Pentagon intentionally withholds information on Kiev’s indiscriminate use of ballistic missiles in populated areas. July 30, 2014 (Tony Cartalucci – LD) – CNN has reported that the regime in Kiev launched several short-range ballistic missiles into eastern Ukraine – each missile containing warheads of up to 1,000 lbs (450 kg). The missiles fired were OTR-21 Tochka also known by their NATO reporting name as SS-21 Scarabs and are considered far from “precision” weapons.
While smaller than the infamous “Scud” missile, SS-21s are similarly inaccurate and their use in combat against an enemy entrenched in populated areas is almost guaranteed to cause indiscriminate mass casualties. In fact, when Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi allegedly fired Scuds at NATO-backed Al Qaeda terrorists, according to the Telegraph in its article, “Col Gaddafi fires scud missile at rebel territory as Nato braces itself for final violent showdown,” one Western official claimed:
That it didn’t hit anything or kill anyone is not the point. It’s a weapon of mass destruction that Col Gaddafi is willing to train on his own people.
Clearly the West’s conscience has shifted and now weapons of mass destruction Ukraine is willing to train on its own people appears more than acceptable.
The US Department of Defense admittedly holds information regarding Kiev’s use of the ballistic missiles but is refusing to disclose it, only confirming that indeed the weapons have been used. In the CNN report, Major General James A. “Spider” Marks claimed that the reasoning behind the Pentagon’s decision was because “Ukraine has a right to defend itself,” before admitting that SS-21s are used offensively ahead of an invasion or other armed incursion.
What it appears the West is doing by admitting to what is otherwise a crime against humanity by their own definition, is acclimatizing what is left of their impressionable audiences to an increasingly brutal campaign of indiscriminate violence against the whole of eastern Ukraine in an effort to not only break armed resistance, but the civilian population that has rejected Kiev’s authority. The use of such weaponry, just as the Telegraph and others noted before the fall of Libya, hints at tactical weakness and impending strategic defeat – and while the West covers for Kiev’s numerous and multiplying atrocities, the fact that Kiev must resort to increasingly brutal and indiscriminate measures indicates a failure no amount of Western support can undo.
The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a long one, marked with political intrigue among nations, outside influences, ethnic tensions, and staggering amounts of violence. It is something that is often ignored in the mainstream media – even among the Obama-era ‘humanitarian interventions’ – even though it is the theater of the deadliest post-WW2 conflict (over three million people have died and many are still dying). [1] The Congo has become a hell on earth; and to understand how the situation became as it is, a historical examination of the nation is needed and overdue.
Colonial Rule
Having been quite late getting into the Great Game, Belgium moved with purpose in the early 1900s in trying to acquire an African colony. In 1906, the Belgians annexed the Congo, making two separate zones: Belgian Congo and the Congo Free States, the latter of which became King Leopold’s own personal fiefdom where he had complete control. His forces engaged in horrific acts such as holding “the [families] of [men] hostage until they returned with their rubber quota. Those who refused or failed to supply enough rubber often had their villages burned down, children murdered, and their hands cut off.” [2] Leopold’s main concern was the ivory and rubber trades. Eventually, the atrocities that occurred under his watch became widely known and he was forced to fold the CFS into the Belgian Congo. It was among this time that Congolese became politically awakened and active, namely in Leopoldville.
Before discussing the political awakening in Leopoldville, it would be pertinent to first understand the economic situation of the Congo. During World War 2, the Congo was “an important source of raw materials, especially of copper, tin, industrial diamonds, rubber, and palm oil.” Afterward, due to the ever-increasing price of raw materials, the Congo economy expanded greatly: “In 1952 the value of exports was put at 20,000 million francs – an increase of 88 per cent as compared with 1948 – and by 1956 it had reached 28,000 million francs.”[3] However, almost a decade later, a global decrease in the prices of the same raw materials caused the economy to stagger and created a large increase in unemployment (from 4,300 in September 1957 to 16,000 in March 1958), particularly in the Katanga region, a significant mining location.
While this economic downturn contributed to the political awakening of the Congolese, they had already become politically active. In January 1945, the first indigenous newspaper, La Voix du Congolais (The Voice of Congo), appeared in Leopoldville; and in 1955, Conscience Africaine was introduced. In July of the following year, the Conscience published a manifesto which suggested that within 30 years the Congo should be independent. Several weeks later, “a cultural association of the Lower Congo, known as ABAKO (founded in 1950), led by M. Joseph Kasavubu, improved on the ‘manifesto’, demanding complete and immediate emancipation and entirely rejecting the idea of a thirty-year preparatory period.” [4] This political awakening soon manifested itself in the Leopoldville riots.
