The "Falling Stars" of Myanmar

"Words of condemnation or concern are frankly ringing hollow to the people of Myanmar while the military junta commits mass murder against them."

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews 

"While we are singing the revolution song for him [the deceased at a funeral], security forces just arrived and shot at us."

"People, including us, run away as they opened fire."

Aye, funeral mourner, Yangon

 

"An 11-year-old boy, an 11-year-old girl, two 13-year-old boys, a 13-year-old girl, three 16-year-old boys and two seventeen-year old boys, all reportedly shot and killed."

"A one-year-old baby girl gravely injured after being struck in the eye with a rubber bullet. These were the latest child casualties on the bloodiest day in Myanmar since the military takeover."

"Millions of children and young people have been directly or indirectly exposed to traumatizing scenes of violence, threatening their mental health and emotional well-being."

UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore

Anti-coup protesters run around their makeshift barricade they burn to make defense line during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, March 28, 2021. (AP Photo)

 Once again, using live ammunition, and according to some eyewitnesses, even machine guns, Myanmar security forces opened fire on civilians protesting the takeover of the military junta now controlling Burma, after the ouster of the duly elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Even while promising the protesters that the junta planned to restore democracy at some point, they haven't hesitated to use raw munitions against their own civilian population determined to restore democracy even at the steep price of loss of life.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar stated that the army was conducting "mass murder", calling on the world to isolate the junta and halt its access to weapons. This, when a member of the UN Security Council, Russia, has committed itself to supporting the military junta and will continue providing it with the military arms deemed a necessity to pursue its goal of dominating the country by force. The junta should be cut off from funding, from oil and gas revenues, repeated the UN Special Rapporteur.

Sunday was the day for funerals as people gathered to mourn 114 protesters killed the day before in the most disastrous crackdown on protesters since the February1 coup. At a service for 20-year-old student Thae Maung Maung in Bago, close to the capital Yangon, the military opened fire and mourners fled for their lives. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group spoke of another 12 people killed on Sunday bringing the total death toll since the coup to 469.

In Yangon and Mandalay where the brunt of the casualties took place on Saturday large-scale protests were no longer in evidence after the Armed Forces Day celebrations and subsequent killing of 114 people. In Mandalay people surrounded a police station accusing the security forces of arson after five houses were burned down. Six children between ten and 16 years of age were among those killed on Saturday. They were, said the protesters, "Falling Stars".

 

Family members and relatives attend the funeral ceremony of 13 year-old Sai Wai Yan, who was shot dead while playing outside his house in Yangon, Myanmar on March 28

 

"We salute our heroes who sacrificed lives during this revolution and We Must Win This REVOLUTION", one of the main protest groups, the General Strike Committee of Nationalities posted on Facebook. Two dozen ethnic armed groups that control swathes of the country took part in heavy fighting against the army, resulting in 3,000 people fleeing to neighbouring Thailand after military jets bombed areas controlled by the Karen National Union militia.

The Kachin Independence Army fought on Sunday with the military in Hpakant, a jade-mining area of the north where Kachin forces attacked a police station and the military responded in an aerial assault. During the parade marking Armed Forces Day, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing assured the country that the military would protect the people while striving toward democracy.

Mourners attend the funeral of Tin Hla, 43, who was shot dead by security forces during a protest against the military coup in Thanlyin township, outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar on March 27.

Communicating the Sour Grapes of Lost Profit

"[Canadian soldiers who performed the product evaluation] lacked the necessary expertise [and they based their evaluation on undisclosed criteria]. Aspects of the evaluation process raise a reasonable apprehension of bias."
Raytheon Canada complaint to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal

"They [Raytheon] most certainly cast aspersions on their [Canadian military personnel] work and personal integrity. We do not know how this has individually affected them [military personnel], but it is shameful that they were targeted in the first place." 
"Good faith must be presumed, and unfounded accusations discouraged."
"Because of the nature of the work of public servants and members of the Canadian Forces, and their commitment to Canada, until there are serious and real grounds to believe otherwise, the Tribunal would hope that they are all treated with respect."
Canadian International Trade Tribunal

File   An undated photo of Canadian soldiers during a drill at Garrison Petawawa

Soldiers from Garrison Petawawa in Ontario were tasked with evaluating equipment meant for the Canadian military's Integrated Soldier System Project. This equipment in particular represented a battlefield communications system produced by Raytheon. This is critical equipment that those testing understood that their lives could depend on its reliability of performance and they found it wanting.

