alienation news

US clouds Iraqi civilian deaths

Whenever reporters asked about civilian deaths in the invasion of Iraq, US military officials reflexively plunged into a numbing prattle about the precision of our weaponry, precaution to avoid needless carnage, and promises to investigate possible mistakes.
At the time Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, the deputy director of operations for Central Command, said: ''There is an ongoing investigation..."
Two and a half months after the prattle, we now have the terrible truth. There never was an investigation. That fact was embedded (pun intended) in an Associated Press report this week that it has so far counted 3,240 Iraqi civilians killed in the invasion, including nearly 1,900 in Baghdad.
The AP quoted Central Command spokesman John Morgan confirming the nonexistence of an investigation.