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The
War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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Reported Killings of Iraqi Civilians by
U.S. Forces - U.S. Foreign Claims Act |
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“In February 2006, nervous American soldiers in
Tikrit killed an Iraqi fisherman on the Tigris River after he leaned over to
switch off his engine. A year earlier, a civilian filling his car and an
Iraqi Army officer directing traffic were shot by American soldiers in a
passing convoy in Balad, for no apparent reason. The incidents are among many
thousands of claims submitted to the Army by Iraqi and Afghan civilians
seeking payment for noncombat killings, injuries or property damage American
forces inflicted on them or their relatives. […]” Excerpt
of a New York Times article
from April 12th, 2007. |
U.S. Soldier pays out an Iraqi woman |
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The U.S. Foreign Claims Act The Foreign Claims Act, (10 U.S.C. § 2734-2736), or
FCA, is a United States federal law enacted on 2 January 1942 that provides
compensation to inhabitants of foreign countries for personal injury, death,
or property damage caused by, or incident to noncombat activities of United
States military personnel overseas. Although the U.S. Government’s scope of liability
under the FCA is broad, certain classes of claimants and certain types of
claims are excluded from the statute’s coverage. Procedures for adjudicating
an FCA claim are substantially different from the general procedural pattern
for other types of claims against the government. Chapter VIII, part B, of
the Judge Advocate General's Corps Manual prescribes the requirements for the
investigation and adjudication of FCA claims. (Source: Wikipedia) Excerpt of the U.S. Law 10 USCS § 2734 (2004) Foreign Claims Act Title 10. Armed Forces Subtitle A. General Military Law Part Iv. Service, Supply, And Procurement Chapter 163. Military Claims § 2734. Property loss; personal injury or death:
incident to noncombat activities of the armed forces; foreign countries (a) To promote and to maintain friendly relations
through the prompt settlement of meritorious claims, the Secretary concerned,
or an officer or employee designated by the Secretary, may appoint, under
such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, one or more claims
commissions, each composed of one or more officers or employees or
combination of officers or employees of the armed forces, to settle and pay
in an amount not more than $ 100,000, a claim against the United States for (1) damage to, or loss of, real property of any
foreign country or of any political subdivision or inhabitant of a foreign
country, including damage or loss incident to use and occupancy; (2) damage to, or loss of, personal property of any
foreign country or of any political subdivision or inhabitant of a foreign
country, including property bailed to the United States; or (3) personal injury to, or death of, any inhabitant
of a foreign country; if the damage, loss, personal injury, or death
occurs outside the United States, or the Territories, Commonwealths, or
possessions and is caused by, or is otherwise incident to noncombat
activities of, the armed forces under his jurisdiction, or is caused by a
member thereof or by a civilian employee of the military department concerned
or the Coast Guard, as the case may be. The claim of an insured, but not that
of a subrogee, may be considered under this subsection. In this section,
"foreign country" includes any place under the jurisdiction of the
United States in a foreign country. An officer or employee may serve on a
claims commission under the jurisdiction of another armed force only with the
consent of the Secretary of his department, or his designee, but shall
perform his duties under regulations of the department appointing the
commission. (b) A claim may be allowed under subsection (a) only
if (1) it is presented within two years after it
accrues; (2) in the case of a national of a country at war
with the United States, or of any ally of that country, the claimant is
determined by the commission or by the local military commander to be friendly
to the United States; and (3) it did not arise from action by an enemy or
result directly or indirectly from an act of the armed forces of the United
States in combat, except that a claim may be allowed if it arises from an
accident or malfunction incident to the operation of an aircraft of the armed
forces of the United States, including its airborne ordnance, indirectly
related to combat, and occurring while preparing for, going to, or returning
from a combat mission. (c) The Secretary concerned may appoint any officer
or employee under the jurisdiction of the Secretary to act as an approval
authority for claims determined to be allowed under subsection (a) in an
amount in excess of $ 10,000. (d) If the Secretary concerned considers that a
claim in excess of $ 100,000 is meritorious, and the claim otherwise is
payable under this section, the Secretary may pay the claimant $ 100,000 and
report any meritorious amount in excess of $ 100,000 to the Secretary of the
Treasury for payment under section 1304 of title 31. (e) Except as provided in subsection (d), no claim
may be paid under this section unless the amount tendered is accepted by the
claimant in full satisfaction. (f) Upon the request of the department concerned, a
claim arising in that department and covered by subsection (a) may be settled
and paid by a commission appointed under subsection (a) and composed of
officers of an armed force under the jurisdiction of another department. (g) Payment of claims against the Coast Guard
arising while it is operating as a service in the Department of Homeland
Security shall be made out of the appropriation for the operating expenses of
the Coast Guard. (h)
The Secretary of Defense may designate any claims commission appointed under
subsection (a) to settle and pay, as provided in this section, claims for
damage caused by a civilian employee of the Department of Defense other than
an employee of a military department. Payments of claims under this
subsection shall be made from appropriations as provided in section 2732 of
this title. […] (Source: U.S.
Army) |
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April 12th, 2007 - Civilian Claims on U.S.
Suggest the Toll of War 1 news
article by the New York Times |
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1) Miad Matar gets $ 2,000 from Sgt. Guadalupe
Sorola after her husband was killed by American forces at a checkpoint in
Iraq. - March 11th, 2004 - Joao Silva/New York Times; |
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Back to
the Second Gulf War/Iraq Invasion II Back to U.S.
Department of Defense |
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