- Convincing Iraqis that US soldiers are there to help
them will be all the more difficult after the shocking events in Falluja,
west of Baghdad. Preventing already widespread popular opposition to the
American military presence turning into concerted armed resistance will
also be increasingly problematic unless the US army can explain why it
was justified in opening fire on a crowd comprising a large number of children
and teenagers, killing at least 13 and wounding 75. Local residents said
that the children were protesting at the occupation of their school by
the US soldiers and that the Americans started firing when a rock was thrown.
The shooting reportedly went on for half an hour. People were hit by bullets,
shrapnel and possibly by heavy machine gun rounds. Ambulance crews said
they were also fired on.
-
- A US officer at the scene, Lieutenant Christopher Hart
of the 82nd Airborne Division, was quoted as saying his troops were defending
themselves against an attack by two gunmen on a motorcycle and had at first
tried to disperse the demonstration with smoke bombs. He claimed some people
in the crowd may also have had guns. But this does not begin to explain
the severity and duration of the incident. Lt Hart could not say for sure
how many people his men had killed. His vagueness is not surprising. On
the basis of the known facts at this point, the Americans appear to have
acted with staggering recklessness, turning a residential area full of
kids into a murderous free-fire zone. Whatever rules of engagement they
supposedly observe clearly did not work. Whatever force was required to
ensure their own safety, the degree of force actually used appears to have
been massively disproportionate.
-
- Even though the war is over, US soldiers continue to
kill Iraqi civilians almost every day, for a variety of reasons. But Falluja's
tragedy is of a different order of magnitude. To prevent more such disastrous
incidents and stop the security situation deteriorating further, an inquiry
must be urgently held, preferably with UN oversight and with reference
to the Geneva conventions governing the conduct of occupying forces. For
reasons of law, morality and self-interest, our relentlessly self-righteous
government has a clear obligation to demand that its ally comply. Meanwhile,
82nd Airborne units should be withdrawn from Falluja. If necessary, they
could be replaced by better-disciplined British troops.
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