No DalMolin

Collateral Murder

Marco — 2010-04-10T12:16:54Z

The military did not reveal how the Reuters staff were killed, and stated that they did not know how the children were injured.

After demands by Reuters, the incident was investigated and the U.S. military concluded that the actions of the soldiers were in accordance with the law of armed conflict and its own "Rules of Engagement".

Consequently, WikiLeaks has released the classified Rules of Engagement for 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealing these rules before, during, and after the killings.

WikiLeaks has released both the original 38 minutes video and a shorter version with an initial analysis. Subtitles have been added to both versions from the radio transmissions.

WikiLeaks obtained this video as well as supporting documents from a number of military whistleblowers. WikiLeaks goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the information it receives. We have analyzed the information about this incident from a variety of source material. We have spoken to witnesses and journalists directly involved in the incident.

WikiLeaks wants to ensure that all the leaked information it receives gets the attention it deserves. In this particular case, some of the people killed were journalists that were simply doing their jobs: putting their lives at risk in order to report on war. Iraq is a very dangerous place for journalists: from 2003- 2009, 139 journalists were killed while doing their work.

US MILITARY BASE AT “DAL MOLIN” IN VICENZA 50 ACTIVISTS GO INTO THE SITE AND CHAIN THEMSELVES TO THE CRANES

Marco — 2010-02-01T21:55:23Z

«Today we want set legality as first priority – they declared passing the fence of the site – the construction site must stop in order to defend health, safety and history of the “vicentina” community: groundwater resources and archeological findings must be preserved. Since the early days of this story we stated that this territory has a priceless value for the local community; but, at the same time, it's particulary fragile, delicate, because under the green carpet it preserves one of the essential elements of life, water».

Yesterday they met in an extraordinary assembley open to all the citizens of Vicenza, at the Presidio Permanente (permanent camp). Today (Monday) they will get together for a torchlight march in the streets of the city center in solidarity with the action and with the request to STOP the construction site.

Video and Photos

A new base is born: waiting for the advent of Dal Molin

Marco — 2009-12-10T12:25:19Z

During the play, Obama (Joseph) and the Liberty Statue (Mary), with former prime minister Romano Prodi and president Silvio Berlusconi (the Hox and the Donkey) cuddled the 173rd Airborne Brigade, laying in the city of Vicenza as cradle, while the (the Wise Men) where paying their hommage carrying the Nobel Prize.

Once again, the protesters want to highlight the paradox of a peace prize given to the president of the biggest military power in the world. The same president that took the commitment to nuclear disarmament is still raising military investments and installations all over the world, as in Vicenza.

The delegation will be joining the demonstration promoted by the Norwegian Peace Council this evening in Oslo.

"Obama miracle: close all U.s. Bases"

Marco — 2009-12-09T17:48:46Z

The goal of the action is to recall attention to the issue of the building of the U.S. Military base “Dal Molin, in Vicenza, the day before the assignement of the Nobel Peace Prize to president Barack Obama.

Today's action is just an “apetizer” of next days initiatives. The protesters want to express their dissent to such assignment, and want to remind to the public what is appening in Vicenza and in all other U.S. Military installation sites all over the world.

To the citizens of Vicenza the award sounds like a ridicolous paradox. The group will be also taking part to the demonstration organized by the Norwegian Peace Council in Oslo on Thursday.

NoDalMolin in Oslo for the Peace Nobel Priza to Obama

Marco — 2009-12-05T13:29:52Z

Vicenza is a core location for U.S. military strategies. The construction site of the new war installation started in these months to host the 173° Airborne Brigade, which has a leading role in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The city of Vicenza – inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites for the invaluable architectural heritage left by Andrea Palladio – hosts also Africom, the U.S headquarter for the military operations in the African continent.

All this is done against the will of the local Community – who already expressed in vast majority against the U.S. military presence - and without any possibility for the citizens to get information about health and security risks.

The U.S. military presence is an occupation that the “Vicentini” refuse. The man who will receive the PEACE Nobel Prize refuses to respect democracy in a European city and imposes this new military project on Vicenza. With this decision Pres. Obama loads a further magazine in his war machine-gun.