Raytheon was rather more than displeased that its equipment was rejected and decided to complain to the trade tribunal. The contract was awarded to Rheinmetall Canada of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu whose equipment did meet the criteria and satisfaction of the soldiers who tested it as reliable battlefield communications equipment. That award was an initial $7-million which would eventually be valued up to $250-million.

Once it realized it had lost the competition, Raytheon filed their complaint claiming that the Garrison Petawawa soldiers in collusion with authorities from Public Works the federal authorizing agency for procurement had failed to respect proper procedures in the evaluation of Raytheon's bid. That the evaluation of their equipment was "arbitrary and imprecise".

Raytheon wanted the tribunal to have the Rheinmetall contract cancelled, and the bids re-evaluated by the federal government. After due consideration the trade tribunal reached the conclusion that Raytheon lacked evidence in support of its claims. The tribunal went considerably further in criticizing the company for accusations of bias that "were entirely unfounded" against soldiers assigned to field-test their equipment.

That condemnation was augmented by a financial knuckle-rap of $4,700 to pay tribunal costs.

Enlightening Perspectives

"This was a despicable act of violence [motor-vehicle homicide of 53-year-old Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent] that strikes against not just this soldier and his colleagues but frankly against our very values as a civilized democracy."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Tuesday, October 21, House of Commons

THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-PMO    Prime Minister Stephen Harper, shown in this screen grab from an online video from the PMO, making a statement on the attacks in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct. 22, 2014.

"I certainly hope that that's not what the prime minister of Canada is doing -- latching on to this kind of crisis to help himself. I know that Canadians deserve better than just that. They deserve full answers."
Leader of the Opposition, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair

Mr. Mulcair took exception to the 'strong language' Prime Minister Harper used in speaking of the jihadist attack that took place the day before in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec causing the deliberate death of a Canadian Forces member of the military. He held it to be self-serving. To cause the public to support the Conservative-led initiative to toughen and tighten Canada's security laws to further protect the country and the public from terrorist attacks.

His complaint was that the Conservatives were too quick to label the attack by a self-radicalized Muslim convert as "clearly linked to terrorist ideology". As for the Liberal Leader, Justin Trudeau, he trod slightly more carefully, without too overtly indicating that he holds similar views to that of Mr. Mulcair: "I think that's a question that certainly members of the press gallery and Canadians can ask. But as an opposition politician, I'm very much focused on demonstrating that this should be beyond politics."

And then came Wednesday, when the gulf of suspicion must surely have threatened to tempt a leap. That's when, literally, all hell broke loose on Parliament Hill, and the doubting Thomases and Justins enjoyed their own very personal introduction to the unknown and the terror that lurks within. Beyond politics. When, with another attack, a loner, also a recent convert to Islam who clearly preferred the fanatical option, murdered a young Armed Forces reservist standing ceremonial guard at the National Cenotaph.

John Ivison, National Post

And then went on to hunt for further prospects in the hallowed ceremonial hall of honour in the Centre Block of the House of Commons. Where, as it happened, though the House wasn't sitting, it was busy with MPs at their various party caucuses. Had the armed intruder ventured a mite further he could have interrupted the Conservative caucus and there encountered Canada's Cabinet Ministers, the Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament.

However, and as good fortune had it, that opportunity was denied him, however belatedly, when the Sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, along with his security personnel let loose with a volley of shots that spread the stink of cordite in Parliament, and left the sole attacker a martyr, fulfilling his dream of aspiring to Paradise, there to be greeted by -- is it 72? -- virgins, awaiting his pleasure.

