By SUDEEP REDDY
Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama announced the nomination of two economists and a lawyer to the Federal Reserve Board, reshaping the central bank's top ranks at a critical period for financial regulation and monetary policy.
Obama nominated two economists and a lawyer to the Fed Board, in what would fill three of the Board's seven seats, reshaping the central bank's top ranks at a critical period for financial regulation and monetary policy. The WSJ's Sudeep Reddy discusses.
The White House tapped Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, to be the board's vice chairman, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Peter Diamond and Maryland state banking regulator Sarah Bloom Raskin to sit on the seven-member board. The Senate is likely to confirm them.
"The depth of experience these individuals bring in economic and monetary policy, financial regulation, and consumer protection will make them tremendous assets at the Fed," President Obama said in a statement. "I am grateful they have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people."
The nominations aren't likely to prompt a major shift in interest-rate policy. But they would reinforce the Fed's activist bent as policy makers overhaul the central bank to monitor and regulate risk-taking across the financial system, review compensation policies at banks and tighten consumer regulation.
All these responsibilities would be altered if Congress passes legislation overhauling financial regulations.
"The Federal Reserve system is going to be reshaped," said Vincent Reinhart, a former top Fed staffer now at the American Enterprise Institute. "It's more likely to show that it can be activist in its ability to set regulations and enforce those regulations. The governors will influence the direction those actions take."
If the new nominees are confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Obama will have installed four of the seven governors since taking office 15 months ago. His first appointment, Daniel Tarullo, is shaking up Fed bank supervision by scrutinizing bank practices more closely. Mr. Obama also gave Ben Bernanke a second four-year term as chairman.
Obama's Fed Picks
[0428fed01] Associated Press
Peter Diamond, turns 70 on Thursday
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Prior positions: Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Education: MIT, Ph.D. (Economics); Yale , B.A. (Mathematics)
Academic Interests: Social Security, pensions, taxation
[0428fed02] Bloomberg News
Sarah Bloom Raskin, 49
Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation (Aug 2007 to present)
Prior positions: Managing Director, Promontory Financial Group; General Counsel, Worldwide Retail Exchange; General Counsel, Columbia Energy Services Corp; Counsel, Senate Banking Committee; Staff, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Staff, Congress's Joint Economic Committee
Education: Harvard Law School, J.D.; Amherst , B.A. (Economics)
[0428fed03] Bloomberg News
Janet Yellen, 63
President, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Prior Positions: Professor, University of California, Berkeley; Chair , White House Council of Economic Advisers; Governor, Federal Reserve Board
Education: Yale , Ph.D. (Economics); Brown , B.A. (Economics)
Academic Interests: Unemployment and labor markets; monetary and fiscal policies; international trade and investment policy. Read Yellen's Statement on Nomination
For a quarter-century, Fed chairmen have maintained the backing of the board's governors on every monetary policy vote. Some Fed watchers, Mr. Reinhart among them, expect the new governors to nudge the Fed slightly in the direction of easier monetary policy. They also are expected to offset the pressure from regional Fed bank presidents more eager than Mr. Bernanke to tighten monetary policy soon.
Allan Meltzer, a Fed historian at Carnegie Mellon University, said, "I'm not saying they're going to be politically motivated. But they're going to [be] people who are going to be more concerned about unemployment and wait to do something about inflation later."
Others doubt the appointments will make much difference given the chairman's dominance. The president "isn't trying to put his stamp on the monetary policy side," said Lou Crandall, a money-market economist at Wrightson ICAP. "He is looking to add people to the board who take regulation seriously…consistent with his push for entrenching the institution at the heart of the regulatory system."
Picking Mr. Diamond and Ms. Raskin—neither of whom have much experience in monetary policy—"is a symptom of broadening the Fed's responsibilities," said Alice Rivlin, a former Fed vice chair. "The Fed's got a lot on its plate at the moment."
Mr. Diamond, who turned 70 years old Thursday, specializes in Social Security, pensions and taxation issues, and co-wrote a 2005 book on Social Security with Peter Orszag, the White House budget director. He is known as an agile economist comfortable with a range of issues from unemployment to social insurance.
Before taking the Maryland post, Ms. Raskin, who wrote her undergraduate thesis at Amherst College on monetary policy, spent four years at Promontory Financial Group, a firm that advises banks, particularly those with regulatory issues.
"She has been in the examining room, the emergency room and the operating room," said the firm's chief executive, Eugene Ludwig, a former comptroller of the currency.
In a speech last September, she blamed the financial crisis on "a deregulatory fervor that marginalized the interests of many" and said the recession "brought upon us through a combination of greed, weak regulation and weak enforcement." Ms. Raskin, 49, is married to a Democratic state senator in Maryland.
Ms. Yellen, 63, a Yale-trained economist who served on the Greenspan Fed board and chaired President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, would succeed Donald Kohn, who retires in June.
Given her personality and background, she is likely to fill his role as occasional mediator between the Washington-based Fed governors and the presidents of regional banks.
Ms. Yellen has a reputation as harboring stronger concern about high unemployment than inflation risks, an image she has recently tried to correct. "I have personally supported an increase in our target for the federal funds rate on 20 different occasions," she said recently.
After the White House announced her nomination, Ms. Yellen said in a statement: "I am strongly committed to pursuing the dual goals that Congress has assigned us: maximum employment and price stability and, if confirmed, I will work to ensure that policy promotes job creation and keeps inflation in check." Ms. Yellen is married to George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize winning economist.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
WATCH: Clinton sends Israel Independence Day greeting
Last update - 19:48 19/04/2010
By Natasha Mozgovaya,
Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
The United States will continue to stand by Israel through its many challenges, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday, on the occasion of Israel's 62nd Independence Day, adding that Washington was determined to reach a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement.
In a video message posted on the State Department website, Clinton said, in a possible reference to remaining tensions over Iran's contentious nuclear program, that while "Israel today is confronting some of the greatest challenges in its history," its "promise and potential have never been greater."
"The United States will continue to stand with you, sharing your risks and helping shoulder your burdens, as we face the future together," the U.S. secretary of State added.
Clinton also stressed what she called her "deep personal commitment to Israel," one she claimed to have shared with U.S. President Barack Obama, adding that Washington would "not waver in protecting Israel's security and promoting Israel's future."
"That is why pursuing peace and recognized borders for Israel is one of our top priorities," Clinton said, adding that she believed it was "possible - indeed necessary - to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East that provides Israelis, Palestinians, and all the people of the region security, prosperity, and the opportunity to live up to their full God-given potential."
Meanwhile, Washington celebrated Israel's Independence Day early, at a ceremony that was too to be held at the embassy itself and was moved to a distant location near the Capitol. The event, held last Thursday, was replete with kebabs and hummus.
Among the guests were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser Uzi Arad and envoy Michael Oren, along with other Israeli diplomats and academics, and American officials including Obama adviser David Axelrod and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, National Security Council member Dan Shapiro and AIPAC President Lee Rosenberg.
When did Americans vote to include Israel as "best friend" and virtual 51st state? I don't recall ever voting for this very strange relationship we have with Israel, one of the most U.N. resolution violating, militarily aggressive and oppressive governments on earth. What has Israel ever done for us except be a cause of worldwide Islamic hatred for America's blind support of Israeli acts of land stealing, occupation and oppression of the native Palestinian peoples? This kow towing to Israeli leaders no matter how illegally and immorally they act by US leaders like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama disgusts me as an American citizen despite being of Jewish descent. I've just returned from a second trip to Israel and Palestine and didn't see anything that countered my own and very many other people's impressions of a militarily aggressive state bent on ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestine so Jewish immigrants mainly from Europe and America can grab their land for themselves. Protest this accommodation with a rogue state that refuses to comply with nuclear weapons inspections, refuses to comply with UN resolutions, refuses to recognize their guilt as foreign invaders taking away the land and life of native peoples.
By Natasha Mozgovaya,
Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
The United States will continue to stand by Israel through its many challenges, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday, on the occasion of Israel's 62nd Independence Day, adding that Washington was determined to reach a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement.
In a video message posted on the State Department website, Clinton said, in a possible reference to remaining tensions over Iran's contentious nuclear program, that while "Israel today is confronting some of the greatest challenges in its history," its "promise and potential have never been greater."
"The United States will continue to stand with you, sharing your risks and helping shoulder your burdens, as we face the future together," the U.S. secretary of State added.
Clinton also stressed what she called her "deep personal commitment to Israel," one she claimed to have shared with U.S. President Barack Obama, adding that Washington would "not waver in protecting Israel's security and promoting Israel's future."
"That is why pursuing peace and recognized borders for Israel is one of our top priorities," Clinton said, adding that she believed it was "possible - indeed necessary - to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East that provides Israelis, Palestinians, and all the people of the region security, prosperity, and the opportunity to live up to their full God-given potential."
Meanwhile, Washington celebrated Israel's Independence Day early, at a ceremony that was too to be held at the embassy itself and was moved to a distant location near the Capitol. The event, held last Thursday, was replete with kebabs and hummus.
Among the guests were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser Uzi Arad and envoy Michael Oren, along with other Israeli diplomats and academics, and American officials including Obama adviser David Axelrod and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, National Security Council member Dan Shapiro and AIPAC President Lee Rosenberg.
When did Americans vote to include Israel as "best friend" and virtual 51st state? I don't recall ever voting for this very strange relationship we have with Israel, one of the most U.N. resolution violating, militarily aggressive and oppressive governments on earth. What has Israel ever done for us except be a cause of worldwide Islamic hatred for America's blind support of Israeli acts of land stealing, occupation and oppression of the native Palestinian peoples? This kow towing to Israeli leaders no matter how illegally and immorally they act by US leaders like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama disgusts me as an American citizen despite being of Jewish descent. I've just returned from a second trip to Israel and Palestine and didn't see anything that countered my own and very many other people's impressions of a militarily aggressive state bent on ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Palestine so Jewish immigrants mainly from Europe and America can grab their land for themselves. Protest this accommodation with a rogue state that refuses to comply with nuclear weapons inspections, refuses to comply with UN resolutions, refuses to recognize their guilt as foreign invaders taking away the land and life of native peoples.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Statistics Bureau: 75 percent of Israeli citizens are Jewish
Last update - 17:53 18/04/2010
By Haaretz Service
On Israel's 62nd Independence Day, the number of Israeli citizens in the country stands at more than 7,587,000, of which 75 percent are Jewish, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday.
In 1948, the year of the Declaration of Independence, there were a total of 806,000 citizens in Israel, the Bureau reported, adding that Tel Aviv was the only city home to more than 100,000 residents.
According to the Statistics Bureau, today there are more 14 cities across Israel with more than 100,000 residents. Six of those cities are home to more than 200,000 residents.
The bureau also reported that 70 percent of the Jewish citizens living in Israel today were born in the country; at least half of those are second generation (or more) Israelis. In 1948 only 35 percent of the country's citizens had been born in Israel.
Since Israel's 61st Independence Day last year, more than 159,000 babies were born in Israel, while more than 39,000 people died in the same year, the report showed.
The country also absorbed more than 16,000 immigrants in the last year, while more than 10,000 Israelis left the country to live abroad.
Question: How can 75% of the population of a state that calls itself "the only democratic state in the Middle East" also call itself a "Jewish" state? A quarter of the Israeli population is not Jewish, so where do they fit in to a "Jewish" state?
This discrepancy between Jews and non-Jews in Israel will only increase in time and yet we do not see any Jewish recognition of this problem wherein by 2050 Jews will be outnumbered by non-Jews in Israel. Indeed, we see a continual provocation of Arab Palestinians and Arabs in general in the Middle East by Israeli acts of aggression and continual stealing of the land of Palestine. Does Zionism inspire religious and national insanity and an inability to deal sanely with the inevitable return of Arab population dominance?
