The deaths of four U.N. military observers during Israeli clashes with Hezbollah in Lebanon two years ago were the result of errors by Israel’s military, a Canadian Forces board of inquiry found Friday.
The deaths of the four from Canada, China, Austria and Finland were “tragic and preventable,” the board said.The U.N. observers died when their compound was hit by a 1,100-pound bomb dropped by an Israeli aircraft. The compound was also hit by four 155-mm artillery shells fired by the Israelis during clashes with Hezbollah, the report said.”As the shelling and bombing in the vicinity of Patrol Base Khiam increased in frequency and accuracy, the decision was made to evacuate,” said the report. “But the fatal bomb was dropped before the four observers could be withdrawn.”
The heavily censored report said the compound’s main building was nearly destroyed by the strikes.
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The board said could not assign blame beyond the Israeli military because neither the United Nations nor the Israeli Defense Force fully cooperated with the investigation. The IDF provided only an oral summary of its findings that was of limited use, said the board.
Here’s what the commander of the observation post, Canadian Major Paeta Hess-Von Kruedener, had to say shortly before he was killed:
What I can tell you is this: we have on a daily basis had numerous occasions where our position has come under direct or indirect fire from both artillery and aerial bombing. The closest artillery has landed within 2 metres of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 metres from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity. [Emphasis mine]
The PDF of the report is here. I didn’t read it closely, but I don’t believe Hezbollah was mentioned at all.
Aside from your obvious points.
Um, Saddam oralized all kinds of shit – to inspectors for many years and then to interrogators – guess what? Those verbalizations don’t square with the progressive holy grail of life.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/24/60minutes/main3749494.shtml
We are supposed to believe the CIA over the 90’s – or when Clinton was president that the CIA was for real when they said Saddam had WMD!
We are supposed to believe that when Bush took over, the CIA became independently perfected and warned Bush against what they assured Clinton was true, but Bush wasn’t nuanced to know that CIA was saying to Clinton all that time was all bullshit before!
We are supposed to believe that boards, commissions and CONGRESS know what they are doing or are doing things to actually help us vs their own bullshit inflated belief they are doing anything other than wasting air.
So — without coercive techniques we can be assured that UN, CIA, all agencies, NGO’s and the UN will NOT accept a Joooo soldiers word, but will gladly take kite flier Saddam at his word. Because of the rainbows. And possible unicorns.
Barack haz Unicornz.
Cue douchedave and teh crazee in 5..4..3..
And the JAZZ!
Mitt’s got the Jazz. They’re from Utah. Barack’s got the Bulls.
Demz got HORNETS – grrr.
“The closest artillery has landed within 2 metres of our position and the closest 1000 lb aerial bomb has landed 100 metres from our patrol base. This has not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity.”
Probably some useful information here if it was pursued.
maybe the Israelis should use retarded woman in their maneuvers to see if it’s of use or stage a blood bank giving to achieve the quality that would persuade the committee or the press!
What exactly is a U.N. military observer?
About as likely as Lindsey Lohan coming up clean on her next court-ordered drug screen. All these blue-ribbon panels know who’s to blame (Jooz!)…it’s just an exercise in report crafting to explain it all away.
Also known as a “lookout.” Keeps watch while his colleagues are molesting Third-World children.
Seems Mr. Human Shield had a clue as to what was happening, even if his UN superiors didn’t. He was being used for cover by the Hezzies.
The U.N. presence was a component of the international agreement under which Israel withdrew from Lebanon.
The idea was the U.N. would “observe” the non-militarization and non- terrorist situation.
This concept gradually came to mean “exist as pawns to Hezbollah, Iran, and the international Left, and provide useful locations, next to which mortars, kaytushas, and terrorist teams could be launched into Israel”.
If memory serves, the Hez were shooting PGM’s from the literal shadow of the walls of the U.N. compound, which was what finally brought down the wrath of St. Barbara on the place.
Yeah, it was tragic and entirely preventable.
If the UN forces had done their jobs and at least made a feeble effort to control the violence instead of just allowing themselves to be used as human shields for Hezbollah, these four might be alive today.
According to the Geneva convention, human shields are NOT a protected group – if they were, it would be rewarding the practice of using human shields.
Nobody wants to admit killing people especially with different nations behind their men. There will be no justice in these cases. Sorry to say. If there will, it sure will take quite some time before they get it.