As they awaited rescue from the inevitable lockdown until security agents could be assured that there were no other terrorists lingering anywhere in the Parliamentary Precinct, there was ample time for the leaders, before they were expeditiously led to safety, to wonder what on Earth was happening to their world of normalcy and political jousting in the House of Commons.

The U.S.-Israel Alliance: No Apologies Necessary

by Lawrence A. Franklin
July 23, 2014 at 9:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4466/us-israel-alliance

There is no change in U.S policy toward Israel that will win any true allies in the Middle East, despite what Arab leaders claim. They often assert that if only we would solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem first, relations would improve. This is a tactic. These leaders employ it simply to divert Western officials from making demands on them, instead of on Israel. The reality is that most Arabs view the U.S., its European allies and Israel with ineradicable contempt.

Remember the commentaries after 9/11 that "we should have been expecting something like this"? Some even implied that America was, in part, responsible for the attacks because of our one-sided policy toward the Muslim world, and in particular, "our support for Israel's occupation of Palestinian land."

Remember also, though, the news reports about the cheering and dancing in Palestinian Arab neighborhoods on 9/11? Perhaps these celebrations resembled the high-fives and other macabre gestures of glee made by some Palestinian Arabs following the recent kidnapping and murder of three Jewish teenagers in Gush Etzion, near the ancient Judean city of Hebron.

Guilt-riddled apologies for America's alliance with Israel can only be explained by ignorance, by disingenuous attempts to curry favor with Arabs, or for some, by a darker motivation.

Given the pervasive Orwellian double standard applied to Israel by Western media and the often sanctimonious comments by U.S. and European politicians that Israel should be fearful of being internationally isolated, a reality check might be in order.

First, there is no change in U.S. policy toward Israel that will win any true allies in the Muslim world, no matter what its leaders claim. They often assert that only if we would solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem first, relations would improve. This is a tactic. These leaders employ it simply to divert Western officials from making demands on them instead of on Israel. The reality is that most Arabs view the U.S., its European allies, and Israel with ineradicable contempt.

No Arab state has recognized the legitimacy of a Jewish -- or often even a pluralistic -- state in Palestine. Egypt and Iraq have been persecuting their Christians, only because the Jews were all forced out already; and many Muslim countries cannot even abide each other, as seen every day in the Shia-Sunni conflict, still under way after centuries.

This struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is not about land. If it were, there would have been a two-state solution long ago. Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat would have said yes to the Camp David Plan offered by President Clinton and former Israeli Prime Minister Barak. The current strife between the Hamas terrorist movement and Israel is just another stage in the permanent state of Arab hostility towards the existence of a Jewish state in the region.

While U.S. support for Israel has sometimes been described as a costly diplomatic albatross or a consequence of political influence by American Jews, the truth weighs in quite the opposite direction. The Israeli-American alliance greatly benefits both nations.

There is only one democratic country in the Middle East. There is only one country with free speech, a free press and equality under the rule of law in the Middle East. And the United States has only one reliable ally in the Middle East. It is Israel.

Israeli intelligence support on adversarial states such as Iran, Iraq, and Libya has been a prime source of difficult-to-obtain threat-data on these countries. Moreover, Israel has far better Human Intelligence than American intelligence agencies have in the Middle East. This Israeli asset has been invaluable in reducing the terrorist threat to U.S. military and diplomatic personnel deployed to the region.

Israeli experience with border and installation security, military application of medical advances, disaster relief lessons-learned, and security-related encryption innovations have been enhanced by the cooperative work of both countries. Moreover, Israeli military and civilian industries have helped the U.S. integrate software innovations, data collection, and cyber security methodology into its overall defense posture. One such contribution is the popular Helmet-Mounted Display System (HMDS).[1]
The U.S. and Israel jointly developed and tested several generations of defensive weapons, helpful to both countries, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or drones), the "Arrow" anti-ballistic missile interceptor and the "Iron Dome" system, which keeps cities safe from shorter-range rockets.

