Video of Dog Being Shot Causes Norway Stir
Fri Feb 20,11:55 AM ET
By DOUG MELLGREN, Associated Press Writer
OSLO, Norway - A videotape set to music of Norwegian peacekeepers in Kosovo shooting dogs drew furious reactions in their homeland Friday.
The footage, called "Hotdog," aired on national TV on Thursday night and was edited to look and sound like a music video.
During the video, a soldier is shown shooting a dog at long range with a rifle, and another Norwegian peacekeeper appeared to empty his pistol into it at close range as the animal writhed in agony. It also shows a dog on a leash being shot.
"We see this as very serious and want to get to the bottom of it," said Cmdr. Thom Knustad, spokesman for the Norwegian military's operational command.
Norway has been a major contributor to many international peacekeeping operations, and prefers to see its soldiers as humane and effective.
Outrage over the video has been so intense that the leader of the Parliament's defense committee, Marit Nybakk, said she would demand an explanation from Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold.
The video was circulated among Norwegian Kosovo veterans and others by e-mail, and was posted on the Internet by Norway's largest newspaper, Verdens Gang. The video was e-mailed to Norwegian media outlets, including Verdens Gang.
The newspaper said the video was believed to have been recorded in March 2002 by peacekeepers from the elite Telemark Battalion, which has since returned to Norway. Verdens Gang said it had identified and spoken to some of those shown in the video, but did not report their names.
One of them told the Oslo tabloid that scenes from various events had been pieced together to give a misleading picture. For example, laughter on the soundtrack was from soldiers trying off-road vehicles, he said.
Verdens Gang also said soldiers were believed to have wounded an elderly Kosovo Albanian man in the hand while shooting at dogs and then paid him to remain silent. The military was expected to establish a commission to investigate whether those involved could face military or civilian charges.
Norway has been part of the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo since 1999.
By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA - America's chief diplomat in Havana issued a statement Friday to emphasize that no U.S. military action is planned against Cuba.
The statement by James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section, was distributed to international journalists in Cuba one week after President Fidel Castro challenged President Bush to be clear about how Washington plans to realize a transition to democracy on the island.
For nearly a year, Castro and other officials have publicly expressed concerns that the U.S. military could attack the communist nation.
In a public speech, Castro wondered aloud if Washington was planning to kill him. Last month, Castro directly accused Bush of plotting with Cuban exiles in Miami to assassinate him.
U.S. officials talk about a transition, "but how would they make this transition?" Castro asked in his Feb. 15 speech, suggesting that "the only way is to proceed with an illegal assassination using the scores of techniques they have available."
In his statement, Cason said that President Bush has repeatedly emphasized that Washington seeks a peaceful transition to democracy to Cuba brought about by Cubans.
He also quoted Secretary of State Colin Powell as saying last spring that Washington did not need to take military action against Cuba, because Castro's regime was "an anachronism and would eventually fall of its own weight."
Cason said the Cuban government was "fabricating the threat of a U.S. military attack to engender fear in the Cuban population, to spend scarce resources to maintain large military, security and intelligence structures, and to justify extreme measures in a vain attempt to crush Cuba's nascent independent civil society."