By Haaretz Service
On Israel's 62nd Independence Day, the number of Israeli citizens in the country stands at more than 7,587,000, of which 75 percent are Jewish, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday.
In 1948, the year of the Declaration of Independence, there were a total of 806,000 citizens in Israel, the Bureau reported, adding that Tel Aviv was the only city home to more than 100,000 residents.
According to the Statistics Bureau, today there are more 14 cities across Israel with more than 100,000 residents. Six of those cities are home to more than 200,000 residents.
The bureau also reported that 70 percent of the Jewish citizens living in Israel today were born in the country; at least half of those are second generation (or more) Israelis. In 1948 only 35 percent of the country's citizens had been born in Israel.
Since Israel's 61st Independence Day last year, more than 159,000 babies were born in Israel, while more than 39,000 people died in the same year, the report showed.
The country also absorbed more than 16,000 immigrants in the last year, while more than 10,000 Israelis left the country to live abroad.
Question: How can 75% of the population of a state that calls itself "the only democratic state in the Middle East" also call itself a "Jewish" state? A quarter of the Israeli population is not Jewish, so where do they fit in to a "Jewish" state?
This discrepancy between Jews and non-Jews in Israel will only increase in time and yet we do not see any Jewish recognition of this problem wherein by 2050 Jews will be outnumbered by non-Jews in Israel. Indeed, we see a continual provocation of Arab Palestinians and Arabs in general in the Middle East by Israeli acts of aggression and continual stealing of the land of Palestine. Does Zionism inspire religious and national insanity and an inability to deal sanely with the inevitable return of Arab population dominance?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Iran Calls for US, Other Nuclear Armed States to be Ousted from IAEA
Elizabeth Arrott | Cairo 17 April 2010
A general view of the participants at the International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, in Tehran, Iran, 17 Apr 2010
Photo: AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the United States to be suspended from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Iranian leader opened a two-day nuclear conference in Tehran Saturday, just days after the U.S. held a similar summit in Washington and pointedly did not invite Iran.
Mr. Ahmadinejad launched a broad attack on the world's nuclear monitors, slamming the structure of the U.N. atomic agency, the U.N. Security Council, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.
He said nuclear armed countries, in particular the United States, should not be part of the IAEA. That would also include Iran's most powerful backers on the nuclear issue - China and Russia - though their support has been recently wavering.
As an alternative to the current structure of nuclear oversight, the Iranian leader proposed an "independent" international group to monitor nuclear disarmament and stem proliferation.
In that vein, Mr. Ahmadinejad called for a review of the NPT, saying non-nuclear weapon states should revise the treaty. He argued that the U.S. and other nuclear-armed nations would hamper a "just commitment."
Strengthening the NPT was one of the goals of the Washington conference. The U.S. and others say Iran is not living up to its obligations under the treaty, to which it is a signatory. At issue is Tehran's secrecy concerning its nuclear program, which it says is for civilian purposes. Western nations, among others, suspect it is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
In Tehran, delegations from Syria, Lebanon and Iraq voiced their support for Iranian nuclear activities, which they described as peaceful.
Iranian media report they also called for Israel to join the non-proliferation pact. Israel is widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, but neither confirms nor denies its existence.
Mr. Ahmadinejad also called the veto power wielded by the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council unjust. He suggested if it must continue, it should be held by countries from Latin America and other traditionally unrepresented nations.
Iranian media reported envoys from some 60 nations and several international and non-governmental groups are attending the conference, which is being held under the banner of "nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for no one."
It appeared timed to counter the U.S. meeting and question America's right to lead the nuclear discussion. President Barack Obama used the Washington summit to press for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Tehran. Iranian leaders also objected strongly to the recent revision of U.S. policy which reserves the right to strike Iran and North Korea.
President Ahmedinejad, whose government has issued a series of contradictory messages about its nuclear program, Saturday condemned nuclear arms in general, arguing reliance on such weapons in global affairs is a legacy of "uncultured and backward governments."
A general view of the participants at the International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, in Tehran, Iran, 17 Apr 2010
Photo: AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the United States to be suspended from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Iranian leader opened a two-day nuclear conference in Tehran Saturday, just days after the U.S. held a similar summit in Washington and pointedly did not invite Iran.
Mr. Ahmadinejad launched a broad attack on the world's nuclear monitors, slamming the structure of the U.N. atomic agency, the U.N. Security Council, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.
He said nuclear armed countries, in particular the United States, should not be part of the IAEA. That would also include Iran's most powerful backers on the nuclear issue - China and Russia - though their support has been recently wavering.
As an alternative to the current structure of nuclear oversight, the Iranian leader proposed an "independent" international group to monitor nuclear disarmament and stem proliferation.
In that vein, Mr. Ahmadinejad called for a review of the NPT, saying non-nuclear weapon states should revise the treaty. He argued that the U.S. and other nuclear-armed nations would hamper a "just commitment."
Strengthening the NPT was one of the goals of the Washington conference. The U.S. and others say Iran is not living up to its obligations under the treaty, to which it is a signatory. At issue is Tehran's secrecy concerning its nuclear program, which it says is for civilian purposes. Western nations, among others, suspect it is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
In Tehran, delegations from Syria, Lebanon and Iraq voiced their support for Iranian nuclear activities, which they described as peaceful.
Iranian media report they also called for Israel to join the non-proliferation pact. Israel is widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, but neither confirms nor denies its existence.
Mr. Ahmadinejad also called the veto power wielded by the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council unjust. He suggested if it must continue, it should be held by countries from Latin America and other traditionally unrepresented nations.
Iranian media reported envoys from some 60 nations and several international and non-governmental groups are attending the conference, which is being held under the banner of "nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for no one."
It appeared timed to counter the U.S. meeting and question America's right to lead the nuclear discussion. President Barack Obama used the Washington summit to press for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Tehran. Iranian leaders also objected strongly to the recent revision of U.S. policy which reserves the right to strike Iran and North Korea.
President Ahmedinejad, whose government has issued a series of contradictory messages about its nuclear program, Saturday condemned nuclear arms in general, arguing reliance on such weapons in global affairs is a legacy of "uncultured and backward governments."
Israel has role to play in nuke-free ME
Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:36:46 GMT
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkav speaking to Press TV on the sidelines of the conference on nuclear disarmament in Tehran.
Russia's deputy foreign minister insists that Israel has a crucial role to play in realizing a Middle East free from nuclear weapons.
"We need to achieve the goal of the establishment of a zone free from weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and here the Israeli's role is very crucial," said Sergei Ryabkav, speaking to the Press TV on Saturday in the first day of an international conference on nuclear disarmament in Tehran.
The conference dubbed "Nuclear Energy For All, Nuclear Weapons For None" kicked off in the Iranian capital on Saturday and will contuse through Sunday.
"Without their due involvement, nothing would be possible," he added.
Ryabkav added that "the recognized nuclear weapon [armed] states" had to be joined in by the "countries who possess this weapon…but are not formally recognized as such in terms of the [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] NPT."
The Russian official was referring to Israel, which is reported to have hundreds of nuclear warheads but has refused to sign the NPT.
Analysts for the reputable military journal Jane's Defense Weekly said on Sunday that Israel is the 6th country in the world to have acquired nuclear arms, saying Tel Aviv is currently in possession of between 100 and 300 nuclear warheads.
Former US President Jimmy Carter, aerial footage and decades of recurrent reporting have also confirmed to the existence of Israel's nuclear arsenal.
Despite the high-profile accusations that Israel has introduced the weapons into the Middle East, Tel Aviv maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity on the matter
The US and its other European allies have so far ignored Israel's military nuclear activities.
HN/MMN
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Hallucinogens Have Doctors Tuning In Again
By JOHN TIERNEY
Published: April 11, 2010
As a retired clinical psychologist, Clark Martin was well acquainted with traditional treatments for depression, but his own case seemed untreatable as he struggled through chemotherapy and other grueling regimens for kidney cancer. Counseling seemed futile to him. So did the antidepressant pills he tried.
Alan S. Weiner for The New York Times
Dr. Clark Martin in his home in Vancouver, Wash.
Multimedia
The Takeaway With John Tierney
Alan S. Weiner for The New York Times
“It was a whole personality shift for me. I wasn’t any longer attached to my performance and trying to control things. I could see that the really good things in life will happen if you just show up and share your natural enthusiasms with people.” CLARK MARTIN, a retired psychologist, on his participation in an experiment with a hallucinogen
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Nothing had any lasting effect until, at the age of 65, he had his first psychedelic experience. He left his home in Vancouver, Wash., to take part in an experiment at Johns Hopkins medical school involving psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in certain mushrooms.
Scientists are taking a new look at hallucinogens, which became taboo among regulators after enthusiasts like Timothy Leary promoted them in the 1960s with the slogan “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Now, using rigorous protocols and safeguards, scientists have won permission to study once again the drugs’ potential for treating mental problems and illuminating the nature of consciousness.
After taking the hallucinogen, Dr. Martin put on an eye mask and headphones, and lay on a couch listening to classical music as he contemplated the universe.
“All of a sudden, everything familiar started evaporating,” he recalled. “Imagine you fall off a boat out in the open ocean, and you turn around, and the boat is gone. And then the water’s gone. And then you’re gone.”
Today, more than a year later, Dr. Martin credits that six-hour experience with helping him overcome his depression and profoundly transforming his relationships with his daughter and friends. He ranks it among the most meaningful events of his life, which makes him a fairly typical member of a growing club of experimental subjects.
Researchers from around the world are gathering this week in San Jose, Calif., for the largest conference on psychedelic science held in the United States in four decades. They plan to discuss studies of psilocybin and other psychedelics for treating depression in cancer patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder, end-of-life anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction to drugs or alcohol.
The results so far are encouraging but also preliminary, and researchers caution against reading too much into these small-scale studies. They do not want to repeat the mistakes of the 1960s, when some scientists-turned-evangelists exaggerated their understanding of the drugs’ risks and benefits.
Because reactions to hallucinogens can vary so much depending on the setting, experimenters and review boards have developed guidelines to set up a comfortable environment with expert monitors in the room to deal with adverse reactions. They have established standard protocols so that the drugs’ effects can be gauged more accurately, and they have also directly observed the drugs’ effects by scanning the brains of people under the influence of hallucinogens.
Scientists are especially intrigued by the similarities between hallucinogenic experiences and the life-changing revelations reported throughout history by religious mystics and those who meditate. These similarities have been identified in neural imaging studies conducted by Swiss researchers and in experiments led by Roland Griffiths, a professor of behavioral biology at Johns Hopkins.
In one of Dr. Griffiths’s first studies, involving 36 people with no serious physical or emotional problems, he and colleagues found that psilocybin could induce what the experimental subjects described as a profound spiritual experience with lasting positive effects for most of them. None had had any previous experience with hallucinogens, and none were even sure what drug was being administered.
To make the experiment double-blind, neither the subjects nor the two experts monitoring them knew whether the subjects were receiving a placebo, psilocybin or another drug like Ritalin, nicotine, caffeine or an amphetamine. Although veterans of the ’60s psychedelic culture may have a hard time believing it, Dr. Griffiths said that even the monitors sometimes could not tell from the reactions whether the person had taken psilocybin or Ritalin.
The monitors sometimes had to console people through periods of anxiety, Dr. Griffiths said, but these were generally short-lived, and none of the people reported any serious negative effects. In a survey conducted two months later, the people who received psilocybin reported significantly more improvements in their general feelings and behavior than did the members of the control group.
The findings were repeated in another follow-up survey, taken 14 months after the experiment. At that point most of the psilocybin subjects once again expressed more satisfaction with their lives and rated the experience as one of the five most meaningful events of their lives.
