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| Oekraïense oorlog De Russische invasie in Oekraïne en aanverwante onderwerpen |
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Discussietools |
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#141 | |
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Perm. Vertegenwoordiger VN
Geregistreerd: 14 juli 2020
Berichten: 10.885
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Citaat:
Whatever, dude.
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Niemand is mijn koning en niemand is mijn slaaf |
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#142 |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 19 april 2017
Berichten: 26.840
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Als je Amerikaanse en Oekraïense propaganda voor waar aanneemt ben je niet neutraal, ik begrijp wel dat je denkt dat je neutraal bent, maar dat ben je dus duidelijk niet. Ik ook niet maar dat is niet het punt.
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#143 | |
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Eur. Commissievoorzitter
Geregistreerd: 5 januari 2009
Berichten: 8.177
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Citaat:
overlevenden? slachtoffers? .... allemaal propaganda en leugens als ze iets tonen dat uw mening niet is? |
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#144 |
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Europees Commissaris
Geregistreerd: 23 januari 2007
Berichten: 6.080
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Ge begrijpt dat ik draak aan het steken was met Gunter’s zelfverklaarde neutraliteit?
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We sit together, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains |
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#145 | |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 24 februari 2009
Locatie: Grenoble, Frankrijk
Berichten: 117.443
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Citaat:
Die zogezegde uitbreiding naar het oosten is niks anders dan het verdrijven van de Russische bezetter die van WO II gebruik gemaakt heeft van de situatie om een flink deel van Europa onder de voet te lopen. |
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#146 |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 19 april 2017
Berichten: 26.840
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#147 | |
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Perm. Vertegenwoordiger VN
Geregistreerd: 14 juli 2020
Berichten: 10.885
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Citaat:
En dan heb ik misschien het beste voorbeeld gegeven van die ene keer dat ik wil afzien van het standpunt “ik ben mijn eigen eigenaar” Het akkoord moet het best mogelijke zijn. De kanonnen zwijgen, en HEEL DE FUCKING WERELD gaat aan tafel zitten. Al duren de wereldonderhandelingen 100 jaar. En met zo’n akkoord zou ik het eens zijn, ook al moest ik daar een stukje “van mijn lijf voor afgeven.” Voltian, als gij ook neutraal wil zijn hé, zoek dan eens mee naar oplossingen, in plaats van altijd maar uw grote gelijk te willen halen.
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Niemand is mijn koning en niemand is mijn slaaf |
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#148 | |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 19 april 2017
Berichten: 26.840
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Citaat:
Waar zijn de bewakingscamera’s van toen de Oekraïense troepen binnenvielen? We krijgen maar een heel klein stukje van die ‘waarheid’ te zien. |
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#149 | |||
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Eur. Commissievoorzitter
Geregistreerd: 5 januari 2009
Berichten: 8.177
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Citaat:
getuigen belichten enkel hetgeen ze gezien hebben Citaat:
Citaat:
voor zover ik weet heeft oekraiene geen stap in een buurland gezet. o |
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#150 | |
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Perm. Vertegenwoordiger VN
Geregistreerd: 14 juli 2020
Berichten: 10.885
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Citaat:
Waarom denk jij dat ik mij zou willen onderwerpen aan het centraal bestuur van de russen of de chinezen? Ik zit effectief gewoon te kijken naar de meest morbide vorm van een voetbalmatch. Oorlog dus. En alleen dat feit doet jou besluiten dat ik "fan" ben van 1 van de ploegen waarnaar ik kijk. Je begrijpt er echt niets van hé.
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Niemand is mijn koning en niemand is mijn slaaf |
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#151 |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 19 april 2017
Berichten: 26.840
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In Boetsja, deze thread gaat over Boetsja, je weet wel ...
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#152 |
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Europees Commissaris
Geregistreerd: 23 januari 2007
Berichten: 6.080
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...en wat zou mijn "groot gelijk" precies zijn dan?...
