When they came for...

Greg Krasovsky: Today on August 10, 2014 my maternal grandmother died as a victim of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Lugansk Region of Eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Coal Basin (AKA "Donbass").

For a brief biography of her life please see a Facebook post dedicated to her 100 birthday "Today, my late maternal grandmother, Antonina Krasovskaya, (Antonina Krasowska) would have turned 100."

On the 2nd anniversary of her death I remembered "First they came ..." - a famous statement and provocative poem written by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis' rise to power and the subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
  
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. quotes the following text as one of the many poetic versions of the speech:

"First they came for the Socialists*, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist*.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

*But the quotation that's on display is a variation which substitutes "Socialists" for "Communists". 
      
So I thought about my position on war crimes since I turned 21 in 1989 and, as police officer, swore to protect the citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including my late grandmother and I put together my own personal & amateur rendition of Pastor Niemöller 's masterpiece:
   
When in 1989 and 1990 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Panama, I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Panamanian.[1]

When in 1999 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Serbia, I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Serbian.[2]

When between 2001 and 2014 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Afghani.[3]

When between 2003 and 2014 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Iraq, I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Iraqi.[4]

When between 2001 and 2014 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Pakistan (see The Drone Wars), I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Pakistani.[5]

When in 2011 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Libya, I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Libyan.[6]
  
When between 2011 and 2014 U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, I did not speak out- 
Because I was not Syrian.[7]

When in the spring and summer of 2014 I came to believe that U.S. Government troops, agents and allies committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Eastern Ukraine, I debated on whether to speak out.
  
But if we don't speak out then it'll happen again and again until sooner or later it could happen on U.S. soil to U.S. citizens at the hands of their own government.

Unless we don't care if the U.S., its agents and allies commit war crimes and crimes against humanity [8] abroad against who our government unilaterally considers "bad guys" in our foreign policy or war against terror[9].

 

So a year after maternal grandmother Antonina was killed, I decided to write a letter to President Barack Obama [10].
  
When President Obama did not respond to a letter from a Washington, DC based attorney sent by U.S. Postal Service Certified Mail, I sent follow up letters to Vice-President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry. 

But I never received a single reply. 

Major Western news outlets were told not to cover the story because of national security concerns.
   
So who's left and willing to speak for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity in East Ukraine?
   
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[1] See http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/15/the-invasion-of-panama/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama

[2] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia 

[3] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:War_crimes_in_Afghanistan

[4] See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/iraq-war-crimes/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_the_Iraq_War

[5] See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/22/amnesty-us-officials-war-crimes-drones
  
[6] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_violations_during_the_Libyan_Civil_War_(2011)

[7] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_during_the_Syrian_Civil_War
    
[8] United States war crimes are violations of the laws and customs of war committed by the United States Armed Forces since the signing of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. These have included the summary execution of captured enemy combatants, the mistreatment of prisoners during interrogation, and the use of violence against civilian non-combatants.

War crimes can be prosecuted in the United States through the War Crimes Act of 1996. However, the United States Federal Government does not accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its nationals, as the United States is not a party to the Court.[1]

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_war_crimes and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_crimes
   
[9] The FBI uses the following definition for Terrorism: "The unlawful use of force or violence committed by a group or individual, who has some connection to a foreign power or whose activities transcend national boundaries, against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

Sir Peter Ustinov: "Terrorism is the war of the poor. War is the terrorism of the rich." 

*********
  

August 18, 2015

Barack Hussein Obama II

President of The United States of America

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, District of Columbia

Re:      Deaths of two U.S. Citizens in Ukraine from war crimes and crimes

            against humanity during the summer of 2014.

Mr. President,

            This is a formal inquiry regarding potential involvement of U.S. politicians, government officials, employees, military officers and enlisted personnel, contractors and agents in the current Ukrainian civil conflict and the crimes of war and against humanity committed therein, including potential involvement in and/or knowledge of the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Lugansk Region, Ukraine in June and August of 2014.

            My mother, Ekaterina Krasovskaya (DOB 8/11/1941, also known as Katherine Krasowsky and Katherine Krasowska), a naturalized U.S. Citizen, died in Lugansk, Ukraine on June 3, 2014. She died from double pneumonia that could not be treated properly due to Ukraine Armed Forces’ airstrikes and other military activities in the Lugansk region.

