Support the Decommissioners Public Meeting

SPEAKERS

COLM BRYCE - Colm is one of the Raytheon 9, who, during the Israeli
bombing of Lebanon, broke into the Raytheon plant in Derry and
decommissioned it. They were acquitted in 2008 after arguing their
actions were legally justified -  http://www.raytheon9.org/

GUY SMALLMAN - On May 4th 2009 NATO a B1 bomber dropped bombs on the
village of Granai killing up to 140 civilians. Guy Smallman visited
the scene shortly afterward. The B1 bomber utilizes components
supplied byt EDO/ITT in Brighton.

PLUS UPDATES FROM THE SMASH EDO CAMPAIGN

Who are EDO/ITT?

The EDO factory on Home Farm Road in Brighton, where the
decommissioning took place, has been part of ITT Corporation
(www.itt.com), since December 2007.

Before ITT took over the factory was known as EDO MBM, a trading unit
of the EDO Corporation
( http://web.archive.org/web/20070716124730/http://www.edocorp.com/),
another US company which acquired EDO MBM
( http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-23543062_ITM) in
2003 and was bought by ITT in 2007. Prior to that the factory was
owned by the Emblem Group, a British company.

ITT stands for International Telegraph and Telecom. The company was
established in 1920 and diversified to weapons production in the 1930s
when it acquired the German Focke-Wulf company who were a manufacturer
of aircraft for the Nazi Luftwaffe. It is now the 19th largest defence
manufacturer in the world.

What Happened on the night of the decommissioning?

On January the 17th 2009 the bombs had already fallen relentlessly on
Gaza for three weeks. Massive, passionate demonstrations and pickets
had been held in many cities around the UK and the world in protest
against Israel’s war crimes, but to no avail. A growing sense of
helplessness was grabbing hold of the movement as the Palestinian body
count stood at 1400 and rising. 300 of the dead were children. This
was the night of the “citizen’s decommissioning” of the weapons
manufacturer EDO/ITT in Moulsecoomb, Brighton.

Just after midnight the six decommissioners broke into EDO’s premises
with the aim of,decommissioning it. It was an entirely accountable
action where each person had pre-recorded a video in which they stated
the reasons for their participation –to help dismantle the war machine
from the factory floor (to view their video statements go to
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfa8R2AxUFg&feature=related ). Once
inside the building, the six barricaded themselves in and set to work;
Equipment used to make weapon components -including some used in
Israeli F16 fighter jets- were trashed whilst computers were thrown
out of the windows. Once they were done they calmly waited for the
police to arrest them. Three others have also been charged with aiding
the decommissioners.

DCI Graham Pratt of Sussex Police was quoted in the Guardian
( http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/17/gaza-armsfactory-protest):
"Windows had been smashed and offices turned over in what I would
describe as wanton vandalism, but with machinery and equipment so
targeted that it could have been done with a view of bringing business
to a standstill”.

Far from being a 'wanton' act it was a pre-planned act of resistance
against the massacre going on in Gaza. However, the second part of his
statement was entirely accurate: the decommissioning prevented the
manufacturing side of EDO from working, slowing down the murderous war
machine they are a part of.

To read more about why the decommissioners decided to take action see
the 2009 pamphlet 'If I had a hammer'

EDO/ITT's Supply of Weapons to Israel

ITT supplies weapons to Israel both from the EDO/ITT factory in
Brighton and as a global corporation. Here are a few examples. Please
contact  smashedopress@riseup.net for more details of what EDO/ITT
manufacture and documentary evidence.

The Saar Gunship

ITT has several contracts to supply equipment to the Israeli Navy. One
of those contracts is for the SAAR gunship (see
www.defense.itt.com/Sas/Electronic/ITT_ES_RRAS_Bro_R5.pdf page 9).

After Operation Cast Lead the British government reviewed all licenses
from Britain to Israel and found that there was 'credible evidence'
that the Saar gunships had been involved in attacks on Gaza
( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=PressS&id=16637031),
as a result licenses relating to the SAAR were revoked.
( http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/britain-punishes-israel-for-gaza-naval-bombardment-1744969.html).

Bomb Racks for the Israeli F-16 and F-15s

The EDO/ITT factory in Brighton owns the patents for several
components for main the bomb rack used in Israel's F-16, the VER-2.
Israel has been supplied with hundreds of F-16s by the US government
under a series of agreements known as Peace Marble, that date back to
the 1970s. These F-16s have been used repeatedly in attacks against
civilians in Lebanon and Palestine.

EDO have advertised the VER-2 on their website
(web.archive.org/web/20040401120233/ http://www.mbmtech.co.uk/br.html)
and own the patents for several parts for the VER-2 – the ERU-151
( http://es.is.itt.com/ERU151.htm) and the Zero Retention Force Arming
Unit ( http://es.is.itt.com/WeaponInterfacingMechanical.htm#ZRFAU). ITT
also manufacture the ESTER bomb rack which is used on the F-16
( http://es.is.itt.com/DocumentationCenter/ESTER%20brochure.pdf)

Research and Development of Weapons Systems

EDO/ITT have manufactured thousands of bomb ejector units for F-16 and
F-15 war planes around the world, and supplied these direct to the
Israeli Air Force from at least as early as the 1980s.

EDO/ITT in Brighton is a UK Government approved ‘List-X’ facility
cleared to handle classified military secrets. They have led the way
in research and development of smart bomb racks and ancillary
components for these planes and are a world leader in the production
of arming units, bomb fuses, and ancillaries for smart weapons release
systems. They hold sub contracts with, amongst others, BAE, Lockheed
Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Cobham. Some of these weapons
are then supplied to Israel as part of larger armament systems.

