Ancora Blackwater in Iraq

[rossana at comodinoposta.org]

Mentre in Iraq continuano i bombardamenti pesanti con l'uso di 
artiglieria pesante, nel 2007 il numero degli attacchi aerei sull’Iraq è 
aumentato di 5 volte, Bush nel suo viaggio d'affari in Medio Oriente 
chiede la creazione di uno Stato palestinese per abbellire il suo fine 
mandato.

Bush Calls for Palestinian State, But Backs Israeli Settlement Expansion
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/11/headlines#1

Il New York Times in un articolo del 10-01-08 denuncia l'uso delle 
granate Cs (considerato arma chimica e vietata in guerra) in Iraq circa 
due anni fa. Di seguito vi posto quanto prescrive la disciplina militare 
in USA.

2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leaves Questions

Published: January 10, 2008

Nel maggio del 2005, un elicottero e un mezzo blindato della Blackwater 
Usa – la società di servizi di sicurezza impiegata al fianco delle forze 
armate statunitensi in Iraq e su cui è stata aperta un’inchiesta – 
spararono su un checkpoint statunitense, nel cuore della zona verde di 
Baghdad, del gas Cs, una sostanza usata per disperdere le sommosse che 
può essere utilizzata solo in determinate circostanze e con il via 
libera dei vertici della catena di comando militare: secondo alcuni 
soldati Usa, gli agenti privati avrebbero usato il gas per sgomberare la 
strada dal traffico automobilistico.
2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leaves Questions
The helicopter was hovering over a Baghdad checkpoint into the Green 
Zone, one typically crowded with cars, Iraqi civilians and United States 
military personnel.
Suddenly, on that May day in 2005, the copter dropped CS gas, a 
riot-control substance the American military in Iraq can use only under 
the strictest conditions and with the approval of top military 
commanders. An armored vehicle on the ground also released the gas, 
temporarily blinding drivers, passers-by and at least 10 American 
soldiers operating the checkpoint.
“This was decidedly uncool and very, very dangerous,” Capt. Kincy Clark 
of the Army, the senior officer at the scene, wrote later that day. 
“It’s not a good thing to cause soldiers who are standing guard against 
car bombs, snipers and suicide bombers to cover their faces, choke, 
cough and otherwise degrade our awareness.”
Both the helicopter and the vehicle involved in the incident at the 
Assassins’ Gate checkpoint were not from the United States military, but 
were part of a convoy operated by Blackwater Worldwide, the private 
security contractor that is under scrutiny for its role in a series of 
violent episodes in Iraq, including a September shooting in downtown 
Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead.
None of the American soldiers exposed to the chemical, which is similar 
to tear gas, required medical attention, and it is not clear if any 
Iraqis did. Still, the previously undisclosed incident has raised 
significant new questions about the role of private security contractors 
in Iraq, and whether they operate under the same rules of engagement and 
international treaty obligations that the American military observes...
Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater, said the CS gas had been 
released by mistake.
“Blackwater teams in the air and on the ground were preparing a secure 
route near a checkpoint to provide passage for a motorcade,” Ms. Tyrrell 
said in an e-mail message. “It seems a CS gas canister was mistaken for 
a smoke canister and released near an intersection and checkpoint.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/world/middleeast/10blackwater.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Executive Order 11850
Renunciation of certain uses in war of chemical herbicides and riot 
control agents

The United States renounces, as a matter of national policy, first use 
of herbicides in war except use, under regulations applicable to their 
domestic use, for control of vegetation within U.S. bases and 
installations or around their immediate defensive perimeters, and first 
use of riot control agents in war except in defensive military modes to 
save lives such as:

(a) Use of riot control agents in riot control situations in areas under 
direct and distinct U.S. military control, to include controlling 
rioting prisoners of war.

(b) Use of riot control agents in situations in which civilians are used 
to mask or screen attacks and civilian casualties can be reduced or avoided.

(c) Use of riot control agents in rescue missions in remotely isolated 
areas, of downed aircrews and passengers, and escaping prisoners.

(d) Use of riot control agents in rear echelon areas outside the zone of 
immediate combat to protect convoys from civil disturbances, terrorists 
and paramilitary organizations.

I have determined that the provisions and procedures prescribed by this 
Order are necessary to ensure proper implementation and observance of 
such national policy.

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of 
the United States of America by the Constitution and laws of the United 
States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United 
States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. The Secretary of Defense shall take all necessary measures to 
ensure that the use by the Armed Forces of the United States of any riot 
control agents and chemical herbicides in war is prohibited unless such 
use has Presidential approval, in advance.

Sec. 2. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe the rules and 
regulations he deems necessary to ensure that the national policy herein 
announced shall be observed by the Armed Forces of the United States.

Source: The provisions of Executive Order 11850 of Apr. 8, 1975, appear 
at 40 FR 16187, 3 CFR, 1971-1975 Comp., p. 980, unless otherwise noted.