Iraq in Hell

I've been watching some documentaries by John Pilger lately; if you've seen a few British docus, you've probably seen him or at least heard his voice.

Today's selection: 2003's "Breaking the silence - Truth and lies in the war on terror."

Here's the moment where you just have to watch and imagine this has nothing to do with you. Pilger is speaking with Undersecretaries of Defense Douglas Feith and John Bolton (individually, but they're editied together).

JP: Why is it wrong for dictators and terrorists to kill innocent civilians, and right - or excusable - for the United States to do exactly the same?

DF: Well, the United States doesn't do it, and if we did it it would be as reprehensible as the terrorists.

JP: The United States doesn't kill innocent civilians?

DF: Uh, NO, the United States doesn't target civilians.

JP: Hm... Those of us on the outside who look at September the 11th, where 3,000 people died in that tragedy, but then look at the thousands who've died since, wonder about double standards, here. Would you address that?

DF: I think that the um ... I think that the numbers you're talking about are are are questionable, but let's leave aside your numbers but -

JP: Why are they questionable?

DF: I don't accept your assertion that we've killed thousands of uh uh innocent people, but let me give it to you -

JP: There's a lot of studies, and examination of facts on the ground that suggest indeed thousands; I mean in Iraq at the moment, there are studies that are talking about 10,000, but I don't want to get into numbers, but certainly "thousands" seems a fair figure.

DF: I uh I uh don't know that that's true. And I don't accept the assertion.

(Switch to walrus-man John Bolton:)

JB: Well I think that Americans like most people are mostly concerned about their own countrymen. I don't know how many Iraqi civilians were killed but I can assure you that the numbers, that the absolute minimal that it's possible in modern warfare. One of the stunning things about the quick coalition victory is how little damage was done to Iraqi infrastructure, and how low Iraqi casualties were.

JP: Well that's quite high, if it's 10,000 civilians.

JB: Well I think that it's quite low if you look at the size of the military operation that was undertaken.

(Switch back to Feith:)

DF: It's practically an inevitability in war that there are going to be innocent people that get hurt no matter how much care a professional military, a properly-behaved military, puts into avoiding damage into non-combatants and into civilian infrastructure.

(Pilger stares at Feith over the top rims of his glasses.)

JP: Mr. Feith, that sounds fine, sitting here in Washington. But in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, which is my most recent experience, that's not how it looks at all -

Unknown military representative, off-screen: May I interrupt for a moment, I apologize sir, would you stop tape please for one moment?

Unknown: Thank you very much, let me know when you've stopped tape.

JP: Excuse me -

Unknown: I'm sorry I'm doing this purposefully, sir, have we stopped tape?

JP: Are you serious?

Unknown: I was not under the impression, sir...

(end of interview)

That was seven years ago. Today, Iraq Body Count (which only counts civilians that are reported in English-language/translated newspapers and television) has documented figures of 98,585 - 107,594 "civilian deaths from violence" since the start of the war. Counts that take more into account have wildly ranging estimates that top even a million deaths.

Sunday (two days ago, Halloween) was massive, with 64 civilians dying, most of them in an attack on a church. Earlier today (Tuesday, 11/2/2010) there was a series of coordinated bombings in Shi'ite neighborhoods across Baghdad, killing at least 117 (and wounding 322) more.

(FYI: Numbers of civilians killed in Afghanistan range from 8,991 - 28,583, though reporting has been even more scattered than in Iraq.)