מצורף בזאת סירטון וטקסט מפיו של קצין בכיר בריטי בנוגע להתנהלות צה"ל במבצע עופרת יצוקה. ניראה כי לא כולם אטומים שם בחוץ לצידקתה ולצרכי ביטחונה של ישראל. אויבינו מכירים בכך כי לא יוכלו לישראל בשדה הקרב ולכן פנו והפכו את שדה הקרב המשפטי, ההסברתי והבילאומי למכשיר בדרך להשמדת ישראל ולהוותנו הינם מצליחים בכך.ישנו כאן ניסיון ברור לקשור את ידי ישראל מלהגיב על תוקפנות כנגדה כחלק מ"תורת השלבים" הערבית, עד שתעלם מהמפה. עלינו להכיר בכך כי המדיה, ההסברה, העיתונות, הם גייסותינו כיום, הם הטנקים והמטוסים שבידנו (וביד אויבינו), העומדים להגנתנו. יש להערך לכך בכל הכח, האמצעים והכישרון העומדים לרשות העם היהודי בתבל עלינו להפנים כי אותם ישראלים היוצאים כנגדנו בעולם ומוציאים דיבתנו רעה, מהווים איום אסטרטגי קיומי עלינו ועל יקירינו ויש להילחם בהם, הם האויב כיום ממש כאויבינו הערבים. ההדרה הבינלאומית אותה אנו חווים כיום הינה תוצאה ישירה של חודשים ארוכים משך שנת 2008 , אשר אנשי "יוזמת ז'נבה" ו"שלום עכשיו", עסקו, לפני הבחירות ולאחריהן, בשיכנוע הנציגים הדמוקרטים (בממשל בקונגרס ובסנט), לגמד את ישראל ולקשור את ידיה מאחורי גבה (ממש כפי שעושה זאת כיום האו"מ בניצוחו של היהודון גולדסטון). ממשל אובמה ואובמה באווילותו (או משום שכך רצה מלכתחילה), האזין להם ופעל לשם כך וכתוצאה, נתן בעקיפין את האישור לזנב בישראל בכל העולם. העובדה כי נסוג בו משום עובדות החיים ועמידתה הנחרצת של ישראל, שטפחו על פניו אינה משנה כעת דבר. ישראל כבר הפכה למצורע העולמי. אנה הפיצו הסירטון ככל האפשר. להשתמע אהרון רול From: UN Watch [mailto:briefing@unwatch.org]
Sent: Friday, October 16, 2009 5:18 PM
To: Aaron Roll
Subject: Must-See Video: British Army Hero Tells U.N., 'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare' UN Watch Briefing: "Speech of the Year"
News and Analysis from UN Watch in GenevaVol. 208 | October 16, 2009 British Hero Tells U.N. Council: 'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare' Today's emergency UN Human Rights Council debate on the Goldstone Report predictably saw a line-up of the world's worst abusers condemn democratic Israel for human rights violations. In a heated lynch mob atmosphere, Kuwait slammed Israel for “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy,” saying Israel “embodied the Agatha Christie novel, 'Escaped with Murder'.” Pakistan said the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.” The Arab League said, “We must condemn Israel and force Israel to accept international legitimacy." Ahmadinejad’s Iran said “the atrocities committed against Palestinians during the aggressions on Gaza should be taken seriously” and followed up by the international community “to put an end to absolute impunity and defiance of the law.”What the world's assembled representatives did not expect, however, was the speech that followed (see video and text below), organized by UN Watch. We invited as our speaker a man who repeatedly put his life on the line to defend the democratic world from the murderous Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, and the Taleban. The moment he began his first sentence, the room simply fell silent. Judge Goldstone, author of the biased report that prompted today's one-sided condemnation, had refused to hear Col. Kemp's testimony during his "fact-finding" hearings. But UN Watch made sure today that this hero's voice would be heard -- at the U.N., and around the world. _________ UN Human Rights Council, 12th Special Session
Debate on Goldstone Report
Geneva, 16 October 2009IDF Did More to Safeguard Civilians Than Any Army in History of Warfare
Delivered by Col. Richard Kemp
Click for must-see video
Thank you, Mr. President.