Though the riots became political, they were economic in origin. Due to the decline in the prices of raw materials, the budget dropped to a 5 million-pound deficit in 1957, and tripled to 15 million pounds in 1958. In the face of runaway unemployment, the government denied there were any problems. On January 4, 1959, following economic turmoil and the government’s refusal to recognize such, riots ensued and lasted for three days. The force publique (the gendarmerie) was used to prevent the rioters from entering the European town.
These riots forced the Belgian political establishment to acknowledge that there were in fact a multitude of problems, and to embrace reform. In seven months, “from January to August, forty acts and ordinances containing discriminatory regulations were abolished or changed,” although discrimination still remained in the European towns. The Congo was given a charter of freedom and, “for the first time, freedom of assembly, of the press, and of speech was finally recognized.”[5] Local elections formed and the first municipal elections took place in Leopoldville and several other towns in late 1957 and early 1958. Also in 1958, the Congolese National Movement political party was formed by Patricia Lumumba. The Movement focused on Congolese nationalism and created a large political rift in domestic Congolese politics, “[dividing] those who [wished] for a strong unitary state from those wanting a federal system of largely autonomous provincial governments based on primary [ethnic] alliances.” [6] After the riots, three Abako leaders, including Kasavubu, were arrested and flown to Belgium to face trial – a trial that would only worsen the racial tensions in the colony.
Independence
The move to reform forced a decision by the Belgian government to hold a roundtable conference in January 1960, which allowed for face-to-face meetings with Congolese political leaders. At the conference, “the Congolese delegates had presented a common front in their desire for immediate independence, no matter how divided they were on other issues,” and the Belgians awarded the Congo full independence on June 30, 1960. However, the Belgian government limited this independence to the political realm. Economically, the intent was to retain the Congo “as a neo-colonial country whose resources would be exploited for the development of Belgian and West European economies, and the continued underdevelopment of the Congo.” [7]
Nevertheless, the announcement resulted in a scramble to form political parties. The result was that in May 1960, “Of the seven major ‘parties’ in the Congo, none gained enough seats in the election to assure it of even 30 percent of the votes in the Chamber of Representatives. Patrice Lumumba, whose MNC party won some 38 of the 137 seats, emerged as leader of the largest single bloc.” Of the other parties, “the Abako, under Joseph Kasavubu, the Conakat party of Katanga, led by Moise Tshombe, and a dissident wing of the MNC led by Albert Kalondji in Kasai Province, together garnered about 27 votes, but were allied chiefly by their growing opposition to a tightly centralized, unitary type of government.”[8] Ultimately, the philosophical conflict between having a centralized government versus a nation of largely autonomous provinces was a major source of division in the formation of the new Congolese government.
A spat between Kasavubu’s Abako party and Lumuba’s MNC quickly escalated. Based on the weak elections of the MNC, the Belgian Resident Minister allowed Lumumba to look into forming a coalition government. However, Lumumba was unsuccessful as he was unable to persuade Kasavubu and his Abako party to join him, thus the offer was given to Kasavubu. Lumuba refused to work with the Abako party. On June 20th, it was reported that “a ‘deal’ was apparently taking shape, whereby Mr. Lumumba would head the Government as Premier and Mr. Kasavubu would become Chief of State.” [9] Lumumba would eventually become Premier of the Congo, after being offered the Premiership by the Belgians; however, more drama was to come in the form of a military mutiny, two secessions, and a UN intervention.
[7] Omajuwa Igho Natuf, “The Cold War and the Congo Crisis, 1960-1961,” Africa: Quarterly Review of Studies and Documentation of the Italian Institute for AFRICAE the East 39:3 (1984), pg 358
Graham Phillips, an RT contributor covering the conflict in eastern Ukraine, was detained for a second time, and has been deported to Poland, following his arrest at Donetsk airport. The gov’t in Kiev have a policy of targeting journalists who are reporting uncomfortable aspects of the gov’t siege of E. Ukraine, as Kiev continues – with the full blessing of Washington and London, to use its military against its own people. http://www.21stcenturywire.com
Russia’s Defense Ministry has stated that “fake” satellite images of alleged shelling of Ukraine from Russian territory were created by US counselors “with close links to Ukraine’s Security Council.”
The authenticity of the images is impossible to prove, the ministry added.
The Defense Ministry stated that the images posted by the US ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt on his Twitter account, allegedly proving the shelling of Ukraine from Russian territory, are “fake,” ITAR-TASS reports.
“These materials were posted to Twitter not by accident, as their authenticity is impossible to prove – due to the absence of the attribution to the exact area, and an extremely low resolution. Let alone using them as ‘photographic evidence’,” Igor Konashenkov, the official representative of the ministry, stated.
“Pictures” like this, the general continued, “have also been provided by Kiev representatives as an excuse for the usage of heavy artillery and other weaponry by the Ukrainian army – against the country’s civilian population.”
