Civilian Deaths In Iraq

According to Democracy Now of December 11, 2006 [www.democracynow.org]

20 suspected MAM's [Military Aged Men] who could be called suspected militants for standing around and nothing more, were killed by US in an attack in Iraq. The attack also killed 6 women and 5 children.

The "magic number" according to NPR's report on civilian deaths, is 30. If more than 30 civilians would be killed in an attack, it needed a signature from Rumsfeld to go through. This is an attack where 31 people died. Since starting this war, UN checked methodology have shown that ~655,000 civilians have died from violence. However, this does not count the civilian homes that were razed or destroyed by action, or people and families that had no one left to tell their tale to poll takers at the residence they arrived at.

War crimes charges are being assembled. We treat civilians as military targets when they are not. This is war crime. We treat POW's in violation of the Geneva Convention IV and other international and domestic treaties. Exposure to elements as punishment, questionable camp status, secret detention centers, outright torture, kidnapping, religious defamation, these things are all war crimes for which generals have been convicted in the past. Unconstitutional detention and searches also have been committed and are wrong.

We must identify and produce justice on these "historic mistakes" or others will.