Soldiers Admit Using "Drop Weapons" To Cover Up Killing Innocent Iraqi Civilians

This is sad. Not because they do it which has certain moral implications I'm allowed to contemplate because I'm not there, but because they feel they must. They don't intend for these incidents to happen I'm sure, but know the consequences of being exposed.

In the heat of battle...

Several soldiers who have returned from combat zones talk with the American News Project about what they say is the widespread practice of using "drop weapons" to cover up the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. We feature five veterans and current members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, plus retired Lieutenant Colonel Gary Solis, a Vietnam War veteran and legal scholar who taught "Law of War" at West Point.

Didn't someone once say, "War is hell"? I thought so.

Criticism is oh so easy, but I've read accounts from troops in the Mid-East and it's never black or white. Its more on the order of kill or be killed and they make split second decisions that can mean living or dying.

This link includes video. Too much for my sick PC.

Note: Headline links to source.

Civilian Deaths in Iraq Down 36 Percent

A couple things about this report:

1. Its really a good news/bad news report. Civilian deaths are down, but American casualties are high.

2. I'm too lazy to research it, but my gut feeling is civilian deaths have not dropped despite what this anonymous source says.
The news reports list Iraqi civilian deaths every day. You can take that for what its worth.

The fact the third paragraph starts out with "At least 1,227..." suggests the body count could be higher.

Iraqi civilian deaths dropped to their lowest level since the start of the Baghdad security operation, government figures showed Sunday, suggesting signs of progress in tamping down violence in the capital.

But American casualties are running high as U.S. forces step up pressure on Sunni and Shiite extremists in and around Baghdad.

At least 1,227 Iraqi civilians were killed in June along with 190 policemen and 31 soldiers, an officer at the Iraqi Interior Ministry's operations room said. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the figures.

(read more)