“Last Friday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Valery Geletey again tried to add a sensational side to photo collages like this in the Ukrainian media – in vain. But on Sunday, the US ambassador to the Ukraine joined in, posting those satellite images on his Twitter page, which secured him the attention of the loyal Ukrainian media,” the Russian ministry said.
This scheme is called “an informational merry-go-round,” Konashenkov added, using an expression commonly uttered in Russia relating to feeding the information to the media.
“It’s no secret to anyone that fakes like this are made by a group of US counselors staying in the Kiev building of the Security Council, led by General Randy Kee,” he noted.
The general outlined the cycle as follows: the US counselors in the Kiev feed the disinformation to the Ukrainian media, with the news being taken by the Washington official representatives and presented as statements.
Afterwards, the Ukrainian media cite the US authorities and publish articles like as “objective.”
Defense Intelligence Agency director U.S. Army Lt. General Michael Flynn (Reuters / Gary Cameron)
A grim and unpredictable future could befall the Middle East if Hamas is destroyed, a top Pentagon official said, warning that another rampaging extremist group akin to the Islamic State terrorists could rise up in its place.
While Lt. General Michael Flynn criticized Hamas for exhausting finite resources of the Gaza Strip to build a network of tunnels for the purpose of fighting Israel, he nevertheless said that destroying the group would only lead to a widening of the regional conflict and probably an extremist group fighting in its stead.
“If Hamas were destroyed and gone, we would probably end up with something much worse. The region would end up with something much worse,” Reuters quoted the outgoing head of the Defense Intelligence Agency as saying on Saturday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
The Lt. General then envisioned an Iraq/Syria scenario, where large swathes of northern territories have fallen under control of the Islamist fighters of the Islamic Caliphate: “A worse threat that would come into the sort of ecosystem there… something like ISIS.”
With over 1,000 Palestinians now dead since Israel commenced the ground phase of its 20-day-old operation, a tentative 24-hour ceasefire ended on Sunday with hostilities renewing.
The pause in fighting was intended to open up a humanitarian corridor for food and medical care, but as Israel offered to extend the ceasefire it also warned that it would retaliate if Hamas continued to fire rockets from the Gaza territory.
For its part, Hamas refused to accept the ceasefire deal “without Israeli tanks withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and without residents being able to return to their homes and ambulances carrying bodies and being able to freely move around in Gaza,” their spokesman said.
To many in the world the conflict between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory looks to be never-ending. And they are worried that the same is now true for the Middle East at large. Flynn’s views were voiced in the midst of a broader assessment of conflicts in the region, which is now crumbling under the weight of terrorism.
Although few people would prefer another Islamic State-style faction taking over Hamas’ place, Flynn made clear that peace between the two warring sides would not happen “in my lifetime.”
Someone recently asked me, “If my neighbor next door shoots my neighbor across the street, does that give my neighbor across the street the right to come shoot me?”
If someone’s corrupt government does something horrible, are all of its citizens, right down to the infants, to be held responsible? Votes seem to matter very little in the modern world. How would you feel if another country invaded and tried to kill you and everyone you know — all because of what your horrible government does?
You aren’t in charge of those rockets. You aren’t in charge of those decisions.
Back when Occupy protesters rallied, they chanted, “The whole world is watching. The whole world is watching.”
When Palestinians rally, they chant “Where is the world?”
This question is seemingly rhetorical.
The mainstream media knows the answer.
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The killing of innocent civilians in Eastern Ukraine resulting from the conduct of major bombing and shelling operations by US supported Kiev regime is not newsworthy. According to official sources, Four hundred and seventy-eight civilians, including seven children were killed and 1392 were wounded in Eastern Ukraine since the outset of the Kiev government’s military crackdown. (See RT, July 1o, 2014)
The casualty figures were released on the 10th of July 2014 by Ukraine’s Ministry of Health.
“The amount on civilian casualties is, unfortunately, greater than the military ones,” Vasily Lazoryshynets, deputy health minister, …
“In the area of the operation in eastern Ukraine, 478 civilians have died, including 30 women and seven children,”he said.
According to Lazoryshynets , a further 1,392 people were injured in the fighting, with 104 women and 14 children among them.
“Two hundred and seventy-nine currently remain in hospital,” he added. (Ibid)
There has been virtually no Western media coverage concerning this human tragedy. The deaths of innocent children resulting from Kiev’s “counter-terrorism operation” have been casually categorized as “collateral damage”.
In early June, according to figures of Ukraine’s National Security Council “200 soldiers and law enforcement officers had been killed and over 600 injured during the so-called “anti-terrorist operation.” (Ibid). The Ministry of Defense reported the same figure of 200 deaths pertaining to soldiers on July 11.