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We sit together, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains |
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#153 | |
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Europees Commissaris
Geregistreerd: 23 januari 2007
Berichten: 6.080
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Citaat:
Als je een echt libertarier zou zijn, dan zou je walgen van de staatsterreur van Rusland en zou je de Oekraïense bevolking die vecht voor haar recht om te bestaan moeten aanmoedigen. Maar dat doe je niet. Tot slot, het feit dat je mij (uit het niets, ongeprovoceerd) een "imperialistisch vriendje" noemt, bewijst dat je niet hebt begrepen waar ik sta. Alsof ik fan van ben een Westers Imperium of zo. Nee Gunter, ik ben fan van individuele vrijheid en burgerrechten. Concepten die je vooralsnog meer in "Het Westen" vindt dan eender waar ter wereld. Je bent hypocriet, met enerzijds (deels terecht) kritiek op imperialistische neigingen uit het Westen maar tegelijk de overduidelijke imperialistische ambities van Rusland ogenschijnlijk aanvaarden als "realpolitik" of zo. Da's niet neutraal he.
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We sit together, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains |
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#154 | |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 24 maart 2014
Berichten: 79.227
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Citaat:
Hoe ga je trouwens je andere lapidaire uitspraak "ook al moet ik daar een stukje van mijn lijf voor afgeven" proberen te rijmen met je actief ontzeggen/afnemen van net datzelfde recht aan de vrouwelijke bevolking, als die daar zelf voor kiest voor een ongewenst voorwerp uit haar lichaam te verwijderen ? |
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#155 | |
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Perm. Vertegenwoordiger VN
Geregistreerd: 5 november 2013
Berichten: 15.526
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Citaat:
citaat Telegraaf: Met lijsten van hun inlichtingendienst gaan ze in Boetsja van deur tot deur. De „potentiële bedreigingen” worden geïdentificeerd en geneutraliseerd. Het voormalige kantoorgebouw in Boetsja werd een zenuwcentrum van gruwel dat de wereld zou schokken. „Verstop je! Ren weg! De Russen komen eraan!” Een Oekraïense oorlogsveteraan ziet op 3 maart drie gepantserde Russische voertuigen zijn stad inrijden. Tevergeefs probeert hij zijn medebewoners te waarschuwen voor het onheil dat op komst is. Terwijl meer tanks binnenrollen, schudden Russische soldaten elkaar de hand. Ze maken praatjes en lachen. Tegen de ochtend van 4 maart was de Yablunskastraat 144 hun hoofdkwartier. Ondertussen gaan Russische soldaten van deur tot deur. Soms rijden ze met hun tanks door de omheining, soms laten ze die staan en forceren ze het slot. Elke camera die ze opmerken, slaan de Russen in. De inwoners vertellen ze dat ze op zoek zijn naar wapens, maar de Russen nemen ook gereedschap, elektronica, voedsel en drank mee. Bij de inbraken krijgen de inwoners ook te horen dat ze bevrijd worden van de nazi’s, terwijl op de achtergrond buurtbewoners op straat geëxecuteerd worden. Het zijn de „potentiële bedreigingen”, oftewel vrijwilligers van het Oekraïense leger. Wie niet onmiddellijk geëxecuteerd wordt, wordt meegenomen naar het hoofdkwartier. Zoals Skyba, een taxichauffeur, die zich samen met acht andere vrijwillige strijders verschanst had in een geïmproviseerde controlepost. Skyba’s handen worden in het Russische hoofdkwartier met tape achter zijn rug gebonden. Hij krijgt een emmer over zijn hoofd. De Russische soldaten doen Skyba knielen en stapelen vervolgens bakstenen op zijn rug tot hij omvalt. Daarna trekken ze hem overeind en slaan ze hem - door de emmer - op het hoofd. Tot Skyba zijn bewustzijn verliest en neergaat. „Wat moeten we met hen doen?” hoort Skyba wanneer hij weer wakker wordt. „Dood ze”, is