWAITI BORDER

REF: (A) STATE 253201 (B) WILSON/MACK
TELECON (C) WILSON/CHARLES TELECON

¶1. (S-ENTIRE TEXT)

¶2. WE HAVE TRIED REPEATEDLY SINCE 0630 LOCAL
TO REACH SENIOR MFA OFFICIALS, INCLUDING
FOREIGN MINISTER AZIZ. UNDERSECRETARY HAMDUN
IS APPARENTLY NOT AT HOME SINCE NOBODY ANSWERS
HIS HOME TELEPHONE NUMBER. THE FOREIGN
MINISTRY DUTY OFFICER IS AWARE OF OUR INTEREST
IN TALKING TO THE MINISTER, AND WE ARE REMIND-
ING THEM EVERY TEN MINUTES. AT 0710 LOCAL WE
WERE TOLD THAT BOTH HAMDUN AND THE FOREIGN
MINISTER WERE IN A MEETING.

¶3. EMBASSY HAS SET UP A CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM.
EMBASSY TELEPHONE NUMBERS ARE: 7196138/9,
7189265, 7189267, 7193791, 7189273. SECURITY
LINE IS EXTENSION 286.

¶4. IRAQI PRESS THIS MORNING MAKES NO MENTION
OF INCURSION. IRAQI PRESS COVERAGE OF THE
KUWAIT/IRAQ TALKS ARE CRITICAL OF KUWAIT’S
UNCOMPROMISING POSITION, BUT DO NOT IN ANY
WAY SUGGEST THAT THE GOI IS CONSIDERING THE
MILITARY OPTION.

WILSON

Who profited since?

When the United Nations relaxed its sanctions
regime in 1998 and permitted Iraq to buy spare
parts for its oil fields, it was Halliburton, under
Mr Cheney’s leadership, that cleaned up on the
contract to repair war damage and get
Saddam Hussein’s oil pipes flowing at full
capacity again. Two Halliburton subsidiaries
did business worth almost $24m (£15m) with
the man whom these days Mr Cheney calls a
“murderous dictator” and “the world’s worst
leader”.

Since taking over as George Bush’s
vice-president, Mr Cheney has severed all
formal ties with his former employer, notably
when he cashed in $36m in stock options and
other benefits at the height of the market in
August 2000. But Halliburton – currently
struggling with a corporate accounting scandal
that may or may not implicate Mr Cheney – could profit all over again if the
much-threatened new war against Iraq comes to pass.
Since taking over as George Bush’s
vice-president, Mr Cheney has severed all
formal ties with his former employer, notably
when he cashed in $36m in stock options and
other benefits at the height of the market in
August 2000. But Halliburton – currently
struggling with a corporate accounting scandal
that may or may not implicate Mr Cheney – could profit all over again if the
much-threatened new war against Iraq comes to pass.

We can certainly expect more air strikes against the oil fields, possibly combined
with a ground invasion. Then, when it is all over, someone is going to have to
mop up the damage once again. Halliburton, with its previous experience and
unparalleled political connections (not limited to Mr Cheney), would be in pole
position for the job.

Nobody could justifiably accuse the Bush administration of wanting to wage war
on Iraq solely as a favour to its friends in the oil business and the
military-industrial complex. But many of the companies that stand to gain most
from a war enjoy remarkably close ties to senior figures in the administration.
And some of the President’s closest confidants have shown extraordinary
elasticity down the years in their attitudes to President Saddam, America’s
on-again, off-again public enemy number one.

Mr Cheney, who has gone from warmonger to dealmaker and back to
warmonger, is just one example. Donald Rumsfeld, the current Defence
Secretary, has repeatedly raised the spectre of Iraq’s arsenal of weapons of
mass destruction. But in 1983, when Mr Rumsfeld was President Reagan’s
special envoy to Iraq, he turned a blind eye to Iraqi use of nerve and mustard gas
in its war with Iran, concentrating instead on forging a personal relationship with
the Iraqi leader, then considered a valuable US ally.

Mr Rumsfeld was actually in Baghdad on the day the United Nations first reported
Iraqi use of chemical weapons, but chose to remain silent, as did the rest of the
US establishment. Five years later, he cited his ability to make friends with
Saddam Hussein as one of his qualifications for a possible run at the presidency.

