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U.S.
devalues Iraqi lives: Not as important
as American lives - U.S. commanders
say |
Posted By Ahmed
Abdullah
On November 19, 2005, more than 24
unarmed Iraqi civilians were shot dead
by U.S. occupation forces in the
western Iraqi city of Haditha. The
massacre, denounced by some U.S.
politicians as worse than the Abu
Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal,
shattered the U.S. image abroad and
triggered worldwide condemnation, but
the findings of the army’s
investigation into the killings were
more shocking.
Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell who
investigated the horrific crime
submitted his report in 2006, but it
wasn’t made public until yesterday.
In it, the general concluded that the
U.S. Marines Corps in Iraq “fostered
a climate that devalued the lives of
innocent Iraqi civilians” to the
point that American troops considered
their deaths insignificant.
The report, obtained by the Washington
Post, also found that U.S. commanders
ignored “obvious” signs of
“serious misconduct” in the
killings, indicting the whole chain of
command, from the general in charge to
the marines who murdered the 24 men,
women and children in Haditha.
"All levels of command tended to
view civilian casualties, even in
significant numbers, as routine and as
the natural and intended result of
insurgent tactics," the Post
quoted Gen Bargwell as saying.
Moreover, the report said statements
taken from those involved suggested
the marines thought "Iraqi
civilian lives are not as important as
U.S. lives, their deaths are just the
cost of doing business, and that the
marines need to get 'the job done' no
matter what it takes".
The U.S. army initially claimed that
some civilians died in a roadside bomb
that killed one marine in Haditha, and
that the rest of the victims were
killed in an exchange of fire that
followed the initial explosion.
But witnesses said the Americans went
on a rampage, asserting that there
were no clashes between fighters and
U.S. soldiers, and that the bullets
were only fired from the marines to
retaliate for the death of their
comrade.
A local journalist also took video
footage showing men, women and
children shot in their homes. Local
residents also said some of the
victims were shot dead in their car as
they approached the scene.
The U.S. army later confirmed that 24
Iraqi civilians had died, none of them
killed by a roadside bomb.
Gen Bargewell’s report doesn’t
focus on the specifics of the
killings, which are the subject of an
ongoing criminal investigation, rather
it tackles the command structure and
investigation procedure.
According to the report, the officers
involved tried to protect themselves
and their troops by deliberately
ignoring reports of civilian deaths.
The marines hadn’t identified
targets properly, there was no
interest in investigating reports of a
massacre, and all the signs indicating
that the incident was significant were
ignored.
A separate investigation into whether
the marines tried to cover up the
Haditha killings concluded that top
military commanders failed to follow
up on “red flags” that should’ve
indicated inaccuracies in early
accounts of the deaths. It also
questioned why top military leaders in
western Iraq failed to further
investigate what happened in Haditha
when they learned that civilians have
been killed, confirming Gen
Bargewell’s findings that U.S.
troops considered the deaths of Iraqi
civilians insignificant.
Despite the shocking findings, the
U.S. Marine Corps dropped all charges
against one of eight marines accused
in the Haditha massacre in exchange
for his testimony. Three other marines
remain charged with murder and four
with dereliction of duty for failing
to report and investigate the
shootings.
A military judge has yet to decide if
there is enough evidence against the
seven accused marines to convene a
court martial. If found guilty, the
three marines charged with murder
could face life imprisonment.
Detaining these marines will not bring
the dead Iraqi civilians to life. But
it might make foreign troops value the
lives of civilians. It could also help
in the investigations into many other
cases in which U.S. occupation forces
have been accused of unlawfully
killing innocent Iraqis.
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