Presidio Permanente, Vicenza, December 3rd, 2009

4 steps around the base

Marco — 2009-11-02T23:18:51Z

Our goal is to measure the noise decibels produced by the machines, from early morning to sunset, and ask for respect of the existing rules.

For this reason we are joined by the leaders of the city council parties Vicenza Libera and Variati Sindaco. But, as the inspection progresses we realize that we must better adjust our target: in fact it isn't what you hear, but rather what you see that's most offensive.

The construction site appears ever more like a large cemetery where hundreds of trees uprooted from the ground are now lying in big piles while, at the same time, hundreds of poles are forced one by one into the ground. It's really an indecent show: big trees, full of branches are knocked down on one side while hundreds of cement poles are planted on the other side !

We realize the absurdity of the situation and the photos of this slaughter are proof even to those not present, that this macabre dance of machines grounding the debris to build a new military base, the creepy sound of the pile drivers powerfully pushing the poles into the earth replacing the trees that once covered it, cannot bring anything positive. Someone might say: “For whom does the pile driver toll ? It also tolls for thee, deaf and indifferent citizen”.

U.S. to Shelve Nuclear-Missile Shield

Marco — 2009-09-20T01:59:47Z

By PETER SPIEGEL

WASHINGTON — The White House will shelve Bush administration plans to build a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, according to people familiar with the matter, a move likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe.

The U.S. will base its decision on a determination that Iran's long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental U.S. and major European capitals, according to current and former U.S. officials.

The findings, expected to be completed as early as next week following a 60-day review ordered by President Barack Obama, would be a major reversal from the Bush administration, which pushed aggressively to begin construction of the Eastern European system before leaving office in January.

The Bush administration proposed the European-based system to counter the perceived threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon that could be placed atop its increasingly sophisticated missiles. There is widespread disagreement over the progress of Iran's nuclear program toward developing such a weapon, but miniaturizing nuclear weapons for use on long-range missiles is one of the most difficult technological hurdles for an aspiring nuclear nation.

The Bush plan infuriated the Kremlin, which argued the system was a potential threat to its own intercontinental ballistic missiles. U.S. officials repeatedly insisted the location and limited scale of the system — a radar site in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland — posed no threat to Russian strategic arms.

The Obama administration's assessment concludes that U.S. allies in Europe, including members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, face a more immediate threat from Iran's short- and medium-range missiles and will order a shift towards the development of regional missile defenses for the Continent, according to people familiar with the matter. Such systems would be far less controversial.

Critics of the shift are bound to view it as a gesture to win Russian cooperation with U.S.-led efforts to seek new economic sanctions on Iran if Tehran doesn't abandon its nuclear program. Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has opposed efforts to impose fresh sanctions on Tehran.

Security Council members, which include the U.S. and Russia, will meet with Iranian negotiators on Oct. 1 to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Current and former U.S. officials briefed on the assessment's findings said the administration was expected to leave open the option of restarting the Polish and Czech system if Iran makes advances in its long-range missiles in the future.

But the decision to shelve the defense system is all but certain to raise alarms in Eastern Europe, where officials have expressed concerns that the White House's effort to "reset" relations with Moscow would come at the expense of U.S. allies in the former Soviet bloc. "The Poles are nervous," said a senior U.S. military official.

A Polish official said his government wouldn't "speculate" on administration decisions regarding missile defense, but said "we expect the U.S. will abide by its commitments" to cooperate with Poland militarily in areas beyond the missile-defense program.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he expected the Obama administration to drop the missile-defense plans. He said that Moscow wouldn't view the move as a concession but rather a reversal of a mistaken Bush-era policy.

Still, the decision is likely to be seen in Russia as a victory for the Kremlin. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with Mr. Obama at next week's meetings of the U.N. General Assembly and Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations.

Although a center-right government in Prague supported the Bush missile-defense plan when it was first proposed, the Czech Republic is now run by a caretaker government. A Czech official said his government was concerned an announcement by the White House on the missile-defense program could influence upcoming elections and has urged a delay. But the Obama administration has decided to keep to its original timetable.