Since that study, which was published in 2008, Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues have gone on to give psilocybin to people dealing with cancer and depression, like Dr. Martin, the retired psychologist from Vancouver. Dr. Martin’s experience is fairly typical, Dr. Griffiths said: an improved outlook on life after an experience in which the boundaries between the self and others disappear.
In interviews, Dr. Martin and other subjects described their egos and bodies vanishing as they felt part of some larger state of consciousness in which their personal worries and insecurities vanished. They found themselves reviewing past relationships with lovers and relatives with a new sense of empathy.
“It was a whole personality shift for me,” Dr. Martin said. “I wasn’t any longer attached to my performance and trying to control things. I could see that the really good things in life will happen if you just show up and share your natural enthusiasms with people. You have a feeling of attunement with other people.”
The subjects’ reports mirrored so closely the accounts of religious mystical experiences, Dr. Griffiths said, that it seems likely the human brain is wired to undergo these “unitive” experiences, perhaps because of some evolutionary advantage.
“This feeling that we’re all in it together may have benefited communities by encouraging reciprocal generosity,” Dr. Griffiths said. “On the other hand, universal love isn’t always adaptive, either.”
Although federal regulators have resumed granting approval for controlled experiments with psychedelics, there has been little public money granted for the research, which is being conducted at Hopkins, the University of Arizona; Harvard; New York University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and other places.
The work has been supported by nonprofit groups like the Heffter Research Institute and MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.
“There’s this coming together of science and spirituality,” said Rick Doblin, the executive director of MAPS. “We’re hoping that the mainstream and the psychedelic community can meet in the middle and avoid another culture war. Thanks to changes over the last 40 years in the social acceptance of the hospice movement and yoga and meditation, our culture is much more receptive now, and we’re showing that these drugs can provide benefits that current treatments can’t.”
Researchers are reporting preliminary success in using psilocybin to ease the anxiety of patients with terminal illnesses. Dr. Charles S. Grob, a psychiatrist who is involved in an experiment at U.C.L.A., describes it as “existential medicine” that helps dying people overcome fear, panic and depression.
“Under the influences of hallucinogens,” Dr. Grob writes, “individuals transcend their primary identification with their bodies and experience ego-free states before the time of their actual physical demise, and return with a new perspective and profound acceptance of the life constant: change.”
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Dazed survivors of China quake spend chilly night in the open
April 15, 2010 -- Updated 0225 GMT (1025 HKT)
* Survivors in Jiegu, China, spend night in freezing temperatures with little shelter
* 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit impoverished, mountainous area Wednesday morning
* More than 580 dead, 10,000 others injured, state-run media says
* Boarding schools fell on students as they prepared for the day, Xinhua reports
(CNN) -- As dawn broke Thursday in earthquake-ravaged Jiegu, China, some people walked the streets in shock as others continued their all-night efforts to scour debris with their hands for survivors.
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit near the town in an impoverished area of Qinghai province the morning before, killing more than 580 people and injuring at least 10,000 others, according to state-run media.
"Civilians are scouring over the debris, looking for survivors, looking for whatever else they can find in rubble," CNN's John Vause reported from Jiegu, a town of 100,000 people. "It seems that most people here still seem very dazed by what happened. They seem to be walking up and down the streets, looking at the damage and the destruction."
The quake in the mountainous region had flattened homes -- many of which were made with wood and earth -- and other buildings in Jiegu and elsewhere in Yushu prefecture, a Tibetan region of Qinghai.
Many survivors spent Wednesday night in open areas in freezing or near-freezing temperatures.
Almost 1,000 people sat or lay on the ground outside a government sports building in Jiegu, some wrapping themselves with quilts they had taken from rubble, and others used their own tents, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Another disaster scene where Down Home insulated tents would be needed.
* Survivors in Jiegu, China, spend night in freezing temperatures with little shelter
* 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit impoverished, mountainous area Wednesday morning
* More than 580 dead, 10,000 others injured, state-run media says
* Boarding schools fell on students as they prepared for the day, Xinhua reports
(CNN) -- As dawn broke Thursday in earthquake-ravaged Jiegu, China, some people walked the streets in shock as others continued their all-night efforts to scour debris with their hands for survivors.
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit near the town in an impoverished area of Qinghai province the morning before, killing more than 580 people and injuring at least 10,000 others, according to state-run media.
"Civilians are scouring over the debris, looking for survivors, looking for whatever else they can find in rubble," CNN's John Vause reported from Jiegu, a town of 100,000 people. "It seems that most people here still seem very dazed by what happened. They seem to be walking up and down the streets, looking at the damage and the destruction."
The quake in the mountainous region had flattened homes -- many of which were made with wood and earth -- and other buildings in Jiegu and elsewhere in Yushu prefecture, a Tibetan region of Qinghai.
Many survivors spent Wednesday night in open areas in freezing or near-freezing temperatures.
Almost 1,000 people sat or lay on the ground outside a government sports building in Jiegu, some wrapping themselves with quilts they had taken from rubble, and others used their own tents, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Another disaster scene where Down Home insulated tents would be needed.
Iran complains to UN over Obama 'nuclear blackmail'
(AFP) – 1 hour ago
TEHRAN — Iran has formally complained to the United Nations over comments by US President Barack Obama which Tehran considers to be "nuclear blackmail," the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.
In a letter submitted to the world's top diplomatic body on Tuesday, Tehran questions the "intent" of Washington's new nuclear policy and says it contains threats of nuclear attack against Iran, IRNA said.
"UN members should not tolerate or ignore such nuclear blackmail in the 21st century," says the letter, delivered by Iran's envoy to the UN Mohammad Khazai.
"The United States, in an illegitimate manner, has identified a non-nuclear country as a target of its atomic weapons and is drawing its military plans on this basis," the letter says, according to IRNA.
Last week Washington unveiled its reviewed nuclear policy which limits its use of nuclear arsenal but singles out Iran and North Korea as exceptions reportedly for flouting UN Security Council resolutions.
Obama himself in an interview with New York Times said Iran and North Korea were "outliers" when it came to his new nuclear policy.
"Such comments are not just expressing an intent, but are part of official documents which formulate the US policy in using atomic weapons against a non-nuclear country which is a NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) member," the letter says.
"And so it is a real threat to international peace and security and is also harming the NPT."
IRNA said the letter also says US officials such as Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have made "implicit threats" in public of "using nuclear weapons against Iran based on completely wrong assumptions."
It says Iran itself has been a victim of weapons of mass destruction in the past and is committed to creating a world without nuclear arsenals.
"UN members should take a firm measure to destroy all nuclear weapons as it is the only guarantee against their use or threats of using them," it says.
After a year of offering diplomatic initiatives towards Iran, Obama in recent weeks has stepped up global efforts to impose a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran for pursuing its nuclear programme.
Western countries want Iran to abandon the programme as they claim it is masking a weapons drive, a charge strongly denied by the Islamic republic.
On Tuesday, Obama said he was not interested in "having a long drawn-out process for months" and appealed to world powers to "move forward boldly and quickly" in sanctioning Iran.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
TEHRAN — Iran has formally complained to the United Nations over comments by US President Barack Obama which Tehran considers to be "nuclear blackmail," the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.
In a letter submitted to the world's top diplomatic body on Tuesday, Tehran questions the "intent" of Washington's new nuclear policy and says it contains threats of nuclear attack against Iran, IRNA said.
"UN members should not tolerate or ignore such nuclear blackmail in the 21st century," says the letter, delivered by Iran's envoy to the UN Mohammad Khazai.
"The United States, in an illegitimate manner, has identified a non-nuclear country as a target of its atomic weapons and is drawing its military plans on this basis," the letter says, according to IRNA.
Last week Washington unveiled its reviewed nuclear policy which limits its use of nuclear arsenal but singles out Iran and North Korea as exceptions reportedly for flouting UN Security Council resolutions.
Obama himself in an interview with New York Times said Iran and North Korea were "outliers" when it came to his new nuclear policy.
"Such comments are not just expressing an intent, but are part of official documents which formulate the US policy in using atomic weapons against a non-nuclear country which is a NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) member," the letter says.
"And so it is a real threat to international peace and security and is also harming the NPT."
IRNA said the letter also says US officials such as Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have made "implicit threats" in public of "using nuclear weapons against Iran based on completely wrong assumptions."
It says Iran itself has been a victim of weapons of mass destruction in the past and is committed to creating a world without nuclear arsenals.
"UN members should take a firm measure to destroy all nuclear weapons as it is the only guarantee against their use or threats of using them," it says.
After a year of offering diplomatic initiatives towards Iran, Obama in recent weeks has stepped up global efforts to impose a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran for pursuing its nuclear programme.
Western countries want Iran to abandon the programme as they claim it is masking a weapons drive, a charge strongly denied by the Islamic republic.
On Tuesday, Obama said he was not interested in "having a long drawn-out process for months" and appealed to world powers to "move forward boldly and quickly" in sanctioning Iran.
Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.
Obama: Israel should sign NPT
Nuclear Summit
American president lauds leaders who took part in Washington nuke summit, says world safer as result of conference; responding to question, Obama says all nations should sign Non-Proliferation Treaty, including Israel
Yitzhak Benhorin
Published:
04.14.10, 00:42 / Israel News
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the US Administration calls upon all nations to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, including Israel.
Speaking at a press conference end of a nuclear summit in Washington, Obama said that the world was safer today as result of the convention's achievements.
“We have seized the opportunity,” Obama said at the conclusion of a two-day summit on nuclear security in Washington. “The American people will be safer and the world will be more secure.”
Obama speaks out (Photo: Reuters)
When asked about Israel's nuclear program, Obama at first refused to address the issue, instead insisting to talk about the US and its commitment to reducing American nuclear weapon stockpiles.
"Initially you were talking about US behavior, and then suddenly we're talking about Israel. Let me talk about the United States," the president said. "I do think that as part of the NPT, our obligation, as the largest nuclear power in the world, is to take steps to reducing our nuclear stockpile. And that's what the START treaty was about, sending a message that we are going to meet our obligations…as far as Israel goes, I'm not going to comment on their program.
However, although initially saying he will not address Israel's nuclear program, Obama continued, pointing out that the US is calling on all nations to sign the NPT.
"What I'm going to point to is the fact that consistently we have urged all countries to become members of the NPT. So there's no contradiction there," he said. "And so whether we're talking about Israel or any other country, we think that becoming part of the NPT is important. And that, by the way, is not a new position. That's been a consistent position of the United States government, even prior to my administration."
American president lauds leaders who took part in Washington nuke summit, says world safer as result of conference; responding to question, Obama says all nations should sign Non-Proliferation Treaty, including Israel
Yitzhak Benhorin
Published:
04.14.10, 00:42 / Israel News
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the US Administration calls upon all nations to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, including Israel.
Speaking at a press conference end of a nuclear summit in Washington, Obama said that the world was safer today as result of the convention's achievements.
“We have seized the opportunity,” Obama said at the conclusion of a two-day summit on nuclear security in Washington. “The American people will be safer and the world will be more secure.”
Obama speaks out (Photo: Reuters)
When asked about Israel's nuclear program, Obama at first refused to address the issue, instead insisting to talk about the US and its commitment to reducing American nuclear weapon stockpiles.
"Initially you were talking about US behavior, and then suddenly we're talking about Israel. Let me talk about the United States," the president said. "I do think that as part of the NPT, our obligation, as the largest nuclear power in the world, is to take steps to reducing our nuclear stockpile. And that's what the START treaty was about, sending a message that we are going to meet our obligations…as far as Israel goes, I'm not going to comment on their program.
However, although initially saying he will not address Israel's nuclear program, Obama continued, pointing out that the US is calling on all nations to sign the NPT.