het antwoord. „Maar breng ze eerst weg zodat ze hier niet rondslingeren.” Sykba en de andere vrijwilligers worden om de hoek geleid naar een binnenplaats waar al een lijk ligt. Dan beginnen twee soldaten te schieten. Skyba voelt iets in zijn zij prikken, en valt op de grond. Hij kreeg een kogel dwars door zijn buik. Hij doet alsof hij dood is, en hoopt dat de Russen zijn uitademingen niet in de koude lucht zien opgaan. Wanneer het stil geworden is, werkt Skyba zijn polsen los van de tape en kruipt hij over de lijken van de andere vrijwilligers. Hij ziet dat één van hen nog laarzen aanheeft en neemt die mee. Hij rent naar een naburig huis en krult zich op de bank, in een poging het warm te krijgen. Op dat moment hoort Skyba stemmen. „Is hier iemand thuis?”, roept een soldaat. Skyba doet alsof hij de eigenaar is. De Russen denken dat Skyba een gewonde burger is en brengen hem terug naar het hoofdkwartier. Deze keer niet voor een marteling, maar voor een medische behandeling. Skyba wordt in een kelder geplaatst met meer dan 100 andere gevangenen. Het enige toilet is kapot. De geur is niet te harden. Kinderen huilen. Volwassenen bidden. Na drie dagen, op 7 maart, mag Skyba samen met alle andere gevangenen de kelder verlaten. Skyba zoekt zijn bril, die hij op de binnenplaats terugvindt naast het levenloze lichaam van één van de vrijwilligers waarmee hij opgepakt werd. Hij loopt de Yablunska 144 voor altijd uit. Wanneer blijkt dat de Russische troepen er maar niet in slagen door te breken naar Kiev, nemen de zuiveringen in Boetsja toe. „Er liggen burgers dood op straat.” Op 14 maart belt een soldaat met de bijnaam Lyonya zijn moeder. Die wil weten wie hen had neergeschoten. „Onze mensen”, zegt de soldaat. https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1135...eer-in-boetsja Laatst gewijzigd door cato : 5 november 2022 om 15:08. |
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#156 | ||
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 24 maart 2014
Berichten: 79.227
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Citaat:
Citaat:
Jouw Gilead-idealen vloeken tegenover Libertarisme. |
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#157 | |
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Eur. Commissievoorzitter
Geregistreerd: 5 januari 2009
Berichten: 8.177
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Citaat:
en ik vraag je nu welke bron voor jou neutraal is. naar wetenschappelijke normen is boetsja even waargebeurd als (ik zeg maar wat) evolutieleer, val van antwerpen, de geboorte van einstein, de holocaust,... met welke neutrale bron zou jij overtuigd kunnen worden dat de Russen in boeteja massaal burgers hebben vermoord, gefolterd en verkracht |
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#158 | |
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Secretaris-Generaal VN
Geregistreerd: 26 september 2003
Locatie: van Lissabon tot Vladivostok
Berichten: 34.800
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Citaat:
Bucha is een leugen, net als dat kerkhof in Izyum. In Izyum liggen gesneuvelde Oekraïense soldaten begraven, onbegraven achtergelaten door hun strijdmakkers, en daarna door de Russen eerbaar voorzien van een fatsoenlijke begraving. Dat er daarna gieren als Vranckx op georganiseerde manier naartoe reizen en ons een verzonnen verhaaltje vertellen, dit allemaal met ons belatinggeld, is eigenlijk crimineel. Die leugenaar moet opgesloten worden, wegens het niet invullen van zijn journalistieke plicht.
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Doorzoek forum.politics.be (aangepaste zoekmachine) Laatst gewijzigd door Nr.10 : 5 november 2022 om 19:43. |
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#159 |
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Perm. Vertegenwoordiger VN
Geregistreerd: 26 september 2017
Berichten: 17.169
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Uitdaging van Scott Ritter rond officieel discours rond Bucha.