European analysts said the administration would be forced to work hard to convince both sides the decision wasn't made to curry favor with Moscow and, instead, relied only on the program's technical merits and analysis of Iran's missile capabilities.

"There are two audiences: the Russians and the various European countries," said Sarah Mendelson, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The task is: How do they cut through the conspiracy theories in Moscow?"

The Obama administration has been careful to characterize its review as a technical assessment of the threat posed by the Iranian regime, as well as the costs and capabilities of a ground-based antimissile system to complement the two already operating in Alaska and central California. Those West Coast sites are meant to defend against North Korean missiles.

The administration has also debated offering Poland and the Czech Republic alternative programs to reassure the two NATO members that the U.S. remains committed to their defense.

Poland, in particular, has lobbied the White House to deploy Patriot missile batteries — the U.S. Army's primary battlefield missile-defense system — manned by American troops as an alternative.

Although Polish officials supported the Bush plan, U.S. officials said they had indicated their primary desire was getting U.S. military personnel on Polish soil. Gen. Carter Hamm, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, said Washington has begun talks with Polish officials about starting to rotate Europe-based American Patriot units into Poland for month-long training tours as a first step toward a more permanent presence.

"My position has been: Let's get started as soon as we can with the training rotations, while the longer-term stationing...is decided between the two governments," Gen. Hamm said in an interview.

For several years, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has been pushing for breaking ground in Poland and the Czech Republic, arguing that construction must begin so the system would be in place to counter Tehran's emerging long-range-missile program, which intelligence assessments determined would produce an effective rocket by about 2015.

But in recent months, several prominent experts have questioned that timetable. A study by Russian and U.S. scientists published in May by the East-West Institute, an international think tank, downplayed the progress of Iran's long-range-missile program. In addition, Gen. James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an expert in missile defense and space-based weapons, said in a speech last month that long-range capabilities of both Iran and North Korea "are not there yet."

"We believed that the emergence of the intercontinental ballistic missile would come much faster than it did," Gen. Cartwright said. "The reality is, it has not come as fast as we thought it would come."

It is not an assessment that is shared universally. Eric Edelman, who oversaw missile-defense issues at the Pentagon as undersecretary of defense for policy in the Bush administration, said intelligence reports he reviewed were more troubling.

"Maybe something really dramatic changed between Jan. 16 and now in terms of what the Iranians are doing with their missile system, but I don't think so," Mr. Edelman said, referring to his last day in office.

There is far more consensus on Iran's ability to develop its short- and medium-range missiles, and the administration review is expected to recommend a shift in focus toward European defenses against those threats. Such a program would be developed closely with NATO.

By The Wall Street Journal

OBAMA: IF YOU DON'T RESPOND WE WILL CAMP OUT BY THE WHITE HOUSE

Marco — 2009-07-09T14:06:12Z

Last week the citizens of Vicenza wrote to Obama, reminding him of the many contraddictions related to the matter of the new US base. How do his words of democracy and participation reconcile with the imposition of a new US base , the prohibition of a referendum and the militarization of the territory for defending the building site of the base? How can his speeches about environmental protection reconcile with the refusal to realize an Environmental Impact Assessment for a building project planned on top of the greatest ground water reservoir in Northern Italy?

Not responding to the citizens of Vicenza would mean a betrayal of Obama's image of change; the NoDalMolin Festival, celebrated during the first two weeks of September, will be the occasion to collect funds and adhesions for the charter flight to USA. At the same time, thousands of signatures will be collected to deliver to the White House. if Obama doesn't come to Vicenza, the citizens of Vicenza will go under Obama's windows.

Resisting US Bases in Italy: No a la base si a la pace!

Stephanie Westbrook — 2009-07-06T09:40:00Z

And just outside the city one finds the U.S. Army base called Caserma Ederle, headquarters of the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army where troops take off on missions to Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress and the Pentagon have plans to build an additional base outside their city, in the Dal Molin airfield, to facilitate future deployments to the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, where the U.S. military are pressing for a permanent presence.

A city so classically Italian, such a placid scene, is obscenely tainted by the cadence of U.S. Army soldiers stomping through the town plaza disrespectful of the ground they tread (see video of Army soldiers running through the city here).