I am the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. I served with NATO and the United Nations; commanded troops in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Macedonia; and participated in the Gulf War. I spent considerable time in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, and worked on international terrorism for the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee.
Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.
Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.
Hamas, like Hizballah, are expert at driving the media agenda. Both will always have people ready to give interviews condemning Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting incidents.
The IDF faces a challenge that we British do not have to face to the same extent. It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights.
The truth is that the IDF took extraordinary measures to give Gaza civilians notice of targeted areas, dropping over 2 million leaflets, and making over 100,000 phone calls. Many missions that could have taken out Hamas military capability were aborted to prevent civilian casualties. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy's hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks. Despite all of this, of course innocent civilians were killed. War is chaos and full of mistakes. There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes.
More than anything, the civilian casualties were a consequence of Hamas’ way of fighting. Hamas deliberately tried to sacrifice their own civilians.
Mr. President, Israel had no choice apart from defending its people, to stop Hamas from attacking them with rockets.
And I say this again: the IDF did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.
Thank you, Mr. President. #_lt#div#_gt# #_lt#span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse#_sc# collapse; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family#_sc# arial; font-size#_sc# 15px; "#_gt#מצורף בזאת סירטון וטקסט מפיו של קצין בכיר בריטי בנוגע להתנהלות צה"ל במבצע עופרת יצוקה.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse#_sc# collapse; font-family#_sc# arial; font-size#_sc# 13px; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#ניראה כי לא כולם אטומים שם בחוץ לצידקתה ולצרכי ביטחונה של ישראל.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#אויבינו מכירים בכך כי לא יוכלו לישראל בשדה הקרב ולכן פנו והפכו את שדה הקרב המשפטי, ההסברתי והבילאומי למכשיר בדרך להשמדת ישראל ולהוותנו הינם מצליחים בכך.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#ישנו כאן ניסיון ברור לקשור את ידי ישראל מלהגיב על תוקפנות כנגדה כחלק מ"תורת השלבים" הערבית, עד שתעלם מהמפה.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#עלינו להכיר בכך כי המדיה, ההסברה, העיתונות, הם גייסותינו כיום, הם הטנקים והמטוסים שבידנו (וביד אויבינו), העומדים להגנתנו. יש להערך לכך בכל הכח, האמצעים והכישרון העומדים לרשות העם היהודי בתבל#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#עלינו להפנים כי אותם ישראלים היוצאים כנגדנו בעולם ומוציאים דיבתנו רעה, מהווים איום אסטרטגי קיומי עלינו ועל יקירינו ויש להילחם בהם, הם האויב כיום ממש כאויבינו הערבים.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#ההדרה הבינלאומית אותה אנו חווים כיום הינה תוצאה ישירה של חודשים ארוכים משך שנת 2008 , אשר אנשי "יוזמת ז'נבה" ו"שלום עכשיו", עסקו, לפני הבחירות ולאחריהן, בשיכנוע הנציגים הדמוקרטים (בממשל בקונגרס ובסנט), לגמד את ישראל ולקשור את ידיה מאחורי גבה (ממש כפי שעושה זאת כיום האו"מ בניצוחו של היהודון גולדסטון). ממשל אובמה ואובמה באווילותו (או משום שכך רצה מלכתחילה), האזין להם ופעל לשם כך וכתוצאה, נתן בעקיפין את האישור לזנב בישראל בכל העולם. העובדה כי נסוג בו משום עובדות החיים ועמידתה הנחרצת של ישראל, שטפחו על פניו אינה משנה כעת דבר. ישראל כבר הפכה למצורע העולמי.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#אנה הפיצו הסירטון ככל האפשר.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#להשתמע#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span lang="HE" dir="RTL" style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt#אהרון רול#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 11pt; color#_sc# rgb(31, 73, 125); "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#div style="border-right-style#_sc# none; border-bottom-style#_sc# none; border-left-style#_sc# none; border-width#_sc# initial; border-color#_sc# initial; border-top-style#_sc# solid; border-top-color#_sc# rgb(181, 196, 223); border-top-width#_sc# 1pt; padding-top#_sc# 3pt; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#b#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#From#_sc##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/b#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt# UN Watch [mailto#_sc##_lt#a target="_blank" href="mailto#_sc#briefing@unwatch.org" target="_blank" style="color#_sc# rgb(36, 70, 107); "#_gt#briefing@unwatch.org#_lt#/a#_gt#] #_lt#br#_gt##_lt#b#_gt#Sent#_sc##_lt#/b#_gt# Friday, October 16, 2009 5#_sc#18 PM#_lt#br#_gt##_lt#b#_gt#To#_sc##_lt#/b#_gt# Aaron Roll#_lt#br#_gt##_lt#b#_gt#Subject#_sc##_lt#/b#_gt# Must-See Video#_sc# British Army Hero Tells U.N., 'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare'#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt# #_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="650" style="width#_sc# 487.5pt; "#_gt##_lt#tbody#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 0in; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#img width="653" height="82" src="https#_sc#//www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account21259/images/newsletter_header.jpg"#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 0in; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#img width="654" height="22" src="https#_sc#//www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account21259/images/top_bar.jpg"#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 0in; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="620" style="width#_sc# 465pt; "#_gt##_lt#tbody#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 0in; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#strong#_gt##_lt#span style="color#_sc# rgb(65, 137, 221); "#_gt#UN Watch Briefing#_sc# "Speech of the Year"#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/strong#_gt##_lt#b#_gt##_lt#span style="color#_sc# rgb(65, 137, 221); "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/b#_gt##_lt#strong#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 9pt; "#_gt#News and Analysis from UN Watch in Geneva#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/strong#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#td valign="bottom" style="padding-top#_sc# 0in; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align#_sc# right; "#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 8.5pt; "#_gt#Vol. 208 | October 16, 2009 #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#/tbody#_gt##_lt#/table#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 0in; padding-right#_sc# 0in; padding-bottom#_sc# 0in; padding-left#_sc# 0in; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#img width="650" height="1" src="https#_sc#//www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account21259/images/dotted_line.jpg"#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="border-top-style#_sc# none; border-top-width#_sc# initial; border-top-color#_sc# initial; border-left-style#_sc# solid; border-left-color#_sc# rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-width#_sc# 1pt; border-bottom-style#_sc# none; border-bottom-width#_sc# initial; border-bottom-color#_sc# initial; border-right-style#_sc# solid; border-right-color#_sc# rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-width#_sc# 1pt; padding-top#_sc# 18.75pt; padding-right#_sc# 11.25pt; padding-bottom#_sc# 7.5pt; padding-left#_sc# 11.25pt; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#strong#_gt##_lt#span#_gt#British Hero Tells U.N. Council#_sc# 'IDF Most Moral Army in History of Warfare'#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/strong#_gt##_lt#span#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt# #_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#Today's emergency UN Human Rights Council debate on the Goldstone Report predictably saw a line-up of the world's worst abusers condemn democratic Israel for human rights violations. In a heated lynch mob atmosphere, Kuwait slammed Israel for “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy,” saying Israel “embodied the Agatha Christie novel, 'Escaped with Murder'.” Pakistan said the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.” The Arab League said, “We must condemn Israel and force Israel to accept international legitimacy." Ahmadinejad’s Iran said “the atrocities committed against Palestinians during the aggressions on Gaza should be taken seriously” and followed up by the international community “to put an end to absolute impunity and defiance of the law.”#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#What the world's assembled representatives did not expect, however, was the speech that followed (#_lt#em#_gt##_lt#span#_gt#see video and text below#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/em#_gt#), organized by UN Watch. We invited as our speaker a man who repeatedly put his life on the line to defend the democratic world from the murderous Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, and the Taleban. The moment he began his first sentence, the room simply fell silent. Judge Goldstone, author of the biased report that prompted today's one-sided condemnation, had refused to hear Col. Kemp's testimony during his "fact-finding" hearings. But UN Watch made sure today that this hero's voice would be heard -- at the U.N., and around the world. #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#em#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#_________#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/em#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#em#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#UN Human Rights Council, 12th Special Session#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/em#_gt##_lt#i#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#em#_gt##_lt#span#_gt#Debate on Goldstone Report#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/em#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#em#_gt##_lt#span#_gt#Geneva, 16 October 2009#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/em#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/i#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#strong#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#IDF Did More to Safeguard Civilians Than Any Army in History of