John McCain Dismisses the War's Collateral Damage

Sen. John McCain was asked in an interview yesterday when U.S. forces should begin withdrawing from Iraq. "That's not too important," McCain responded dismissively. "What's important is the casualties in Iraq," he continued, referring to the more than 4,000 American troops killed since the invasion. While the Republican nominee has said he would maintain the US occupation of Iraq for 100 years if necessary, he now seeks to soothe a war-weary American public by pledging to keep U.S. casualties at a minimum if he becomes commander-in-chief.

In an interview with David Letterman last April, McCain conceded that the Iraqi death toll was "in the hundreds of thousands." In fact, according to a survey by the well-regarded British polling agency, Opinion Research Business, more than 1 million Iraqi civilians have been killed since the occupation began, a figure significantly higher than previously reported. Even after acknowledging the horrendous toll the occupation has exacted on Iraqi civil society, McCain insists that withdrawal is "not too important." The only factor that McCain deems worthy of concern is American military casualties -- and even the prospect of more dead troops has not deterred him from his war cheerleading.

The impact of the occupation on Iraqi society is a subject that has been overlooked by not only McCain, but by most of his peers as well. The topic of US atrocities against Iraqi civilians is too sensitive, meanwhile, for the mainstream American media to touch. Thus essential questions remain largely unexamined: What do ordinary Iraqis whose lives have been upended by the violence of the occupation want? Do they want American soldiers to remain garrisoned in their cities, indiscriminately raiding their homes, and manning dangerous checkpoints in their neighborhoods? Perhaps the withdrawal of our troops from their country is important, after all.

Six months ago, veteran war reporter Chris Hedges and I embarked on an intensive project to answer these questions. We wanted to document and reveal the ugly, under-acknowledged underbelly of the occupation. To do this, we interviewed more than 50 Iraq war combat veterans on the record about their experiences with Iraqi civilians. Many of them described witnessing, and even participating in, atrocities against unarmed Iraqis. Chris and I discovered that war crimes against Iraqi non-combatants have been far more widespread than is commonly known.

We reported our findings in a new book, Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians. Our sources comprised the largest number of named eyewitnesses from within the US military to have spoken on the record. In vivid detail, they revealed to us that the U.S. military is not the stabilizing force politicians like McCain have insisted it is. The Iraqis they encountered came to see our military as simply another armed group among many beating a path of bloodshed and misery everywhere it goes to advance its own narrow mission.

Sergeant Dustin Flatt recounted to us the bloody aftermath of a shooting in Mosul in January 2005 that occurred when an elderly Iraqi couple zipped past a checkpoint:

"The car was approaching what was in my opinion a very poorly marked checkpoint, or not even a checkpoint at all, and probably didn't even see the soldiers," he said. "The guys got spooked and decided it was a possible threat, so they shot up the car. And they [the couple's corpses] literally sat there in the car for the next three days while we drive by them day after day."

"It's a battle zone," Flatt continued. "I think Americans don't understand that it's absolute chaos and it's beyond what you can imagine." And sadly, this incident was not uncommon. We heard many stories like it. In each case, the victims were different, but all were nameless and faceless.

Some of the soldiers and Marines we interviewed told us they believed in the war before they were deployed, but once they reached Iraq, they felt they had no mission and no purpose. That frustration often translated into a deep resentment, even hatred, of Iraqis, the very people they were ostensibly sent to help and protect. "I felt like there was this enormous reduction in my compassion for people," Sergeant Ben Flanders told us. "The only thing that wound up mattering is myself and the other guys I was with. And everybody else be damned."

We were astounded by the honesty and depth with which these troops approached their testimony. With no one around to hear their stories, it was as if they used the interviews as therapy sessions. Many of the veterans are young college students. They feel alienated from their peers, who they say only care about pop culture and their immediate surroundings. The war, it seems to them, affects few Americans outside of the military community.

"A lot of guys supported that whole concept that, you know, if they don't speak English and they have darker skin, they're not as human as us, so we can do what we want," Specialist Josh Middleton said. At home, young soldiers are yelled at and ordered around, but in Iraq, he said, "forty-year old Iraqi men look at us with fear and... we have this power that you can't have. That's really liberating."

America's occupation of Iraq has destroyed not only the people suffering under it, but the troops who were asked to carry it out. A generation of Americans will suffer long-term psychological damage. The veterans will be haunted by this war, possibly for the rest of their lives. Deciding to share their dark memories with us was an act of tremendous moral courage, one that deserves respect and acknowledgment.