"What I'm going to point to is the fact that consistently we have urged all countries to become members of the NPT. So there's no contradiction there," he said. "And so whether we're talking about Israel or any other country, we think that becoming part of the NPT is important. And that, by the way, is not a new position. That's been a consistent position of the United States government, even prior to my administration."
Monday, April 12, 2010
Iran urges UN inquiry into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, UN, New York
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad making a speech in Tehran, 9 April
Iran is preparing a disarmament conference to rival Washington's
Iran's president has urged the UN to launch an investigation into the aims of Western military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The office of Secretary General Ban ki-Moon said that it was studying the letter from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but had no comment.
Mr Ahmadinejad asked the UN to set up a fact-finding team.
Tensions are growing over Iran's nuclear programme, and its rising anger at Washington's nuclear policy.
The fact-finding team requested by Iran's president would investigate the intentions and results of Western military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said that, so far, the invasions had only victimised people in the region, and he declared that US and Nato methods of fighting terrorism had failed.
'State terrorism'
It was not immediately clear what had prompted the letter but it comes amidst rising tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, which the West fears has military aims.
That is something Tehran denies and it is pushing back as the US tries to build momentum for tightening UN sanctions.
Recently, Iran displayed new technology for enriching uranium.
It is also preparing its own nuclear disarmament conference to counter the one hosted by Washington this week.
And on Monday Iran's UN ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, told a panel here in New York that Washington's new nuclear weapons policy was state terrorism.
US President Barack Obama made clear last week that Iran and North Korea were excluded from new limits on America's use of atomic weapons.
Iranian lawmakers responded furiously to what they saw as a threat of nuclear attack. Iran insists its own nuclear programme is for generating energy, not for building weapons.
BBC News, UN, New York
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad making a speech in Tehran, 9 April
Iran is preparing a disarmament conference to rival Washington's
Iran's president has urged the UN to launch an investigation into the aims of Western military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The office of Secretary General Ban ki-Moon said that it was studying the letter from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but had no comment.
Mr Ahmadinejad asked the UN to set up a fact-finding team.
Tensions are growing over Iran's nuclear programme, and its rising anger at Washington's nuclear policy.
The fact-finding team requested by Iran's president would investigate the intentions and results of Western military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said that, so far, the invasions had only victimised people in the region, and he declared that US and Nato methods of fighting terrorism had failed.
'State terrorism'
It was not immediately clear what had prompted the letter but it comes amidst rising tensions over Iran's nuclear programme, which the West fears has military aims.
That is something Tehran denies and it is pushing back as the US tries to build momentum for tightening UN sanctions.
Recently, Iran displayed new technology for enriching uranium.
It is also preparing its own nuclear disarmament conference to counter the one hosted by Washington this week.
And on Monday Iran's UN ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, told a panel here in New York that Washington's new nuclear weapons policy was state terrorism.
US President Barack Obama made clear last week that Iran and North Korea were excluded from new limits on America's use of atomic weapons.
Iranian lawmakers responded furiously to what they saw as a threat of nuclear attack. Iran insists its own nuclear programme is for generating energy, not for building weapons.
Jewish state won't exist without a Palestinian counterpart
Haaretz News
Last update - 04:23 13/04/2010
By Orni Petruschka
In an column headlined "Crime Without Punishment" (Haaretz, April 6) Moshe Arens proposes a two-pronged policy for dealing with Israel's Arabs: an uncompromising fight against the Islamic Movement's radical northern branch and strenuous action to integrate the minority into the fabric of Israeli society. In innumerable other columns, Arens has voiced his total opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Calls for integration of Israel's Arabs have become increasing popular recently, peaking in the "economic leadership bus tour" of the Arab sector organized by President Shimon Peres and a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab and Jewish industrialists.
Other right-wingers, like Minister Benny Begin, have also expressed support for the integration and equality of Israeli Arabs. Even though this trend has appeared late, it is of course welcome. But there can be no integration and equality for Israel's Arabs as long as there is no Palestinian state.
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Even if the government were to consistently implement all of the proposals - raising education levels, increasing employment, improving infrastructure, offering incentives for military or national service, and an emergency plan for the Negev Bedouin - it would at the same time continue to function according to the conflict-management ideology that Arens and Begin and others advocate, consistently thwarting the chances for the foundation of a Palestinian state.
Such a two-pronged policy is doomed to fail for two main reasons. Firstly, Israel's Palestinian citizens, the people known as "Israeli Arabs," feel a sense of common destiny with their brethren who are subject to Israeli military occupation.
Many have relatives living over the Green Line. Every day they envision the occupying forces repressing those relatives. Is there any chance that those Palestinians who are Israeli citizens will willingly integrate in the society that maintains said occupation and repression? Would they want to serve in the army that implements these policies? Even if the state makes an honest effort to integrate them, would they be able to be an integral part of it and what it represents?
The second reason is a result of the effects that the prolonged conflict with the Palestinians has had on Israeli Jewish society, making large sectors of it regard the entire Palestinian people as an enemy. They are unable and unwilling to distinguish between those who are Israeli citizens and those living on the other side of the Green Line.
Everyday reality in the territories legitimizes violence, repression of freedom of expression, and racism toward Palestinians. This is evident even in the Knesset, where bizarre measures are enacted to prohibit Arabs from commemorating their personal and national disaster, which took the form of the loss of their homes and communities. The Knesset also gives legal validity to measures that bar Arabs from living in Israeli communities. The amendment to the law that institutionalizes discrimination against Arab citizens in admission to communities, thereby ensuring the implementation of an intentional policy of apartheid, illustrates the rise in steps that have been taken to block Arab integration into the fabric of Israeli society.
As long as we continue to prolong and intensify the conflict with the Palestinians, we can never create a reality of integration and equality.
The policy of thwarting progress toward a Palestinian state is leading us steadily and directly toward a bi-national state and indirectly toward the end of Israel as a Jewish entity. Anyone who wants a state that is both a home for the Jewish people and a democracy has to fill both of those elements with content, and activate a different two-pronged policy: For Israel to be the Jewish national homeland, we must act to establish a Palestinian state, and for Israel to be a democracy, we must act to integrate and bestow equality upon the Palestinians who are Israeli citizens.
The writer is co-chairman of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, which advances coexistence and equality between Arabs and Jews in Israel.
Last update - 04:23 13/04/2010
By Orni Petruschka
In an column headlined "Crime Without Punishment" (Haaretz, April 6) Moshe Arens proposes a two-pronged policy for dealing with Israel's Arabs: an uncompromising fight against the Islamic Movement's radical northern branch and strenuous action to integrate the minority into the fabric of Israeli society. In innumerable other columns, Arens has voiced his total opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Calls for integration of Israel's Arabs have become increasing popular recently, peaking in the "economic leadership bus tour" of the Arab sector organized by President Shimon Peres and a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Arab and Jewish industrialists.
Other right-wingers, like Minister Benny Begin, have also expressed support for the integration and equality of Israeli Arabs. Even though this trend has appeared late, it is of course welcome. But there can be no integration and equality for Israel's Arabs as long as there is no Palestinian state.
Advertisement
Even if the government were to consistently implement all of the proposals - raising education levels, increasing employment, improving infrastructure, offering incentives for military or national service, and an emergency plan for the Negev Bedouin - it would at the same time continue to function according to the conflict-management ideology that Arens and Begin and others advocate, consistently thwarting the chances for the foundation of a Palestinian state.
Such a two-pronged policy is doomed to fail for two main reasons. Firstly, Israel's Palestinian citizens, the people known as "Israeli Arabs," feel a sense of common destiny with their brethren who are subject to Israeli military occupation.
Many have relatives living over the Green Line. Every day they envision the occupying forces repressing those relatives. Is there any chance that those Palestinians who are Israeli citizens will willingly integrate in the society that maintains said occupation and repression? Would they want to serve in the army that implements these policies? Even if the state makes an honest effort to integrate them, would they be able to be an integral part of it and what it represents?
The second reason is a result of the effects that the prolonged conflict with the Palestinians has had on Israeli Jewish society, making large sectors of it regard the entire Palestinian people as an enemy. They are unable and unwilling to distinguish between those who are Israeli citizens and those living on the other side of the Green Line.
Everyday reality in the territories legitimizes violence, repression of freedom of expression, and racism toward Palestinians. This is evident even in the Knesset, where bizarre measures are enacted to prohibit Arabs from commemorating their personal and national disaster, which took the form of the loss of their homes and communities. The Knesset also gives legal validity to measures that bar Arabs from living in Israeli communities. The amendment to the law that institutionalizes discrimination against Arab citizens in admission to communities, thereby ensuring the implementation of an intentional policy of apartheid, illustrates the rise in steps that have been taken to block Arab integration into the fabric of Israeli society.
As long as we continue to prolong and intensify the conflict with the Palestinians, we can never create a reality of integration and equality.
The policy of thwarting progress toward a Palestinian state is leading us steadily and directly toward a bi-national state and indirectly toward the end of Israel as a Jewish entity. Anyone who wants a state that is both a home for the Jewish people and a democracy has to fill both of those elements with content, and activate a different two-pronged policy: For Israel to be the Jewish national homeland, we must act to establish a Palestinian state, and for Israel to be a democracy, we must act to integrate and bestow equality upon the Palestinians who are Israeli citizens.
The writer is co-chairman of the Abraham Fund Initiatives, which advances coexistence and equality between Arabs and Jews in Israel.
Obama issues nuclear warning--is this peace or propaganda against the enemies of Israel and the U.S.?
President Barack Obama has said the biggest threat to US security is the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Speaking on the eve of a nuclear security summit in Washington, he said leaders from 40 states should focus on how to secure nuclear material.
He said groups like al-Qaeda would not hesitate to use nuclear devices.
Neither North Korea nor Iran, two states with disputed nuclear ambitions, have been invited to the summit.
The two countries are viewed by the US as violators of the non-proliferation agreement.
Syria was also left off the invitation list because the US believes Damascus has nuclear ambitions, the Associated Press news agency notes.
But the leaders of nuclear states like India, China and Pakistan are among those coming to Washington for the biggest gathering of world leaders in the US capital in decades, says the BBC's Mark Mardell.
While the issue of what to do about Iran's nuclear ambitions is not on the agenda, it will be at the centre of many discussions, our North America editor adds.
'South African example'
Leaders or other representatives of 47 states are attending the summit.
This is an unprecedented gathering - Mr Obama will hope for an unprecedented outcome
Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent
Obama's ambitious summit
"The single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon," Mr Obama said.
"This is something that could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come.
"If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically and from a security perspective would be devastating."
Mr Obama praised South Africa for being the first country to abandon a nuclear weapons programme.
South Africa had, he said, acquired special standing as a "moral leader" for voluntarily dismantling its nuclear programme in the 1990s,
He thanked its President, Jacob Zuma, for the leadership his government had shown on non-proliferation.
Israel is being represented at the summit only by a deputy prime minister amid reports that its government is worried that Turkey and Egypt might use the occasion to raise the issue of its nuclear arsenal.
Last Thursday, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty reducing each country's deployed nuclear arsenal to 1,550 weapons.
Earlier in the week, Mr Obama approved a new nuclear policy for the United States, saying he planned to cut the nuclear arsenal, refrain from nuclear tests and not use nuclear weapons against countries that did not have them.
Speaking on the eve of a nuclear security summit in Washington, he said leaders from 40 states should focus on how to secure nuclear material.
He said groups like al-Qaeda would not hesitate to use nuclear devices.
Neither North Korea nor Iran, two states with disputed nuclear ambitions, have been invited to the summit.
The two countries are viewed by the US as violators of the non-proliferation agreement.
Syria was also left off the invitation list because the US believes Damascus has nuclear ambitions, the Associated Press news agency notes.
