Lawsuit demands US reveal civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan

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http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwQFcB6E1AA97nJgGBEuVv3UP5OA

Lawsuit demands US reveal civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan
1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US civil rights group filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding the American military release documents about civilians killed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, accusing the government of trying to hide the human cost of war.

The American Civil Liberties Union's legal move came after a request for documents related to civilian deaths under the country's Freedom of Information laws was rebuffed by the US Navy, the Air Force and Marines. The US Army complied with the ACLU's year-old request. snip

In its suit filed in federal court in Washington, the ACLU -- citing the public's legal right to information held by the government -- demands the Pentagon release "all records relating to the killing of civilians by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan since January 1, 2005."

The ACLU accused President George W. Bush's administration of suppressing information about military and civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There can be no more important decision in a democracy than whether to go to war, yet this administration has gone to unprecedented lengths to control the information that the American people need to make informed judgments," said Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the ACLU.

The government's refusal to meet ACLU's freedom of information request "unlawfully obstructs the public's right to know the true costs of our nation's wars," Wizner said.