Do the math
In comments at Obsidian Wings yesterday, I said:
I wonder if the DoD releases figures on how much has been paid out so far in "condolence payments" of up to $2500 per life ... For how many of those lives have the troops who killed them been punished in any way, including something as light as reprimands?
Within an hour of posting, I learned the answer to the first question, published that same day by the Boston Globe:
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...
That's almost 8000 civilian victims of U.S. military last year alone -- not a number we've heard much.
Now my second question -- how many servicemembers have been held accountable -- takes on more urgency. The Globe reporter may be trying to dig out an answer right now, but I imagine that will be much harder to extract. Call me cynical, but I'll be amazed if the number is as high as 400.
Update: The Scottish Sunday Herald reports:
Some 600 cases of abuse by GIs against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan have so far been investigated by the Pentagon. Although around 230 soldiers have been disciplined, most military personnel found guilty of abusing civilians received “administrative” punishment such as being reduced in rank, loss of pay, confinement to base or extra duty. Out of 76 courts martial, only a few resulted in jail terms of more than a year.
Labels: Iraq mil
posted by Nell @ 11:22 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Actually, it's likely far more than 8,000, given that "up to" $2500 is being paid (8000 is the figure if every payment of the $20M was exactly $2500). Of course, it's likely to be the $2500 payments that spotlight the worst incidents.
Sorry, now I see Donald made a similar point.
It seems possible to me that in some of these cases no reprimand would be warranted; you drop a bomb on a legitimate target (say Zarqawi's house?) but there are also civilians inside the house. I can't tell whether their family then gets a "condolence payment" or not.
Are condolence payments acknowledgments of wrongdoing or not? The link doesn't work now.
Thanks for the heads-up, Thomas; I fixed the link. From the article: [Defense Department officials] stressed that the payments shouldn't be seen as an admission of guilt or responsibility.
Of course they did. But rules of engagement that allow the dropping of 500-lb bombs and shelling of buildings in which there are civilians make them responsible, whether they want to admit it or not.
Donald, thanks very much for the tip on the NYT article on the same topic.
It makes clear how the DoD figures acquired by the Globe hide as much as they tell. If the $2500 figure is an infrequently awarded amount, that tells me the 3rd Battalion commander knew right off that the official Haditha story was a lie.
I remember that Salam Pax of Dear Raed made the point, early on in the proceedings, that $2500 was _way_ too much, and it was distorting the market.
Condolence payments simply do exist in parts of the Middle East, my Lebanese raised Iraqi professor of Arabic told the class about parents who would (turn away now!) throw their children in front of tourist cars and demand $200 dollars.
And no, nothing he ever did or said made me think he was a neo-con.
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