Location, location, location

Just like real estate, the location of facts in a press report matters. The better the location, the more it's worth. The following item appeared in a 27-paragraph Associated Press story filed from Baghdad on October 21:

"U.S. troops backed by attack aircraft killed 19 suspected insurgents and 15 civilians, including nine children, in an operation Oct. 11 targeting al-Qaida in Iraq leaders northwest of Baghdad.

"Al-Maliki's government said those killings were a 'sorrowful matter,' but emphasized that civilian deaths are unavoidable in the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq."

Quiz: Where in the story did this information appear? In the lead, just like the coverage of civilian deaths in the September 16 incident, in which Blackwater guards said they thought their convoy was under terrorist attack? No, the above passages are buried at the end of the AP story: Paragraphs 26 and 27.

Iraqi government and press show understanding about wartime civilian deaths

With all the uproar about Blackwater and the September 16 deaths at the Nisoor traffic circle, one would think that civilians are seldom casualties of American gunfire in Iraq.

The sad thing, of course, is that this is not the case at all. One of the reasons we try to avoid wars is because innocent civilians always pay with their lives. When our leaders determine that we must go in and fight, we go to extremes to protect innocent life with our precision weapons, our special operations forces, and our military's general approach to warfare.

Now we have news that Iraqi families, including small children, were the victims of a US helicopter attack on Iranian-backed Shi'ite extremists in a Baghdad slum. Initial reports say that helicopter fire wounded and killed people who were sleeping on their roofs at night to say cool because of the continued lack of electrical services. Others reportedly died when projectiles pierced their houses.

But where the Maliki government was quick to denounce Blackwater as committing "deliberate murder" in the September 16 incident, is shows great understanding, bordering on dismissiveness, that the Sadr City deaths were an unfortunate byproduct of war.

AP, reporting on the images of dead toddlers and wounded family members, reports: "An Iraqi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said the government would ask the Americans for an explanation of today's raid and stressed the need to avoid civilian deaths.

"The government has issued mixed reactions to the raids and airstrikes, particularly those that have targeted Sunni extremists.

"US troops backed by attack aircraft killed 19 suspected insurgents and 15 civilians, including nine children, in an operation Oct. 11 targeting al Qaeda in Iraq leaders northwest of Baghdad.

"Al-Maliki's government said those killings were a 'sorrowful matter,' but emphasized that civilian deaths are unavoidable in the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq."

Will Waxman hold hearings?

Fog of war: In the week-and-a-half following the Blackwater shooting incident of September 16, the US military reportedly killed several Iraqi civilians by mistake in hot shooting situations. The first occurred on September 17, when "coalition" troops killed a driver of a car who came too close to a security perimeter - a tragic situation not unlike the reported one involving Blackwater. The second fatal military incident took place on September 20. In the third, on September 20, five women and four children reportedly were killed. U.S. authorities are investigating. While we can't jump to conclusions, the lack of outrage on the part of the Iraqi government, the media, and Congress shows some hypocrisy when compared with the Blackwater controversy.

• September 17: "During the operations, the driver of a vehicle that approached the security perimeter of the ground force was assessed to have been killed by coalition fire that destroyed the vehicle." (American Forces Press Service)
• September 20: "Meanwhile, an Iraqi civilian was killed and seven wounded Thursday as US and Iraqi forces raided the Shiite Sadr City in east Baghdad, according to media reports. The source added that a US helicopter dropped bombs on the area during the raid that lasted for two hours, damaging a house and setting ablaze seven civilian cars. The forces also detained eight people during the operation, he said." (Deutsche Presse Agentur)
• Sept. 27, 2007: "The US military says it is investigating the deaths of nine women and children in an area south of the Iraqi capital, where US forces had been conducting ground and air operations. A statement says five women and four children were killed Tuesday evening in a village, Babahani, west of the town of Musayyib. It says structures in the area have been used as safe houses for al-Qaida in Iraq. Local police officers told the Associated Press the victims were in a house that was attacked by US jets." (Voice of America)

Will Waxman hold hearings? Before the trial lawyers get involved?