The stunning performance of the "Iron Dome" is invaluable to American efforts to protect its military bases in the region. The Arrow system can protect U.S. cities from a missile attack by a rogue state, such as North Korea or Iran. Although this possibility might sound far-fetched at this moment, much of any military is developed to address probabilities; it is not considered prudent or advisable to start designing and manufacturing a defensive weapon once an attack you have not been expecting has already been launched.

A test launch of the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense system, jointly developed by the U.S. and Israel. (Image source: United States Missile Defense Agency)

The greatest asset for the U.S., however, is the trust between the American and Israeli military, developed in crises over decades of cooperation. Both recognize that together they face the same enemies of the Free World. And both understand that liberal democracies are not at all the "natural order of things" and will only endure if both countries are willing to do what is needed to survive. No apologies necessary.

Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, where he served as a Military Attaché to Israel.

[1] The HMDS is produced by Israel's Elbit Systems and the U.S. company Rockwell Collins, that allows for enhanced situational awareness and better night vision capability.
Related Topics:  Israel  |  Lawrence A. Franklin

The Hidden Cost of War

"The cost of war on the human side is expensive -- and much of it comes after the war."
"Calling it an 'operational stress injury', not a 'mental health problem', has been important -- it broke the code for a lot of troops in giving them a sense they were not suffering from a dishonorable injury but a recognized injury that could have fatal consequences -- suicide."
Senator (General) Romeo Dallaire

Four of Canada's military men have taken their own lives in the last week, a tremendous shock to the military, to the government, to the public. Members of the military so afflicted by after-conflict trauma that they are simply incapable of functioning, of taking their place as they normally would do, in the service, let alone within society at large. Some seek treatment, some do not.

There is the concern of being identified with a mental illness. There is the worry that they will be viewed as unfit for duty. That they will be dismissed from a profession they desperately want to remain with. They see no other work-life combination that appeals to their sense of self-worth and aspirations for achievement.

It has been reported that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been so traumatized himself by the telephone calls he personally made to families of soldiers who lost their lives on the battlefield, that it resulted in his unwillingness to further commit to Canadian troop engagement abroad. He was so deeply affected that he turned to a few measures to meet an anticipated rise in PTSD sufferers.

Increased funding for mental health treatment in the military. And new legislation meant to extend the time frame during which veterans have priority entitlement to public service positions as they come open. Matters have progressed in the past five years, they have measurably improved from the situation that existed in 2008 for those veterans suffering operational stress injuries.

Former General, now Senator Romeo Dallaire found himself given fairly short shrift on his return from his Rwanda United Nations mission in 1990, when he was himself suffering from the debilitating mental effects of the dreadful genocide that occurred under his UN peacekeeping watch, and the deaths of some of the men under his command.

While there has been a funding increase for programs, a "persistent shortage" of qualified mental health care personnel exists, as pointed out by ombudsman Pierre Daigle. His report emphasizes that at least 447 mental health practitioners should be in the employ of the Canadian Forces, but there have never been more than 380. The number of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists within the mental health staff is inadequate by far.

The lack of ability to track and report on the effectiveness of the mental health system means "it is not possible to evaluate the appropriateness of the overall funding allocated to the operational stress injury imperative", Mr. Daigle reported. That, despite Defence Minister Rob Nicholson's boast that Canada has the highest number of mental health practitioners of all NATO allies.

The current hiring freeze in the public service has held back the potential numbers of priority listed veterans from finding work. Of 8,702 medically released soldiers in the past seven years 2,017 were hired in the public service, most of them within the Department of National Defence itself. The plight of returning veterans facing future difficulties has not been lost on the public.

There is an abundance of concern expressed over the need to do more for military veterans. The Prime Minister insists "it is the responsibility of all of us to encourage those who need help to get help". Canada's top general, Tom Lawson, has produced a video message to his members: "We are with you".

And while Senator Dallaire is critical of the culture in the Canadian Forces where high performance is expected: "They can be quite ruthless on people who don't meet those levels", he also says there has been a "massive cultural shift" for the better.