            My maternal grandmother, Antonina Krasovskaya (DOB 4/16/1916, also known as Antonina Krasowska), a naturalized U.S. Citizen, died in the village of Khryaschevatoe, a suburb of Lugansk, Ukraine, on August 10, 2014. She died from trauma, concussion and shell shock sustained from a Ukrainian Armed Forces shell that exploded outside the house where she was staying on or about August 5, 2014.

            Based on my information and belief, the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Health & Human Services and the CIA have been aware since last year of the fact and circumstances surrounding the deaths of my mother and grandmother in Eastern Ukraine.

            I am a U.S. Citizen of Ukrainian, Russian, and African heritage. I was born in Moscow, Russia (then the Soviet Union) in 1968 and am a Russian citizen by birth. I spent the first 4 years of my life in the Lugansk Region of Ukraine. I have lived for about 18 years in Moscow, Russia, a year in Vienna, Austria and about 24 years in the United States (Philadelphia, New York and suburban Washington, DC).  I am married to a Russian citizen of Russian-Ukrainian descent and have three children, all dual citizens of Russia and the United States. As such, I have strong ties to Russia, Ukraine and The United States.

           

            Based on my information and belief, the United States has provided extensive diplomatic, military and intelligence support to the Government of Ukraine (after the February 22, 2014 ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich) in planning, preparation, initiation, and waging of military, security and law enforcement actions against the pro-autonomy (“separatist”) political leadership, insurgents and their supporters in Eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Coal Basin (“Donbass”), primarily in Donetsk and Lugansk administrative regions of Ukraine and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics based therein.

            Such monitoring, coordination and support was conducted & provided primarily by the United States’ diplomatic corps, military personnel, intelligence community personnel and their contractors & agents to the Ukrainian Government, Ukrainian Armed Forces (‘VSU”), the Ukrainian National Guard (“NGU”), various Volunteer Territorial Battalions (“VTBU”), paramilitary groups (e.g. “Right Sector” and “UNA-UNSO”) and Pro-U.S./EU/NATO political parties & movements,

            U.S. Government support, coordination and monitoring has also extended to Ukraine’s intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, including The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (“SZRU”), The Security Service of Ukraine (“SBU”) and The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (“MZS”).

            VSU, NGU and VTBU, such as the infamous Aydar and Azov battalions, coordinated their activities not only with the Ukrainian Government and its SBU, but also with U.S. Government personnel in Ukraine, including Department of State, Department of Defense (NSA, DIA, USSOCOM and etc.) and Intelligence Community (first and foremost CIA) personnel, contractors and agents.

            Based on my information and belief, I am concerned that U.S. Citizens, government entities, NGOs, and private companies and/or their personnel, either directly or through their agents, may have (a) been aware of, (b) been part of a common plan or conspiracy to accomplish, or (c) participated in the execution of certain actions in Ukraine that constitute

-          war crimes,

-          crimes against humanity and other inhumane acts,

-          serious and systemic human rights violations,

-          crimes and violations of applicable state law (including the United States and Ukraine), intentional treaties, agreements and/or assurances,

hereinafter referred to collectively as “Unlawful Acts in Ukraine.” Lists of selected documented violations and applicable international law are attached.

            Such Unlawful Acts in Ukraine have been documented by international human rights groups, such as Amnesty International (London, UK), Human Rights Watch (London, UK), The Foundation for the Study of Democracy (Moscow, Russia), Information Group on Crimes Against The Person (Moscow, Russia) as well as the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ “The White Book of Human Rights Violations and Principles of Rule of Law in Ukraine.”

            These publications are available online and, based on my information and belief, known to the U.S. State and Defense Departments as well as elements of the U.S. Intelligence Community, including the CIA. Their English language translations, if not available already, can be prepared for you by The National Virtual Translation Center or qualified linguists from other U.S. Government agencies.

            I believe that Unlawful Acts in Ukraine committed by the Ukrainian Government, Ukrainian Armed Forces (VSU, NGU and VTBU), Ukrainian Security Services (SBU, SZRU and MZS) and paramilitary groups either caused or contributed to the deaths of my mother and maternal grandmother last summer.

            I am also concerned that U.S. Government personnel, contractors and/or agents may have been involved in some inappropriate way or aware of such Unlawful Acts in Ukraine and did not do what was required to prevent, stop or report such Unlawful Acts in Ukraine to relevant government authorities for appropriate law enforcement, prosecutorial or judicial action.

           

            As a U.S. citizen, an attorney and a former police officer, I cannot sit and do nothing about the possibility that U.S. citizens and U.S. Government personnel may be involved in and/or promoting immoral, undemocratic and unlawful conduct in Ukraine that violates the principles upon which The United States was established as a country by our founding fathers, including the U.S. Constitution.

