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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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April 28th,
2009 - Iraq Demands Official Apology for U.S. Raid |
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Iraq Demands Official Apology
for U.S. Raid By Waleed Ibrahim Reuters April 28, 2009 Baghdad - The Iraqi
government has asked General Ray Odierno, the U.S. commander in Iraq, for an
official apology for a U.S. raid this week that killed two people and kicked
off a tide of condemnation, an official said on Tuesday. "The prime minister
sent a letter to the commander of multinational forces in Iraq condemning
this act. He asked for an official apology and asked that such acts not be
repeated," said Major General Qassim Moussawi, Baghdad security
spokesman. The fallout from the raid
early on Sunday in the southern city of Kut, which Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki labeled a "crime," poses the first major test to a
U.S.-Iraqi security pact that sets the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by
2012. Maliki, an increasingly
assertive leader as his popularity grows at home and U.S. influence in Iraq
diminishes, also said those responsible for the raid should be sent to court -
the first such demand since the pact took effect in January. Government spokesman Ali
al-Dabbagh said the cabinet had discussed on Tuesday the raid that led to the
killing of two "innocent citizens." U.S. officials said the
raid, targeting Iranian-backed Shi'ite militants, had Iraqi approval. Six
people were arrested in the night-time operation but later released. They said the man killed was
considered a threat because he was carrying a weapon and that the woman moved
into the line of fire. Commanders Detained After the incident, Iraq
detained two military commanders for authorizing the raid, the Defense
Ministry said. The cabinet called for
"compliance with the points of the pact and for legal proceedings
regarding those responsible." While the rampant violence
gripping Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 has subsided,
bloodshed has not ended. Iraqi and U.S. security
forces confront a weakened, yet still potent, insurgency while a rash of
major recent bombings raises questions about whether Iraq may be sliding
backwards into greater sectarian violence. At the same time, U.S.
combat troops are due to pull out of urban bases by July. Under the bilateral
pact, U.S. troops can now conduct combat activities only with Iraqi approval. The pact also sets out
conditions under which U.S. soldiers might be tried in Iraqi courts, allowing
such trials only for grave, premeditated crimes committed off base and off
duty. Otherwise U.S. troops are subject only to U.S. military justice. The Kut raid did not appear
to meet the criteria for a court trial in Iraq. Moussawi declined to clarify
whether the government believes the soldiers should be sent to an Iraqi court
or face U.S. military courts. "The conditions set out in the agreement
determine what kind of court," he said. Families of the two people
killed in the raid, a man and a woman, have said they are pressing charges. Additional reporting by
Missy Ryan; Editing by Michael Christie. © Thomson Reuters 2009. All
rights reserved. External link: http://uk.reuters.com/article/gc05/idUKTRE53R3WW20090428 |