Collateral damage: America's war against Iraqi civilians

161 Pages·2008·6.98 MB·English

by  Written by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian

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“The best account so far of what
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CHRIS HEDGES A
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ISBN 978-1-56858-416-4 E
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CHRIS LAILA
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AMemberofthePerseusBooksGroup HEDGES AL-ARIAN
www.nationbooks.org
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Collateral Damage
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ALSO BY CHRIS HEDGES
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
What Every Person Should Know About War
Losing Moses on the Freeway:
The 10 Commandments in America
American Fascists:
The Christian Right and the War on America
I Don’t Believe in Atheists
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Collateral Damage
AMERICA’S WAR
AGAINST IRAQI CIVILIANS
• • •
Chris Hedges
and Laila Al-Arian
Photographs by Eugene Richards
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Copyright © 2008 by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian
Hardcover edition first published in 2008 by Nation Books
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
116 East 16th Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Paperback edition first published in 2009 by Nation Books
Nation Books is a co-publishing venture of
The Nation Institute and the Perseus Books Group.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews. For information, address the Perseus Books Group,
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or e-mail [email protected].
Designed by Anita Koury
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hedges, Chris.
Collateral damage : America's war against Iraqi civilians
Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-56858-373-0
1. Iraq War, 2003—Personal narratives, American. 2. Soldiers—United
States—Interviews. 3. Iraq War, 2003—Casualties. I. Al-Arian, Laila.
II. Title.
DS79.76.H45 2008
956.7044'31—dc22
2008009941
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-56858-416-4
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
An earlier version of Collateral Damageappeared as
“The Other War” in The Nation, July 30/August 6, 2007.
All photographs © 2008 by Eugene Richards for The Nation Institute.
All Rights Reserved.
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For Dr. Sami Al-Arian
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Contents
Introduction xi
A Note on Methodology xxxiii
CHAPTER 1
Convoys 1
CHAPTER 2
Checkpoints 29
CHAPTER 3
Raids 51
CHAPTER 4
Detentions 71
CHAPTER 5
Hearts and Minds 87
Acknowledgments 115
Index 118
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Photographs
PAGE XI
Spc. Philip Chrystal, 23, of Reno
PAGE 1
Sgt. Patrick Campbell, 29, of Camarillo, California
PAGE 29
Spc. Michael Harmon, 24, of Brooklyn, New York
PAGE 51
Sgt. John Bruhns, 29, of Philadelphia
PAGE 71
Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejía, 31, of Miami
PAGE 87
Sgt. Dustin Flatt, 33, of Denver
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Thanks for telling me it was a good day untilI briefed you.
[Redacted name]—You are only interested in your career and
provide no support to your staff—no msn [mission] support
and you don’t care. I cannot support a msn that leads to cor-
ruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied—no
more. I didn’t volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing
contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in
themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored.
I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my fam-
ily, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust
you only. Death before being dishonored anymore. Trust is
essential—I don’t know who trust anymore. [sic] Why serve
when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no
longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and
breath to succeed meet with lies, lack of support, and selfish-
ness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders].
You are not what you think you are and Iknow it.
Col. Ted Westhusing
Life needs trust. Trust is no more for me here in Iraq.
—Col. Ted Westhusing’s June 4, 2005,
suicide note written to his commanders in Iraq,
Gen. Joseph Fil and Gen. David Petraeus