"How the US government attempts to control public perception of its aid to Ukraine Scott Ritter· 4 November A recent media expose on the US effort to arm Ukraine looks as if it’s been curated by the Biden administration to shape public perception NBC News has reported that, according to four people familiar with the incident, a phone call between US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, turned testy after the Ukrainian leader pressed Biden for more assistance. On June 15, Biden called Zelensky to inform him of the recent release of some $1 billion in assistance (this included the drawdown of arms and equipment from US Department of Defense inventories valued at $350 million, and $650 million in additional assistance under the department’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative). This type of person-to-person communication had become commonplace since Russia’s decision to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022, with Biden informing Zelensky of each major assistance allocation in a program that had, as of June 15, seen the dispatch of some $5.6 billion in American military aid. This time, however, rather than thank the US president, as had been the previous practice, Zelensky proceeded to ask for more assistance, citing specific requests for equipment that had not been included in the June allocation of aid. At this point, NBC’s sources say, Biden lost his temper. “The American people were being quite generous, and his administration and the US military were working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelensky could show a little more gratitude,” the NBC story reports. According to NBC, the source of Biden’s anger went beyond the lack of gratitude shown by Zelensky (NBC reports that the two leaders have since warmed to one another), but rather the growing realization on the part of the Biden White House that support for the blank check being written for Ukraine’s war effort is waning among members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. With the Republicans expected to retake control of the House of Representatives and positioned to do the same in the Senate in the upcoming mid-term elections, the Biden administration appears poised to try to squeeze out another $40-60 billion in aid during the lame duck session between the election and when the present term of Congress expires next January. It is expected that this new aid package will be challenged by the Republicans, who will seek to have its consideration postponed until the new Republican-controlled Congress is sworn in. Shortly before NBC News broke the story of the contentious Biden-Zelensky phone call, The New Yorker ran a glowing review of the state of US-Ukrainian military cooperation. Entitled ‘Inside the US Effort to Arm Ukraine, the piece, authored by Joshua Yaffa, a contributing writer for the magazine, provides an expansive and yet intimate look at the complex interaction between the US and Ukraine about not only the provision of military equipment, but also the active cooperation between US and Ukrainian military and intelligence officials concerning the actual conduct of the conflict, including the provision of targeting data in support of US-provided artillery systems such as the M777 howitzer and the HIMARS multiple rocket launch system. Its two main messages can be summarized as follows: first, American weapons are helping Ukraine stand up to Russia and showing the world Putin can be defeated, and second, the US is taking every care not to cross any lines that would escalate the conflict into a direct confrontation with Moscow. Based in Moscow for many years, Yaffa is an experienced writer on Russian affairs. The scope and scale of the sources he was able to draw upon in writing his most recent article is a ‘who’s who’ of US and Ukrainian officialdom. Both named and unnamed, all of them are well positioned to provide Yaffa with the kind of inside information that makes his article so attractive, both from an informational aspect, and readability. On the Ukrainian side, Yaffa interviewed Aleksey Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister; Mikhail Podoliak, a top adviser to Zelensky; Aleksey Danilov, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council; and “a senior Ukrainian military official” close to the commander in chief of the military, Valery Zaluzhny. Ukrainian officials habitually interact with Western journalists as part of their effort to shape the narrative about the ongoing conflict with Russia. The surprise isn’t that Yaffa was able to interview these individuals, but rather what they were willing to open up about – the hitherto obscure details of the sensitive cooperation between the US and Ukraine in the actual conduct of the conflict. The US is very controlling about the release of information about classified cooperation with other nations. This reticence to be transparent extends not only to the US officials involved, but also to the foreign nationals participating in the secret work. In short, there is no way the three Ukrainians would have agreed to sit down and talk to Yaffa about these issues unless their participation had been green-lighted by the Biden administration beforehand. The extent to which the Biden administration was behind the decision to cooperate with Yaffa on this story becomes clear upon closer examination of the anonymous sources drawn upon for the article. “A Biden administration official involved in Ukraine policy”; “a senior official at the Defense Department”; “a person familiar with Biden White House discussions of Ukraine”; “an administration official”; “a senior US official”; “a US military official” close to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley; “a senior Biden administration official”; and “a senior US intelligence official.” Numerous other sources, both named and unnamed, were also interviewed by Yaffa. Anyone with any experience with sensitive national security activities knows