The cold blooded murder of Jean Charles de Menezes,
in the Stockwell underground was no accident. London Metropolitan Police
had approved a policy of "shoot to kill":
"a controversial tactic deployed only in the most
extreme circumstances but one police have been preparing to use for the
last two weeks.".
The shoot to kill policy was undertaken under the
auspices of "Operation Kratos", named after the mythical Spartan
hero. It was carried out by the London Metropolitan's elite SO19
firearms unit often referred to as the Blue Berets. The latter
are described as the equivalent to the US SWAT teams, yet in this
particular case, they were not wearing uniforms.
The training of the S019 marksmen was patterned on that
of Israel. They had been briefed "by officers who had been to Israel
to meet their counterparts there and pick up tips gleaned from the
experience of dealing with Hamas bombers".
"During the Kratos briefings, the Met team were told
that, contrary to their normal arms training, they should fire at the
head rather than the chest. Although the chest is easier to hit, it is
not as reliable in causing instant death, giving a bomber a chance to
detonate his device.... "(The Scottish Daily Record, 23 July,
2005).
The "Israeli counterparts" refers to Israel's
National Police (INP), Shin Bet (the Israel Security Agency) and Israel's
Ministry of Internal Security. But the police antiterrorist operations
conducted by the INP against Hamas and Islamic Jihad are carried out in
close coordination with the Military (Israeli Defense Force) and
Mossad. Israel has also collaborated in the training of members of the FBI
and the LAPD. Top law enforcement officers of the FBI were trained in
Israel under a program sponsored by the The Jewish Institute for National
Security.
see http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/2168/documentid/3020/history/3,2359,2166,2168,3020
SO13: The Anti-terrorist Branch
Of
significance in setting the antiterrorist policy under "Operation Kratos"
is the so-called SO13 or Antiterrorist Branch. .
The
various special operations units including SO13, Special branch and SO19
of the Met police are overseen by Andy Hayman, the recently
appointed assistant commissioner.
The SO19 is one of several entities under the
jurisdiction of the Met police. (see below)
Once SO13 and Special Branch decided to carry out
Operation Kratos, specific guidelines were provided to
SO19 to carry out the "shoot to kill" agenda.
Essentially what we are dealing with is the formation of
a death squadron mentality under the auspices of what is stilled
officially considered a "civilian police force".
Despite the controversy surrounding the shoot-to-kill
operations, London mayor Ken Livingstone "had nothing but praise for the
police".
Rather than condemning the killing and calling for an
investigation, he casually laid the blamed for the death of Jean
Charles de Menezes on the terrorists:
"The police acted to do what they believed necessary to
protect the lives of the public... This tragedy has added another victim
to the toll of deaths for which the terrorists bear responsibility."
(BBC, 23 July 2005)
