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TechnoratiUS Concedes Iraq Victims Were Law-Abiding, Not Insurgents
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said Sunday that the three people killed last month after U.S. soldiers shot at their car in one of the most secured areas of Iraq were civilians, not criminals as the military initially reported.
The correction came more than a month after a bank manager at a branch inside the airport, Hafeth Aboud Mahdi, and two female bank employees were shot at by U.S. soldiers as they sped to work on a road within the secured airport compound. The road is used only by people with high-level security clearance badges. The car veered off the road, hit a concrete blast wall and burst into flames.
The original statement said that Mahdi and the two women were "criminals" and that an American convoy on the side of the secured road came under small-arms fire from the vehicle. Soldiers said they shot back. A weapon was found in the debris and two U.S. military vehicles were struck by bullets from the attack, the statement on June 25 said.
"When we are attacked, we will defend ourselves and will use deadly force if necessary," Maj. Joey Sullinger, a spokesman for 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, said in a statement at the time. "Such attacks endanger not only U.S. soldiers but also innocent civilians, including women and children, traveling the roadways of Baghdad."
On Sunday the story changed and the tone was apologetic. A military statement said that neither the civilians who were killed nor the soldiers were at fault for the deaths. An investigation found that "the driver and passengers were law-abiding citizens of Iraq."
Soldiers had pulled off the road because one of the vehicles in the convoy was having maintenance problems. As they worked on the vehicle they saw Mahdi's car and thought it was moving too quickly toward them, the statement said. Believing they might be in danger, the soldiers warned the car. When the driver ignored the signals they shot at the vehicle, the statement said.
The alleged attack and the weapon that was said to have been recovered from the burned vehicle were misunderstandings, the statement said.
"This was an extremely unfortunate and tragic incident," said Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff, MND-B and 4th Infantry Division, in a statement. "Our deepest regrets of sympathy and condolences go out to the family. We are taking several corrective measures to amend and eliminate the possibility of such situations happening in the future."
Mahdi's son, Mohammed Hafeth, said the statement was insufficient.
He said the image of his father's burning vehicle haunts him. He'd waited in his father's office that morning surprised that he wasn't there yet. They'd left at nearly the same time that morning.
Hafeth drives bank employees to work. That morning his father offered to take one of Hafeth's passengers and picked up another female bank employee who lived nearby their central Baghdad home.
As he sat in the office a colleague walked in and told Hafeth his father's car was broken down on the airport road. Hafeth reached for his car keys.
"I'll drive," he recalled his colleague saying.
As they approached his father's car he saw the flames. He jumped from the car and started to run toward the burning vehicle, but U.S. soldiers blocked his way.
"Go," he recalled them ordering. But he said he couldn't move. He dropped to the ground and wept as his father burned inside the vehicle.
"Why did they kill him like this?" Mohammed Hafeth said Sunday in a phone interview. "We demand that they send those soldiers to an Iraqi and American court."
Mahdi was the father of six, including Hafeth. Hafeth said he now shoulders the financial responsibility for his family on his approximately $100-a-month salary.
"I was shocked that my father was killed by the Americans," he said. "Supposedly we move in a secured area ... we used to wave at them and they waved at us."
Hafeth said he didn't accept the compensation offered by the U.S. military. They offered $10,000, he said, and that wasn't enough for his father's car let alone his father's life.
"My father was a peaceful man," he said. "He never did anything wrong. Everybody knew his good reputation and everybody liked him."
McClatchy Special Correspondent Laith Hammoudi contributed to this report.
© McClatchy Newspapers 2008
22 Comments so far
Show AllIs that what they mean by army strong? the few, the strong and the brave? What a joke. This is why the Brits didn't want to work with us due to the trigger happy rambo mentality these unprofessional yankee soldiers embrace. And then as always, lie about it. Of course, in the US of Euphemisms its now called "misstatements".
"When we are attacked, we defend ourselves and we will use deadly force if necessary" says the u.s. major. Hold on a minute, Joey. Just who is attacking who here? You are in Iraq, Joey. You are not in Kansas anymore. This is not your country you s head. YOU ARE ATTACKING THEM! try real hard to remember that.
Also tell your trigger happy goons to wait until somebody actually does try to defend themselves from your attacks before they start shooting.
All these welfare usa thugs in uniform should have a flag shoved up their butts, pole and all.
