Iraqi hospitals have reported civilian killings by US forces all along

[bigtree]

which our military promptly denies. That's been happening from the start. Innocent civilians have been killed and maimed as a result of offensive actions by our soldiers.

If this war and occupation in Iraq is illegal and immoral then it follows that these killings are murder. At any rate, the Iraqis must certainly see it that way.

I'm pleased with the widespread coverage of the reported incidents, but the context is lost when they seperate the overall mission, with its component muckraking, from the individual abhorrent acts the mission supports. The public is led to believe that these acts occur in an atmosphere of comraderie between the Iraqis and their American occupiers.

These acts are an adjunct to the oppression the occupation intends. There seems to be no expression of remorse forthcoming from our leaders for the 'collateral' casualties of Bush's dirty war. Only a reflex to assign blame for the acts that are so thoroughly exposed as outright murder.

But the Iraqis will make little distinction between those who prosecuted the violence and those who sent them there as they assign blame and look for someone to take responsibility. True justice for these killings will only come when our country acknowledges the wrongness of the entire operation, in addition to the individual wrongs, and manages to withdraw our complicit forces.

edit: sp

[Jawja]

1. Excellent.

"True justice for these killings will only come when our country acknowledges the wrongness of the entire operation, in addition to the individual wrongs, and manages to withdraw our complicit forces."

I will add also that our country follows withdrawal with removing the war criminals from office and submitting them for international trial. And maybe then we can begin to atone for our complicity in mass murder.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. I agree entirely.

I refuse to agree to the meme that the murderers at Haditha are any different from the pilots that drop bombs or the artillerists that bombard buildings on "legal" orders.

Atrocities such as Haditha and Falluja and countless other places, are the results of an illegal war.

The way to stop them isn't to court-martial "bad apples" (not that they shouldn't be), but to stop the goddam war.

I fail to see how staying one-minute longer, in any way, helps to "stablilize" the country. Which now seems to be the byword after the ludicrous rationales of non-existant WMD, overthrowing a dictator, stopping Al-Queda, spreading "democracy", etc, have been shown to be nothing but excuses for conquest and slaughter.

The war crimes, atrocities, and general barbarism in Iraq has a long list of perpetrators. The lesser criminals will be (hopefully) punished, while their overlords sit safely in their bunkers or offices and continue the crimes.

The way to stop the atrocities is to stop the war.

[leftchick]

3. THANK YOU!

Very well stated.