Two interesting stories yesterday in the Guardian regarding US troops killing innocent civilains in Iraq and getting away with it.
American officers are quietly paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars to relatives of those killed or injured in arbitrary shootings by troops
Quotes:
No regrets or culprits, just cash for series of random killings
The US military has not punished any soldier for shooting an unarmed civilian and refuses even to keep count of the civilians its soldiers kill. Yet for several months now, American officers have been quietly paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to relatives of the dead and injured, offering polite but carefully-worded condolences and promising investigations that lead nowhere.
In a report last month, Human Rights Watch concluded that "US soldiers at present operate with virtual impunity in Iraq" and accused them of over-aggressive tactics, indiscriminate shooting and a quick reliance on lethal force.
It found that the US military was not doing enough "to minimise harm to civilians as required by international law". Human Rights Watch collected evidence that the US military killed 94 civilians between May and the end of September in "questionable circumstances. Taken as a whole," it said, "they reveal a pattern of alleged illegal deaths that merit investigation."
It is a largely unreported toll of death and injury, excused by the army's broad and secret rules of engagement, but one that has pushed many once-accepting Iraqi families into disgust at their occupiers.
More than 900 claims have been filed with the brigade, which is responsible for 1.5 million people in the al-Rashid district of Baghdad. Since July, Capt Murphy has paid out an astonishing $106,000 (#62,500) in 176 different cases. Payments are given for damage to cars and houses, injury and death. The money frequently covers little more than the cost of the traditional three-day funeral ceremony. Only rarely does the army admit any liability. As Siham turns to leave, Capt Murphy tells her: "I am sorry for your loss, madam."
Helping Siham with her case is Faiz Alwasity, 41, a former pilot with Iraqi Airways, who now works for the aid group Civic, the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, which has won assistance for civilian victims of US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is working on dozens of similar cases and is deeply distressed by what he has seen.
"This hurts a lot. I know the American soldiers are not inhumane because I saw them when they first came and they be haved well," he said. "But now they have changed and I don't know why. They are becoming more aggressive, maybe because they are frightened. I am afraid this is creating more resistance against them."
Privately senior American officers say the rules of engagement are so broad that troops know they will not face punishment even if civilians are accidentally killed as a result of their gunfire. In the face of a mounting guerrilla insurgency, commanders have gone to great lengths to defend their soldiers' aggressive conduct. This week Major General Chuck Swannack, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, heaped undiluted praise on his men. "At one moment they are a warrior and the next they are the most compassionate individual on the face of the earth," he said.
US pays up for fatal Iraq blunders
In three separate cases, families have described to the Guardian how their relatives had been killed apparently without cause by American soldiers manning observation posts or patrolling through the streets of Baghdad. In one case a couple were killed in front of their three young daughters when an Abrams tank ran over and crushed their car.
The number of civilian deaths caused by the US since the war remains largely uncounted. In a report last month Human Rights Watch said it had believed 94 civilians were killed in "questionable circumstances" by American troops between May and September 30.
Human Rights Watch concluded that US troops were operating "with impunity. The individual cases of civilian deaths... reveal a pattern by US forces of over-aggressive tactics, indiscriminate shooting in residential areas and a quick reliance on lethal force", Human Rights Watch said. "The lack of timely and thorough investigations into many questionable incidents has created an atmosphere of impunity, in which many soldiers feel they can pull the trigger without coming under review."
For the families of the dead, the killings and the lack of legal recourse has provoked a groundswell of opposition to the US military occupation.
Posted by uber-kiwi
at 12:51 PM EAST
