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[IGR] JOURNALISTS INDICT DONALD RUMSFELD FOR WAR C

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[IGR] JOURNALISTS INDICT DONALD RUMSFELD FOR WAR C
Halima
04/09/03 at 02:07:45
As-Salaamu' Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu

The reason why the US is shooting at the international reporters is (1) that the US has married Sharon's policies and practices, and (2) that it wants its genocidal activities in Iraq completely sanitized.  Only those Zionist reporters that are embedded with the US/UK troops should have the ability to tell the world what the criminal US/UK commanders WANT them to say.  The presence of international independent reporters in Iraq presents a big problem for the criminals so they have opted to scare the life out of the international press and, in essence, issued an explicit ultimatum to report what the US/UK wants reported or die.

As all the warped psychological tactics that the US and UK have employed in Iraq, this tactic on the international press will also fail.  

What the criminal invaders want is to technically carry out a hostile takeover of Iraq by killing as many civilians as possible and declaring President Hussein dead or 'irrelevant', regardless of whether he is or not, to then install a puppet regime that will do sajdah to America.  In other words, a new proxy US dictatorship will be forced upon the people.  Eliminating the reporters is just a means to cover up their crime in the eyes of the world, but this is bound to backfire on them.

The US/UK DON’T want you to know that the Iraqis are giving the coalition a ruthless fight. The reporters that they have embedded only report the story from the coalition side. They hide the victories that the Iraqis inflict on the US/UK and downplay everything that the Iraqis do.  That is why they ONLY want the reports coming from their 'embedded' reporters.  

We have every reason to be very proud of our Mujahideen who have fought day and night against a mighty army and managed to hold it back from entering Baghdad for 19 days. Now that they enemy has entered our Mujahideen continue to fight as lions within the city of Baghdad and all over the country.  May ALLAH grant them victory after victory until the enemy has been completely slaughtered.

On another note, but a very interesting one, has anyone noticed that the US soldiers helmets bear a variation of the hebrew letter 'Cheth'?  I found this extremely interesting. I noticed today that all the helmets bear a variation of the hebrew letter "Cheth" which has a line drawn horizontally across it.  I am NOT an expert but, to my knowledge, the letter 'Cheth' has a spiritual meaning which relates to the essence of God. To see that letter with a line across it conveys to me that the Zionists are saying "No God".  I admit that this is a rather superficial interpretation, but I would welcome any input on the significance of such a symbol on US soldiers helmets from those who are more versed in Hebrew.  I have never seen this variation of the hebrew letter 'Cheth' and I am entrigued as to its meaning.  The fact that the US soldiers are bearing that symbol is a loud and clear message that the Zionists are running the US.  The fact that they bear that symbol as they wage aggression against Arabs and Muslims is even more intriguing.  As I said, I would welcome discussion on this subject.

JazakALLAH
from the servant of ALLAH
Shayhka Maulani Aeisha Muhammad




REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS ACCUSES U.S. MILITARY OF DELIBERATELY
FIRING AT JOURNALISTS
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=5975
http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=20
http://www.rsf.org

(InformationTimes..com) -- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called
today [8 April 2003] on US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to
provide evidence that the offices of the pan-Arab TV station Al-
Jazeera and the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad [Iraq] were not
deliberately fired at by US forces earlier in the day in attacks that
killed three journalists.

"We are appalled at what happened because it was known that both
places contained journalists," said the organization's Secretary-
General Robert Menard. "Film shot by the French TV station France 3
and descriptions by journalists show the neighborhood was very quiet
at that hour and that the US tank crew took their time, waiting for a
couple of minutes and adjusting its gun before opening fire."

"This evidence does not match the US version of an attack in self-
defense and we can only conclude that the US Army deliberately and
without warning targeted journalists. US forces must prove that the
incident was not a deliberate attack to dissuade or prevent
journalists from continuing to report on what is happening in
Baghdad," he said.

"We are concerned at the US Army's increasingly hostile attitude
towards journalists, especially those non-embedded in its military
units. Army officials have also remained deplorably silent and
refused to give any details about what happened when a British ITN TV
crew was fired on near Basra on 22 March [2003], killing one
journalist and leaving two others missing.

"Very many non-embedded journalists have complained about being
refused entry to Iraq from Kuwait, threatened with withdrawal of
accreditation and being held and interrogated for several hours. One
group of non-embedded journalists was held in secret for two days and
roughed up by US military police," Menard said.