that there are two hard-fast truths when it comes to such activities – they are highly classified and compartmentalized, and any unauthorized release of information pertaining to such activities is a serious violation of the law, subject to prosecution and imprisonment for anyone caught leaking such information to the press. Accordingly, either every source cited by Yaffa had been simultaneously overcome with a Lemming-like desire to jump off a figurative cliff, risking losing their careers and going to prison in order to help the young New Yorker contributing writer pull off the scoop of a lifetime, or the Yaffa article was part and parcel of a Biden administration information operation designed to inject a positive narrative about US-Ukrainian military relations into the mainstream discussion on Ukraine in a concerted effort to shape public perception in the lead-up to the mid-term elections. My money is on the latter. Good journalism is all about ‘bottom-up’ reporting, where a reporter conceives a story and then runs it to the ground by seeking out interviews with relevant sources. Stenography is about having a story spoon fed to you by sources for the purpose of serving an agenda that has nothing to do with the pursuit of fact-based truth, but rather shaping public opinion about a matter of importance. Yaffa’s ‘Inside the US Effort to Arm Ukraine’ is a clever piece of government-dictated stenography disguised as journalism and should be treated as such by all who read it. 18 views·1 share Throwing down the gauntlet on Bucha Scott Ritter·4 Nov at 8:00 pm Scott Ritter challenges Andriy Shapovalov to debate war crimes allegations Throwing down the gauntlet on Bucha, image #1 The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) has labeled me an “information terrorist” for my stance on Bucha (I claim Ukraine is responsible for the atrocities that took place on April 1-2 of this year.) Elon Musk and Twitter have banned me for posts where I make this claim. It’s time to bring this issue to a head: I am challenging the acting director of the CCD to debate this issue of Bucha in a public forum sponsored by Twitter and moderated by Twitter’s content moderation team. Diane Sare, the LaRouche independent candidate for Senate in New York State, sent me an interesting email the other day. In it she attached screen shots taken from the Telegram page of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation. (Diane, like me, has been included on the CCD “Blacklist” of accused Russian propogandists.) “Former US military man Scott Ritter,” the Telegram post read, “loyal to Putin’s regime, tried to ‘test’ Twitter algorithms in a peculiar way after Elon Musk bought the social network. It is noted,” the CCD continued, “that the purpose of posting the said tweet was to ‘check’ the platform’s response to the ‘wrong’ question.” There was more. “In fact,” the CCD opined, “such a tweet is another manipulative ‘throw-in’ and a deliberate provocation to determine possible changes in the reaction of Western society on the topic of Russian genocide in Ukraine. We warn you! All information, even published by well-known Western experts, needs careful verification.” The CCD post concluded with the following: “As previously reported by the Center, Scott Ritter is actively used by Russia as an ‘expert’ to promote narratives necessary for the Kremlin among foreign audiences.” Upon learning of the CCD’s angst over my tweet, I considered what could be an appropriate response. “Why not challenge the CCD to a debate on the issue of Bucha as a war crime,?” I thought. Scott Ritter will discuss this article and answer audience questions Friday night on Ask the Inspector. I took to my Telegram channel’s accompanying chat room, and sent out the following message: “I’m preparing to formally challenge the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation to a moderated debate on Bucha.” While most of the responses were supportive, one linked to a news story about an investigation conducted by journalists from the Associated Press and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) “Frontline” on allegations of Russian war crimes carried out in Bucha and other Ukrainian villages and towns north of Kiev during the period of Russian occupation. “Hi Scott,” the response began. “Have you seen this article? What do you think about the claims made in it? It’s a bit different from originally made claims about pre-planned ‘genocide,’ but still not looking good for Russians if true.” I take comments made by people responding to things I say and write seriously, so I read the article in question, and then dug deeper, watching the PBS Frontline show referenced in the article (the show aired on October 25, 2022, and was entitled “Putin’s attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes.”) The reporting is sloppy, conflating incidents without any effort to separate causal factors—the tragic death of five civilians in Chernigov from a missile strike is reported in the same breath as the deaths of civilians discovered along Yablunska Street in Bucha and more bodies discovered in the vicinity of Zdvyzhivka. All are presented by the reporters as de facto war crimes. The Chernigov incident, while heart-wrenching, is the most easily dismissed of the three. An apartment was struck during a time of war. Five innocent civilians died. Who is to blame? Russia? Or Ukraine? The Washington Post—an unlikely source, given its track record of Russophobic reporting, provides us with the likely answer. “Increasingly,” the paper reported, “Ukrainians are confronting an uncomfortable truth: The military’s understandable impulse to defend against Russian attacks could be putting civilians in the crosshairs. Virtually every neighborhood in most cities has become militarized, some more than others, making them potential targets for Russian forces trying to take out Ukrainian defenses.” Moreover, “Ukraine’s strategy of placing heavy military equipment and other fortifications in civilian zones could weaken Western and Ukrainian efforts to hold Russia legally culpable for possible war crimes.” Case closed. As for Bucha and Zdvyzhivka, the AP/Frontline reporting underscores another uncomfortable truth—the Ukrainians identified as being killed in both locations were either spies or what is known as francs-tireurs—illegal combatants, and as such subject to summary trial and execution. Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, inadvertently provides the most direct evidence that the persons highlighted in the AP/Frontline reporting as having been killed by Russian forces in the vicinity of 144 Yablunska street in Bucha—the presumed headquarters of the Russian forces operating in Bucha—and in the vicinity of Zdvyzhivka, were either unlawful combatants or spies, and as such subject upon capture to summary judgement by a military tribunal. Danilov discussed the accuracy of Ukrainian artillery in striking Russian troops and material that had been dispersed in the woods surrounding Zdvyzhivka. “Our intelligence is working tirelessly,” Danilov told the PBS reporters. “We received a lot of information from people who were communicating directly with the military. The engagement of the locals was very important. They were feeling involved. If the citizens are taking an active part in this, it’s a very important force. They risked their lives. They were helping their country.” They were spies, who used a Telegram app to photograph Russian troop locations before sending the images to the Ukrainian military intelligence, which forwarded the data to Ukrainian artillery. “The app’s geolocation feature immediately identifies troop locations,” Danilov acknowledged. “It’s very simple, actually.” According to the AP/Frontline reporting, the persons that were detained and subsequently executed by Russian troops were either fighting as unlawful combatants (so-called civilian “volunteers”, or francs-tireurs), or serving in the role of “spotter,” using their cell phones to collect intelligence before transmitting that data to the Ukrainian military. Of the two, the issue of francs-tireurs is perhaps the most sensitive. As recently as the Second World War, the status of partisans was such that the Nuremberg trials, when trying Germans for the crime of taking and executing hostages, proved unable to convict Germans accused of killing partisans. “We are obliged,” the tribunal decided, “to hold that such guerrillas were francs tireurs who, upon capture, could be subjected to the death penalty. Consequently, no criminal responsibility attaches to the defendant…because of the execution of captured partisans.” After the war, the Geneva Conventions established new protocols, under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, which declared that francs-tireurs are entitled to prisoner of war status under the following conditions: they are commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates, they have a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance, they carry arms openly, and they conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. All the listed conditions must be met for Ukrainian civilian “volunteers” to be entitled to protected status. According to the AP/Frontline reporting, the captured Ukrainian “volunteers” fail on at least two of these conditions—they were not commanded by a responsible authority, and they were not wearing a fixed distinctive sign recognized at a distance. As such, they were not subjected to be treated as protected persons under the law of war. They were, however, subjected to being executed by Russian troops once a hearing conducted by a responsible authority found them guilty. As for Danilov’s “spies,” the case is much clearer. By way of example, one need only turn to the US Manual for Military Commissions (2007), Part IV, Crimes and Elements, for guidance (for illustrative purposes, the term “United States” is replaced with “Russia”): “Any person subject to this chapter who with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of [Russia] or to the advantage of a foreign power, collects or attempts to collect information by clandestine means or while acting under false pretenses, for the purpose of conveying such information to an enemy of [Russia], or one of the co-belligerents of the enemy, shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a military commission under this chapter may direct.” The elements associated with the crime of “spying” are as follows: (1) The accused collected or attempted to collect certain information by clandestine means or while acting under false pretenses; (2) The accused intended or had reason to believe the information collected would be used to injure [Russia] or to provide an advantage to a foreign power; (3) The accused intended to convey such information to an enemy of [Russia] or one of the co-belligerents of the enemy; and (4) The conduct took place in the context of and was associated with armed conflict. The manual notes that the maximum punishment for the crime of spying is death. One cannot minimize the human tragedy that attaches to the deaths of everyone named or referenced in the AP/Frontline story. The circumstances described are harrowing—bound, blindfolded, cold, and scared, their final moments spent standing alone in a courtyard or garden, waiting for the sound of the gunshot that would end their lives. Nor should one seek to minimize the impact on those called upon to carry out these sentences. The taking of a human life is life-altering, and the psychological wounds inflicted on the involved Russian soldiers will haunt them for the rest of their lives. But as horrible as the act of killing under these circumstances is, it is not a war crime. One cannot say the same about the events of April 1-2, when Ukrainian security forces swept into Bucha and conducted their own systemic “cleansing” operation. The deliberate murder of civilians, without benefit of anything remotely resembling