Does Israel Use American Weapons Illegally?
On Tuesday Congressman Dennis Kucinich called for a Congressional report on Israel's possibly illegal misuse of US weapons.
In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Kucinich requested an examination of Israel’s compliance with the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 which requires governments that receive weapons from the United States to use them for legitimate self-defense.
Video and more after the jump.
Read Kucinich's full letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:
/>Dear Dr. Rice:
I am writing concerning Israel's military offensive against Gaza, which began on December 27th. I support Israel's security and its right to exist in peace, without the fear of rocket attacks from Hamas. Moreover, I abhor the violence being visited upon the citizens of our firm ally. However, no nation is immune from the legal conditions placed on the receipt of U.S. military assistance.
I believe that with the current escalation of violence in Gaza, a legal threshold has been reached, warranting a Presidential examination and report to Congress. I hereby request an examination of Israel’s compliance with the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (AECA).
While neither the AECA nor the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA) define “internal security” and “legitimate self-defense,” I believe that Israel’s most recent attacks neither further internal security nor do they constitute “legitimate” acts of self-defense. They do, however, “increase the possibility of an outbreak or escalation of conflict,” because they are a vastly disproportionate response to the provocation, and because the Palestinian population is suffering from those military attacks in numbers far exceeding Israeli losses in life and property.
Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza has inflicted a significant toll on Palestinian civilians and society. Israel’s recent aerial and ground offensive against Gaza has killed nearly 600 and injured over 2,500. The Associated Press reported: “children are paying the price... The United Nations has said the death toll includes 34 children... But the broad range of Israel's targets--police compounds, fire stations, homes of militants, Hamas-run mosques and university buildings--means most shelling is occurring in residential areas."
The extensive destruction of such civilian institutions violates Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the wanton destruction of property and collective punishment of a civilian population. There have also been reports of bombings of United Nations (UN) schools, despite the fact that Israeli Defense Forces were allegedly given coordinates of the facilities prior to the current escalation in violence.
The blockade that Israel has imposed on Gaza since 2006 has further exacerbated the extent of collateral damage, as hospitals and morgues have been unable to cope with the magnitude of deaths and injuries as a result of the current escalation in violence and hospitals lack proper supplies needed to treat the injured.
I believe that Israel’s use of defense articles provided by the U.S in the current Gaza military attacks may constitute a violation of the AECA. At a minimum, the conflict is sufficient to warrant an immediate report to Congress as required by 22 U.S.C. §2753. Please contact my office by close of business on January 7, 2009 with the date the report will be submitted.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Kucinich Member of Congress
- FILED UNDER: Editor Posts, arms, Gaza, Israel, kucinich, rice, United States, weapons
- January 8, 2009
yes, Israel does not have
yes, Israel does not have the right to defend itself. Other countries do, but Israel is different. Also, we should not allow american companies to sell weapons to foreign countries cause they may use them. Let the europeans make all the money. Finally, we should make Israel open its borders so the suicide bombers can all come in and start blowing up the jews again. This way there will be proportionality, The world would feel the war is more evenhanded if more jews were getting blown up. If only that missle that hit the nursing home in Israel today had killed alot of old people, we would feel better about the conflict. Its all about proportion in war and we should remember this next time we are attacked.
No one said Israel doesn't have the right to defend itself.
That strawman argument is totally ridiculous, and you should know that. Once again, look at my posts on this subject and maybe you will see that obliterating each other isn't a solution, unless you get a rush out of killing people. Otherwise, you should wake up and see that 60 years of this senseless violence by both sides hasn't solved a single thing, and neither side can point to a single concrete positive accomplishment from killing thousands and thousands of each other's citizens during that time.
Truth is whatever you can get other people to believe - Tom Smothers
Israel has the right to defend itself.
that just isn't what they are actually doing.
I think we should allow the defense industry to sell every bit of equipment they manufacture, including the top secret, classified, cutting edge stuff to whomever they chose.