But the leaders of nuclear states like India, China and Pakistan are among those coming to Washington for the biggest gathering of world leaders in the US capital in decades, says the BBC's Mark Mardell.
While the issue of what to do about Iran's nuclear ambitions is not on the agenda, it will be at the centre of many discussions, our North America editor adds.
'South African example'
Leaders or other representatives of 47 states are attending the summit.
This is an unprecedented gathering - Mr Obama will hope for an unprecedented outcome
Jonathan Marcus
BBC diplomatic correspondent
Obama's ambitious summit
"The single biggest threat to US security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon," Mr Obama said.
"This is something that could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come.
"If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically and from a security perspective would be devastating."
Mr Obama praised South Africa for being the first country to abandon a nuclear weapons programme.
South Africa had, he said, acquired special standing as a "moral leader" for voluntarily dismantling its nuclear programme in the 1990s,
He thanked its President, Jacob Zuma, for the leadership his government had shown on non-proliferation.
Israel is being represented at the summit only by a deputy prime minister amid reports that its government is worried that Turkey and Egypt might use the occasion to raise the issue of its nuclear arsenal.
Last Thursday, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty reducing each country's deployed nuclear arsenal to 1,550 weapons.
Earlier in the week, Mr Obama approved a new nuclear policy for the United States, saying he planned to cut the nuclear arsenal, refrain from nuclear tests and not use nuclear weapons against countries that did not have them.
Israeli PM Netanyahu pulls out of US nuclear summit
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel has never confirmed or denied that it possesses atomic weapons
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled a visit to the US where he was to attend a summit on nuclear security, Israeli officials say.
Mr Netanyahu made the decision after learning that Egypt and Turkey intended to raise the issue of Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal, the officials said.
Mr Obama is due to host dozens of world leaders at the two-day conference, which begins in Washington on Monday.
Israel has never confirmed or denied that it possesses atomic weapons.
Israel's Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor will take Netanyahu's place in the nuclear summit, Israeli radio said.
More than 40 countries are expected at the meeting, which will focus on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to militant groups.
Iran's issue
According to Israeli officials, Turkey and Egypt are planning to call on Israel to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"These states intend to exploit the occasion in order to slam Israel," said a senior Israeli source.
ANALYSIS
by Paul Wood
BBC News, Jerusalem
Mr Netanyahu's decision is on the face of it quite odd. After all, he must have expected some focus on Israel's own nuclear programme at this conference.
Indeed, he acknowledged this possibility two days ago when he announced he would attend. He said that since Israel was not a terrorist or a rogue state, he had nothing to fear.
Certainly Israel is worried about pressure to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. That is something which will increasingly become an issue since the Israelis have also announced their intention to build a civilian nuclear power station to deal with a severe electricity shortage.
But what about Israel's nuclear weapons? The former US President, Jimmy Carter, who is certainly in a position to know, has said the Israelis have at least 150 warheads.
Mr Netanyahu has said his main priority in office is dealing with Iran's supposed intentions to develop both warheads and long range missiles capable of hitting Israel. In these circumstances, Mr Netanyahu thinks it more vital than ever to protect his own weapons programme.
"The prime minister expressed his displeasure over these intentions, and he will therefore not be travelling to the summit."
Mr Netanyahu has said his main priority is dealing with Iran's supposed intention to develop both warheads and long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel.
Along with India, Pakistan and North Korea, Israel is one of just four states that have not signed up to the NPT, which has 189 signatories.
Earlier this week, President Obama unveiled the new Nuclear Posture Review - which narrows the circumstances in which the US would use nuclear weapons - outlining his country's long-term strategy of nuclear disarmament.
On Thursday, the US president and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague.
That treaty commits the former Cold War enemies to reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 each - 30% lower than the previous ceiling.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says the cancellation of Mr Netanyahu's Washington visit comes at a time of frosty relations between the two states.
The Israeli premier failed to see eye-to-eye with Mr Obama during his most recent US visit last month on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, our correspondent adds.
Washington criticised the building of Jewish homes in East Jerusalem, which prompted the Palestinians to pull out of US-brokered indirect peace talks.
There were also reports that one of Mr Netanyahu's confidants called Mr Obama a "disaster" for Israel.
Obama's ambitious nuclear security summit
By Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News
Police walk past the Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, on 10 April ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit
The summit is to be held at the Washington Convention Center
Fresh from his success in signing a new strategic arms reduction treaty with the Russians in Prague, US President Barack Obama is hosting a nuclear security summit in Washington DC.
With some 47 countries in attendance it will be one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the US capital since the late 1940s.
This will be the third element in a nuclear season that began with this month's unveiling of the Obama administration's nuclear strategy, the Nuclear Posture Review.
This identified nuclear proliferation - the spread of nuclear weapons and the danger that they might fall into the hands of terrorist groups - as now the key nuclear threat to America's security.
That was step one. Step two was the meeting between Mr Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in Prague that got the strategic arms reduction process back on track. Step three will be this week's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
All three events are aimed at strengthening Mr Obama's hand as he heads into step four: the review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) scheduled for next month in New York.
Threadbare treaty
The NPT is the centre-piece of international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. However the treaty is looking increasingly threadbare.
A nuclear blast
Pressure has grown for a new treaty on nuclear weapons
Both North Korea and Iran have driven a coach and horses through its provisions.
Pyongyang has abandoned the agreement altogether and is widely thought to have built a small nuclear weapons arsenal.
Tehran remains within the treaty but refuses to obey UN Security Council calls to halt its enrichment activities, amidst concerns that Iran's ambition - despite its vehement denials - is also to have the bomb.
But the NPT regime has other problems too.
The five declared nuclear weapons states - the US, France, China, Britain and Russia - agreed both to assist with the spread of peaceful nuclear technology but also, ultimately, to get rid of their own atomic weapons.
Many countries around the world believe that they have not moved far enough or fast enough.
Mr Obama wants to build support to shore up the NPT regime - hence his renewed emphasis upon arms control - but he also wants to reinforce it with a whole range of additional measures, of which this nuclear security summit is an important element.
In the past, both Pakistan and North Korea have been willing to export nuclear technology or know-how.
The crucial problem for a would-be nuclear weapons state is to get the nuclear material it needs for a bomb.
One path is to develop a complex and expensive uranium enrichment programme - the reason why so much suspicion has fallen upon Tehran. The other is to actually buy in or steal the fissile material needed.
'Dirty bomb' fears
The threat here is not only from governments with a desire to own nuclear bombs or nuclear-tipped missiles. A far more pressing concern comes from the potential nuclear ambitions of non-state actors or terrorist groups.
Their goal may be to obtain a small nuclear device but equally they may just want to get hold of radioactive material to build a so-called "dirty bomb".
This uses conventional explosives to spread radioactive material over a wide-area.
Such a "dirty bomb" could be used to contaminate key parts of a major city, leading to huge disruption, economic chaos and long-term health problems.
So the goal of this summit is to batten down the hatches on nuclear materials - especially the fissile materials that might be used in bomb-making, plutonium and highly-enriched uranium - but also the more widespread sources of radioactive substances that could be used for a "dirty bomb".
President Obama's goal is to obtain agreement upon a plan to secure all such vulnerable nuclear material within four years. Much will depend upon the detail.
Will this be more than just a well-intentioned summit communique? Will there be clear targets and will nations meet again to review progress before the four-year period is up ?
Inevitably this extraordinary summit will be overshadowed by politics. Chinese President Hu Jintao is attending - a plus for Sino-US relations. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend.
No formal reason has been given though there are suggestions that either Mr Netanyahu feared being ambushed by Arab states who might raise concerns about Israel's own nuclear arsenal or that he did not want to face more pressure from the Obama administration to give ground on settlement construction in Jerusalem.
Israel will nonetheless be represented by a senior minister and says it fully backs the summit's agenda.
The presence of Israel, India and Pakistan at this summit is fascinating.
All three are believed to have nuclear weapons and none of them have signed the NPT.
Israel's arsenal clearly has wider ramifications in the Middle East. India and Pakistan's nuclear rivalry is seen by experts as a serious concern given the huge conventional military imbalance between them. And Pakistan is also a major worry in terms of the security of its nuclear installations and materials.
Having all three on board is an attempt by the Obama administration to extend the circle of nuclear security in new directions.
This is an unprecedented gathering. Mr Obama will hope for an unprecedented outcome.
Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News
Police walk past the Washington Convention Center, Washington DC, on 10 April ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit
The summit is to be held at the Washington Convention Center
Fresh from his success in signing a new strategic arms reduction treaty with the Russians in Prague, US President Barack Obama is hosting a nuclear security summit in Washington DC.
With some 47 countries in attendance it will be one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the US capital since the late 1940s.
This will be the third element in a nuclear season that began with this month's unveiling of the Obama administration's nuclear strategy, the Nuclear Posture Review.
This identified nuclear proliferation - the spread of nuclear weapons and the danger that they might fall into the hands of terrorist groups - as now the key nuclear threat to America's security.
That was step one. Step two was the meeting between Mr Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in Prague that got the strategic arms reduction process back on track. Step three will be this week's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
All three events are aimed at strengthening Mr Obama's hand as he heads into step four: the review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) scheduled for next month in New York.
Threadbare treaty
The NPT is the centre-piece of international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. However the treaty is looking increasingly threadbare.
A nuclear blast
Pressure has grown for a new treaty on nuclear weapons
Both North Korea and Iran have driven a coach and horses through its provisions.
Pyongyang has abandoned the agreement altogether and is widely thought to have built a small nuclear weapons arsenal.
Tehran remains within the treaty but refuses to obey UN Security Council calls to halt its enrichment activities, amidst concerns that Iran's ambition - despite its vehement denials - is also to have the bomb.
But the NPT regime has other problems too.
The five declared nuclear weapons states - the US, France, China, Britain and Russia - agreed both to assist with the spread of peaceful nuclear technology but also, ultimately, to get rid of their own atomic weapons.
Many countries around the world believe that they have not moved far enough or fast enough.
Mr Obama wants to build support to shore up the NPT regime - hence his renewed emphasis upon arms control - but he also wants to reinforce it with a whole range of additional measures, of which this nuclear security summit is an important element.
In the past, both Pakistan and North Korea have been willing to export nuclear technology or know-how.
The crucial problem for a would-be nuclear weapons state is to get the nuclear material it needs for a bomb.
One path is to develop a complex and expensive uranium enrichment programme - the reason why so much suspicion has fallen upon Tehran. The other is to actually buy in or steal the fissile material needed.
'Dirty bomb' fears
The threat here is not only from governments with a desire to own nuclear bombs or nuclear-tipped missiles. A far more pressing concern comes from the potential nuclear ambitions of non-state actors or terrorist groups.
Their goal may be to obtain a small nuclear device but equally they may just want to get hold of radioactive material to build a so-called "dirty bomb".
This uses conventional explosives to spread radioactive material over a wide-area.
Such a "dirty bomb" could be used to contaminate key parts of a major city, leading to huge disruption, economic chaos and long-term health problems.
So the goal of this summit is to batten down the hatches on nuclear materials - especially the fissile materials that might be used in bomb-making, plutonium and highly-enriched uranium - but also the more widespread sources of radioactive substances that could be used for a "dirty bomb".
President Obama's goal is to obtain agreement upon a plan to secure all such vulnerable nuclear material within four years. Much will depend upon the detail.
Will this be more than just a well-intentioned summit communique? Will there be clear targets and will nations meet again to review progress before the four-year period is up ?
Inevitably this extraordinary summit will be overshadowed by politics. Chinese President Hu Jintao is attending - a plus for Sino-US relations. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend.
No formal reason has been given though there are suggestions that either Mr Netanyahu feared being ambushed by Arab states who might raise concerns about Israel's own nuclear arsenal or that he did not want to face more pressure from the Obama administration to give ground on settlement construction in Jerusalem.
