US Killing of Civilians "Fact of Life" in Iraq: Iraqis

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http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2006-05/29/article01.shtml

BAGHDAD, May 29, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The killing of two dozen Iraqi civilians in cold-blood by US occupation forces near the western Iraqi city of Haditha last November is part of pattern of US behavior in the country, Iraqis have commented on what would be the worst case of abuse by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

"The American soldier has become an expert in killing," Abdel Salam Al- Qubaisy, spokesman for the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), told Reuters Sunday, May 28.

He said the Haditha incident was only part of a pattern of US behavior in Iraq.

"This must be considered a war crime and the commanders tried," he added.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=88823&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

US troops slaying civilians is not news for IraqisPublished: Monday, 29 May, 2006, 10:23 AM Doha Time

BAGHDAD: Word that US Marines may have killed two dozen Iraqi civilians in "cold-blooded" revenge after an insurgent attack has shocked Americans but many Iraqis shrug it off as an every day fact of life under occupation.

Despite US military denials, many Iraqis believe killing of men, women and children at the hands of careless or angry American soldiers is common. No reliable statistics are available.

Since US officials said last week that charges including murder were possible after an investigation into the deaths at Haditha last November, Iraqi media and politicians have paid scant attention to details leaking out in Washington.

As US commentators talk of "Iraq’s My Lai" and wonder if Haditha could have a similar effect as the 1968 massacre in Vietnam on public attitudes to the military and the war, few Iraqi leaders have mentioned the incident in a town 220km northwest of Baghdad where Sunni rebels were very active.