U.S. 'investigating' more claims of Iraq killings

Friday, June 2, 2006; Posted: 9:30 a.m. EDT (13:30 GMT)



BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military is investigating the deaths of nearly a dozen Iraqi civilians during a U.S. raid near Balad in March.

The probe is one of at least three looking into the possible killings of Iraqis, including women and children, by U.S. troops. Among the incidents are an alleged massacre by Marines of 24 civilians in Haditha last November and the killing of an Iraqi civilian near Hamandiya, west of Baghdad, on April 26.

Iraqi government officials have become angry over the reports of daily violence by coalition troops. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki this week said: "They crush them with their vehicles, and they kill them just on suspicion. ... This is completely unacceptable."

Iraqi police said 11 people were killed in a U.S.-led raid against a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq site. The dead included five children -- the youngest 6 months old -- as well as four women and two men, the police said.

The U.S. military reported there had been deaths, including of civilians, but provided a lower casualty count, saying an insurgent, two women and a child were killed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/02/iraqi.probes/index.html

Also, "Collateral Damage", "We regret the loss of civilian life", "Support Our Troops", "Finish the Mission", and all the other handy little slogans and whitewashes the bosses are fond of.

Fortunately, a lot of the Bullshit they're selling is coming up No Sale.

looks like the same drip of reports like the ones that came from Abu Ghraib

They should be pouring in over the coming days and weeks.

Btw, I won't buy the argument that we should go soft on these reports to maintain the morale of the troops. Their morale will be just fine if we can stir up enough resentment of their 'mission' to force their 'leaders' to bring them home.

So, in the last few days there's been talk of FOUR massacres being uncovered, by my count:

- 24 civilians in Haditha, November 2005

- killing of an Iraqi civilian near Hamandiya, April 06

- a dozen Iraqi civilians during a U.S. raid near Balad in March

- 11 civilians massacred in Ishaqi, about 100km north of Baghdad, on March 15

Are these two last cases the same?

"Kill them all and let God sort them out." Where is the outrage by decent human beings? What will become of all of us if we continue down this unchecked path?

on this earlier in the morning. Things are going downhill, fast.

most Iraqis will relate the larger reports to their own experiences, fatal or not.

Any new uprising against the occupiers will be unlike any resistance we've seen so far, i fear.