[AGL] surgical warfare of the highest morality

[Michael Eisenstadt]

I wouldnt dare post the following on some maillists
which I am subscribed to.

But there is no censorship on austin-ghetto of this
kind.

I find this reportage fascinating.

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 By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams

GAZA/TEL AVIV, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A day on, there is scant trace of the air
strike that killed Amer Qarmout -- a small crater in the tarmac, some dusty,
bloodied shreds of clothing, but no debris from the top-secret Israeli
guided missile used.

Had the Palestinian rocket crew commander taken one or two steps away in the
seconds before impact he might have escaped death, like two of his comrades
who were wounded by the attack.

As Israel escalates its aerial campaign against militants in the congested
Gaza Strip, it is employing hi-tech tactics designed to reduce the damage
and the number of bystanders hurt, as well as fending off foreign criticism.

"There is a trend in terms of the very dramatic improvement in hitting the
terrorists and not non-combatants," a senior air force commander said.

The air force says its strikes now cause around one civilian casualty for
every 20 militants killed or wounded, compared to a roughly 1-to-1 ratio
when the practice was introduced in 2002.

Palestinian authorities and Israel's B'Tselem human rights group dispute
that, putting the ratio at around one civilian for every three or four
militants. Israeli troops and tanks have also regularly mounted deadly
ground raids into Gaza.

But there is consensus that Israeli methods are evolving.

In 2002 Israel killed Hamas military commander Salah Shehada by dropping a
one-tonne bob on his home. The death of 14 other people in that attack drew
a wave of international censure.

Whereas U.S.-supplied Hellfire anti-tank missiles launched from combat
helicopter would once spray shrapnel and molten metal over crowded streets,
for example, now the strikes are generally at night and employ ordnance of
such low explosive power that cars that are hit often remain largely intact.

The air force commander said operational planners have their pick of
classified Israeli-made missiles with warheads that cause small and
relatively contained blasts.

"The impact is only on the target," he said, but added that sometimes
munitions in militants' vehicles go off unexpectedly, causing "secondary"
casualties that cannot be foreseen.

SPIES AND CELLPHONES

Yet what most decides whether an air strike will draw innocent blood is
intelligence data -- a pilot's knowledge that only the target in his or her
sights will be hit.

Israel, which pulled out of Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, still
has an extensive spy network and Palestinians believe its missiles can home
in on cellphones used by wanted men after electronic eavesdroppers identify
their voices. Some top Palestinian faction leaders are known to avoid giving
recorded interviews as a precaution.

"I think the intel (on Gaza) is getting better and better," the Israeli air
force commander said without elaborating.

He said the most valuable information is in real time -- images of the
ground fed to the Israeli war room by surveillance drones. Foreign analysts
also believe some Israeli missiles have mounted cameras that allow pilots to
"see" what is to be hit.

The air force commander said he knew of many air strikes that were aborted
in the final seconds, and the missile diverted safely out to sea, when
bystanders were deemed to be in danger.

Once, "we were tracking a car and the missile was in the air and just then
along the road we saw a group of kids playing, and we cancelled it while the
missile was in the air", he said.

Israel says it reserves the right to carry out attacks that will almost
certainly hurt non-combatants if the target is believed to be a sufficiently
grave security threat.

But Khalil Abu Shammala, director of the Gaza-based Ad-Dameer Association
for Human Rights, dismissed the Israeli air force statistics, describing
them as "propaganda aimed at deflecting international criticism of its
attacks on civilians". (Writing by Dan Williams, Editing by Dominic Evans)