Ukrainian cameraman Taras Protsyuk, 35, normally attached to Reuters
office in Warsaw, and Jose Couso, a Spanish cameraman for the Spanish
TV station Telecinco, were killed in today's attack on the Palestine
Hotel. Three other journalists were wounded when their rooms were hit
by a shell fired by the US tank.

General Buford Blount, commander of the US Third Infantry Division,
admitted that the tank had fired a shell at the hotel. He claimed it
was in response to rocket fire and other shooting from the hotel.

Al-Jazeera cameraman Tarek Ayoub was also killed today [8 April 2003]
in US bombing of  the pan-Arab TV station's offices elsewhere in the
city.

[Reporters Without Borders (RSF) defends imprisoned journalists and
press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform
the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Reporters
Without Borders has nine national sections (in Austria, Belgium,
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan, Bangkok, Buenos Aires,
Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Tokyo and Washington
and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.]

====================

IFJ SAYS U.S. ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ ARE "CRIMES OF WAR" THAT
MUST BE PUNISHED
http://www.ifj.org/publications/press/pr/030408iraq.html
IFJ Calls for Independent International Inquiry into Targeting of
Media and Killings of Reporters
http://www.ifj.org

(InformationTimes..com) -- The International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) today [8 April 2003] condemned both sides in the Iraq conflict
of "crimes of war" after a series of attacks on journalists and
deaths of media staff.

The IFJ is calling for an independent international inquiry after an
attack on a hotel where journalists are staying in Baghdad and after
US troops allegedly destroyed the offices of Al Jazeera Television
and Abu Dhabi Television..

"There is no doubt at all that these attacks could be targeting
journalists. If so, they are grave and serious violations of
international law," said Aidan White, General Secretary of the
IFJ. "The bombing of hotels where journalists are staying and
targeting of Arab media are particularly shocking events in a war
which is being fought in the name of democracy. Those who are
responsible must be brought to justice."

At the same time the IFJ condemns what appears to be Iraqi tactics of
using civilians and journalists as a "human shield" against
attack. "The Baghdad authorities are just as culpable with their
reckless disregard for civilian lives," said White.

The IFJ says that 12 journalists and media staff have died in the war
so far. The latest deaths and injuries come as American troops push
into Baghdad. Blasts hit Baghdad's high-rise Palestine Hotel, which
houses foreign media, today [8 April 2003], killing one journalist
working for Spanish Telecinco [TV], and killing one and wounding
three journalists working for Reuters. Shortly before the attack
another strike was made which shattered the offices of Al-Jazeera
Television killing one journalist and injuring another.

"It is cruelly ironic that after the Iraqi regime plays cat-and-mouse
with Al Jazeera, first banning them, then allowing them to stay, it
appears they have been attacked by American forces," said Aidan
White. The IFJ says that this attack is a shocking mirror of the
destruction of the Kabul offices of Al Jazeera by American forces
during the war in Afghanistan. "It is impossible not to detect a
sinister pattern of targeting," said White.

"We are still waiting for a satisfactory explanation for the attack
on the ITN crew at the start of the war in which we think three
colleagues were killed," said White. The IFJ says that there is eye-
witness testimony accusing the US of deliberately firing upon clearly
marked television vehicles.

"The United Nations system and the international media community must
be fully engaged in finding out what happened in these cases and
action must be taken to ensure it never happens again," said
White. "We can expect denials of intent from the [U.S.] military, but
what we really want is the truth."

The IFJ says that the global media community, including journalists,
media organizations and press freedom campaigners, should join hands
under the banner of the newly-formed International News Safety
Institute [INSI] to hold a complete and in depth inquiry. The INSI is
a coalition of more than 100 organizations campaigning for a global
news safety program.

"You cannot fight for democracy with the lives of journalists and
media staff," said White. "Media and journalists have little choice
about covering this war -- it is the first real-time war story in
history -- and their protection, embedded or not, must be paramount."

The IFJ says that the immediate aftermath of the war should involve a
review of international rules to try to improve the levels of
protection, for journalists and media staff. "This war has been the
most televised conflict in history," said White, "but the protection
afforded to journalists and media staff is prehistoric by
comparison."

[Further information: Telephone: + 32 2 235 22 00]

[The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 100
countries.]

====================

CPJ SENDS LETTER TO SECRETARY RUMSFELD EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT
TODAY'S U.S. ATTACKS ON MEDIA LOCATIONS IN BAGHDAD, IRAQ
http://www.cpj.org/protests/03ltrs/Iraq08apr03pl.html
http://www.cpj.org

April 8, 2003

TO: The 'Honorable' Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301

Via facsimile: 703-697-9080

Dear Secretary Rumsfeld:

(InformationTimes.com) -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
is gravely concerned by a series of U.S. military strikes against
known media locations in Baghdad [Iraq] today [8 April 2003] that
have left three journalists dead and several wounded. We believe
these attacks violate the Geneva Conventions.