Israel will nonetheless be represented by a senior minister and says it fully backs the summit's agenda.
The presence of Israel, India and Pakistan at this summit is fascinating.
All three are believed to have nuclear weapons and none of them have signed the NPT.
Israel's arsenal clearly has wider ramifications in the Middle East. India and Pakistan's nuclear rivalry is seen by experts as a serious concern given the huge conventional military imbalance between them. And Pakistan is also a major worry in terms of the security of its nuclear installations and materials.
Having all three on board is an attempt by the Obama administration to extend the circle of nuclear security in new directions.
This is an unprecedented gathering. Mr Obama will hope for an unprecedented outcome.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Iraq War Vet: "We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us"
by: Dahr Jamail, t r u t h o u t | Report
Wednesday 07 April 2010
(Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: The U.S. Army, K. OS, whiteblot)
On Monday, April 5, Wikileaks.org posted video footage from Iraq, taken from a US military Apache helicopter in July 2007 as soldiers aboard it killed 12 people and wounded two children. The dead included two employees of the Reuters news agency: photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh.
The US military confirmed the authenticity of the video.
The footage clearly shows an unprovoked slaughter, and is shocking to watch whilst listening to the casual conversation of the soldiers in the background.
As disturbing as the video is, this type of behavior by US soldiers in Iraq is not uncommon.
Truthout has spoken with several soldiers who shared equally horrific stories of the slaughtering of innocent Iraqis by US occupation forces.
"I remember one woman walking by," said Jason Washburn, a corporal in the US Marines who served three tours in Iraq. He told the audience at the Winter Soldier hearings that took place March 13-16, 2008, in Silver Spring, Maryland, "She was carrying a huge bag, and she looked like she was heading toward us, so we lit her up with the Mark 19, which is an automatic grenade launcher, and when the dust settled, we realized that the bag was full of groceries. She had been trying to bring us food and we blew her to pieces."
The hearings provided a platform for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to share the reality of their occupation experiences with the media in the US.
Washburn testified on a panel that discussed the rules of engagement (ROE) in Iraq, and how lax they were, to the point of being virtually nonexistent.
"During the course of my three tours, the rules of engagement changed a lot," Washburn's testimony continued, "The higher the threat the more viciously we were permitted and expected to respond. Something else we were encouraged to do, almost with a wink and nudge, was to carry 'drop weapons', or by my third tour, 'drop shovels'. We would carry these weapons or shovels with us because if we accidentally shot a civilian, we could just toss the weapon on the body, and make them look like an insurgent."
Hart Viges, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army who served one year in Iraq, told of taking orders over the radio.
"One time they said to fire on all taxicabs because the enemy was using them for transportation.... One of the snipers replied back, 'Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Fire on all taxicabs?' The lieutenant colonel responded, 'You heard me, trooper, fire on all taxicabs.' After that, the town lit up, with all the units firing on cars. This was my first experience with war, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the deployment."
Vincent Emanuele, a Marine rifleman who spent a year in the al-Qaim area of Iraq near the Syrian border, told of emptying magazines of bullets into the city without identifying targets, running over corpses with Humvees and stopping to take "trophy" photos of bodies.
"An act that took place quite often in Iraq was taking pot shots at cars that drove by," he said, "This was not an isolated incident, and it took place for most of our eight-month deployment."
Kelly Dougherty - then executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War - blamed the behavior of soldiers in Iraq on policies of the US government.
"The abuses committed in the occupations, far from being the result of a 'few bad apples' misbehaving, are the result of our government's Middle East policy, which is crafted in the highest spheres of US power," she said.
Michael Leduc, a corporal in the Marines who was part of the US attack on Fallujah in November 2004, said orders he received from his battalion JAG officer before entering the city were as follows: "You see an individual with a white flag and he does anything but approach you slowly and obey commands, assume it's a trick and kill him."
Bryan Casler, a corporal in the Marines, spoke of witnessing the prevalent dehumanizing outlook soldiers took toward Iraqis during the invasion of Iraq.
"... on these convoys, I saw Marines defecate into MRE bags or urinate in bottles and throw them at children on the side of the road," he stated.
Scott Ewing, who served in Iraq from 2005-2006, admitted on one panel that units intentionally gave candy to Iraqi children for reasons other than "winning hearts and minds.
"There was also another motive," Ewing said. "If the kids were around our vehicles, the bad guys wouldn't attack. We used the kids as human shields."
In response to the WikiLeaks video, the Pentagon, while not officially commenting on the video, announced that two Pentagon investigations cleared the air crew of any wrongdoing.
A statement from the two probes said the air crew had acted appropriately and followed the ROE.
Adam Kokesh served in Fallujah beginning in February 2004 for roughly one year.
Speaking on a panel at the aforementioned hearings about the ROE, he held up the ROE card soldiers are issued in Iraq and said, "This card says, 'Nothing on this card prevents you from using deadly force to defend yourself'."
Kokesh pointed out that "reasonable certainty" was the condition for using deadly force under the ROE, and this led to rampant civilian deaths. He discussed taking part in the April 2004 siege of Fallujah. During that attack, doctors at Fallujah General Hospital told Truthout there were 736 deaths, over 60 percent of which were civilians.
"We changed the ROE more often than we changed our underwear," Kokesh said, "At one point, we imposed a curfew on the city, and were told to fire at anything that moved in the dark."
Kokesh also testified that during two cease-fires in the midst of the siege, the military decided to let out as many women and children from the embattled city as possible, but this did not include most men.
"For males, they had to be under 14 years of age," he said, "So I had to go over there and turn men back, who had just been separated from their women and children. We thought we were being gracious."
Steve Casey served in Iraq for over a year starting in mid-2003.
"We were scheduled to go home in April 2004, but due to rising violence we stayed in with Operation Blackjack," Casey said, "I watched soldiers firing into the radiators and windows of oncoming vehicles. Those who didn't turn around were unfortunately neutralized one way or another - well over 20 times I personally witnessed this. There was a lot of collateral damage."
Jason Hurd served in central Baghdad from November 2004 until November 2005. He told of how, after his unit took "stray rounds" from a nearby firefight, a machine gunner responded by firing over 200 rounds into a nearby building.
"We fired indiscriminately at this building," he said. "Things like that happened every day in Iraq. We reacted out of fear for our lives, and we reacted with total destruction."
Hurd said the situation deteriorated rapidly while he was in Iraq. "Over time, as the absurdity of war set in, individuals from my unit indiscriminately opened fire at vehicles driving down the wrong side of the road. People in my unit would later brag about it. I remember thinking how appalled I was that we were laughing at this, but that was the reality."
Other soldiers Truthout has interviewed have often laughed when asked about their ROE in Iraq.
Garret Reppenhagen served in Iraq from February 2004-2005 in the city of Baquba, 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) northeast of Baghdad. He said his first experience in Iraq was being on a patrol that killed two Iraqi farmers as they worked in their field at night.
"I was told they were out in the fields farming because their pumps only operated with electricity, which meant they had to go out in the dark when there was electricity," he explained, "I asked the sergeant, if he knew this, why did he fire on the men. He told me because the men were out after curfew. I was never given another ROE during my time in Iraq."
Emmanuel added: "We took fire while trying to blow up a bridge. Many of the attackers were part of the general population. This led to our squad shooting at everything and anything in order to push through the town. I remember myself emptying magazines into the town, never identifying a target."
Emmanuel spoke of abusing prisoners he knew were innocent, adding, "We took it upon ourselves to harass them, and took them to the desert to throw them out of our Humvees, while kicking and punching them when we threw them out."
Jason Wayne Lemue is a Marine who served three tours in Iraq.
"My commander told me, 'Kill those who need to be killed, and save those who need to be saved'; that was our mission on our first tour," he said of his first deployment during the invasion.
"After that the ROE changed, and carrying a shovel, or standing on a rooftop talking on a cell phone, or being out after curfew [meant those people] were to be killed. I can't tell you how many people died because of this. By my third tour, we were told to just shoot people, and the officers would take care of us."
When this Truthout reporter was in Baghdad in November 2004, my Iraqi interpreter was in the Abu Hanifa mosque that was raided by US and Iraqi soldiers during Friday prayers.
"Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees and several trucks carrying [US soldiers and] Iraqi National Guards entered," Abu Talat told Truthout on the phone from within the mosque while the raid was in progress. "Everyone starting yelling 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were frightened. Then the soldiers started shooting the people praying!"
"They have just shot and killed at least four of the people praying," he said in a panicked voice, "At least 10 other people are wounded now. We are on our bellies and in a very bad situation."
Iraqi Red Crescent later confirmed to Truthout that at least four people were killed, and nine wounded. Truthout later witnessed pieces of brain splattered on one of the walls inside the mosque while large blood stains covered carpets at several places.
This type of indiscriminate killing has been typical from the initial invasion of Iraq.
Truthout spoke with Iraq war veteran and former National Guard and Army Reserve member Jason Moon, who was there for the invasion.
"While on our initial convoy into Iraq in early June 2003, we were given a direct order that if any children or civilians got in front of the vehicles in our convoy, we were not to stop, we were not to slow down, we were to keep driving. In the event an insurgent attacked us from behind human shields, we were supposed to count. If there were thirty or less civilians we were allowed to fire into the area. If there were over thirty, we were supposed to take fire and send it up the chain of command. These were the rules of engagement. I don't know about you, but if you are getting shot at from a crowd of people, how fast are you going to count, and how accurately?"
Moon brought back a video that shows his sergeant declaring, "The difference between an insurgent and an Iraqi civilian is whether they are dead or alive."
Moon explains the thinking: "If you kill a civilian he becomes an insurgent because you retroactively make that person a threat."
According to the Pentagon probes of the killings shown in the WikiLeaks video, the air crew had "reason to believe" the people seen in the video were fighters before opening fire.
Article 48 of the Geneva Conventions speaks to the "basic rule" regarding the protection of civilians:
"In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives."
What is happening in Iraq seems to reflect what psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton calls "atrocity-producing situations." He used this term first in his book "The Nazi Doctors." In 2004, he wrote an article for The Nation, applying his insights to the Iraq War and occupation.
"Atrocity-producing situations," Lifton wrote, occur when a power structure sets up an environment where "ordinary people, men or women no better or worse than you or I, can regularly commit atrocities.... This kind of atrocity-producing situation ... surely occurs to some degrees in all wars, including World War II, our last 'good war.' But a counterinsurgency war in a hostile setting, especially when driven by profound ideological distortions, is particularly prone to sustained atrocity - all the more so when it becomes an occupation."
Cliff Hicks served in Iraq from October 2003 to August 2004.
"There was a tall apartment complex, the only spot from where people could see over our perimeter," Hicks told Truthout, "There would be laundry hanging off the balconies, and people hanging out on the roof for fresh air. The place was full of kids and families. On rare occasions, a fighter would get atop the building and shoot at our passing vehicles. They never really hit anybody. We just knew to be careful when we were over by that part of the wall, and nobody did shit about it until one day a lieutenant colonel was driving down and they shot at his vehicle and he got scared. So he jumped through a bunch of hoops and cut through some red tape and got a C-130 to come out the next night and all but leveled the place. Earlier that evening when I was returning from a patrol the apartment had been packed full of people."
Creative Commons License
This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Wednesday 07 April 2010
(Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: The U.S. Army, K. OS, whiteblot)
On Monday, April 5, Wikileaks.org posted video footage from Iraq, taken from a US military Apache helicopter in July 2007 as soldiers aboard it killed 12 people and wounded two children. The dead included two employees of the Reuters news agency: photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh.
The US military confirmed the authenticity of the video.
The footage clearly shows an unprovoked slaughter, and is shocking to watch whilst listening to the casual conversation of the soldiers in the background.