This Bush administration has been much more upfront about the role of oil in its
deliberations on Iraq than the last Bush administration. That is partly a matter of
circumstance: since the 11 September attacks, the stability of Middle Eastern oil
states has been a big policy consideration. But it also reflects the fact that much
of the Bush inner circle, including the President himself, is made up of former
oilmen. The oil and gas industry has pumped about $50m to political candidates
since the 2000 election.

There are also uncomfortably cosy ties between the government and the
defence industry. Mr Rumsfeld’s oldest friend, Frank Carlucci, a former defence
secretary himself, now heads the Carlyle Group, an investment consortium
which has a big interest in the contracting firm United Defense.

Carlyle’s board includes George Bush Sr and James Baker, the former secretary
of state. One programme alone – the Crusader artillery system – has earned
Carlyle more than $2bn in advance government contracts. Carlyle’s European
chairman is John Major, who may have played a role in the Ministry of Defence’s
controversial recent decision to declare Carlyle the “preferred bidder” for a stake
in its scientific research division.

None of these links is illegal, but that does not mean there is no conflict of
interest. Messrs Bush, Cheney and friends have either sold their stock holdings
or put them in a blind trust, meaning personal gain is off the agenda. But gain for
their friends and family may well be a by-product of the looming war against Iraq

And more:

Even As Bombs Drop, Hypocrisy Prevails

By: Jason Leopold – 03/20/03

It was only five years ago when Vice President Dick Cheney, as chief
executive of the oil-field supply corporation, Halliburton Co., was
engaged in secret business dealings with Saddam’s regime by selling
Iraq oil production equipment and spare parts to get the Iraqi oil
fields up and running, according to confidential United Nations
records.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Cheney adamantly denied such
dealings.

While he acknowledged that his company did business with Libya and
Iran through foreign subsidiaries, Cheney said, “Iraq’s different.”

He claimed that he imposed a “firm policy” prohibiting any unit of
Halliburton against trading with Iraq.

“I had a firm policy that we wouldn’t do anything in Iraq, even
arrangements that were supposedly legal,” Cheney said on the ABC-TV
news program “This Week” on July 30, 2000.

“We’ve not done any business in Iraq since U.N. sanctions were imposed
on Iraq in 1990, and I had a standing policy that I wouldn’t do that.”

But it turns out that Cheney was lying.

It’s only through the sale of Iraqi oil that Saddam would be able to
afford to obtain such weapons.

If Saddam was in fact building nuclear and other weapons of mass
destruction, which some news reports allege could be used against
American and British troops, Cheney is partially responsible.

The Washington Post first reported Halliburton’s trade with Iraq in
February 2000.

But U.N. records obtained by The Post two years ago showed that the
dealings were more extensive than originally reported and than Vice
President Cheney has acknowledged.

As secretary of defense in the first Bush administration, Cheney
helped to lead a multinational coalition against Iraq in the Persian
Gulf War and to devise a comprehensive economic embargo to isolate
Saddam Hussein’s government.

After Cheney was named chief executive of Halliburton in 1995, he
promised to maintain a hard line against Baghdad.

But his stance changed when it appeared that Halliburton was headed
for financial disaster in the mid-1990s.

Cheney said sanctions against countries such as Iraq were hurting
corporations such as Halliburton.

“We seem to be sanction-happy as a government,” Cheney said at an
energy conference in April 1996, reported in the oil industry
publication Petroleum Finance Week.

“The problem is that the good Lord didn’t see fit to always put oil
and gas resources where there are democratic governments,” he observed
during his conference presentation.

Sanctions make U.S. businesses “the bystander who gets hit when a
train wreck occurs,” Cheney told Petroleum Finance Week.

“While virtually every other country sees the need for sanctions
against Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s regime there, Cheney sees general
agreement that the measures have not been very effective despite their
having most of the international community’s support. An individual
country’s embargo, such as that of the United States against Iran, has
virtually no effect since the target country simply signs a contract
with a non- U.S. business,” the publication reported

“That’s exactly what happened when the government told Conoco Inc.
that it could not develop an oil field there,” Cheney told Petroleum
Finance Week.

Total S.A. “simply took it over.”

In 1998, Cheney oversaw Halliburton’s acquisition of Dresser
Industries Inc., the unit that sold oil equipment to Iraq through two
subsidiaries of a joint venture with another large U.S. equipment
maker, Ingersoll-Rand Co.

The Halliburton subsidiaries, Dresser-Rand and Ingersoll Dresser Pump
Co., sold water and sewage treatment pumps, spare parts for oil
facilities and pipeline equipment to Baghdad through French affiliates
from the first half of 1997 to the summer of 2000, U.N. records show.