The Brighton firm are also engaged in research and development of
fifth generation jet fighter weapons systems such as the F-35 (which
Israel is negotiating to buy from the US) and have pioneered miniature
bomb racks for military drones and UAV’s including BAE’s classified
programs in collaboration with the Israeli arms industry

FRCS (Field Replaceable Connector System)

The FRCS is an 'umbilical' weapons release mechanism invented,
patented and produced by ITT Integrated Structures at the EDO factory
in Brighton. It was designed by current Brighton director John Eaton.
The FRCS is used as a connector for smart bomb racks and weapons
pylons on, amongst others, F-16 fighter planes.I TT says that each
FRCS release mechanism can be used for over 100 “ejected releases”
(i.e. bomb drops), providing 'efficiency' and 'consistency' of weapons
releases. Managing Director of EDO, Paul Hills, has been quoted
expressing the degree to which the FRCS has “strengthened” the market
position of ITT. Since 2006 The FRCS has been used on American A-10,
B-1B, F-15, and F-16 weapons release systems. Some of these systems
have then been supplied to Israel and were almost certainly used in
the attacks on Gaza.

Paveway Guided Bombs

Since the 1980s, EDO/ITT in Brighton have been involved in the
production of the Paveway bomb series in conjunction with Raytheon.
This development work led to the creation of enhanced systems that
have since been incorporated into US variants of the bombs that have
in turn been supplied to Israel. Israel has since been supplied with
Paveway II, Paveway III and has ordered Raytheon Enhanced Paveway III
5000lb Bunker Buster bombs with could be used to attack Iran. Paveway
weapons were extensively used in the Israeli attacks on Gaza and
Lebanon.

What do EDO/ITT Say?

ITT make no attempt to hide their supply of weapons components to
Israel: a previous CEO of ITT defence said "Israel's military needs
make it a good market," (see
 http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/states/IN.html). The
managing director of EDO/ITT in Brighton, Paul Hills, maintains that
the Brighton factory do not supply components to Israel. "We make
things that ensure the safe carriage and release of weapons from
aircraft.” (www.theargus.co.uk/news/4330205.EDO_boss_tells_Brighton_protesters___You_ve_got_your_facts_wrong_/).
Campaigners hotly contest this assertion.

The Campaign against EDO

Campaigners have been calling for the closure of EDO MBM/ITT since
2004. The campaign was kickstarted with a roof occupation and lock-on
at the factory in May 2004 and demonstrations have taken place every
week since then. Several protest camps have been held outside the
factory and recent mass demonstrations at the factory have attracted
thousands of people, for example at last years Mayday demonstration.


'Operation Cast Lead' – Israel's Massacre in Gaza

On 27 December 2008, without warning, Israeli forces began a
devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip codenamed Operation
“Cast Lead”. By 18 January 2009 some 1,400 Palestinians had been
killed and large areas of Gaza had been razed to the ground.

According to the Israeli Government, the Israeli armed forces’ rules
of engagement states “Strikes shall be directed against military
objectives and combatants only. It is absolutely prohibited to
intentionally strike civilians or civilian objects".

The report of the United Nations fact finding on the Gaza conflict

( http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/specialsession/9/docs/UNFFMGC_Report.pdf)
relates 36 incidents in which serious allegations of direct attacks
were made against civilians. There appears to have been no justifiable
military objective pursued in many of them. It would be impossible to
try and summarise the events of 'Operation Cast Lead' in a short and
concise piece, the following are a few confirmed examples found within
the 575 page UN report.

On the 3rd of January there was an attack on the al-Maqadmah mosque
resulting in at least 15 people killed and around 40 seriously injured
when the Israeli armed forces struck the entrance of the mosque with a
missile. People were attending the mosque for prayers as the attack
occurred. Victims included 13 year old Muhammad and 8 year old Hani.
According to Israeli armed forces the uninvolved civilians who were
the casualties of the attacks were in fact Hamas operatives killed
whilst fighting against the IDF. The UN concluded that this was an
attack on the civilian population and not in the pursuit of a
legitimate military objective.

On 3 and 4 January 2009, there was heavy aerial bombardment and
shelling by tanks of the open areas around Siyafa village where the
Abu Halima family was sheltering. At around 4.30p.m., a white
phosphorous shell came through the ceiling into the room where they
were huddled. According to family members who survived, there was
intense fire and white smoke in the room, the walls of which were
glowing red. Five members of the family died immediately, including 18
month old Shahid. Muhammad Sa’ad and Abd al-Rahim Sa’ad who were
decapitated, the others burnt to death. The Israeli armed forces
denied the ambulances access to the area to evacuate the wounded and
then opened fire on the relatives of the wounded who were trying to
take them to the nearest hospital. The UN concluded that the risks
this attack posed to the civilian population and civilian objects in
the area under attack were excessive in relation to the specific
military advantages sought.

One incident concerns the launch of a bomb on a house resulting in the
killing of 22 family members. Israel's position in this case is that
there was an 'operational error' and that the intended target was a
neighbouring house storing weapons. On 6 January 2009 the Al-Daya
family house that was located South East of Gaza city was struck by a
projectile fired from an F-16 aircraft which killed 22 members of the
family. Twelve of those killed were children under 10 all crushed
under the rubble of the house. No neighbouring house was attacked at
any time after the Al Daya house was destroyed in the remaining 12
days of the land operation.

Policy could be summarized, in the words of one of the soldiers: “if
we see something - suspect and shoot, better hit an innocent than
hesitate to target an enemy. In urban warfare, anyone is your enemy.
No innocents.”

In reviewing the above incidents the UN mission found in many cases
that the Israeli armed forces had carried out direct intentional
strikes against civilians.

Contact: Andrew Beckett or Chloe Marsh, Smash EDO campaign
Tel: 07526557436 E-mail:  smashedopress@riseup.net Website: www.smashedo.org.uk