            Having received my undergraduate education at Columbia College, Columbia University in New York (BA in Political Science with an emphasis on regime change in developing countries), I believe that the United States cannot remain the cradle or the champion of true democracy, freedom and equality world-wide – no matter how solid or noble our geopolitical objectives – if our country is involved in systemic human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine, the geographic center of Europe.

            Accordingly, I petition you, as the President of The United States of America, to order all relevant U.S. Government Departments, agencies and offices, including the U.S. Department of Justice & its FBI and all elements (members) of the U.S. Intelligence Community, to

• Conduct an investigation regarding whether any U.S. Government entity, personnel, contractors and/or agents knew about, monitored, reported, approved, advised, facilitated (either actively or tacitly through failure to act), aided & abetted, conspired to commit, supported, requested, participated in a conspiracy to commit or committed themselves Unlawful Acts in Ukraine,

• Initiate and/or support criminal prosecution, either in the U.S. or abroad, of any and all individuals, either U.S. nationals or foreign citizens, for Unlawful Acts in Ukraine to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law of the United States of America, international law and laws of all relevant countries, such as Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

• Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in the future, U.S. individuals and entities, both public and private, and their management, employees, contractors, agents and allies do not become involved in any of the aforementioned ways in Unlawful Acts on the territory of Ukraine, regardless of whether such Unlawful Acts are planned or committed by Ukrainian or foreigner actors.

            Please provide a response to my inquiry as soon as possible by email. Additional information and supporting documentation regarding my concerns and allegations can and will be provided upon request in separate correspondence.

Respectfully Yours,

                                               /S/

Gregory Krasovsky, Esq.

Tel: +1-703-xxx-xxxx, Email: krasovsky2015@gmail...

   

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1. List of potential war crimes.

·         Aerial Bombing and shelling of civilian residential areas.

·         Use of unlawful and inappropriate weapons in civilian residential areas

·         Refusal and/or failure to evacuate civilians prior to or during military operations.

·         Unlawful detention of civilians and their use as human shields.

·         Disruption of medical services & Destruction of medical facilities

·         Disruption of communications & Destruction of communications infrastructure

·         Disruption of transportation & destruction of transportation facilities and infrastructure

·         Disruption of Utilities (Water, Electricity, Natural Gas, Sewage and Heating)

·         Disruption of education services and destruction of educational facilities  

·         Disruption and stoppage of food deliveries

·         Disruption and stoppage of humanitarian aid deliveries

·         Disruption and Destruction of industry and commerce

·         Genocide

·         Ethnic, Linguistic and Religious Cleansing, Silent Cleansing, community violence

·         Harassment, intimidation, abuse, assault, torture, rape, manslaughter and murder of civilians.

·         Murder, Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of pro-autonomy (separatist) insurgents and supporters.

·         Unlawful means of war meant to demoralize and intimidate civilian populations (Shock and Awe, Total War, Collective Punishment and etc.)

2. List of Potential crimes against humanity and human rights abuses

·         Mass Surveillance

·         Selective prosecution

·         Unlawful or arbitrary detentions and arrests

·         Torture (including by “Enhanced interrogation techniques”)

·         Manslaughter and murder of civilians separatists and supporters (by Death Squads and use of kill lists)

·         Inhumane prison conditions

·         Hiding of prisoners (including at black sites)

·         Denial of access to legal counsel.

·         Harassment, intimidation and persecution of attorneys representing political opposition and individuals.

·         Assault, detention, torture and murder of Humanitarian workers.

·         Ethnic Cleansing.

·         Police Brutality.

·         Selective persecutions on political, ethnic or religious grounds.

·         Restriction on freedom of movement and identity cleansing.

·         Support of hate groups (Right Sector, UNA-UNSO and etc.).

·         Encouragement and support of russophobia, xenophobia and racism

·         Press censorship and persecution of opposition journalists.

·         Propaganda, disinformation and hate media

3. Interference in and deprivation of Political Rights

  

• Unconstitutional or legally questionable regime change with covert foreign support and participation

• Containment, harassment, suppression and elimination of political opposition, parties & movements.

• Interference in Political Affairs by foreign-funded and backed Agents of Influence and Agents Provocateur

·         Persecution, selective detention, trial and imprisonment of opposition politicians

• Political Assassinations

SELECTED INTERNATIONAL LAW ON WAR AND HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Treaties, Conventions and Statutes on War Crimes.

