ACLU Releases Shocking Report on Civilian Deaths in Iraq (Greg Mitchell)

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For nearly five years, I have been charting the civilian death toll in Iraq, along with the payment (and non-payment) of "condolence" and "solatia" funds to victims and survivors. Today brings a report from the American Civil Liberties Union that builds on its past work in this field and releases thousands of pages of new documents via the FOIA.

"At every step of the way, the Bush administration and Defense Department have gone to unprecedented lengths to control and suppress information about the human cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," says Nasrina Bargzie, an attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "Our democracy depends on an informed public and that is why it is so important that the American people see these documents. These documents will help to fill the information void around the issue of civilian casualties in Iraq and will lead to a more complete understanding of the prosecution of the war."

The new documents relate to eight Navy probes of civilians killed by Coalition Forces in Iraq, including the cousin of the Iraqi ambassador to the United States. ACLU says these "records provide a vivid snapshot of the circumstances surrounding civilian deaths in Iraq."