A former senior U.S. official who until recently helped oversee human-rights compliance by foreign militaries receiving American military assistance says he repeatedly observed Israel receiving “special treatment” from U.S. officials when it came to scrutiny of allegations of military abuses of Pale

A former senior U.S. official who until recently helped oversee human-rights compliance by foreign militaries receiving American military assistance said Wednesday that he repeatedly observed Israel receiving “special treatment” from U.S. officials when it came to scrutiny of allegations of Israeli military abuses of Palestinian civilians.

The allegation comes as the Biden administration faces intense pressure over its ally’s treatment of Palestinian civilians during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. And matters because of who said it: Charles O. Blaha. Before leaving the post in August, he was a director of a State Department security and human rights office closely involved in helping ensure that foreign militaries receiving American military aid follow U.S. and international humanitarian and human rights laws.

Blaha said his departure from the State Department after decades of service was not related to the U.S.-Israeli security relationship. He is the second senior State official involved in that relationship to assert that when it comes to Israel, the U.S. is reluctant to enforce laws required of foreign militaries receiving American aid.

  • @SuddenDownpour
    8•2 months ago

    Amazingly, Israeli soldiers are allowed to get away with far worse by the US than US soldiers.

    To put an example:

    José Couso Permuy (5 October 1965 – 8 April 2003) was a Spanish cameraman who was one of the April 8, 2003 journalist deaths by U.S. fire after a U.S. tank fired at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq during the 2003 Iraq invasion.

    On 8 April 2003, José Couso was at the Palestine Hotel, where many foreign reporters were staying. At that time, a company of the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army was fighting on the other side of the river Tigris. An M1 Abrams tank fired its 120mm Rheinmetall L44 cannon at the hotel. The round hit the 15th floor, where the Reuters team was staying, causing the immediate death of the Ukrainian journalist Taras Protsyuk. At the time, José Couso was filming on the 14th floor and was seriously injured. Couso was transported to a Baghdad hospital, where he died during an operation.

    U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (then Sergeant) Shawn Gibson (alt: Timothy, Tom) of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division is one of three US soldiers for whom a Spanish court issued an international arrest warrant citing the murder of Telecinco cameraman José Couso in April 2003.

    Obviously these people have never faced justice, nor did their superiors who ordered the attack. This murder provoked a diplomatic incident with Spain, was the source of countless demonstrations and there have been several orders of arrest towards these soldiers (internationally, from the Spanish courts). Why is this case relevant to the discussion? Compare it to the situation in Gaza. This one crime is the everyday routine of the Israeli army:

    95 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 90 Palestinian, 2 Israeli, and 3 Lebanese.

    16 journalists were reported injured.

    4 journalists were reported missing.

    25 journalists were reported arrested.

    Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members.

    And this is without getting in the general attacks against civilian population.

    Personally, I’m not surprised with the US being complacent with warcrimes (as neither should be anyone who pays attention to their attitude regarding international law), but I’m astonished that they’d let them reach this magnitude.