As disturbing as the video is, this type of behavior by US soldiers in Iraq is not uncommon.
Truthout has spoken with several soldiers who shared equally horrific stories of the slaughtering of innocent Iraqis by US occupation forces.
"I remember one woman walking by," said Jason Washburn, a corporal in the US Marines who served three tours in Iraq. He told the audience at the Winter Soldier hearings that took place March 13-16, 2008, in Silver Spring, Maryland, "She was carrying a huge bag, and she looked like she was heading toward us, so we lit her up with the Mark 19, which is an automatic grenade launcher, and when the dust settled, we realized that the bag was full of groceries. She had been trying to bring us food and we blew her to pieces."
The hearings provided a platform for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan to share the reality of their occupation experiences with the media in the US.
Washburn testified on a panel that discussed the rules of engagement (ROE) in Iraq, and how lax they were, to the point of being virtually nonexistent.
"During the course of my three tours, the rules of engagement changed a lot," Washburn's testimony continued, "The higher the threat the more viciously we were permitted and expected to respond. Something else we were encouraged to do, almost with a wink and nudge, was to carry 'drop weapons', or by my third tour, 'drop shovels'. We would carry these weapons or shovels with us because if we accidentally shot a civilian, we could just toss the weapon on the body, and make them look like an insurgent."
Hart Viges, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army who served one year in Iraq, told of taking orders over the radio.
"One time they said to fire on all taxicabs because the enemy was using them for transportation.... One of the snipers replied back, 'Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Fire on all taxicabs?' The lieutenant colonel responded, 'You heard me, trooper, fire on all taxicabs.' After that, the town lit up, with all the units firing on cars. This was my first experience with war, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the deployment."
Vincent Emanuele, a Marine rifleman who spent a year in the al-Qaim area of Iraq near the Syrian border, told of emptying magazines of bullets into the city without identifying targets, running over corpses with Humvees and stopping to take "trophy" photos of bodies.
"An act that took place quite often in Iraq was taking pot shots at cars that drove by," he said, "This was not an isolated incident, and it took place for most of our eight-month deployment."
Kelly Dougherty - then executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War - blamed the behavior of soldiers in Iraq on policies of the US government.
"The abuses committed in the occupations, far from being the result of a 'few bad apples' misbehaving, are the result of our government's Middle East policy, which is crafted in the highest spheres of US power," she said.
Michael Leduc, a corporal in the Marines who was part of the US attack on Fallujah in November 2004, said orders he received from his battalion JAG officer before entering the city were as follows: "You see an individual with a white flag and he does anything but approach you slowly and obey commands, assume it's a trick and kill him."
Bryan Casler, a corporal in the Marines, spoke of witnessing the prevalent dehumanizing outlook soldiers took toward Iraqis during the invasion of Iraq.
"... on these convoys, I saw Marines defecate into MRE bags or urinate in bottles and throw them at children on the side of the road," he stated.
Scott Ewing, who served in Iraq from 2005-2006, admitted on one panel that units intentionally gave candy to Iraqi children for reasons other than "winning hearts and minds.
"There was also another motive," Ewing said. "If the kids were around our vehicles, the bad guys wouldn't attack. We used the kids as human shields."
In response to the WikiLeaks video, the Pentagon, while not officially commenting on the video, announced that two Pentagon investigations cleared the air crew of any wrongdoing.
A statement from the two probes said the air crew had acted appropriately and followed the ROE.
Adam Kokesh served in Fallujah beginning in February 2004 for roughly one year.
Speaking on a panel at the aforementioned hearings about the ROE, he held up the ROE card soldiers are issued in Iraq and said, "This card says, 'Nothing on this card prevents you from using deadly force to defend yourself'."
Kokesh pointed out that "reasonable certainty" was the condition for using deadly force under the ROE, and this led to rampant civilian deaths. He discussed taking part in the April 2004 siege of Fallujah. During that attack, doctors at Fallujah General Hospital told Truthout there were 736 deaths, over 60 percent of which were civilians.
"We changed the ROE more often than we changed our underwear," Kokesh said, "At one point, we imposed a curfew on the city, and were told to fire at anything that moved in the dark."
Kokesh also testified that during two cease-fires in the midst of the siege, the military decided to let out as many women and children from the embattled city as possible, but this did not include most men.
"For males, they had to be under 14 years of age," he said, "So I had to go over there and turn men back, who had just been separated from their women and children. We thought we were being gracious."
Steve Casey served in Iraq for over a year starting in mid-2003.
"We were scheduled to go home in April 2004, but due to rising violence we stayed in with Operation Blackjack," Casey said, "I watched soldiers firing into the radiators and windows of oncoming vehicles. Those who didn't turn around were unfortunately neutralized one way or another - well over 20 times I personally witnessed this. There was a lot of collateral damage."
Jason Hurd served in central Baghdad from November 2004 until November 2005. He told of how, after his unit took "stray rounds" from a nearby firefight, a machine gunner responded by firing over 200 rounds into a nearby building.
"We fired indiscriminately at this building," he said. "Things like that happened every day in Iraq. We reacted out of fear for our lives, and we reacted with total destruction."
Hurd said the situation deteriorated rapidly while he was in Iraq. "Over time, as the absurdity of war set in, individuals from my unit indiscriminately opened fire at vehicles driving down the wrong side of the road. People in my unit would later brag about it. I remember thinking how appalled I was that we were laughing at this, but that was the reality."
Other soldiers Truthout has interviewed have often laughed when asked about their ROE in Iraq.
Garret Reppenhagen served in Iraq from February 2004-2005 in the city of Baquba, 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) northeast of Baghdad. He said his first experience in Iraq was being on a patrol that killed two Iraqi farmers as they worked in their field at night.
"I was told they were out in the fields farming because their pumps only operated with electricity, which meant they had to go out in the dark when there was electricity," he explained, "I asked the sergeant, if he knew this, why did he fire on the men. He told me because the men were out after curfew. I was never given another ROE during my time in Iraq."
Emmanuel added: "We took fire while trying to blow up a bridge. Many of the attackers were part of the general population. This led to our squad shooting at everything and anything in order to push through the town. I remember myself emptying magazines into the town, never identifying a target."
Emmanuel spoke of abusing prisoners he knew were innocent, adding, "We took it upon ourselves to harass them, and took them to the desert to throw them out of our Humvees, while kicking and punching them when we threw them out."
Jason Wayne Lemue is a Marine who served three tours in Iraq.
"My commander told me, 'Kill those who need to be killed, and save those who need to be saved'; that was our mission on our first tour," he said of his first deployment during the invasion.
"After that the ROE changed, and carrying a shovel, or standing on a rooftop talking on a cell phone, or being out after curfew [meant those people] were to be killed. I can't tell you how many people died because of this. By my third tour, we were told to just shoot people, and the officers would take care of us."
When this Truthout reporter was in Baghdad in November 2004, my Iraqi interpreter was in the Abu Hanifa mosque that was raided by US and Iraqi soldiers during Friday prayers.
"Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees and several trucks carrying [US soldiers and] Iraqi National Guards entered," Abu Talat told Truthout on the phone from within the mosque while the raid was in progress. "Everyone starting yelling 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were frightened. Then the soldiers started shooting the people praying!"
"They have just shot and killed at least four of the people praying," he said in a panicked voice, "At least 10 other people are wounded now. We are on our bellies and in a very bad situation."
Iraqi Red Crescent later confirmed to Truthout that at least four people were killed, and nine wounded. Truthout later witnessed pieces of brain splattered on one of the walls inside the mosque while large blood stains covered carpets at several places.
This type of indiscriminate killing has been typical from the initial invasion of Iraq.
Truthout spoke with Iraq war veteran and former National Guard and Army Reserve member Jason Moon, who was there for the invasion.
"While on our initial convoy into Iraq in early June 2003, we were given a direct order that if any children or civilians got in front of the vehicles in our convoy, we were not to stop, we were not to slow down, we were to keep driving. In the event an insurgent attacked us from behind human shields, we were supposed to count. If there were thirty or less civilians we were allowed to fire into the area. If there were over thirty, we were supposed to take fire and send it up the chain of command. These were the rules of engagement. I don't know about you, but if you are getting shot at from a crowd of people, how fast are you going to count, and how accurately?"
Moon brought back a video that shows his sergeant declaring, "The difference between an insurgent and an Iraqi civilian is whether they are dead or alive."
Moon explains the thinking: "If you kill a civilian he becomes an insurgent because you retroactively make that person a threat."
According to the Pentagon probes of the killings shown in the WikiLeaks video, the air crew had "reason to believe" the people seen in the video were fighters before opening fire.
Article 48 of the Geneva Conventions speaks to the "basic rule" regarding the protection of civilians:
"In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives."
What is happening in Iraq seems to reflect what psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton calls "atrocity-producing situations." He used this term first in his book "The Nazi Doctors." In 2004, he wrote an article for The Nation, applying his insights to the Iraq War and occupation.
"Atrocity-producing situations," Lifton wrote, occur when a power structure sets up an environment where "ordinary people, men or women no better or worse than you or I, can regularly commit atrocities.... This kind of atrocity-producing situation ... surely occurs to some degrees in all wars, including World War II, our last 'good war.' But a counterinsurgency war in a hostile setting, especially when driven by profound ideological distortions, is particularly prone to sustained atrocity - all the more so when it becomes an occupation."
Cliff Hicks served in Iraq from October 2003 to August 2004.
"There was a tall apartment complex, the only spot from where people could see over our perimeter," Hicks told Truthout, "There would be laundry hanging off the balconies, and people hanging out on the roof for fresh air. The place was full of kids and families. On rare occasions, a fighter would get atop the building and shoot at our passing vehicles. They never really hit anybody. We just knew to be careful when we were over by that part of the wall, and nobody did shit about it until one day a lieutenant colonel was driving down and they shot at his vehicle and he got scared. So he jumped through a bunch of hoops and cut through some red tape and got a C-130 to come out the next night and all but leveled the place. Earlier that evening when I was returning from a patrol the apartment had been packed full of people."
Creative Commons License
This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
An Open Letter to Margaret Atwood from Gaza
Don’t Stand on the Wrong Side of History
From: One Democratic State Group
An Open Letter to Margaret Atwood from Gaza: Don’t Stand on the Wrong Side of History
Besieged Gaza,
Palestine
April.4.2010
Dear Ms. Atwood,
We are students from Gaza representing more than 10 academic institutions therein. Our grandparents are refugees who were expelled from their homes in the 1948 Nakba. They still have their keys locked up in their closets and will pass them on to their children, our parents. Many of us have lost our fathers, some of us have lost our mothers, and some of us lost both in the last Israeli aggression against civilians in Gaza. Others still lost a body part from the flesh-burning white phosphorous that Israel used, and are now permanently physically challenged. Most of us lost our homes, and are now living in tents, as Israel refuses to allow basic construction materials into Gaza. And most of all, we are all still living in what has come to be a festering sore on humanity's conscience—the brutal, hermetic, medieval siege that Israel is perpetrating against us, the 1.5 million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip.
Many of us have encountered your writing during our university studies. Although your books are not available in Gaza—because Israel does not allow books, paper, and other stationary in—we are familiar with your leftist, feminist, overtly political writing. And most of all, we are aware of your strong stance against apartheid. You admirably supported sanctions against apartheid South Africa and called for resistance against all forms of oppression.
Now, we have heard that you are to receive a prize this spring at Tel Aviv University. We, the students of besieged Gaza, urge you not to go. As our professors, teachers and anti-apartheid comrades used to tell us, there was no negotiation with the brutal racist regime of South Africa. Nor was there much communication. Just one word: BOYCOTT. You must be aware that Israel was a sister state to the apartheid regime before 1994. Many South African anti-apartheid heroes, including Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have described Israel’s oppression as apartheid. Some describe Israeli settler-colonialism and occupation as surpassing apartheid's evil. F-16s, F-15s, F-35s, Apache helicopters, Merkava tanks, and white phosphorous were not used against black townships.