This morning, Baghdad time, U.S. air strikes severely damaged the
Baghdad office of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite network,
killing journalist Taraq Ayyoub. Al-Jazeera cameraman Zouhair al-
Iraqi was injured in the blast, according to the [TV] station.
Moments later, another explosion damaged the nearby office of Abu
Dhabi TV. Some 30 journalists are trapped in the station's offices,
said Abu Dhabi TV officials.

While we recognize that both stations, which are located near the
[Iraqi] Presidential Palace and the Information Ministry, were
operating in an area where combat was occurring, the missile strike
on the Al-Jazeera facility raises questions about whether the
building was deliberately targeted.

The strike against these facilities is particularly troubling because
both Al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV have been openly operating from
these locations in Baghdad for weeks, providing images of the war to
the rest of the world.

In addition, prior to the commencement of hostilities in Iraq, both
stations told CPJ that they provided the specific coordinates of
their Baghdad offices to the Pentagon. CPJ has seen a copy of Al-
Jazeera's February letter to Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke
outlining these coordinates.

The attack against Al-Jazeera is of particular concern since the
stations' offices were also hit in Kabul, Afghanistan in November
2001. The Pentagon asserted, without providing additional detail,
that the office was a "known Al-Qaeda facility," and that the U.S.
military did not know the space was being used by Al-Jazeera.

In a separate incident today, a U.S. tank opened fired on the
Palestine Hotel--the main base for dozens of international
journalists covering the conflict from Baghdad--killing two
journalists and wounding at least three others. Reuters reported that
its cameraman Taras Protsyuk died in the blast, while reporter Samia
Nakhoul and photographer Faleh Kheiber suffered facial and head
wounds. Cameraman Jose Couso of Spain's Telecinco television was also
killed in the attack. U.S. officials have stated that they were
responding to sniper fire from the roof of the hotel. Eyewitnesses
said they heard no gunfire coming from the hotel.

While U.S. officials have expressed regret for the loss of life in
these attacks and stated that they do not target journalists, they
have left the impression that they bear no responsibility for
protecting journalists operating independently in Iraq. At his
Centcom briefing today [8 April 2003] in Doha, Qatar, Brig. Gen.
Vincent Brooks said that while embedded journalists receive
protection from the military, those who operate as non-embeds do so
at their own risk. As we noted in our March 6 [2003] letter to you,
statements made by Pentagon officials warning of the potential
dangers to independent reporters operating in Iraq "do not absolve
U.S. forces of their responsibility to avoid endangering media
operating in known locations."

We remind you that journalists are civilians and protected under
international humanitarian law and cannot be deliberately targeted.
While we recognize the important role of embedded reporters, the
Geneva Conventions also contemplate the presence of non-embedded,
or "civilian," journalists on the battlefield, and the U.S. military
has an obligation to avoid harming them. Specifically, Article 79 of
the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions notes
that "journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas
of armed conflict shall be considered civilians … without prejudice
to the right war correspondents [embedded reporters] accredited to
the armed forces."

While sources in Baghdad have expressed deep skepticism about reports
that U.S. forces were fired upon from the Palestine Hotel, even if
that were the case, the evidence suggests that the response of U.S.
forces was disproportionate and therefore violated international
humanitarian law. Even if the Iraqi forces were firing from both the
Palestine and Al-Jazeera's offices as the Pentagon has alleged, U.S.
forces must factor in the likely harm to civilians when considering
an appropriate response, according to the Geneva Conventions.

We call on you to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into
these incidents and to make the findings public. We also urge you to
take measures to ensure that similar attacks do not occur in the
future and that journalists are given the protections afforded under
international humanitarian law.

We take this opportunity to remind you that more than 100 independent
journalists continue to operate in Baghdad from both the Palestine
and the nearby Sheraton hotels. The U.S.. military has a clear
obligation to avoid harming them while carrying out military
operations.

We await your response and the results of your investigation.

Sincerely,

JOEL SIMON
Acting Director
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Join CPJ in protesting this attack on the press. Write or fax to the
address above.

[Copyright © 1990-2003 InformationTimes.com - All Rights Reserved.]

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INFORMATION TIMES: http://www.InformationTimes.com
America's Daily Internet Newspaper - Washington DC, USA
==================================================


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