IRAQ WAR: Civilian casualties

Civilian casualties in the Iraq war get wide publicity, as in this Reuters' story (4/2/03): "Civilians killed in US checkpoint paranoia: US Marines shot dead an unarmed Iraqi driver at a military checkpoint in southern Iraq , just hours after seven women and children died in a similar incident. A soldier involved in the latest incident said he thought the driver was a suicide bomber. The incident happened near the town of Shatra, 35km from Nassiriya where some of the fiercest fighting of the 13-day-old war has taken place. The shooting of civilians has heightened Arab fury over the war to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. American troops fired on a civilian car near Najaf, killing seven women and children, when it failed to stop at a desert checkpoint, US military officials said. US troops have been on edge because of ambushes and a checkpoint suicide attack on Saturday that killed four of their colleagues near Najaf, 160km south of Baghdad. Iraq, heavily outgunned by US and British forces, promised more suicide attacks would follow. Many invading soldiers expected a hero's welcome for "liberating" Iraqis from Saddam's rule but have instead met fierce resistance from armed units and from guerrillas often dressed as civilians".

RH:The Pentagon fooled itself when it assumed US troops would be welcomed as liberators, even though there have been occasional welcomes. In Commons today, Tony Blair repeatedly said that the future Iraq must be run by Iraqis, indicating his sensitivity to the problem described above. To offset the above stories, he reported that Iraqi boys had been shot dead before their parents for refusing to fight for Saddam Hussein.

Ronald Hilton - 4/2/03