It may also be recalled that aggression was defined at Nuremberg as "the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole".
And whether Afghanistan or Iraq: america lies, lies like Israel; only "concedes" the truth when the lies are exposed by camera or scores of witnesses.
Yeah, I like the leering creepy US soldier holding a gun on two women also.
The first causalty of war is the truth - we can no longer afford the scapegoating for the planned osbsolesence of ... everything that matters in life
This is an incomplete version of the story (remember Mclatchy Bureau is not granted any Gov't access over criticisms of Bush)- check the story in the NY Times yesterday (7/28) if you really want to vomit!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/world/middleeast/28iraq.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=iraqi citizens &st=cse
Just one of those unfortunate events for which no one was at fault. An act of God, basically. Oh, and the fact that it was felt necessary to lie about it at the time? Well, you can't expect primitive people like Iraqis to understand about acts of God. Heck, they think Americans are Gods. Or Devils--I keep forgetting which.
So what difference does it make to the occupation forces if they were law abiding. And who's law anyway?
Tsunami here the TSA guards at the airport pull down your pants or taser you, maybe feel you up a little, well so far.
It must be wonderful to be put into a situation, at whatever age and training qualifications, where you are constantly worried about getting killed. Gee that probably goes for both sides of this conflict, wouldn't you imagine? Then under all the stress can you imagine making a mistake, maybe, even one so egregious that it cost a life?
And now you have to live with that too! And would you wonder will there be more? At what point do you become numb or do you become something worse a cold blooded killer? Does it matter the side? Seems like a self perpetuating & escalating situation on both sides to me.
But for the Brass to put a good spin on things, at least until called on it...and continue as a matter of policy to do so.......all the while denying the policy. To replace commanders until you get the proper 'go alongs'. To have a mission with no definition of said mission, or to claim anyone can turn Iraq into 'merica; all the while 'merica becoming more like Iraq. And 'we the sheeople' continue to go along just as easily led to the slaughter as this man and his employees. Well this is hard for me to get my mind around.
And remember these "boys of ours" serving over there going through this will (if they live through it all) be coming home someday. And to what will they be returning? And what will they be fit to do here, after having such experiences as these?
Impeach and Prosecute Now all those who have broken with the US Constitution so that we may start to make the real changes we need to fix America. Now before it is to Late.
Is it time to wake up yet?
'"This was an extremely unfortunate and tragic incident," said Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff, MND-B and 4th Infantry Division'
It's not tragic. It's criminal. It's tragic when it's out of human control. It's criminal when it's under human control. The militarists hope that you will not notice the difference.
"The road is used only by people with high-level security clearance badges."
There you have it!
It's like having the security guard shoot you in the airport after you have passed through security.
These criminals already have been mimicking the Nazis. Now they are mimicking what they have been doing to "BLACKS" in the USA for centuries. One difference is that the Blacks hasn't been offered anything.
"The alleged attack and the weapon that was said to have been recovered from the burned vehicle were misunderstandings"
_________________________________________
Or "policy differences"-- you know, the neocon/wingnut universal term for any Merry Mixup that shouldn't be "criminalized".
And the business of US soldiers "warning" people in approaching vehicles is always problematic at best. Even if one assumes good-faith-- which is a stretch-- there's obviously too much room for ambiguity and confusion. There's just too much potential for this to go awry.
There's no logical reason for drivers to deliberately race past warnings. It's obvious that they're not getting warnings, or hearing warnings, or understanding that they will be treated as targets if they don't stop.
After the fact, the killers will swear up and down that they clearly warned the victims, or the car inexplicably speeded up or made a "false move", etc.
It's the "kill or be killed" prime directive, invisible in the Fog of Occupation. Nicola Calipari can tell you all about it-- I mean, he could, if he hadn't been killed while protecting his charge, Giuliana Sgrena, in another he said/she said Merry Mixup.
One very simple little question.
If the U. S. military was not at fault, why did they offer the $10,000 to the family?
Hush money?
Well, at least this time it wasn't Blackwater.
So, who thinks that an arrest warrant will be issued for al-Bashir?
Thanks to Bu$h the inferior EVERYBODY in Iraq is in danger. To justify murder because the shooter is scared would really reduce the crime rate.
Bu$h the inferior and Shotgun Dick scare me. Can I kill them and call it a misunderstanding?
