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Mosul Terror-Bombed to Rubble


By Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
7-17-17

 
When America attacks another nation, international, constitutional and US statute laws of war are discarded with imperial arrogance.

They’re for other countries, not the USA, its rules alone followed. The devastating result is always the same.

Wherever the self-styled “indispensable nation” shows up, mass slaughter, horrendous destruction, utter chaos, and appalling human misery follow.

The battle for Mosul will long be remembered by truth-telling historians and analysts as one of history’s great crimes. Iraq’s long ago thriving second largest city of 1.7 million people was turned to smoldering rubble.

Thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of defenseless civilians were indiscriminately massacred - largely by US-led terror-bombing, leveling residential areas and vital infrastructure, the city turned into a moonscape.

UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande explained when the battle for Mosul began last October, US-led coalition and Iraqi forces “committed to a humanitarian concept of operations, which puts civilian protection at the center of their battle plan. They committed to do everything possible in order to ensure civilians were protected during the fighting.”

Instead, indiscriminate mass slaughter and destruction took place throughout months of conflict.

In February 1968, AP foreign correspondent Peter Arnett said the following about the battle for Ben Tre:

“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it,” quoting a US military officer. “He was talking about the decision by allied commanders to bomb and shell the town regardless of civilian casualties, to rout the Vietcong.”

The same applies to numerous other US offensives, including the battle for Mosul. The shocking disregard for human lives and welfare defines all US wars - aggressive ones of choice post-WW II in all cases, never for self-defense, humanitarian intervention and democracy building as falsely claimed.

Two surprising neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post articles discussed the utter devastation of months of war on Mosul.

Maybe Langley was gloating, taking a victory lap, using WaPo to explain the destructive power of America’s military.

One article headlined “How war ravaged the city of Mosul in satellite images,” saying they “show how the conflict has turned a once lively city into rubble.”

Pre-and-post-battle images are stunning - the former taken in November 2015, the latter on July 8. It’s hard comprehending they’re from the same locations in the same city.

They bear testimony to US imperial viciousness. They show high crimes of war and against humanity on an unimaginable scale.

Destroyed areas look like a nuking aftermath. On the ground, no signs of life are visible - residential areas, hospitals, bridges and other infrastructure leveled.

A second article headlined “After Daesh defeat, a daunting search for bodies in the rubble of Mosul,” saying:

“The streets of Mosul’s Old City are littered with bodies, tangled between shattered stones and remnants of the lives they left behind.”

“In the baking summer heat, exhausted rescue crews are now sifting through the debris of the toughest battle against Daesh, also known as ISIS, in what became its final redoubt in the city.”

“As Iraqi ground troops, US-led coalition jets and Daesh militants pulverized the Old City’s winding maze of streets last week, thousands of civilians were caught in the crossfire.’

“(T)he area is now deserted. (A)ll that remains in the Old City is rubble and unknown (numbers) of bodies” - many thousands massacred indiscriminately, largely defenseless civilians, mostly women and children.

Last fall, Washington redeployed thousands of ISIS fighters from Mosul to Syria. It’s unknown how many remained to draw out months of fighting.

Hundreds of corpses already were found “suffocated under the ruins of their homes,” said WaPo. Other bodies so far lie rotting in streets turned into open-air graves.

Mangled and charred bodies are unrecognizable. In dozens of interviews with survivors, WaPo reporters found no one who hadn’t lost a relative or friend.

All US war theaters bear testimony to its might makes right way of operating. Imperial aims alone matter, nothing else.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
 
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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