Ingersoll Dresser Pump also signed contracts — later blocked by the
United States — to help repair an Iraqi oil terminal that U.S.-led
military forces destroyed in the Gulf War, the Post reported in a June
2001 story.

The Halliburton subsidiaries and several other American and foreign
oil supply companies helped Iraq increase its crude exports from $4
billion in 1997 to nearly $18 billion in 2000.

Since the program began, Iraq has exported oil worth more than $40
billion.

U.S. and European officials have argued that the increase in
production also expanded Saddam’s ability to use some of that money
for weapons, luxury goods and palaces.

Security Council diplomats estimate that Iraq may be skimming off as
much as 10 percent of the proceeds from the oil-for-food program,
according to the Post.

During his tenure as chief executive of Halliburton, Cheney pushed the
U.N. Security Council, after he became vice president; to end an
11-year embargo on sales of civilian goods, including oil related
equipment, to Iraq.

Cheney has said sanctions against countries like Iraq unfairly punish
U.S. companies.

Earlier this year, Halliburton was chosen as one of the companies to
rebuild Iraq’s dilapidated oil fields following a U.S. led attack on
the country.

U.N. documents show that Halliburton’s affiliates have had
controversial, dealings with the Iraqi regime during Cheney’s tenure
at the company.

The Clinton administration blocked one of the deals Halliburton was
trying to push through.

That deal, between Halliburton subsidiary Ingersoll Dresser Pump Co.
and Iraq, included agreements by the firm to sell $760,000 in spare
parts, compressors and firefighting equipment to refurbish an offshore
oil terminal, Khor al Amaya.

2003 Oil Blackmail:

France and Russia have been warned they must support the US military invasion and occupation of Iraq if they want acess to Iraqi oilfields in a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. According to a report in today’s Tehran Times, US Senator Richard Lugar, a leading member of the Bush administration and Republican Party chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Russia and France “must be ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in any US-led military intervention” if they want a share of Iraqi oil.

The paper quoted Lugar as saying that Paris and Moscow oil companies will be deprived of Iraqi oil and have no share in the country’s resources if they refuse to join in the US war to oust Hussein. It noted that both the Russian Duma and the French parliament have both expressed opposition to a US military attack on Iraq

Why did so many children die under the hideous sanctions placed on Iraq at the behest of the US during the 90s? Here’s what I wrote about it:

According to Hans Graf Sponeck, the major cause of death of Iraqis, particularly children, is not starvation – it has been the intentional bombing of water installations during the war by the US and then the US-led UN sanctioning of chlorine and essential water equipment parts afterwards (on the dual purpose list until 1996).

There is incontrovertible evidence from the US government itself to show that the US knew exactly what the consequences of their destruction would be.

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassdocs/dia/19950901/950901_0504rept_91.html

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassdocs/dia/19950901/950901_511rept_91.html

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/091700-01.htm

http://www.progressive.org/0801issue/nagy0901.html

As far as food for oil goes, one of the most serious effects proceeding from these sanctions has been the unconscionable holds placed on essential items. Refer above to Sponeck’s article. Right now there are holds placed by the US/UK :

“The Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions against Iraq still had holds on
contracts for various supplies and equipment worth almost $4.1 billion. This figure includes
155 contracts valued at $290 million, which were in the “inactive holds” category. Contracts
are categorized as “inactive holds” after information requested by the committee is not
provided by suppliers in 60 days. Once this information is received, the relevant contract is
put back in the “active holds” category for action.”

There is also firm evidence that CIA and US Government incompetency contributed to the removal of the UNSCOM team of weapons inspectors as well as two failed coups against Saddam.

http://jya.com/cia-aoe.htm

http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1096/9610009.htm

http://www.meib.org/articles/0104_ir1.htm

After all these stuff ups and spying (and although I don’t support this bloody dictator), I am not surprised he has remained uncooperative since 1998.

If you read the last sanctions committee meeting however, you will see that both Iraq and the League of Arab Nations are arguing for making the ME a nuclear free zone.

http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/casi/info/undocs/sc010628open.pdf

There have been recent meetings in the UN to try to bring this about, and Israel is proving recalcitrant.

http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/ec8db69f77e7a33e052567270057e591/6fe84f16fb4977c185256aef004e3fd3!OpenDocument

If Israel cooperated, it would be possible for weapons inspectors to be welcomed in all Middle East countries, including Iraq.

BTW if Saddam IS developing nuclear weapons, I would not blame him, given Israel’s arsenal and belligerence.

