Who knew/knows about 'condolence' payments?

[babylonsister]

This is aged, but I've never heard about this. :shrug:

Condolence payments to Iraqis soar
Military gave nearly $20m to families of civilians

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | June 8, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The amount of cash the US military has paid to families of Iraqi civilians killed or maimed in operations involving American troops skyrocketed from just under $5 million in 2004 to almost $20 million last year, according to Pentagon financial data.

The dramatic spike in what's known as condolence payments -- distributed to Iraqi families whose loved ones were caught in US crossfire or victimized during US ground and air assaults -- suggests that American commanders made on-the-spot restitution far more frequently, according to congressional aides and officials familiar with a special fund at the disposal of military officers in Iraq.

Defense Department officials maintain that the payments -- which officials said range from a few hundred dollars for injuries such as a severed limb to $2,500 for the death of a relative -- mirror a local custom commonly known as ``solatia," in which families receive financial compensation for damages or human losses. They stressed that the payments shouldn't be seen as an admission of guilt or responsibility.

But amid reports that US Marines paid $2,500 per victim after dozens of civilians were killed on Nov. 19 in the town of Haditha -- killings now engulfed by allegations of a massacre -- the fourfold increase in condolence payments raises new questions about the extent to which Iraqi civilians have been the victims of US firepower.

The Haditha firefight is the focus of two US military investigations to determine if Marines, enraged by the death of a comrade from a roadside bomb, may have taken revenge by executing two dozen Iraqi civilians, including women and young children, and then tried to cover it up. In his first public comments about the killings, Marine Commandant Michael Hagee, the Corps' top general, acknowledged yesterday that the evidence being reviewed includes a set of photos of the victims taken by a Marine intelligence team immediately after the killings.

The payments to victims' families in Haditha are part of what is generally considered a common US military practice in Iraq. But Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is pushing for a broader investigation into condolence payments.

more...

[TahitiNut]

1. Political necrophilia ... with a price list. Who'da thunk?

Can we "off-shore" this fight to a country where the prices are lower? How about Iran? :eyes:

[babylonsister]

2. I heard this on a news program tonight. I was obviously alone. nt

[TahitiNut]

3. I heard it, too. CNN's Anderson Cooper, I think.

The question seemed to be "How many innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed?" They focused on Haditha.

[babylonsister]

4. There will be so many horrible instances of what our 'warriors' did or

didn't do. I'm so angry!

[teryang]

5. Solatia payments have always been rountine

They are distinguished from payments for damages as a result of combat operations. Generally, payments cannot be paid for injuries due to combat operations under the military claims act. The solatia payments are discretionary by local commanders to try to smooth over the harm caused by such events. An expression of regret for an unintentional or mistaken death or injury accompanied by cash can go a long way in some circumstances. In many others it isn't enough. Some relatives will accept the payment in a charitable spirit of the good intentions and regret that it represents, others may be to aggrieved to be satisfied by anything less than a much larger payment that more nearly represents the scope of their loss. The latter may not be possible under the military claims act in a combat zone.

My opinion is that it is better than nothing, but we should just get the hell out now because the trajedy and grief we have caused goes way beyond what these token gestures are able to repair.

[CornField]

7. Hmmm

If my loved one -- daughter, son, husband, or even mother-in-law -- were killed a foreign army and then the general came to my door to offer me a condolence payment of $2,500... I believe I'd feel obliged to spit in his/her face.

[teryang]

8. Completely understandable but if your family hasn't eaten in a...

...week and 21 relatives were living under the same roof living off the deceased's income of 3 dollars a month, some of them will take a different view.

Let's not forget that economic warfare is a part of the foreign policy of this regime as well.

[Rageneau]

6. Do they pay by the pound? Or the age? Or what?

Is a teenager worth more or less blood money than a grown-up? Is a grown-up worth more than a child? Does education matter? I don't mind paying conscience-money for people we kill, but I hate to see our Treasury paying more for old, used up people than fresh, brand-new ones. That's not good stewardship.

[teryang]

10. It's usually a flat payment

the amount could vary in the discretion of the commander. The amount of damages and characteristics of the injury would be more relevant to a claim under the military claims act, but these are generally not payable in the combat zone.

[mmonk]

9. Conscience money. Everything is ok now.

[babylonsister]

11. Ugh. My conscience isn't assuaged. nt