Warfare#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/strong#_gt##_lt#b#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/b#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#Delivered by Col. Richard Kemp#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#strong#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#a target="_blank" href="http#_sc#//www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1313923&ct=7536409" target="_blank" style="color#_sc# rgb(36, 70, 107); "#_gt##_lt#i#_gt##_lt#span style="text-decoration#_sc# none; "#_gt##_lt#img border="0" src="https#_sc#//www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account21259/images/kemp.jpg"#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/i#_gt##_lt#i#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#br#_gt##_lt#/i#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 14pt; "#_gt#Click for must-see video#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/a#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/strong#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#Thank you, Mr. President.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#I am the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. I served with NATO and the United Nations; commanded troops in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Macedonia; and participated in the Gulf War. I spent considerable time in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, and worked on international terrorism for the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this#_sc# During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#Hamas, like Hizballah, are expert at driving the media agenda. Both will always have people ready to give interviews condemning Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting incidents.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#The IDF faces a challenge that we British do not have to face to the same extent. It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#The truth is that the IDF took extraordinary measures to give Gaza civilians notice of targeted areas, dropping over 2 million leaflets, and making over 100,000 phone calls. Many missions that could have taken out Hamas military capability were aborted to prevent civilian casualties. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy's hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt#Despite all of this, of course innocent civilians were killed. War is chaos and full of mistakes. There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#More than anything, the civilian casualties were a consequence of Hamas’ way of fighting. Hamas deliberately tried to sacrifice their own civilians.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#Mr. President, Israel had no choice apart from defending its people, to stop Hamas from attacking them with rockets.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#And I say this again#_sc# the IDF did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt##_lt#br#_gt#Thank you, Mr. President.#_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal"#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; "#_gt# #_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#div#_gt##_lt#div align="center"#_gt##_lt#table border="0" cellpadding="0" width="349" style="width#_sc# 261.75pt; "#_gt##_lt#tbody#_gt##_lt#tr#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 1.5pt; padding-right#_sc# 1.5pt; padding-bottom#_sc# 1.5pt; padding-left#_sc# 1.5pt; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#span style="color#_sc# blue; "#_gt##_lt#a target="_blank" href="http#_sc#//www.facebook.com/U.N.HumanRights" target="_blank" style="color#_sc# rgb(36, 70, 107); "#_gt##_lt#span style="text-decoration#_sc# none; "#_gt##_lt#img border="0" src="https#_sc#//www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account21259/images/facebook-icon.gif"#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/a#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#td style="padding-top#_sc# 1.5pt; padding-right#_sc# 1.5pt; padding-bottom#_sc# 1.5pt; padding-left#_sc# 1.5pt; margin-top#_sc# 0px; margin-right#_sc# 0px; margin-bottom#_sc# 0px; margin-left#_sc# 0px; font-family#_sc# arial, sans-serif; "#_gt##_lt#p#_gt##_lt#em#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; color#_sc# blue; "#_gt##_lt#a target="_blank" href="http#_sc#//twitter.com/hillelneuer" target="_blank" style="color#_sc# rgb(36, 70, 107); "#_gt##_lt#/a#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/em#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align#_sc# center; "#_gt##_lt#i#_gt##_lt#span style="font-size#_sc# 10pt; color#_sc# blue; "#_gt##_lt#a target="_blank" href="http#_sc#//twitter.com/hillelneuer" target="_blank" style="color#_sc# rgb(36, 70, 107); "#_gt##_lt#span style="text-decoration#_sc# none; "#_gt##_lt#img border="0" width="119" height="51" src="https#_sc#//www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account21259/images/twitter.gif"#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/a#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt##_lt#/i#_gt##_lt#/p#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#/tbody#_gt##_lt#/table#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#/div#_gt##_lt#/td#_gt##_lt#/tr#_gt##_lt#/tbody#_gt##_lt#/table#_gt##_lt#/span#_gt# |