IDF chief: Dahariya incident to be taught in commanders' training

IDF chief: Dahariya incident to be taught in commanders' training
Last update - 00:00 16/08/2007
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent


Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Tuesday decided that the lessons of the incident in Dahariya last month, in which IDF troops shot a Palestinian civilian without justification, would be taught in all IDF commanders' training courses.
Ashkenazi is still considering taking harsher measures against those involved in the affair.

After a summarizing briefing on the incident, the chief of staff said Tuesday that the rampage had exposed serious problems in the IDF's command norms as well as grave failures in the professional and operational aspects.

Ashkenazi said he views with grave severity the incident in which a platoon commander and his troops, who were conducting a routine patrol in the West Bank, kidnapped a Palestinian taxi driver at gunpoint, tied him up, and drove through Dahariya as if they were undercover.

During the drive, one of the soldiers shot a Palestinian man who aroused the commander's suspicion, wounding him moderately. The soldiers then left the town, leaving the man behind without attending to him, and never reported the incident to anyone.

When Palestinian reports of the incident reached the IDF, the soldiers gave a false account of the events.

The commander of the platoon has been indicted for his role in the incident.

IAEA head: Attacking Iran would be 'madness'

clipped from www.usatoday.com The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency cautioned on Thursday that an attack on Iran over its refusal to freeze programs that could make nuclear weapons would be "an act of madness," in indirect warnings to the United States and Israel. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei also said Iran would likely be running close to 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges by the end of next month — a number agency officials have described as the point of no return in the start of a large-scale program ElBaradei described any use of force as "an act of madness ... (that) would not resolve the issue." "The next few months will be crucial," he said, adding: "Iran is building a capacity, a knowledge" of enrichment that is irreversible, while not providing "an assurance that this is a peaceful program." "The longer we delay, the less option we have to reach a peaceful solution," he warned. ElBaradei spoke at the end of a meeting of his agency's 35-nation board

1967 Nuclear avoide! 2007 nuclear M-East

clipped from www.jpost.com 'Military plan against Iran is ready' Jun. 10, 2007 On Sunday, the Israel Air Force held joint exercises with visiting US pilots, but IDF sources dismissed speculation that the drills were connected to an attack on Iran. According to a high-ranking American military officer, the US Navy and Air Force would play the primary roles in any military action taken against Iran. One idea under consideration is a naval blockade designed to cut off Iran's oil exports. On Sunday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said the US should consider a military strike against Iran over its support of Iraqi insurgents. Predictions within the US military are that Bush will do what is needed to stop Teheran before he leaves office in 2009, including possibly launching a military strike against its nuclear facilities. Bush has repeatedly said the United States would not allow Iran to "go nuclear."