By Antonio Castaneda
The Associated Press, 06 April 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Shakir Abdul-Hassan goes out of his way to avoid U.S. military convoys as he drives his minibus around town, fearing American soldiers will mistake him for a suicide bomber and open fire if he accidentally gets too close.
Atheer Kamal is just as cautious: When U.S. soldiers set up a checkpoint near his computer shop in east Baghdad, he locks up and heads home, worried about stray gunfire if the Americans shoot at approaching cars.
Such fears show the dilemmas created -- on both sides -- as U.S. soldiers struggle to differentiate between friend and foe when conducting raids, patrolling roads and traveling in convoys.
Frequent shootings at checkpoints, plus raids by U.S. troops and airstrikes resulting in Iraqi deaths, have angered many Iraqis, who contend that ignorance of their culture and the Arabic language hamper the Americans. Some say flatly that American soldiers act like "cowboys in Western movies," in Kamal's words.
Some U.S. commanders acknowledge the problem exists. But they blame it on insurgents who disguise themselves as civilians. U.S. officials insist soldiers and Marines are careful to identify targets before opening fire.
Nevertheless, a spate of deaths has badly strained relations between Americans and Iraqi leaders:
* In the most serious recent case, about 12 U.S. Marines are under investigation for possible war crimes in a Nov. 19 incident in western Iraq in which one Marine and 24 Iraqis, including women and children, were killed. The U.S. military launched an inquiry after Time magazine said last month that it obtained a video taken by a journalism student who disputed the Marines' initial account of the incident, which began after a Marine was killed in a car bombing.
* On Feb. 26, an Iraqi special forces team accompanied by American advisers killed 16 people, described by U.S. officials as insurgents, and rescued an Iraqi hostage in a gunbattle in northeastern Baghdad. U.S. officials said no American soldier fired a shot. Nevertheless, the Shiite governor of Baghdad suspended contacts with the United States, and Shiite lawmakers boycotted a planned meeting to discuss formation of the new government because they said the raid occurred at a mosque complex.
* Police accused American troops of killing 11 people, mostly civilians, in a March 15 shootout near Balad north of the capital. U.S. officials disputed the allegation, saying only one militant and three civilians were killed. They included two women and a child, and the case is under investigation.
No figures are available on how many Iraqi civilians, including women and children, have been killed in shootings, airstrikes and other violence involving American forces since the 2003 invasion.
However, light sentences for U.S. troops convicted of killing civilians have left some human rights groups seething. At least 16 American troops have been sentenced in such cases, according to a count by The Associated Press. Six received prison sentences of three or more years in prison. Four cases are pending.
During the Vietnam war, 95 American soldiers and 27 Marines were convicted of killing noncombatants, according to Gary D. Solis, a visiting professor of law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Last summer, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari complained to U.S. commanders about the "phenomenon of killing Iraqis for reasons of suspicion."
"As we say it is necessary to chase suspects, this should be done in civilized, technical and accurate ways," al-Jaafari said at the time. "We reject the killing of any of those people."
An adviser to al-Jaafari, Haider al-Abadi, said last week that the problem is U.S. troops "do not know what is going on. ... They can't differentiate between friend and foe, they don't know the language."
Al-Abadi estimated that U.S. troops have mistakenly killed thousands of Iraqis but said he believes the killings have declined because Iraqi troops are taking control of more areas. But he said the problem was serious enough for the prime minister to travel with a U.S. military escort -- to protect him from other Americans.
Iraqi authorities have no jurisdiction over American and coalition forces under an agreement that the Iraqi government accepted when sovereignty was restored in 2004.
U.S. military rules give troops broad discretion to fire at perceived threats, such as vehicles that could be driven by a suicide attacker. As a result, few such shootings lead to courts-martial or harsh punishment.
"It's going to be difficult in most circumstances to reach that standard of gross negligence when you have the context of an unknown enemy, an enemy that does use civilian clothes and is often using civilian vehicles and persons to attack," said Walter Huffman, dean of the Texas Tech Law School and formerly the Army's top lawyer.
Al-Abadi, the prime minister's aide, suggested Iraqi courts should have the power to prosecute American troops for certain offenses, similar to legal arrangements that give German authorities the option of trying U.S. service members for crimes against civilians. At the least, al-Abadi said Iraqi officials should sit on U.S. military tribunals that try soldiers accused of killing Iraqis.
U.S. military law experts said such an arrangement would be highly unlikely in Iraq.
"Those status of forces agreements are only in fully developed countries with fully developed judicial systems that are very similar to ours," Huffman said.
Associated Press reporter Murtada Faraj contributed to this report from Baghdad.
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Citation: Antonio Castaneda. "Wary Iraqis Steer Clear of U.S. Troops," The Associated Press, 06 April 2006.
Original URL: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-deaths-of-iraqis,1,1197388.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
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