The BBC has uncovered video evidence of another massacre of civilians by US troops - this time in Ishaqi:
The US authorities said they were involved in a firefight after a tip-off that an al-Qaeda supporter was visiting the house.According to the Americans, the building collapsed under heavy fire killing four people - a suspect, two women and a child.
But a report filed by Iraqi police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the building.
The video shows backs up the Iraqi police's claims, showing bodies of both adults and children at the site with clear gunshot wounds. While sourced from the Iraqi resistance, the BBC believes it to be genuine.
Like Haditha, and My Lai before it, this is a test of America's commitment to justice: whether it can investigate and if necessary prosecute its own properly, or whether it will write its soldiers a license to murder at will. Unfortunately, the US military's previous efforts in this area don't exactly give much cause for hope...
I was visiting the Auckland Central Library's "news zone" next to the new cafe when John Simpson's BBC report was shown on the big screen. Everyone was watching it in mortified silence. Just shocking.
ReplyDeleteNow with that astonishment, disgust and cynicism in this country - imagine the scenes in the Arab world and esp. in Iraq when they see a report about it.
ReplyDeleteAre these the "sweeps" that the Americans are encouraging the Iraqi army to participate in? It's not just ending in tears or tears before bedtime it's starting in tears with tears before breakfast!