Iraqi official accuses US of 'indiscriminate killing' in western Iraq

[Barrett808]

An Iraqi official has accused the US forces of "indiscriminate killing" and destruction in the Iraqi town of Al-Qa'im, on the Syrian border.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera TV on 18 June, Abd-al-Khaliq al-Rawi, director of telecommunications in Al-Qa'im, said that the town's residents had begun acts of "civil disobedience" in protest at the killings.

Al-Rawi told the channel that US snipers were killing people every day in the town's market.

"These actions have increased in the past week. There are innocent victims on a daily basis," he said.

Commenting further on the strike by the residents, Al-Rawi said that "all government departments and commercial shops" were closed today in protest against the "US occupation troops' occupation and destruction of 10 government departments and blowing up of houses and shops".

Al-Rawi said that "almost half" of Al-Qa'im's residents had left the city a week ago as a result of the US snipers' "indiscriminate killing".

(more)

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/mediamonitor/article_1016235.php/Iraqi_official_accuses_US_of_indiscriminate_killing_in_western_Iraq

[Supersedeas]

1. this will never see the Corporate media light of day

[Just Me]

2. Isn't the latest target of "pacification"?

I can not bring myself to imagine how awful the circumstances in this country that did NOTHING to threaten our security.

[Karenina]

4. The karma kickback...

I don't want to even think about it. :SIGH:

[Barrett808]

3. Largely because there are no corporate reporters on site

They're all locked up in the Green Zone.

[Brundle_Fly]

5. IF WE KILL EM

THEY MUST BE TERRORISTS...

so easy to operate with impunity.

impunity |im?pyo?nit?| noun exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action : the impunity enjoyed by military officers implicated in civilian killings | protesters burned flags on the streets with impunity.

[dansolo]

8. Insurgents

Notice how every news reports X number of insurgents killed. They always imply that the only deaths were insurgents. So either they are discounting civilian casualties, or they are lumping everyone that they kill as insurgents, even if they are innocent civilians.

[mbperrin]

10. The line in Full Metal Jacket:

If they break and run, they're VC. If they stand still, they're WELL-DISCIPLINED VC.


Oh, and just for a little extra:
How can you shoot women and children?
It's easy, just don't lead 'em so much!

[damntexdem]

6. Winning hearts and minds, just like in Vietnam:

nothing like putting a bullet through a brain or a heart to 'win' it.

[cthrumatrix]

9. those were "roses flying all over'...ask FU Cheney

[madmark]

7. Well this an illustration of why the Iraqi misadventure is a

disaster for the US. Tactically, the only way for our guys there to defend themselves is to go on the offensive, such as described in the article (contrast the relative safety of the sniping with the sitting duck patrolling activity), but because of the nature of the conflict we cause disproportionate collateral damage and as a by product you get the strategic Al Quadification of the Sunni population of Iraq. Its no win; and time to get out with the unspoken reservation to return discretely to eliminate any real concentrations of Al Quada that actually appear.

[Inland]

11. Not true! All the dead were Iraqis, who were carefully targeted. nt