Everyone knows that it is more important for defense industry ceos to be able to offshore their billions in profits, than it is to allow the US to maintain a military edge against today's allies and tomorrow's enemies.
Everyone wants the investment class multinationals in our congress to pad their family dynasty coffers with defense industry stock dividends, so only they can afford to buy the only remote islands with underground barracks that are out of range of the devastation free trade of armaments will eventually bring.
As far as your proportionality comment goes. I would recommend that US reinforce the Palestinian military equal to what they have done for Israel. This way the Palestinians would stand a chance to reclaim the land that represents the occupied police state Israel currently maintains over them and the land Israel has stolen from them. Once they reclaim their land, and we recognize them as a independent state, having rid themselves of their oppressing occupiers, Israel would think twice about venturing beyond the borders defined by the UN after WW2, and Palestine would have no reason to attack Israel, unless, of course they needed to defend themselves.
I can't BELIEVE IT!
How DARE they use those weapons to defend themselves after being bombed for 6 months!!!
The Obamessiah better take those weapons back so the righteous Islamists can destroy the infidel Jews and send them to the ovens where they belong (listening Kuby?)
You are supposed to hate Jews
they are brown people.
I believe the Jews need to
I believe the Jews need to be in control of Jeresulem in order for their "rapture" to happen and for their messiah to return and save them, or some other b.s.
That's the only reason they pretend to "support" the Jews in Israel.
-- Yes we DID!!!! --
Pretty funny stuff.
Defend themselves?
I submit to you as evidence The Old Testament. If you recall, when the Hebrews first set foot on the land they currently call Israel, it happened to already be occupied. After receiving the 10 Commandments, three of which were don't lie, steal or kill, the Hebrews proceeded to kill the occupants, steal their land, and in one of their conquests, lied by tricking the occupants into getting circumcisions and making them believe they would be spared, and then killing them off the next day. They referred to this land as "The Promised Land" as it was promised to them by a god that considered them the chosen people, because he apparently was too lazy to whip up some fresh unoccupied land.
My guess is some of those now dead but previously newly circumcised occupants were the ancestors of what we now refer to as Muslims. Yes, I realize Muslims weren't around at the time of the Old Testament, but the ancestors of the people that eventually became Muslims were.
You may also recall that the Hebrews were eventually driven out by the previous occupants only to have a group of Christian white dudes steal it back for them after WW1. After WW2, the UN intended to partition Palestine into two independent states, but Israel decided to jump the gun, declare independence and steal more land. The same Christian white dudes decided to recognize their independence before the Palestinian state was formed, and over the last 60 years, they have reinforced Israel's military to the point they can maintain a perpetual police state over the Palestinians, freely roam outside of their borders and create suffering.
I am sure that no American would even think about fighting back if a foreign government gave a foreign people our land and set up an independent state of which we could never be members, and then reinforced their military so they could freely roam outside those borders taking more land and oppressing Americans in the process.
Americans would just sit back and do nothing for fear of being called terrorists by sympathizers of the foreigners, and only when a few extremist Americans did decide to fight back, the foreigners would only be considered to be defending themselves against aggressors.
Makes sense to me.
Don't get me wrong. I don't think for a second that you will allow any of this history to sink in. Christians are the masters of selective reading and memory.
Boy your history is pure
Boy your history is pure fiction. Gaza was part of Egypt and the west bank was part of jordan before They lost this territory in the 67 and 73 wars. Israel tried to give the territory back, both neither country wanted the extremist elements back. In 48 there was no independent Palestine, it was Trans-Jordan.. When the British left the jews got this tiny tiny piece of land which they accepted, even though it was not all they hoped for. The Arabs got Jordan and later the west bank. All surrounding arab countries then attacked and Israel gained territory through war....This is not stealing land. You left out the 1948 war to push every jew in the sea. Wonder why?
Newsflash.
So do we.