1. 1907 Hague Convention IV Respecting the Laws and Customs of War

2. Annex to the Convention: Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War

3. 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare

4. 1945 The Nuremberg Principles

5. 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

6. 1949 Geneva Convention I for the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field

7. 1949 Geneva Convention II for the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea

8. 1949 Geneva Convention III Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War

9. 1949 Geneva Convention IV Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War

10. 1977 Geneva Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts

11. 1977 Geneva Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts

12. 1972 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction

13. 1980 UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects

14. 1980 Protocol I on Non-Detectable Fragments

15. 1980 Protocol II on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices

16. 1996 Amended Protocol II on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices

17. 1980 UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects

18. 1980 Protocol III on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons

19. 1995 Protocol IV on Blinding Laser Weapons

20. 2000 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

21. 2003 Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War

22. 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction

23. 1997 Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction

24. 1993 Statute of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991

25. 1994 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States, between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994

26. 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

27. 2005 Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem (Protocol III)

28. 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions

2. Declarations, Conventions, Covenants and Charters on Human Rights.

1. 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2. 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms)

3. 1952 Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 

4. 1953 European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance 

5. 1953 Protocol to the European Convention on Social and Medical Assistance 

6. 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

7. Regulations for the Execution of Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

8. 1954 First Hague Protocol for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

9. 1959 UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child

10. 1961 European Social Charter

11. 1966 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

12. 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

13. 1977 European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism

14. 1987 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

15. 1987 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

16. 1989 UN International Convention on the Rights of the Child

17. 1992 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 

18. 1999 Second Hague Protocol for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

19. 2006 UN International Convention For The Protection Of All Persons From Enforced Disappearance

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Mourning and Justice for victims of terror attacks on Paris and Russian MetroJet Flight A321.

Greg Krasovsky's comments on Facebook:

Victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris and on Russian Metrojet flight A321 that was blown up over Egypt deserve our prayers and efforts to bring all those behind and involved in the attacks to justice.

What they don't deserve is to have their deaths and the pain & suffering of their loved ones be exploited for political ends or to bring pain & suffering to thousands (if not millions) of other innocent civilians as "collateral damage" in military campaigns that could be launched with ulterior motives.

Remember the 3,000 people that we lost on 9/11/2001? Did their deaths justify the hundreds of thousands of innocent people killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, including the elderly, women and children?

If we had a chance to ask the souls of the deceased on 9/11 whether they support the deaths of all those women and children in Saddam Hussein's Iraq -- a country that didn't tolerate, allow to operate or help found Al Qaeda until it was invaded in 2003 -- what do you think they would say?

If we had a chance to ask the souls of ~100 people who died in Ukraine's capital city Kyiv in February of 2014 during the Euro-Maydan protests whether they wanted their deaths to be used to justify a civil war in Eastern Ukraine -- a war that has already cost over 6,000 lives, including thousands of innocent women and children the majority of whom were killed by Ukrainian Armed Forces artillery, mortars, bombs, multiple rocket launchers and even ballistic missiles -- what would they say?

That their deaths were justified because heaven forbid, that region could have gotten political autonomy from the new Kyiv government in political negotiations?

Did they ever want to risk having their country turn into the Former Yugoslavia, Iraq or Libya?

What will the souls of the victims of the Paris terror attacks say about the fact that many of their countries (and the allies of their countries) funded and armed extreme radical Muslim fundamentalist throat-slashing insurgents and terrorists -- terrorists who first tried to destroy their opponents in their own countries and then moved on to their traditional theological enemies - the infidels of Europe?

Would the victims of the terrorist attacks approve the fact that many of the perpetrators (residents or fellow citizens of the victims' countries) had gotten their training in Syria with weapons, uniforms and other supplies that were provided to the Syrian "moderate" opposition in part by France, Great Britain and the USA as well as their allies in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia?

I can't answer for the dead, but I do believe with all my heart that any soul who's not beyond redemption would disapprove of all government policies that involve the use of civil war, terrorism, torture, crimes against humanity, war crimes and false flag operations to achieve regime change or other political and economic ends.

We can mourn the innocent victims of terror and war by making sure that no country funds or supports political regimes or groups that espouse nationalism, racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, mob justice, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, terrorism, torture, unlawful detentions, kidnappings and crimes against humanity.

This type of prohibition and condemnation cannot be selectively applied only against groups and regimes that we, our country or our allies don't like -- it must be applied universally and impartially to all regimes and groups that victimize the innocent domestically and abroad.