"The alleged attack and the weapon that was said to have been recovered from the burned vehicle were misunderstandings"
So THAT'S What they're calling lies now... misunderstandings!
I dunno, still smells fishy to me. To wit:
"Believing they might be in danger, the soldiers warned the car. When the driver ignored the signals they shot at the vehicle, the statement said."
What person (even with a 2-digit IQ like GWBush) will continue to drive when being commanded to stop by heavily armed soldiers? Cripes, in a place like Iraq when you can be shot just for looking at a soldier wrong, I'd be soiling my pants!
I wonder what that chubby, ugly guy is smiling about. He probably thinks the pretty Iraqi girl wants to date him. (ugh)
So I take it the weapons found in the guy's car were what the Winter Soldiers identified as 'drop guns', makes me wonder why they bother to correct the story.
If the goal of the bush admin is to make the usa reviled, then it is indeed mission accomplished.
And...when it happens HERE...by the returning Iraq/Afghan VETS...who have been so effectively TRANSFORMED into Sociopathic Action Junkies..who REQUIRE fresh images of Horror and Death to replace the old ones...and who have developed "Preferred pathway's" for Neuro Chemicals that are realeased upon recall of these HORRIFIC images...and from which they actually get a kind of HIGH that makes the very same images BEARABLE..yeah..and guess what? Now..in order to OBTAIN those requirements..Whoops..Hello Local SHERIFFS Department..or police Department...
Yeah...well.."Blowback" is what it is called...in Iraq it is called an "Accident" and what will it be called in your town? Becasue it IS going to happen..IS happening already..
Act NOW! write, call do whatever yo can to get your "representatives" on record as to what they intend to do AFTER the fact..and..if they are scared enough..of lawsuits in these tough times..maybe local city's and counties MIGHT...MAYBE...HOPEFULLY..will enact laws and "Regs" that include..for example:
3 year mandatory "cooling off" period (or "cooking off" frankly) before an Iraq or Afghan vet can see DUTY as a law Enforcement Agent...
Mandatory ENHANCED psyche profiling, counseling..etc..
MANDATORY "one fuck-up rule"..as in..an Iraq Combat vet that now has a Badge and a gun..can only Kill ONE innocent citizen before he/she get's the HEAVE-HO..
Again..look at it this way..do you really want YOUR smart mouthed kid..or YOUR Wife to be the one stopped at 3:AM by one of these Sociopaths? Who might have an "accidental shooting" in mind..maybe does not appreciate the "No Blood For Oil" bumper sticker you have on your Volvo..? Is that what you want?
maybe you can look at it THIS way..WHAT IF..these "Men" who MURDERED these INNOCENT PEOPLE...had a BADGE? Nice thought eh? Yeah..think..A BADGE TO HIDE BEHIND.. and the entire weight of a Union, of a bureaucracy, of a county mthat will do ANYTHING to keep itslef from being sued and thus BURY and OBFUSCATE the evidence..and to..these men are CONDITIONED to that reality..the "protective cloak of bureaucracy..TRAINED to know that they CAN get away with MURDER..it is in them THAT DEEP..do you think it is just going to ..."go away" upon returning to the U.S.A.? If that were the case..there would BE no PTSD...it would 'go away'..well..it isn't going away...and you could be the next INNOCENT victim of one of these KILLERS...who will..when it is YOUR turn..HAVE A BADGE!
lot's o luck..go on record NOW! let yor county 'officials' KNOW...put thm ON RECORD that this will NOT be tolerated..and that they must PUT controls in place to wed out the real talented Killers before they are given almost complete immunity from "justice" in the form of a BADGE...let them know that it will cost the city,county..STATE..MONEY..money that is ever shorter supply..and that they cannot afford to WASTE on ENDLESS lawsuits and litigation becasue they FAILD to take appropraite action BEFORE some innocent was KILLED...do it! I have..I contiue to...do it for your own safety if nothing else...or..take yor chances..they are COMING HOME..and they will NEED ACTION...and the fire department AINT gonna DO IT....Guns...Guns..GUNS! Man...that is what We NEED!
Dig?
This is what the rest of the world calls MURDER! The Pentagram will slip the survivors a little blood money and call it even. It's much cheaper than actually buying a Big Game License and going on sufari but I don't think they get to have the heads mounted. Maybe snapshots will do.