War Crimes?

[Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol@xxxxxxx>]

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>Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 14:07:18 -0600
>From: Alan Spector <spector@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: War Crimes?
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>To: PROGRESSIVE SOCIOLOGISTS NETWORK <psn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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>As the term "war crimes" is being applied more and more by liberals in
>the U.S. to describe various violent acts around the world, the
>following article should give readers something to think about.  This
>one tops the Tienamein Square massacre in numbers. The President in
>charge of this war crime::  Bill Clinton.  As long as capitalism exists,
>there will be war crimes like this.  Will the liberal outrage be as loud
>against the liberal imperialists as it is against those conservative
>capitalists who are competing with the liberals. Is Clinton really any
>better than Nixon? Are apologists for Clinton any better than apologists
>for Nixon?
>
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>
>
>
>>From Times Of India - March 23, 1998)
>               US army killed over 1,000 Somalis:
>               Report
>
>               LONDON: Trapped American special forces had
>indisrciminately
>               fired on crowds of Somalis in Mogadishu in 1993 killing
>more than
>               1,000, five times the official numbers given.
>
>               American troops had abandoned their rules of engagement
>-- to
>               fire only when threatened by fire --and had shot down
>every
>               Somali they saw including women and children, Observer
>has
>               reported quoting what it called dramatic new account of
>the battle
>               collated by American journalists from Somali survivors.
>
>               The damaging charges come as US President Bill Clinton
>begins a
>               six-nation tour of Africa. The reports said that United
>Nations,
>               under whose peace keeping auspices the Americans were
>               operating in the country, had not been informed of the
>mission by
>               US special forces to capture 25 top Somali warlords
>including the
>               late Somali president General Mohd Farah Aided from
>central
>               Mogadishu.
>
>               It said that prior sanction of United Nations military
>commander of
>               the region, General Cevic Bir of Turkey, was not obtained
>in this
>               connection.
>
>               Observer said the incident occurred on the October 3,
>1993,
>               afternoon, when 40 Delta special forces backed by 75
>rangers set
>               off to capture the Somali warlords, tipped to be meeting
>in a house
>               in central Mogadishu. ``Contrary to US official version
>of the
>               mission, American helicopter gunships began the ill-fated
>raid by
>               firing anti-tank missiles into the house.''
>
>               Observer reported that American force commander Major
>               General William F Garrison had decided in defiance of
>protocol
>               that his troops would go it alone without informing the
>united
>               nations command or even the UN special representative.
>
>               ``In retrospect, it is possible to say that US forces
>declared their
>               own personal war on Gen Aided,'' it added.
>
>               The paper said at that time the news centred on dramatic
>footage
>               of naked bodies of American soldiers being dragged
>through the
>               streets and a helicopter pilot being taken hostage. The
>Somali dead
>               then estimated at 200, were the sideshow.
>
>               The paper quoting accounts of American journalist Mark
>Bowden
>               said the US special task force hit the house as 17
>gunships rained
>               missiles from above. The soldiers stormed the house
>taking 24
>               prisoners, then it began to go all wrong.
>
>               The Americans protected by gunships were supposed to
>drive
>               three miles back to the base with their prisoners.
>However, without
>               the backup force, the US special task force convoy ended
>up going
>               in circles, trapped hundreds of Somali gunmen.
>
>               ``The narrow streets then turned into scene of
>indiscriminate
>               slaughter as the Somalis brought down two helicopters
>rained fire
>               on US communications with their base and a spy plane
>charged
>               with guiding them, broke down leaving the soldiers
>trapped and
>               deserted,'' Bowden said.
>
>               ``It was then Americans abandoned their mission. They
>went
>               berserk shooting at anything that moved,'' he added.
>
>               The convoy was eventually rescued by Malaysian and
>Pakistani
>               troops, who came to their aid as backup. The paper said
>till date
>               the United States had never held any public investigation
>or
>               reprimanded any of its commanders or troops involved.
>
>               Calling it as the biggest fire-fight the American troops
>were
>               involved in since the Vietnam War, Observer said, ``US
>discipline
>               and organisation had disintegrated.'' (PTI)
>
>
>
>
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