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Pentagon Policy Makes Iraqi Civilian Lives Expendable in Their Own Liberation. |
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THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES Green Party antiwar activists call Bush complicit in the murder of civilians. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "The Pentagon's invasion strategy is resulting in numerous and unconscionable casualties among Iraqi civilians," said Ben Manski, Wisconsin Green and co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "These deaths reveal that the real goal of the U.S. and U.K. is the invasion and occupation of Iraq, not liberation." On Saturday, American forces in tanks barreled through a residential section of Baghdad, mowing down and shooting at anyone in the way. According to The New York Times, soldiers described it as a "blistering gauntlet of death and destruction that... engulfed civilians as well as Iraqi fighters." "It is reprehensible to kill and maim civilians as part of a military operation," said Beth Moore Haines, spokesperson for the Green Party of California. "We hold President Bush directly responsible and morally accountable for these deaths." After the Al Sha'ab market bombing on March 26, Pentagon spokesperson Torie Clarke claimed that the civilian deaths were "a direct result of Saddam Hussein's policies." The Pentagon has refused to confirm or deny whether U.S. forces were responsible. In subsequent briefings, including one after the An Najaf checkpoint shooting of 11 people by U.S. forces, Clarke continued to blame "the climate established by the Iraqi regime" for killings of civilians by U.S. forces. The Pentagon has refused to keep a tally of civilian dead. Major U.S. news media outlets have de-emphasized Iraqi casualties. The Iraq Body Count Project, tabulating deaths from various reputable sources, has verified over 898 civilians, including 22 killed last weekend in Baghdad, killed in the conflict in comparison with 106 U.S. and British soldiers reported killed as of Saturday, April 5. Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers have probably died. "Unlike volunteer soldiers, adults who choose their profession with the knowledge they may someday be sent to fight and die, civilians can be cut down at any moment -- walking to the market, sleeping in their home, or fleeing the city," said Starlene Rankin, national delegate for the Lavender Green Caucus. "It is our special task in wartime to protect innocent people. The Pentagon is responsible for every death caused by its bullets and bombs." MORE INFORMATION search: pce, irq, fpol |