Israel's Air War: Pilots Disobey Orders, Refuse to Hit Civilians.

[kpete]

Israeli pilots 'deliberately miss' targets

Fliers admit aborting raids on civilian targets as concern grows over the reliability of intelligence

Inigo Gilmore at Hatzor Air Base, Israel
Sunday August 6, 2006
The Observer


At least two Israeli fighter pilots have deliberately missed civilian targets in Lebanon as disquiet grows in the military about flawed intelligence, The Observer has learnt. Sources say the pilots were worried that targets had been wrongly identified as Hizbollah facilities.

Voices expressing concern over the armed forces' failures are getting louder. One Israeli cabinet minister said last week: 'We gave the army so much money. Why are we getting these results?' Last week saw Hizbollah's guerrilla force, dismissed by senior Israeli military officials as 'ragtag', inflict further casualties on one of the world's most powerful armies in southern Lebanon. At least 12 elite troops, the equivalent of Britain's SAS, have already been killed, and by yesterday afternoon Israel's military death toll had climbed to 45.

..................

Shapiro said: 'Some pilots told me they have shot at the side of targets because they're afraid people will be there, and they don't trust any more those who give them the coordinates and targets.'

He added: 'One pilot told me he was asked to hit a house on a hill, which was supposed to be a place from where Hizbollah was launching Katyusha missiles. But he was afraid civilians were in the house, so he shot next to the house ...


http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1838437,00.html
via: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/6/64752/43215

[tocqueville]

1. but most don't...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06742085.htm

TYRE, Lebanon, Aug 6 (Reuters) - An Israeli aircraft fired on a vehicle travelling just ahead of a United Nations humanitarian convoy on Sunday, killing at least one civilian, U.N. and Lebanese security sources said.

The strike drew a swift reaction from the U.N., which has complained along with other aid groups that Israeli bombing and a naval blockade are preventing them from helping many of the 800,000 to 1 million people displaced by the war.

"A truck on the opposite side of the road of the U.N. convoy was heading to Beirut. When it was about 40 metres (yards) away from the convoy, it was hit, apparently by a rocket," said U.N. spokesman for Lebanon Khaled Mansour.

"We are investigating the matter. It's a cause for deep concern that it was so close to a convoy whose details were conveyed to the warring factions."

[Solo_in_MD]

2. Be interesting to see what the IAF says about this is anything

- The IDF is refusing to gaurentee safe passage or even free transit
- They requrie extensive coordination up front which can take several days
- If you vary from the agreed to plan and timeline you are a target

Its not clear if the UN is going along with that or not. Clearly some convoys have not, thinking the red cross or crescent will be sufficient, which is not the case. I can see arguments on both sides of this one.