Sunday, July 09, 2006
Civilian Victims In Iraq
Cost of An Iraqi Life
The cost of an Iraqi life depends on who you are; to some the Iraqis are expendable. Collateral damage is a cynical phrase that covers a lot of wrongdoings. It displays callousness and deliberate denial of the domino effect of deaths of innocent civilians. The people responsible continue ostrich-like without paying heed to the consequences of their actions. If they have any doubts or regrets they rarely express them. But recent instances of deliberate killing of civilians in Iraq have received broad exposure in the media, and the picture has changed. What happened at Haditha, Hamandiya, Samarra, and Mahmudiyah cannot be covered up---not completely covered up. Andrew J. Bacevich writes in the Post: "In Iraq, lives differ in value -- and so do deaths. In this disparity lies an important reason why the United States has botched this war."
- Last November in Haditha , a squad of Marines, outraged at the loss of a comrade, is said to have run amok, avenging his death by killing two dozen innocent bystanders. And in March, U.S. soldiers in Mahmudiyah allegedly raped a young Iraqi woman and killed her along with three of her relatives -- an apparently premeditated crime for which one former U.S. soldier has been charged . These incidents are among at least five recent cases of Iraqi civilian deaths that have triggered investigations of U.S. military personnel. If the allegations prove true, Haditha and Mahmudiyah will deservedly take their place alongside Sand Creek, Samar and My Lai in the unhappy catalogue of atrocities committed by American troops.
- But recall a more recent incident, in Samarra . On May 30, U.S. soldiers manning a checkpoint there opened fire on a speeding vehicle that either did not see or failed to heed their command to stop. Two women in the vehicle were shot dead. One of them, Nahiba Husayif Jassim, 35, was pregnant. The baby was also killed. The driver, Jassim's brother, had been rushing her to a hospital to give birth. No one tried to cover up the incident: U.S. military representatives issued expressions of regret.
- "US 'finds Iraq killing failings'
- US marine officers at all levels failed to investigate conflicting reports of killings in the Iraqi town of Haditha, a report quoted by US media says.
- The report has been completed and reviewed by Lt-Gen Peter Chiarelli, the second-ranking US commander in Iraq.
- Twenty-four civilians died in the incident in November. The US military initially said they were killed in a bomb blast and exchange of fire.
- But reports subsequently emerged alleging that US soldiers killed them.