Last, we cannot honor and mourn victims of terror in good faith by having their deaths lead to the creation and growth of an Orwellian police state with immoral, unlawful and unnatural mass surveillance, search & seizure, detentions, illegal renditions, black sites, prosecution and inhuman incarceration of terror suspects.

After all, you can't beat Evil with Evil, because even using "just a little bit" of the "harsh" stuff to fight terrorists could send our societies down the slippery slope toward tyranny -- as the path to Hell is paved with good intentions.

So to the victims of war, terror and tyranny all I can say is this -- you will be in my prayers and I will try to do everything as a man, father, citizen, voter, taxpayer, lawyer and community activist to make sure that that we fight the plague that caused your suffering and death -- by treating its causes and pathology (immoral and illegal use of war & terror for political & economic goals) instead of treating just its symptoms with ineffective band-aids of short-lived condemnation & retaliatory bombings or worse, by fighting fire with gasoline of more wars and international military interventions.

What do you think?

Muslim and Jewish leaders gather at Paris concert hall memorial.

Greg Krasovsky's comments on "Muslim and Jewish leaders gather at Paris concert hall memorial."

My sympathies and condolences go out to the loved ones of the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks this past weekend.

We need to do everything to make sure that ALL the organizers, financiers, conspirators and executioners of this heinous crime against humanity are brought to justice.

We also need to remember who funded and supported the vast majority of Syrian terrorist groups, including ISIS, Al-Nusra and etc. -- it wasn't Assad's regime, Iran, North Korea or Russia. 

Sadly, this support was mostly covertly provided by states and organizations (government and private) who wanted to topple the Assad regime...and thought that supporting (or just allowing to grow) terrorist groups was a justified means.

What we should not do is allow another despicable terrorist act to feed xenophobia and religious intolerance, especially against Islam, one of the the Abrahamic faiths that grew out of Judaic and Christian traditions in the 7th century.

All faiths must unite to condemn all varieties of terrorism -- religious-based, racial or ethnic-based, political and state-sponsored -- and confirm that killing of innocent civilians is an indisputable sin under every faith and cannot be justified EVER by Satanist arguments of "sacrificing a hundred or a thousand of innocent civilians is justified if this act will save millions in the future."

We must mourn, honor and avenge (by Justice!) all victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity -- regardless of whether they are 

- victims of terrorists who proclaim themselves to be insurgents fighting for freedom of their people & land, or defenders of their faith 

- victims of state-sponsored terrorism, war crimes or crimes against humanity committed by military, intelligence, state security or law enforcement personnel.

- as we hear pretty often lately, unfortunate and inadvertent civilian "collateral damage" in artillery, bombing and drone strikes. 
   
Moreover, we must remember that all human lives have equal value before G-d, regardless of whether the victim is a citizen of France, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt, UK, USA, Russia or Ukraine.

And we must do everything as people, citizens, tax-payers, voters, employees and members of community organizations to make sure that terrorism is condemned and fought on every level of our world-wide human society and government. 

The interfaith flower-laying ceremony in Paris was a good first step!
  
Am I wrong?
  
******************

Selected Excerpts from

Muslim and Jewish leaders gather at Paris concert hall memorial.

"The flower-laying ceremony, initiated by the Polish-born French Jewish author Marek Halter.

Representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities join people gathered at the makeshift memorial near the Bataclan concert hall. 

They carried white roses, which they laid among the hundreds of candles and bouquets left by members of the public and were accompanied, as a show of inter-faith solidarity, by representatives of the French capital’s Jewish community.

In case anyone – specifically France’s far right and its supporters – were minded to miss it, Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam of Drancy, a Paris suburb, spelled it out.

“Anyone who uses hate speech has no place in France and those places that preach hate are not places of prayer but are those of a sect. After this tragedy and the more than 100 deaths, now is the time to close these places of hate,” Chalghoumi, president of the imams’ conference of France, told the crowd. 

Chalghoumi, who says he is the subject of an Islamic State “fatwa” calling for his killing, said: “1.5 million people are hostages of Daesh, 1.5 million people are hostages of these barbarians who are sullying the name of Islam and Muslims. It’s time to say no to this barbarity.”


Earlier, the imam of Bordeaux, Tarek Oubrou told Le Journal du Dimanche: “From a religious point of view, Islam’s position is very clear: these murders call for a triple condemnation – ethical, legal and theological.

“Ethical because no morality allows for the killing of innocent people, legal because these acts do not respect war as it is decreed in the Muslim tradition and theological because these suicide bombers are convinced they’re going to heaven when they actually risk finding themselves in hell.”