Is the official count of civilian casualties reliable? On June 11, following the release of the figures on casualties by the Ministry of Health, Ukraine’s General Prosecutor Vitali Yarema confirmed that the government was to establish a data bank of persons killed and insured:
“Every death, every physical injury, every body of an unidentified individual found will be entered into the unified register of pre-trial investigations, and each case will be investigated as much as possible,” (quoted by AP, July 11, 2014)
The above figures on civilian casualties are consistent with a ‘leaked” Ministry of Internal Affairs report (July 15, 2014): 496 civilians killed and 762 wounded (updated with data of casualties collected in the period extending from 9-15 July). (see below)
According to this “leaked” MIA document, the death toll of soldiers in the Ukraine Armed Forces would have increased from 200 in early July (reported on July 10th by the Ministry of Health) to 1600 in mid-July (MIA, leaked report, see table below, dated July 15). These rounded up figures suggest that the Kiev government’s figures on soldiers “killed in action” are rough estimates.
The table below which includes the figures of civilian and military casualties included those wounded reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (sent to Global Research by a source in Ukraine) are as follows:
Killed in Action: 1600
Wounded in Action: 4723
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and its Anti-Terrorism Organization (ATO) oversees the military operation in Lugansk and Donetsk in liaison with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The information was officially released on July 15, 2014 bearing the signature of the Arsen Avakov (Minister of Internal Affairs) and V. Gritsak (Head of ATO [Anti-Terrorism Organization]
The authenticity, reliability and source of this leaked report remains to be fully assessed. These figures have not been made public and they are not the object of media commentary. They are, however, compatible with a report published by the Central News Agency Novorossia, Novorus.info (Russian) based on figures of the rebel Donbass forces which point to major military losses by the Kiev regime.
The MIA figures pertain to soldiers “Killed in Action”. They do not address the number of soldiers taken prisoner and/or the number of soldiers who have deserted the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In contrast, the Novorossia figures do not provide a breakdown of “killed, wounded, prisoners”. According to Central News Agency Novorossia, Novorus.info (Russian):
Total losses in Donbass inflicted to Kiev “punitive operatives” [in Russian каратели] 2 May – 11 July 2014 is 4994 soldiers [ in Russian persons, человек] [killed, wounded, prisoners]
What the MIA leaked report as well as the Novorossia figures convey is the conduct of a large scale military operation by Ukrainian Forces resulting in significant casualties incurred by Kiev government forces. None of this has been reported by the corporate media.
The leaked MIA report suggests heavy losses of military equipment by Kiev forces including a large number of tanks and armored vehicles which have either been captured or destroyed.
The rebels (according to MIA figures) have downed seven aircraft. This information was “leaked” 2 days before the MH17 crash. The reliability of these figures emanating from government sources remained to be determined.
The data from rebel sources cited Novorus.info also indicate sizable losses of military hardware including tanks and armored cars.
TOTAL UKRAINIAN LOSSES [MIA leaked document]
Killed in Action: 1600
Wounded in Action: 4723
Tanks: 35
Armoured Battle Vehicles: 96
Artillery: 38
Aircraft: 7
Helicopters: 2
Automobiles: 104
While the reliability of these figures emanating from the government remains to be determined, they nonetheless point to the failure of the Kiev led anti-terrorism operation confirming earlier reports to the effect that government forces have been repealed in Donetsk and Lugansk.
July 18, 2014 – Official Ukrainian Military Accounting of Losses for July 9-15, 2014 ((1) Ukrainian Version; (2) Translation)
TOTAL UKRAINIAN LOSSES
Killed in Action: 1600
Wounded in Action: 4723
Tanks: 35
Armoured Battle Vehicles: 96
Artillery: 38
Aircraft: 7
Helicopters: 2
Automobiles: 104
TOTAL MILITIA LOSSES
Killed in Action: 48
Wounded in Action: 64
Tanks: 2
Armoured Battle Vehicles: 0
Artillery: 5
Automobiles: 8
TOTAL CIVILIAN LOSSES
Killed: 496
Wounded: 762
SIGNED & SUBMITTED BY: Arsen Avakov (Minister of Internal Affairs) and V. Gritsak (Head of ATO)
The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a long one, marked with political intrigue among nations, outside influences, ethnic tensions, and staggering amounts of violence. It is something that is often ignored in the mainstream media – even among the Obama-era ‘humanitarian interventions’ – even though it is the theater of the deadliest post-WW2 conflict (over three million people have died and many are still dying). [1] The Congo has become a hell on earth; and to understand how the situation became as it is, a historical examination of the nation is needed and overdue.
The killing of innocent civilians in Eastern Ukraine resulting from the conduct of major bombing and shelling operations by US supported Kiev regime is not newsworthy. According to official sources, Four hundred and seventy-eight civilians, including seven children were killed and 1392 were wounded in Eastern Ukraine since the outset of the Kiev government’s military crackdown. (
PN 