So says Cinzia Bottene, a not-so-ordinary mother of a teenaged son who gave birth to the No Dal Molin Movement, took on her nation's government and the U.S. military by saying, "No, not in my town!" She was recently elected to the city's council on this platform. This July 4, four days before President Obama arrives for the G8 summit in Italy's L'Aquila (a location selected for its difficulty for protesters to reach), she helped lead the charge in a national demonstration for Italians to protest the three-year military presence in Vicenza and "celebrate" their Independence Day.

I first met Cinzia when she arrived to Washington, D.C. in May 2007 and stayed at CODEPINK's house there. She and three other Italians came to meet with members of Congress and the Pentagon to voice their opposition to the once secret plans to build Dal Molin near their homes.

I met Cinzia again in December 2007, as an invited member of CODEPINK, to attend in solidarity one of the numerous No Dal Molin actions that mobilized tens of thousands to Vicenza protesting the new base. Cinzia welcomed me and other CODEPINKers who visited before me, to her beautiful home and her gourmet cooking all the while planning, writing and practicing her speeches with the help of other members in the movement.

A year and a half later, Cinzia returned to D.C. in hopes of pressing the new Obama administration on this important issue. She and three others of the No Dal Molin movement even demonstrated during an House Armed Services Committee hearing, raising their "NO DAL MOLIN" banner and chanting during the testimony. Returning to D.C. a month later, Cinzia testified before a Congressional committee imploring members to hold back funds for the construction of the new base.

We applaud our sisters-in-peace, Cinzia, Laura, Thea, Eufrosine and Stephanie for their peaceful efforts. We stand in solidarity with them as they call for the departure of U.S. Military forces from their homeland. No a la base si a la pace!

Desiree Fairooz has served as the main organizer of the CODEPINK house in Washington, DC for nearly two years and has also facilitated demonstrations on and off the Hill with other CODEPINK activists in DC. Desiree, a former children's librarian and schoolteacher, is from Arlington, Texas where her family still resides.

Source: Common Dreams

Clashes at protest vs US base expansion in Italy

Stephanie Westbrook — 2009-07-05T09:45:00Z

Demonstrators wearing helmets and carrying plastic shields threw stones and other objects at officers guarding a bridge on the route of the protest. Police fired tear gas canisters and clubbed some demonstrators, but no injuries were immediately reported.

Several thousand protesters, many from other Italian cities, converged on Vicenza to march against the expansion of the Dal Molin airport. They beat drums and carried rainbow peace flags, caricatures of President Barack Obama and banners that read "No Dal Molin."

The plan would allow the transfer of four U.S. battalions from Germany, raising the number of active duty personnel in Vicenza to 5,000 from about 2,900 already stationed at the Ederle base on the other side of town.

The move is part of the U.S. Army's plans to transform itself into a lighter, more mobile force. Under the plans, elements of the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade, a rapid reaction unit now spread between Italy and Germany, would be united.

The staunchly pro-American conservative administration of Premier Silvio Berlusconi has pushed ahead with the expansion, which also was approved by his center-left predecessor, Romano Prodi, despite anger from his Communist and Greens allies.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2011.

Some residents, far left groups and environmentalists have been protesting the expansion for years, saying it would increase traffic; noise and air pollution; deplete local resources, including water and gas; and raise the risk of terrorist attacks.

Protests have been frequent in the city of 110,000, and Saturday's demonstration was staged to coincide with July 4, in what organizers said would mark an "Independence Day" from the U.S. base.

The march also was seen as a test of other protests that are planned against next week's Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila.

The government moved the meeting from the posh Sardinian island of La Maddalena to the central Italian city after it was hit by a devastating earthquake in April.

Berlusconi said the move sought to draw attention to the population's plight and limit the possibility of violence because protesters would not dare vandalize the stricken city. Last time Italy hosted the G-8 summit, in 2001, violent clashes left one protester dead and devastated the port city of Genoa.

The U.S. Embassy in Italy has issued a warning to Americans to exercise caution while traveling through Italy during the summit, particularly in areas like Rome and L'Aquila where several demonstrations are planned.

Source: Associated Press