He said that communications from Muslim institutions, however, were not enough: “Muslims must also demonstrate to say ‘stop’ – to say that we don’t accept these actions being done in the name of our religion.”"

Please read the rest of the article at:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/15/muslim-and-jewish-leaders-gather-at-paris-concert-hall-memorial

Reaper Madness: Obama’s Whack-a-Mole Killing Machine

Below are Greg Krasovsky's comments on Doug Noble's article, Reaper Madness: Obama’s Whack-a-Mole Killing Machine, published on November 9, 2015 at www.counterpunch.org  

The U.S. drone program kills people every week in many places around the world.

Drone-fired missiles 

- execute suspects who haven't been proved guilty in a court of law;

- kill suspects just because capturing them is deemed to expensive or dangerous; 

- are used in countries with which the U.S. is not at war and sometimes without the host country's formal legal authorization; and

- kill innocent women and children ("collateral damage") just because they happen to be in the vicinity of suspects.

Based on the above, IMHO the U.S. drone program is unconstitutional, illegal and includes many missions that constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  
How many Americans are willing to spend even an hour with any  surviving family of women and children who were killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere? What would we tell them to explain their loss and justify the drone strike? 

- I'm sorry, I'm not the one who pulled the trigger? 
  
- I trust my government, the CIA, NSA  and Pentagon to keep me safe and select terrorists for execution with minimum collateral damage in other countries? 
  
- I'm sure that our government will pay you some compensation?
  
- I just pay my taxes, vote and try to stay out of foreign politics?
   
- I'm not a lawyer, so whether what happened to your dead women & children is a crime should be investigated by the U.S. Justice Department and, if it decides that a crime was committed, the suspects should be tried in a U.S. federal court by a jury of my American peers.
   
- I know that my taxes fund the Drone program and bought the missiles that killed you women and children, but there's nothing that I can do? What? Write my Congressman, Senator, President?
  
- I didn't have the time (or, to be honest, the desire and will power) to research and protest against such a program? After all, I'm busy with work, children, TV, movies, music, sports and etc.
    
Are these morally defensible arguments? Is this what any one of us would like to tell G-d if questioned?
   
Guess what, folks? As tax payers and voters Americans bear direct responsibility for what the government & military that we finance with our taxes does at the behest of politicians that we put into office. 
   
Is this what the Founding Fathers of America would have wanted when they declared independence from The British Empire and drafted the U.S. Constitution?

Where's the outrage and protest?
  
Here are some excerpts:

"Targeted killing by drones remains the US weapon of choice, famously called “the only game in town,” by former CIA director Leon Panetta. This despite a decade of worldwide moral outrage over its overwhelming civilian casualties, violations of international law, disregard for national sovereignty, dismissal of due process, and continuing secrecy. 

The Obama administration recently announced that the drone killing program will in fact be increased by 50 % in the coming two years.

Now government documents leaked to the Intercept show conclusively that the US drone program kills thousands of innocents on bad intelligence and careless targeting while being falsely portrayed as a program of impeccable planning and precision execution. 

The recently leaked “Drone Papers” - see http://www.drone-papers.com - reveal the extent of willful ineptitude in US drone operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, which rely on systematically faulty intelligence and astonishing inaccuracies in identifying targets. These revelations only further confirm what many of us already knew about the appalling failure, relentless deception and criminal lethality of the US drone program.
...
The publication this year of the Drone Papers reveals that the Obama administration, the US military, and the CIA have been lying all along about the drone assassination  program, its targets and its civilian casualties. These documents also expose the obscene disregard for human lives pervading the entire operation, as the drone warriors pursue their technological dreams. 

“Throughout human history,” the Stimson Report reminds us, “the ability to project force across significant distances has been a much sought-after military capability… and since the dawn of mechanization, militaries have sought to replace people with machines.” In this context, drones are the unholy grail. 

The Drone Papers reveal that in its pursuit these Dr Strangeloves  have been well aware of the horrific human costs of their enterprise and that they couldn’t care less.

What I’ve tried to show here is something more:  that these military miscreants have also known all along that their drone technology and targeting strategy are militarily bankrupt. They could not but be aware from military history and doctrine that these approaches have  absolutely no possibility of defeating terrorist groups or keeping America safe. They must know that in fact the opposite is true, that  their nefarious enterprise only further endangers us all. 

And yet they will continue ever more brazenly their Reaper madness, the scholars here all agree, until we find some way to stop them."

Please read the rest of the article at:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/11/09/reaper-madness-obamas-whack-a-mole-killing-machine/