While many veterans felt they had no purpose serving in an unnecessary war, they say now that they're back they've found one: showing their fellow Americans a side of war and occupation that is too often hidden from view. If only John McCain would listen to them.

Comments

[Hastings]

What a wonderful example of unbiased journalism. It is indeed refreshing to read about the selfless and heroic efforts by our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends to protect and defend the Iraqi people from the indiscriminate vicious massmurdering genocide commited by al-Qaeda, the Saddanist, and the Iranian proxie thugs.

[Norge]

With a surveyed death toll of civilians in Iraq, Americas' revenge for their lose of 3000 has been well paid.

Each one of those who died had at least two relatives, a mother and a father. So if the death toll is 1million civilians, 3 million are directly affected at the least. 2 million, if within their human power, will find a way through time to pay America back for the distruction of what was dearest to their hearts. It may require a year, 5 years or 20, though the moment within the hour will come and then neither Americas' God or their huge military will be of any significance, for then time will stand still and only the cosmos will be waiting and the target returns to eternity.

Beware, all ye who unleash grief.

Rolf Krogsæther

[HotATL]

I was in Canada a couple of years ago. A Canadian asked me if I knew that America and Canada once fought a war again each other. I told him no. He said that it was the war of 1812. I didn't take his word for it so I looked it up. This is what I found.

1) The Colonial wars (1620-1774); 2) The War of Independence (1775-1783); 3) Northwest Indian War; 4) The Ouasi-War; 5) Barbary Wars; 6) Tecumseh’s War; 7) The Creek War (1783-1815); 8) The Seminole Wars; 9) The Black Hawk War; 10) The Mexican-American Ware; 11) The Utah War (1816-1860); 12) The Civil War (1861-1865); 13) The Indian Wars (1865-1890); 14) The Spanish-American War (1898); 15) The Philippine-American War (1899-1913); 16) The Banana Wars (1898-1935); 17) The Boxer Rebellion, 18) the First World War (1917-1918); 19) The Second World War (1941-1945); 20) The Korean War (1950 – 1953); 21) The Lebanon crisis (1958); 22) The Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961); 23) The Vietnam War (1957-1973); 24) The Gulf War (1991); 25) Afghanistan (2002 – Present); 26) The Iraq War (2003- Present)


The average American can only name about six wars. My point is. This is the 21st century! It’s time for us to end the madness!

[khaleef49]

This is really sad and the truth is that a lot of these young soldier will come home with problems because they have to live with what they have done, but fear can cause you to not take chances. We have so many soldier coming home and committing suicide. We need to bring our men and women home. McCain talks about the number of soldiers who die but what about those who will be psychologically damaged for life and those wounded.

[ReElectNoOne]

It is up to the internet to spread the truth. American media will not do it. They have long given up their credibility in terms of spreading the truth. With main stream media everything is about propaganda and products, not about truth.

I have yet to hear or see in print one article about Iraq casualties that mentions any deaths other than Americans, as if their lives and country don't matter.

[indypete]

It's not surprising that otherwise-decent young lads become heartless in Iraq. The military trains them to be killers, to be tough, to be ruthless and then we expect them to act with humanity when they are put in a perilous situation. All that John Wayne and Rambo stuff they're taught, though.... how do you turn that off?

[Gma11]

My son-in-law, suffering PTSD and requiring "anger management" classes with fellow Iraq vets, talks about how they'd sit around betting who would be the first to commit suicide, murder someone, etc., etc. They were working on "permanent bases" at the time BushCo was saying there were no such bases. They grew to absolutely hate their officers, perceiving them as hypocrites and worse. Not good.

[DragonMama]

What about the destruction of REAL family values that is also the domestic "collateral damage" of this war? The strain it's putting on REAL marriages, increasing divorce rates. The effects that the dehumanization of the situation in Iraq on the veteran's parenting abilities when they get home? It's one thing to fight in a war that is necessary and, as much as a war can ever be, noble - like liberating concentration camp survivors in WWII. The things those vets 60 years ago saw were horrific, but they were able to come home as more mentally human than what I fear we're bringing home from Iraq. I fear for my children's peers. If these troops have gotten used to having power and that look of fear from civilians, how are they in any way equipped to parent their children when the kids misbehave?

War is not a Family Value.

