THE HANDSTAND

NOVEMBER-JANUARY2010

can legal enquiry eradicate war weapons ?

Extrajudicial Executions

‘US Drone Attacks May Break International Law’

By AFP

October 28, 2009 "AFP" -- UNITED NATIONS: US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN’s top investigator of such crimes said Tuesday.

‘The problem with the United States is that it is making an increased use of drones/Predators (which are) particularly prominently used now in relation to Pakistan and Afghanistan,’ UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston told a press conference.

‘My concern is that drones/Predators are being operated in a framework which may well violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law,’ he said.

US strikes with remote-controlled aircraft against Al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan have often resulted in civilian deaths and drawn bitter criticism from local populations.

‘The onus is really on the United States government to reveal more about the ways in which it makes sure that arbitrary extrajudicial executions aren’t in fact being carried out through the use of these weapons,’ he added.

Alston said he presented a report on the matter to the UN General Assembly.

He urged the United States to be more forthright about how and when it uses drone aircraft, something about which the US Defense Department and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually keep silent.

‘We need the United States to be more up front and say, ‘OK, we’re willing to discuss some aspects of this program,’ otherwise you have the really problematic bottom line that the CIA is running a program that is killing significant numbers of people and there is absolutely no accountability in terms of the relevant international laws,’ Alston said.

Since August 2008, around 70 strikes by unmanned aircraft have killed close to 600 people in northwestern Pakistan.

‘I would like to know the legal basis upon which the United States is operating, in other words... who is running the program, what accountability mechanisms are in place in relation to that,’ Alston said.

‘Secondly, what precautions the United States is taking to ensure that these weapons are used strictly for purposes consistent with international humanitarian law.’

‘Third, what sort of review mechanism is there to evaluate when these weapons have been used? Those are the issues I’d like to see addressed,’ the UN official said.—AFP
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One of the reasons why communist parties in western Europe favour keeping national service is that it provides the population with military training which they can use against their generals if ordered to act against the people or in a revolution.
Charles F Moreira
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Armed gunmen kill seven at Texas military base
Thu, 05 Nov 2009

Armed gunmen have killed seven people and wounded at least 12 others in a rampage at Fort Hood military base in Texas.

One gunman was in custody, but another remained on the loose on the sprawling base in Killeen, Texas, MSNBC television reported on Thursday, adding the shooter at large was believed to have a high-powered sniper rifle.

It added there was also speculation that there were possibly three gunmen.

Fort Hood is the largest US military base in the world and had been working to rehabilitate many soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

A message on Fort Hood's website -- the headquarters of the Army 3rd Corps, the 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division -- said it was closed, but gave no further details. All those units have seen extensive duty in Iraq.

SG/SS/MMA PressTV



Report Slams Bank Links to Clusterbomb Production

By Olesya Dmitracova

November 03, 2009 "LONDON (Reuters) October 29, 2009 - Leading banks have funded arms manufacturers, whose products include cluster bombs, to the tune of $5 billion in the past two years, despite an international accord to ban such weapons, a study said Thursday.

The report by Profundo consultancy and several NGOs said the banks loaned money to companies whose products include cluster bombs or their components.

It did not say the funds went directly to make cluster bombs. The manufacturers could use the money for any of their production lines.

The top five loan providers were Bank of America, Citigroup , JP Morgan, Barclays and Goldman Sachs, the study said.

The researchers used publicly available information, such as that supplied by stock exchanges and financial databases, to produce their study.

According to the research, the banks have provided financing for diversified manufacturer Textron, aerospace and defense group Alliant Techsystems and defense contractor Lockheed Martin , all based in the United States.

Barclays said in a statement it provided financial services to arms makers within a specific policy framework, taking into account the likely use of the equipment.

"Our policy ... explicitly prohibits financing trade in landmines, cluster bombs or any equipment designed to be used as an instrument of torture," Barclays said.

Asked to clarify, a Barclays' spokeswoman declined further comment.

Bank of America and JP Morgan declined to comment while Citigroup and Goldman Sachs also had no immediate reaction.

Cluster bombs, which open in mid-air and scatter a multitude of bomblets over a wide area, have killed and maimed tens of thousands of civilians, campaigners say.

Nations agreed to outlaw cluster bombs in May 2008. The resulting convention will come into force when 30 countries have ratified it -- 23 have already done so.

Neither the United States nor Britain, where the top five loan providers are based, have yet ratified the treaty.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions includes a ban on assisting anyone to make the bombs.

"We feel very strongly that assistance in production means investment. If you invest in a company, you're considered to assist the production of these (bombs)," Roos Boer, one of the report's authors, said at the launch of the study

The report said: "Financial institutions should develop policies that exclude all financial links with companies involved in producing cluster munitions."

It added: "Policies should not be narrowed to refusing project financing for cluster munitions."

The report also called on governments to draw up clear legislation to prohibit investment in cluster bombs and to provide guidelines for financial institutions.


(Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Air Force: ‘Overwhelm Enemy Cognitive Abilities’ with Bioscience

The Air Force is looking to harness advances in bio-science so they can “degrade enemy performance and artificially overwhelm enemy cognitive abilities.” It’s all part of a $49 million dollar bio-research effort unveiled last month by the Air Force Research Lab’s “Human Effectiveness Directorate,” and it’s the latest in a series of out-there military ideas to mess with adversaries’ heads.

For years, armed forces and intelligence community researchers have toyed with ways of manipulating minds. During the Cold War, the CIA and the military allegedly plied the unwitting with acid, weed, and dozens of psychoactive drugs, in a series of zany (and sometimes dangerous) mind-control experiments. In the 1970s and 80s, a small group of special operations soldiers at Ft. Bragg supposedly tried to teach themselves how to kill with psychic power - the basis for the upcoming movie The Men Who Stare at Goats. In 1994, one Air Force researcher proposed spraying enemies with “strong aphrodisiacs [which] caused homosexual behavior.” Last year, the National Research Council and Defense Intelligence Agency pushed for pharma-based tactics to weaken enemy forces.

This new Air Force project looks to do just that - and boost the cognitive abilities of U.S. troops at the same time. One component of the research effort, called Biobehavioral Performance, is looking for military specimens who are already resistant to physical or mental stressors. By analyzing the biochemical brain pathways of troops who are cool under pressure, the Air Force wants an “external stimulant” that can act as a synthetic version of optimal cognitive stress response and keep airmen operating at top level.

Resisting stress is good, but destroying your enemy with stress is even better. “Conversely, the chemical pathway area could include methods to degrade enemy performance and artificially overwhelm enemy cognitive capabilities,” the Air Force call for proposals notes. No further details are given. Researchers will just have to be creative, if they want to look for ways to turn military foes insane in the membrane.

[Illo: U.S. Army]

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