Iraqi civilians caught in crossfire of US operations

[DuctapeFatwa]

At the checkpoint, the Americans found a handgun, ordered the 56-year-old man out of his car and proceeded to bash his head with a rifle butt.

Rahim Nasser Mohammed points to his right temple, the side of his mouth and lifts his shirt, to show the spots where the soldier cudgeled him again and again nearly a month ago.

His story -- that of a government employee pulled over in his car by the US army -- seems one in a thousand as reports mount of beatings and sometimes deaths of Iraqi civilians at the hands of US soldiers. ..

But Mohammed’s story is a cause for alarm, with his account backed by US military officers and Iraqi police during interviews with AFP.

“They beat him pretty bad. They beat him, tied him up and beat him again,” said a US officer on condition of anonymity. ..

On Sunday, five Iraqis were killed during a raid on a home in Baghdad’s wealthy Mansur district, witnesses said, as troops searched the house of a relative of Saddam Hussein for the strongman himself...

“It’s an embarrassment for us. A lot of this has to do with the war being over, and there being not a lot for us to do and soldiers getting killed and then their friends taking it out on regular civilians,” said a US military police officer investigating instances of excessive force. ..

“I’ve seen at least 20 cases,” he added, referring to incidents where soldiers have beaten or robbed civilians at checkpoints.

In a first sign the Pentagon was starting to deal with the problem, it announced Saturday four US soldiers were under investigation for beating Iraqi prisoners of war.

Asked if there were any other cases under investigation, a senior coalition military official said Sunday he was not aware of any other such disciplinary inquiries. .

Mohammed...carefully weighs his words about the Americans...

refuses to marvel at the irony he was beaten by US soldiers and never by agents of Saddam Hussein.


http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/news_show.phtml?id=1916

[newyorican]

1. Let the raping and pillaging begin...

:puke: