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March 12, 1999

Jared Israel of Counterpunch is the first journalist I am
aware of to: 1) study the internal inconsistencies of
NATO's explanation of how they "accidentally" attacked
the embassy of Yugoslavia's most powerful political ally
killing three journalists in three different apartments
and 2) present the public with a detailed history of the
building and the site where it is located.

http://www.counterpunch.org/maps.html

Some things to consider:

1. The embassy was not hit by a "dumb" bomb which
just happened to drift off target. It was hit
by not one, but three different "smart" weapons (the
Pentagon won't identify the type) - and each one
hit the apartment of a different Chinese journalist.

2. Prior to the building of the embassy, the lot
was occupied by a park so it is impossible
that there was ever a map - old, new or
otherwise - that showed *any* building at this
site.

3. A description of the site:

"The embassy stands alone in its own grounds surrounded by grassy open
space on three sides. Rows of high-rise apartment blocs are located 200 (600
feet) metres away and a line of shops, offices and apartments sits about 150
meters (450 feet) away on the other side of a wide tree-lined avenue,
[called]...Cherry Tree Street." (Reuters, 5/8)

Very inlikely to be mistaken for an ammunition warehouse.

4. The Pentagon's own descriptions of how they select
and prepare for targets:

"'Target identification and pilot preparation would have been extensive in
this case, because of the military importance of the intended target and
 because Belgrade is heavily defended by Serb forces,' [Air Force Maj. Gen.
Charles Wald, a strategic planner for the Joint Chiefs of Staff] said at a
briefing for reporters.

'`'The way targeting works ... the higher the threat, the more valued the
target, the more time you would study it. The more time you have to study
it, the better,' Wald said."

The use of three, very expensive "smart" weapons would tend to indicate
that the target was highly "valued" and there would have been ample
time to study it. Remember too, this mistake was not made in the
heat of battle. It was, by the Pentagon's own description,
a carefully calculated attack that hit its intended targets -
three suites in the "wrong" office building.

Israel asks: "What is the likelihood of NATO picking target coordinates
that just happen to coincide with three apartments occupied by journalists?
I mean, one computer-guided bomb destroying a journalist's home would not
be unlikely. But three hitting three journalists' homes?"

If Israel's analysis is correct, and I can't find a flaw in it,
then the US is playing a game so reckless as to defy comparison
with just about anything that has happened this century.
And why? For what?

http://www.counterpunch.org/maps.html

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