Ms. Atwood, in the Gaza concentration camp, students who have been awarded scholarships to universities abroad are prevented, every year, from pursuing their hard-earned opportunity for academic achievement. Within the Gaza Strip, those seeking an education are limited by increasing poverty rates and a scarcity of fuel for transportation, both of which are direct results of Israel’s medieval siege. What is TAU’s position vis-à-vis this form of illegal collective punishment, described by Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, as a “prelude to genocide?” Not a single word of condemnation has been heard from any Israeli academic institution!
Participating in normal relations with Tel Aviv University is giving tacit approval to its racially exclusive policy towards Palestinian citizens of Israel. We are certain you would hate to support an institution that upholds so faithfully the apartheid system of its state.
Tel Aviv University has a long and well-documented history of collaboration with the Israeli military and intelligence services. This is particularly shameful after Israel’s bloody military assault against the occupied Gaza Strip, which, according to leading international and local human rights organizations, left over 1,440 Palestinians dead and 5380 injured. We are certain you would hate to support an institution that supports a military apparatus that murdered over 430 children.
By accepting the prize at Tel Aviv University, you will be indirectly giving a slight and inadvertent nod to Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This university has refused to commemorate the destroyed Palestinian village on which it was built. That village is called Sheikh Muwanis, and it no longer exists as a result of Israel’s confiscation. Its people have been expelled.
Let us remember the words of Archbishop Desmund Tutu: “if you choose to be neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” As such, we call upon you to say no to neutrality, no to being on the fence, no to normalization with apartheid Israel, not after the blood of more than 400 children has been spilt! No to occupation, repression, settler colonialism, settlement expansion, home demolition, land expropriation and the system of discrimination against the indigenous population of Palestine, and no to the formation of Bantustans in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip!
Just as every citizen knew that s/he had a moral responsibility to boycott apartheid in South Africa after the Sharpeville massacre, Gaza 2009 was the world's wake-up call. All of Israel’s academic institutions are state-run and state-funded. To partake of any of their prizes or to accept any of their blandishments is to uphold their heinous political actions. Israel has continually violated international law in defiance of the world. It is illegally occupying Palestinian land. It continues its aggression against the Palestinian people. Israel denies Palestinians all of the democratic liberties it so proudly, fictitiously flaunts. Israel is an apartheid regime that denies Palestinian refugees their right of return as sanctioned by UN resolution 194.
Attending the symposium would violate the unanimously endorsed Palestinian civil society call for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This call is also directed towards international activists, artists, and academics of conscience, such as you. We are certain that you would love to be a part of the noble struggle against the apartheid, colonization and occupation that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for the past 61 years, a struggle that is ongoing.
Ms. Atwood, we consider you to be what the late Edward Said called an “oppositional intellectual.” As such, and given our veneration of your work, we would be both emotionally and psychologically wounded to see you attend the symposium. You are a great woman of words, of that we have no doubt. But we think you would agree, too, that actions speak louder than words. We all await your decision.
Besieged Gaza
The Palestinian Students' Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)
Endorsed by The University Teachers’ Association in Palestine
One Democratic State Group
(onedemocraticstategroup@gmail.com)
From: One Democratic State Group
An Open Letter to Margaret Atwood from Gaza: Don’t Stand on the Wrong Side of History
Besieged Gaza,
Palestine
April.4.2010
Dear Ms. Atwood,
We are students from Gaza representing more than 10 academic institutions therein. Our grandparents are refugees who were expelled from their homes in the 1948 Nakba. They still have their keys locked up in their closets and will pass them on to their children, our parents. Many of us have lost our fathers, some of us have lost our mothers, and some of us lost both in the last Israeli aggression against civilians in Gaza. Others still lost a body part from the flesh-burning white phosphorous that Israel used, and are now permanently physically challenged. Most of us lost our homes, and are now living in tents, as Israel refuses to allow basic construction materials into Gaza. And most of all, we are all still living in what has come to be a festering sore on humanity's conscience—the brutal, hermetic, medieval siege that Israel is perpetrating against us, the 1.5 million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip.
Many of us have encountered your writing during our university studies. Although your books are not available in Gaza—because Israel does not allow books, paper, and other stationary in—we are familiar with your leftist, feminist, overtly political writing. And most of all, we are aware of your strong stance against apartheid. You admirably supported sanctions against apartheid South Africa and called for resistance against all forms of oppression.
Now, we have heard that you are to receive a prize this spring at Tel Aviv University. We, the students of besieged Gaza, urge you not to go. As our professors, teachers and anti-apartheid comrades used to tell us, there was no negotiation with the brutal racist regime of South Africa. Nor was there much communication. Just one word: BOYCOTT. You must be aware that Israel was a sister state to the apartheid regime before 1994. Many South African anti-apartheid heroes, including Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have described Israel’s oppression as apartheid. Some describe Israeli settler-colonialism and occupation as surpassing apartheid's evil. F-16s, F-15s, F-35s, Apache helicopters, Merkava tanks, and white phosphorous were not used against black townships.
Ms. Atwood, in the Gaza concentration camp, students who have been awarded scholarships to universities abroad are prevented, every year, from pursuing their hard-earned opportunity for academic achievement. Within the Gaza Strip, those seeking an education are limited by increasing poverty rates and a scarcity of fuel for transportation, both of which are direct results of Israel’s medieval siege. What is TAU’s position vis-à-vis this form of illegal collective punishment, described by Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, as a “prelude to genocide?” Not a single word of condemnation has been heard from any Israeli academic institution!
Participating in normal relations with Tel Aviv University is giving tacit approval to its racially exclusive policy towards Palestinian citizens of Israel. We are certain you would hate to support an institution that upholds so faithfully the apartheid system of its state.
Tel Aviv University has a long and well-documented history of collaboration with the Israeli military and intelligence services. This is particularly shameful after Israel’s bloody military assault against the occupied Gaza Strip, which, according to leading international and local human rights organizations, left over 1,440 Palestinians dead and 5380 injured. We are certain you would hate to support an institution that supports a military apparatus that murdered over 430 children.
By accepting the prize at Tel Aviv University, you will be indirectly giving a slight and inadvertent nod to Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide. This university has refused to commemorate the destroyed Palestinian village on which it was built. That village is called Sheikh Muwanis, and it no longer exists as a result of Israel’s confiscation. Its people have been expelled.
Let us remember the words of Archbishop Desmund Tutu: “if you choose to be neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” As such, we call upon you to say no to neutrality, no to being on the fence, no to normalization with apartheid Israel, not after the blood of more than 400 children has been spilt! No to occupation, repression, settler colonialism, settlement expansion, home demolition, land expropriation and the system of discrimination against the indigenous population of Palestine, and no to the formation of Bantustans in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip!
Just as every citizen knew that s/he had a moral responsibility to boycott apartheid in South Africa after the Sharpeville massacre, Gaza 2009 was the world's wake-up call. All of Israel’s academic institutions are state-run and state-funded. To partake of any of their prizes or to accept any of their blandishments is to uphold their heinous political actions. Israel has continually violated international law in defiance of the world. It is illegally occupying Palestinian land. It continues its aggression against the Palestinian people. Israel denies Palestinians all of the democratic liberties it so proudly, fictitiously flaunts. Israel is an apartheid regime that denies Palestinian refugees their right of return as sanctioned by UN resolution 194.
Attending the symposium would violate the unanimously endorsed Palestinian civil society call for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This call is also directed towards international activists, artists, and academics of conscience, such as you. We are certain that you would love to be a part of the noble struggle against the apartheid, colonization and occupation that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for the past 61 years, a struggle that is ongoing.
Ms. Atwood, we consider you to be what the late Edward Said called an “oppositional intellectual.” As such, and given our veneration of your work, we would be both emotionally and psychologically wounded to see you attend the symposium. You are a great woman of words, of that we have no doubt. But we think you would agree, too, that actions speak louder than words. We all await your decision.
Besieged Gaza
The Palestinian Students' Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)
Endorsed by The University Teachers’ Association in Palestine
One Democratic State Group
(onedemocraticstategroup@gmail.com)
I'm back!
At the Separation Wall in Bethlehem.
Those of you who regularly read my blog may have noticed a marked change in the last month where no anti-Zionist posts were to be seen unlike all the months before. I have been on a peace mission to Israel and Palestine in March and this early April and because I was seeing Palestinian activists and may have my blog monitored by Israel watchdogs I thought it prudent to keep the visible postings politically neutral re Israel.
Now I'm back and the cause of revealing and protesting Zionist oppression of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs will continue.
I will be posting my experiences this time in Israel/Palestine and Egypt as soon as I can as it was quite the adventure with much ordeal and yet full of surprises. It has changed my religious approach to anti-Zionist activism as it also has forced me to reconsider my spiritual warfare tactics as well. Processing these things will take some time but I do promise to have something posted about my trip into the Holy Land where Jews are taking revenge for their centuries of oppression by mostly European Gentiles out on the innocent Palestinian population.
Stephen
Sherpas cancel plan to spread Hillary ashes on Everest
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, in 1953
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to climb Everest
A plan to scatter some of the ashes of explorer Sir Edmund Hillary at the peak of Mount Everest has been called off.
Buddhist lamas had warned it would bring bad luck, so the Sherpas behind the plan said the ashes instead would be kept at a monastery near Everest.
The world's highest mountain is considered sacred to the Buddhist Sherpas who live in the region.
Sir Edmund climbed Everest in 1953 and after his death in 2008 most of his ashes were spread in Auckland harbour.
The rest were given to the Sherpa community.
Possible precedent
Apa Sherpa, who has scaled Everest a record 19 times - and is planning a 20th attempt - had wanted to honour the New Zealander by spreading his ashes at the summit.
The organisers of Apa's expedition said they decided against the plan after a committee of Sherpas, including Buddhist lamas, advised against it.
Apa Sherpa
Apa Sherpa has climbed Everest more times than anyone else
"The old lamas said that it would be inauspicious to take the ashes to a holy place," said expedition organiser Dawa Steven Sherpa.
"There were also concerns that placing Hillary's ashes on the summit could set a precedent, with other people wanting their ashes also to be scattered there," he told AFP news agency.
Sir Edmund's ashes will remain at a monastery near Everest where they have been kept since being transferred to Nepal.
There are plans to scatter them in a park that is being built to commemorate the mountaineer.
He and the Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the the 8,847m (29,028ft) peak of Everest and the New Zealander kept strong ties with the Sherpa community.
He opened a charitable foundation to help the people in the Solukhumbu region at the base of the mountain.
Apa, 50, said he had met Sir Edmund many times and would pray for him at the summit.
"Without him we would have no clinics and we would have no schools," he said.
Chomolungma, (Mt.Everest) Goddess Mother of the World is one of the oldest of Hindu goddesses. Is it right that men should walk on Her? There is garbage on Her from all the Mt. Everest climbing attempts to repeat Hillary's trespass of a sacred site for the purpose of conquer. The Buddhist monks are right to wish to protect Her sanctity as the highest holy mountain in the world.
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About Me
- Steve Lewis
- Prophesy bearer for four religious traditions, revealer of Christ's Sword, revealer of Josephine bearing the Spirit of Christ, revealer of the identity of God, revealer of the Celestial Torah astro-theological code within the Bible. Celestial Torah Christian Theologian, Climax Civilization theorist and activist, Eco-Village Organizer, Master Psychedelic Artist, Inventor of the Next Big Thing in wearable tech, and always your Prophet-At-Large.