a tribunal, is a war crime. This is the case I have made from the very beginning. This is the case that got me banned from Twitter. This is the case that got me included on the so-called blacklist published by the Center for Countering Disinformation, where I was labelled a Russian propogandist, information terrorist and war criminal. This is the case that got me listed on the so-called Myrotvorets “hit list,” literally marked for death by the Ukrainian security services because of my views. “The purpose of the [CCD] is to emphasize the importance of protecting the information sphere for Ukraine’s national security, counteracting propaganda, destructive disinformation and campaigns, as well as preventing manipulation of public opinion,” Polina Lysenko, the initial head of the CCD announced when the center was created. Mrs. Lysenko has since gone on maternity leave. She has been replaced by Andriy Shapovalov, her deputy, who today serves as the acting director. On July 14, 2022, Andriy Shapovalov convened an international roundtable on countering disinformation, during which time he released the CCD “blacklist” containing my name. There, Shapovalov claimed the people on that list—myself included—were guilty of deliberately spreading disinformation, and as such should be labeled as “information terrorists,” subject to be tried as “war criminals.” “Information terrorists,” Shapovalov declared, “should know that they will have to answer to the law as war criminals.” Debunking Russian propaganda is Shapovalov’s erstwhile job description. On October 19, the acting director of the CCD appeared as a guest on an online program called “Blitz-Coffee” run by the Twitter channel “@Flash_news_ua,” whose self-proclaimed purpose is to provide “[p]rompt information about #War_in_Ukraine without fake news 24/7.” The topic of the program: “Debunking Kremlin myths.” Shortly after Shapovalov did his “Blitz-Coffee” program, on November 4, the Associated Press tweeted out a link to its most recent reporting on Bucha with the following commentary: “The Russians ‘shoot everyone,’ a Russian soldier in Bucha told his mother in an intercepted phone call. The @AP obtained CCTV footage showing for the first time what a ‘cleansing’ operation looked like.” Twitter has not suspended the @AP account. I’m throwing down the gauntlet to both Elon Musk and Andriy Shapovalov: Let’s debate. Elon, your platform has provided a safe haven for pro-Ukrainian propaganda, and is actively supporting an institution, the Center for Countering Disinformation, which has targeted US citizens—myself included—for arrest, imprisonment, and assassination for the “crime” of exercising their constitutionally-protected right of free speech. Your content moderators have no problem promulgating the pro-Ukrainian narrative about war crime allegations against Russia, but are quick on the draw to ban me for daring to challenge that narrative in a fact-based manner. Absolute free speech requires that all sides of a narrative be heard. I challenge Andriy Shapovalov to a debate about Bucha and the underlying allegations of war crimes. The proposed issue to be debated: “Bucha and the issue of war crimes: Who is to blame?” I challenge the man whose self-proclaimed mission is to debunk “Kremlin myths” to debate me, whom he calls an “information terrorist,” in a public forum. What better way to defeat an “information terrorist” than to debunk the very information he is accused of terrorizing Ukraine with? This is Shapovalov’s patriotic duty. Don’t shirk from your calling, Andriy; be a man. I also challenge Elon Musk and Twitter to put their money where their mouths are and sponsor this debate. I welcome the Twitter content moderation team to moderate this debate. It’s time to bring this issue to a head. If Twitter is going to live up to its claim of being one of the foremost public platforms for free speech, why not host a debate that will tackle this issue directly? Let the public bear witness to a debate, dialogue, and discussion about one of the most controversial topics of the day—war crimes committed in Ukraine. Knowledge is power. I challenge Twitter to empower its membership, the American people, and the world at large, with the kind of insights such a debate would produce, to discern what is fact-based information, and what is state-sponsored propaganda. If Andriy Shapovalov is unable to attend such a debate, for whatever reason, then I throw the gauntlet down to the @AP reporters who authored the article on Bucha. Let them defend their reporting, while holding me accountable for my own. While Twitter has already weighed in on this issue (banning me, while publishing the @AP article without question), I would view such a debate as the perfect training opportunity for Twitter’s new content moderators. What better way to learn about content moderation than to moderate a debate between two competing sources of content? And if Shapovalov is nervous about debating a notorious “information terrorist” by himself, I invite him to team up with the @AP reporters. After all, they are already a team of sorts—Shapovalov works for Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council who served as one of the major sources of the @AP/Frontline reporting, and without whose assistance the reporting on Bucha could not have taken shape in its current form. Let’s breathe life into the words of John 8:32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Let’s debate. Let’s find the truth about Bucha. Let’s free the world from propaganda. Feel free to tweet this article to @CforCD, @elonmusk, @AP, and @frontlinepbs. If you are on Telegram, feel free to send this article to t.me/CenterCounteringDisinformation. Let’s get this done. Let free speech be free." |
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#160 |
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Eur. Commissievoorzitter
Geregistreerd: 5 januari 2009
Berichten: 8.177
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