Items filed under "war crimes"

NATO Destroys Booby-Trapped Homes in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com

Mike — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:59:55 -0500

In Arghandab District, for instance, every one of the 40 homes in the village of Khosrow was flattened by a salvo of 25 missiles, according to the district governor, Shah Muhammed Ahmadi, who estimated that 120 to 130 houses had been demolished in his district. “There was no other way; we knew people wanted us to get rid of all these deadly I.E.D.’s,” he said, referring to improvised explosive devices, the military’s term for homemade bombs.

Korean War Panel Finds U.S. Attacks on Civilians - NYTimes.com

Mike — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:19:01 -0400

Since 1999, journalists and historians have uncovered many declassified American military documents showing that the military had adopted a policy of shooting refugees approaching its lines — and American pilots were often directed to strafe refugee columns — all to guard against infiltrators.

U.S. Admits Role in February Killing of Afghan Women - NYTimes.com

Mike — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:58:15 -0400

And in what would be a scandalous turn to the investigation, The Times of London reported Sunday night that Afghan investigators also determined that American forces not only killed the women but had also “dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath” and then “washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened.”

Israelis cancel UK visit over possibility of war crimes charges - The Boston Globe

Mike — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:32:41 -0500

Israeli analysts charge that other examples of “lawfare’’ are condemnations by human rights groups and the UN of Israeli actions against Palestinian militants, especially last winter’s military operation in Gaza that left about 1,400 Palestinians dead, including many civilians, and caused widespread destruction.

Turn Down The Peace Prize? - washingtonpost.com

Mike — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:27:05 -0400

The North Vietnamese negotiator of cease-fire talks for Vietnam shared the 1973 prize with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, but Tho said it was not possible for him to accept it while the cease-fire was not being honored. Kissinger accepted the prize and donated its monetary award to fund scholarships.

Clean up after Agent Orange - The Boston Globe

Mike — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:56:55 -0400

Aid in the clean-up has also come from the Gates and Ford foundations, the United Nations, and the Czech Republic. But the United States bears the ultimate responsibility. Its recent annual appropriations of $3 million for Agent Orange projects in Vietnam will have to increase as the Vietnamese demonstrate they can use the aid effectively. Just cleaning up the Danang air base will require $17 million. Congress must increase the US commitment to do justice to this continuing environmental and health disaster.

World Briefing - Asia - Vietnam - Report Details Unexploded Ordnance - NYTimes.com

Mike — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:36:40 -0400

More than a third of the land in six central Vietnamese provinces remains contaminated with land mines and unexploded bombs from the Vietnam War, according to a study released on Friday. In addition to mapping the unexploded ordnance, a project by the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense cleared 3,345 acres of land. The Defense Ministry estimates that 16.3 million acres remain to be cleared. Vietnam says that more than 42,000 people have been killed by leftover explosives since the war ended in 1975.

Detainee's Harsh Treatment Foiled No Plots - washingtonpost.com

Mike — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:59:20 -0400

Abu Zubaida's revelations triggered a series of alerts and sent hundreds of CIA and FBI investigators scurrying in pursuit of phantoms. The interrogations led directly to the arrest of Jose Padilla, the man Abu Zubaida identified as heading an effort to explode a radiological "dirty bomb" in an American city. Padilla was held in a naval brig for 3 1/2 years on the allegation but was never charged in any such plot. Every other lead ultimately dissolved into smoke and shadow, according to high-ranking former U.S. officials with access to classified reports.

Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials - NYTimes.com

Mike — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:57:39 -0400

Last October, when the Miami court handed down the conviction, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey applauded the ruling and said: “This is the first case in the United States to charge an individual with criminal torture. I hope this case will serve as a model to future prosecutions of this type.”

Soldiers’ Accounts of Gaza Killings Raise Furor in Israel - NYTimes.com

Mike — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:49:13 -0400

When asked why that elderly woman was killed, a squad commander was quoted as saying: “What’s great about Gaza — you see a person on a path, he doesn’t have to be armed, you can simply shoot him. In our case it was an old woman on whom I did not see any weapon when I looked. The order was to take down the person, this woman, the minute you see her. There are always warnings, there is always the saying, ‘Maybe he’s a terrorist.’ What I felt was, there was a lot of thirst for blood.”