Hey! Killings of Innocent Civilians At U.S. Checkpoints In Iraq Are Down

[bigtree]

to one a week. WTF?

US troops kill fewer Iraqis after new guidelines

Sun Jun 25
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060625/ts_nm/iraq_civilians_dc

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops have reduced the number of Iraqi civilians they kill after orders to improve checkpoint procedures following the shootings of some 350 Iraqis in such incidents last year, the military said on Sunday.

Figures in a briefing document provided by a U.S. spokesman in Baghdad showed that seven Iraqi civilians a week on average were reported killed in "escalation of force" (EOF) incidents in 2005. That dropped to four a week in January to one a week now.

"Just last week, 11-17 June, we had approximately 50 escalation of force incidents with only one injury in the entire country, just about the lowest level since we started tracking these incidents," Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Martin-Hing wrote.

U.S. officers had previously insisted in response to queries that no such statistics were compiled, although Martin-Hing said commanders began tracking such incidents in July last year.

With the newly formed Iraqi government publicly calling for U.S. troops to be held accountable following accusations that 24 people were killed by marines at Haditha, the military says it will ensure troops avoid killing civilians in all circumstances.

Years of civilian killings by U.S. troops, the decrease is likely temporary . . . now they're going to act like they give a shit.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. It just a video game.... it isn't real, Doom and Half-Life have

prepped us up for this sort of thing....


2 Billion Degrees Kelvin


http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2006/physics-astron/hottest-z-output.html

[ContraBass Black]

2. Better, but not good.

Now, wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have an occupation in the first place?

[aaronbees]

3. Particularly telling quote...

"All of these initiatives are designed to keep us from creating additional enemies that we would have to fight by alienating the local population," he added.

Chiarelli also stresses that troops must respect cultural sensitivities when searching homes and detaining suspects as well as insisting on quick reparations for injuries or damage.

Gee, ya think? It took them until this year to develop such policies? Surely, this development is "good news," as much as it can be in this bloodbath, but when you look at the context it's all just disgusting.