Palestinians collect their belongings from under the rubble of a residential tower, which witnesses said was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on August 24, 2014. (Photo: UN Photo-Shareef Sarhan/flickr/cc)
Nov 07, 2014
Critics say it is "shameful" that a high-ranking U.S. military official suggested the Pentagon can learn lessons from Israel's 50-day attack on Gaza this summer.
According the Jerusalem Post, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey made statements Thursday praising the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) for taking "extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties" during Operation Protective Edge.
Dempsey told an audience at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs: "We sent a team of senior officers and non-commissioned officers over to work with the IDF to get the lessons from that particular operation in Gaza." He referred to the group of officers as the "lessons learned team."
But Ramah Kudaimi of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation said Israel's tactics should not be replicated.
"It is very disturbing and shameful that U.S. military commanders believe that what Israel did in Gaza is something to be applauded," Kudaimi told Common Dreams. "Five hundred dead children does not seem to be evidence that Israel was trying to not kill civilians. The seven-year siege on Gaza is not a policy to avoid civilian suffering."
Israel's recent seven-week military assault on Gaza killed at least 2,194 Palestinians, at least 75 percent of them civilians and over 500 of them children.
"At least 80 percent of the 100,000 Palestinian homes damaged or destroyed were refugee homes," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency reports.
The offensive damaged or destroyed over half of Gaza's hospitals and health centers at a time when more than 11,000 were wounded, a UNRWA and World Health Organization joint investigation found.
Israel struck six UN schools sheltering Palestinians, including in cases where exact coordinates of the shelters were formally submitted by UNRWA to the Isreali military. These strikes alone killed at least 47 people and wounded hundreds.
Furthermore, Israel has been accused of potential war crimes by Amnesty International and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
"It is very despicable that the U.S. continues to white-wash Israeli crimes while funding them through military aid," said Kudaimi. "Dempsey's statements are not shocking. Anyone who follows U.S. military policy, knows they too have problematic definitions of protecting civilians."
Join Us: Everything is on the Line
The future of all that we cherish is on the line and we have to fight like hell to protect democracy, human decency, and a liveable planet. The last line of defense is people who understand what’s at stake—activists, writers, thinkers, doers, and everyday people who see what is happening, know in their hearts that a better world is possible, and are willing to fight for it. You are one of the good people Common Dreams was built for. We provide independent news, progressive opinion, and crucial analysis on the day’s most important issues. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. But to keep publishing and remain strong in these dangerous times, we need your support. So we’re asking you today: Will you donate to our Fall Campaign and keep the progressive, nonprofit journalism of Common Dreams alive? |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Critics say it is "shameful" that a high-ranking U.S. military official suggested the Pentagon can learn lessons from Israel's 50-day attack on Gaza this summer.
According the Jerusalem Post, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey made statements Thursday praising the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) for taking "extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties" during Operation Protective Edge.
Dempsey told an audience at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs: "We sent a team of senior officers and non-commissioned officers over to work with the IDF to get the lessons from that particular operation in Gaza." He referred to the group of officers as the "lessons learned team."
But Ramah Kudaimi of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation said Israel's tactics should not be replicated.
"It is very disturbing and shameful that U.S. military commanders believe that what Israel did in Gaza is something to be applauded," Kudaimi told Common Dreams. "Five hundred dead children does not seem to be evidence that Israel was trying to not kill civilians. The seven-year siege on Gaza is not a policy to avoid civilian suffering."
Israel's recent seven-week military assault on Gaza killed at least 2,194 Palestinians, at least 75 percent of them civilians and over 500 of them children.
"At least 80 percent of the 100,000 Palestinian homes damaged or destroyed were refugee homes," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency reports.
The offensive damaged or destroyed over half of Gaza's hospitals and health centers at a time when more than 11,000 were wounded, a UNRWA and World Health Organization joint investigation found.
Israel struck six UN schools sheltering Palestinians, including in cases where exact coordinates of the shelters were formally submitted by UNRWA to the Isreali military. These strikes alone killed at least 47 people and wounded hundreds.
Furthermore, Israel has been accused of potential war crimes by Amnesty International and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
"It is very despicable that the U.S. continues to white-wash Israeli crimes while funding them through military aid," said Kudaimi. "Dempsey's statements are not shocking. Anyone who follows U.S. military policy, knows they too have problematic definitions of protecting civilians."
Critics say it is "shameful" that a high-ranking U.S. military official suggested the Pentagon can learn lessons from Israel's 50-day attack on Gaza this summer.
According the Jerusalem Post, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey made statements Thursday praising the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) for taking "extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties" during Operation Protective Edge.
Dempsey told an audience at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs: "We sent a team of senior officers and non-commissioned officers over to work with the IDF to get the lessons from that particular operation in Gaza." He referred to the group of officers as the "lessons learned team."
But Ramah Kudaimi of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation said Israel's tactics should not be replicated.
"It is very disturbing and shameful that U.S. military commanders believe that what Israel did in Gaza is something to be applauded," Kudaimi told Common Dreams. "Five hundred dead children does not seem to be evidence that Israel was trying to not kill civilians. The seven-year siege on Gaza is not a policy to avoid civilian suffering."
Israel's recent seven-week military assault on Gaza killed at least 2,194 Palestinians, at least 75 percent of them civilians and over 500 of them children.
"At least 80 percent of the 100,000 Palestinian homes damaged or destroyed were refugee homes," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency reports.
The offensive damaged or destroyed over half of Gaza's hospitals and health centers at a time when more than 11,000 were wounded, a UNRWA and World Health Organization joint investigation found.
Israel struck six UN schools sheltering Palestinians, including in cases where exact coordinates of the shelters were formally submitted by UNRWA to the Isreali military. These strikes alone killed at least 47 people and wounded hundreds.
Furthermore, Israel has been accused of potential war crimes by Amnesty International and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
"It is very despicable that the U.S. continues to white-wash Israeli crimes while funding them through military aid," said Kudaimi. "Dempsey's statements are not shocking. Anyone who follows U.S. military policy, knows they too have problematic definitions of protecting civilians."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.