[daffey]

No, the WWII vets went into the war more mentally human , because they came out of a culture and society that, despite all its flaws, was more humane and good than our pathetic excuse for a society today. Our poor vets today came out of a culture shaped by Generation Narcissus (that’s the 60s for those who aren’t familiar), and all the ills and ethical muck that it has brought. I am surprised they are doing such a fine job to be honest, but since we more or less want to lose at this point, we will. You either fight to win, or lose. At this point, it simply is a matter of how many more must die before we lose yet another war.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

You want to "win"? You need morale.

You want morale? You have to believe you're fighting a just cause. You can pump that up in the short term with lies, damn lies and propaganda, but in the long term if your cause is not just you will lose morale.

[wornsmooth]

It would take a long time to explain the logic of this comment regarding "winning', but I think most readers will know intuitively what I mean. With apoligies to ,more or less, lifting the line from Gunter Grass, "we lost the moment we invaded"....no matter what the final outcome is. "It won't matter if occupy Moscow,London and Tokyo....they had already lost the war."
Something many Americans, and certainly the neo-cons and McCain , don't seem to understand is the strength that people draw from losing battles that they knew they would lose, yet fought them anyway. Sometimes a country..perhaps this time America..can set in motion events that echo for generations. Using a bigger hammer won't silence these coming echos.

[gage]

Laila, it would be better if you would disclose that all the soldiers you mentioned in your post are IVAW members.

Also, the civilian death number you cite is simply not credible. There have been many surveys done, and most, such as the ones by WHO and Iraq Body Count, estimate 100,000-200,000 deaths. The survey you cite is an outlier by a factor of 10, and no serious body uses that estimate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010902793.html

Look, 100,000 deaths is bad enough. Why do you want to damage your credibility by using the less believable numbers?

[apduncan1]

So... what number is OK with you?

We have killed more Iraqis than Saddam. Would you question that?

[PuppaX]

The survey you reference is for the first three years (2003-2006) only. Please read the article if you don't want to take my word for it.

[Mojane]

The figure she sites is from credible source. But even if the figure of 1 million were beyond belief for you, then take an average between 200,000 and 1 million and you get a number that is probably more realistic or more comfortable for you. And still horrendous. Nowhere do we hear about the number of Iraqs who have been maimed (with nowhere near the excellent care our soldiers receive) and who have as much if not more cases of PTSD. (Imagine your child in the middle of this war.) We have lost 4,000 men and women. That is nothing compared to the Iraqis losses. And the 2 million displaced Iraqis also never mentioned. This is a country we were were "liberating". We are occupiers. We have become the enemy. Understandably so.

[earthwealth]

Thank you for your courage. Nothing will change unless majority of people in this country realize that they are the main source cause and perhaps feel guilty enough to do something about it or prevent it from happening again. The politicians who initiate wars are all publicly elected. Without public support they would never get to such position of authority. Public mostly in forms of taxes also pays for such actions. The bottom line is that shame and shame on us.

[EdithF]

Thank you for this excellent post. More even than the false pretenses for war, I'm disturbed by the lack of real reporting about the war and its costs - its cost to the Iraqi people, as well as to the tens of thousands of servicemen and women who will forever be haunted by their actions in this purposeless, inhumane, perpetual war. The coverage of this war has, for years now, been based in Washington. Bush & Co. bet that the American people would rather not hear about it, and the media played right along.

[seawolf77]

They hate us because we destroyed their country. You think?

[xdevildawg4u]

Laila, thank you for your insightful commentary and for your tireless work for justice here and around the world.

Few people, especially in this country, have experienced and understand the disgrace, indignity and immorality of injustice as much as you and your family. It is even more disgraceful, undignified and immoral when injustice is carried out in the name of patriotism or under the cover of "national security".

Our country has perpetrated a lot of injustice, here and abroad, that we MUST acknowledge, answer for and make amends for if we are ever to regain our reputation and good standing as a leader for peace, justice, liberty and equality at home and around the world.

Thank you for courageously speaking truth to power.

Hayden

[Sciguy]

"A lot of guys supported that whole concept that, you know, if they don't speak English and they have darker skin, they're not as human as us, so we can do what we want,"

All people are equal, but some are more equal than others. Still.

[Garvagh]

Great piece! John McCain revels in a militaristic posturing by an ignorant, arrogant white man lording it over the lesser types of humanity found in the Middle East (excluding Israel, of course, or at least most of the people found there). McCain fosters hatred of America, and ignores the fact most Iraqis want the US to leave ASAP. Not in years to come, but ASAP.