Posted to PENL by Jurriaan./Joanna ___________________________________________________________________
(a US friend of mine drew my attention to this item, also noticed by the conservatives at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/984366/posts which gives the full article as well)
Exclusive: IDF training software to go to US forces in Iraq The Jerusalem Post ^ | September 17, 2003 | ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
The US military has asked the Israeli army to translate its special educational software program that teaches soldiers how to behave in occupied territories, so US forces can apply it in Iraq, senior Israeli officers said Wednesday. The newly completed completed software teaches the IDF's code of conduct, which is based on 11 principles. These deal with such issues as how to behave at roadblocks, during arrests and searches and with rioters. All are common events soldiers face in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The software, developed by the Judge Advocate General's office, will be distributed to command courses in the IDF by the end of the month. It uses movie clips, animation and scenarios to show soldiers what is the right and wrong way to behave in this sensitive area of limited combat. It was made in conjunction with the Ground Forces Command education and technology department.
"This is an interactive software program based on movie clips and animation aimed at teaching junior commanders the 11 codes of conduct regarding the civilian population," said Lt.-Col. Amos Giora, Commandant of the IDF School of Military Law. "It is geared toward what is going on in the territories, but can also be applied to war and combat situations."
Giora said the idea for the software program grew out of mounting requests by field commanders for IDF jurists to lecture to troops on how to behave properly when engaged in combat situations in the territories. "During the past year we lectured to thousands of soldiers and commanders on the modes of conduct, but realized that the best way to deal with this considering our limited staff was to make a software program," Giora said.
The goal is for all troops serving in the territories to use the program. Giora said US military personnel who have seen the program responded positively to it. "They tell us that from their perspective, parts of it are clearly relevant with what they are going through in Iraq," Giora told The Jerusalem Post. "If you view our experiences and theirs, you can obviously see they are similar. This educational software can teach them these codes of conduct." The US embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed that American military personnel had been shown the software and agreed it was a useful tool for soldiers, but declined to comment further.