NYT: Premier Accuses U.S. of Attacking Civilians in Iraq

[kskiska]

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 1 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashed out at the American military on Thursday, denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians.

As outrage over reports that American marines killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha last year continued to shake the new government, the country's senior leaders said that they would demand that American officials turn over their investigative files on the killings and that the Iraqi government would conduct its own inquiry.

In his comments, Mr. Maliki said violence against civilians had become a "daily phenomenon" by troops in the American-led coalition who "do not respect the Iraqi people."

"They crush them with their vehicles and kill them just on suspicion," he said. "This is completely unacceptable." Attacks on civilians will play a role in future decisions on how long to ask American forces to remain in Iraq, the prime minister added.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?hp&ex=1149220800&en=c2a6165c0192d9ee&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[truthisfreedom]

1. temper temper! don't you know you can't get mad at bushco? stay out of

small planes, Prime Minister!

[truthisfreedom]

2. dupe somehow...

[daleo]

3. I thought it was the ambassador to the U.S. saying this earlier? n/t

[Erika]

4. Darn it, they refuse to see us as liberators

I wonder why. And this is a puppet Iraqi government set up by W. He "misunderestimated" his puppeteers.

[MrPrax]

5. Cat's Out of The Bag...

First time I have heard or read an 'elite' finally call it something other than a civil war

[struggle4progress]

6. Iraqi PM condemns US violence

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 03 June 2006

The growing evidence of US war crimes in Iraq means the country faces weeks and months of distressing revelations and shaming court cases that could turn public opinion more decisively against a conflict in which 2,500 American servicemen have died and which has no end in sight.

The issue has been simmering since the first public word emerged of a possible massacre ­ followed by a cover-up ­ of Iraqi civilians by US Marines last November. But it has been brought to boiling point by the accusation from Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, of "daily" violence against unarmed civilians by the US military ..

The claims of a cover-up may be scarcely less embarrassing than those of the atrocities themselves. Only low-ranking officers faced criminal charges as a result of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. There are signs that much the same could happen now, even though the promotion of a marine general has been put on hold until the affair has been cleared up. All along, the approach of the Bush administration has been to place the blame on a few "bad apples," and yesterday Mr Rumsfeld was following that line ..

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article624189.ece