If Israel nuked any middle east country, who would nuke them back????
Where is Israel’s deterrent?????

Here’s a url that condenses many of the other myths and facts about Iraq.

http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw/mythsand%20realities3.html

Finally, it is clear that sanctions do not punish Saddam or his cronies. They punish the ordinary people in Iraq, who have now suffered 11 years AFTER a war.

The price was worth it, Madeline? Really? Look what you and the cold, avaricious lackeys of empire like you have done. Millions of Iraqis dead, thousands of Americans. For what? the Iraq of today. No stable government, an environment polluted with cancerous chemicals, women’s rights set back decades, antiquities and architecture vandalised. And some still wonder why the US is despised by those who know what it has done to benefit its perverse ‘national interest’.

Related Links

Controil
Cheney gets $1m from firm with Iraq oil deal
US plans to ditch industry rivals and force end of Opec
What Did April Say?.
OzRant: No ‘Follow the Leader’…
Wars nearing an end, so US can move on – Richard Hass – ‘In the short run, doing less in Iraq and Afghanistan will allow the US to concentrate on the two most immediate external threats to American interests: Iran and North Korea’
Glaspie Memo Leaked: US Dealings With Iraq Ahead of 1990 Invasion of Kuwait Detailed
Iraq Is Bleeding Every Day
Four Polygamous Families with Congenital Birth Defects from Fallujah, Iraq
Judith Miller: From the Times to the nuts

I will add more when time permits.

Today’s Palestine / Israel Links

AIPAC Protests Disclosure of Its Secret Files
Israelis ignore Palestinian documents, warn of “more ferocious” war
Gaza Youth Manifesto
TOXIC ZIONISM – ‘The above is an indication that zionism is not only toxic, it is a form of insanity. If there was no Palestine as they claim, who have they been killing for the past 63 years? Who have they walled into ghettos reminiscent of the ones created by madmen of history? Who have they been expelling from their homes in Jerusalem and other major cities?’
IDF: Palestinian killed at checkpoint was unarmed
Wikileaks: Israel preparing for ‘large scale war’
WikiLeaks quotes IDF chief: Iran could hit Israel within 12 minutes
Despite public denial, U.S. officials tell Haaretz: We’re angry at Barak
Abbas: Israeli-Palestinian peace could be reached in two months
Israel spying on latest Irish aid effort for Gaza, claim activists
Tel Aviv Protests as tweeted by Joseph Dana (@ibnezra/http://twitter.com/#!/ibnezra) on January 1-2, 2011
An awful lot of few bad apples – ‘Of course, there’s an asymmetry between the freedom accorded by Zionists to people who want to speak. If it’s a rabbi saying that Gentiles were born to serve the Jews — yes; if it’s a British Foreign Office employee saying “fucking Jews, fucking Israelis” — no.

It would be good for them to remember that Israel does not grant unlimited free speech to its population, and that there are laws against incitement to hate that could very well be applied to the rabbis who sign weird letters if the country were the democratic paragon it’s purported to be. ‘
Israel to isolate settlements around Gaza with trees
Gideon Levy : The year of truth : ‘The Israelis don’t really want peace, they prefer real estate’.
Israel extends family reunification ban
Israelis kill man carrying bottle – comments allowed calling Israel the Nazis of the 21st Century?

Today’s Wikilinks

WikiLeaks to draw weak information laws – media expert
THE WIKILEAKS NEWS & VIEWS BLOG, Special New Year’s Weekend Editiion
Gigantic Irony : Reporter behind WMD claims calls Assange ‘bad journalist’
Jailed Belarus editor ‘bleeding from ears’
Israel extends family reunification ban
Let a million flowers bloom. – ‘Since the announcement of our Call for Papers, a number of other projects focused on interpreting the cables have sprung up. WikiLeaked is a new group blog from Foreign Policy magazine; Heinz Duthel published a Kindle ebook with commentary and excerpts, and an anonymous Amazon CreateSpace user has created a complete data dump in one book; BoingBoing premiered the first episode of Joe Sabian’s WikiWecaps; and the group Anonymous, fired up from the impact of Operation Payback and now looking for a constructive method of protest, has launched Operation Leakspin, which has a web and Facebook presence and also promises video analyses.’
Diplomats Help Push Jet Sales on Global Market

Other Links

Is your planet included in your family?
Rebooting business and capitalism
The 20th Century, Now in Reruns
EU ratchets up sanctions on Ivory Coast