New Reports of Civilian Deaths in Iraq

WikiLeaks released a report today disclosing many facts about the Iraq war that have been unknown to the public thus far. One of the most shocking statistics is the number of civilians that have been killed in the conflict. Some estimates put the number as high as 100,000 civilians, although the numbers are not very reliable due to the difficulty that the U.S. military has had in recording the deaths, as well as some being counted twice. Some of the worst times in the Iraq War have been December 2006 in which approximatley 3,800 civilians were killed, August 14th 2007 where truck bombs killed more than 500 people, and August 31st 2005 where more than 950 people were killed by a stampede on a bridge. The report also mentions incidents where civilians were killed by helicoptors even after they surrendered, and even one incident where an American sniper killed an Iraqi wearing a tracksuit who turned out to be the platoon's interpreter. Mistakes have been made at checkpoints where situations caused from a sun glare, misinterpreted hand signals, and a lack of interpreters have caused soliders to fire upon civilians. With 10 civilians being killed for every 1 soldier in modern warfare today, the future looks grim unless major changes are to be made to the way in which the world approaches war.

For more information view the article on the New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/world/middleeast/23casualties.html?no_interstitial

By: Colin Zimmerman