12/7/2004 The Center for Constitutional Rights is preparing to launch a war crimes case in Germany against senior US administration officials for their role in the torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. While the US claimed that the situation at Abu Ghraib was an isolated incident, new pictures are now emerging showing Navy SEALs engaging in similar behavior.
Many consider the US leveling of the city of Falluja a war crime (a city largely free of unrest until the US shot peaceful protesters in April 2003). There were many reports of US killing of unarmed civilians during the November assault, but most of the mainstream media refused to cover the reports until embedded reporter Kevin Sites managed to capture on tape a US marine shooting an Iraqi prisoner lying on the floor of a Falluja Mosque. While the US assault on Falluja caused unrest to sweep across much of Northern Iraq, most of the US news media effectively encouraged the assault and the Wall Street Journal even made excuses for clear pictures of war crimes (one US newspaper even referred to Iraqi fighters as "poisonous vermin that have relinquished all rights as human beings".)

The devastating effects of the US invasion extend beyond torture and killings. Iraq's health system is in a far worse condition than before the war. Doctors from the group Medact conducted surveys with international aid groups and Iraqi health workers in September, exposing poor sanitation in many hospitals, shortages of drugs and qualified staff and huge gaps in services for mothers and children. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says the number of children suffering from malnutrition has doubled since the March 2003 invasion. About 8 percent of Iraqi children below five suffer from chronic diarrhea and protein deficiency, it says. UNICEF says that diarrhoea caused mainly by unsafe water is responsible for 70 percent of child deaths in Iraq.

US probes Iraq abuse pictures | Baghdad Burning: Tired in Baghdad... | Dahr Jamail: So much loss… | Naomi Klein: "You asked for my evidence, Mr Ambassador. Here it is" | "There are bodies the Americans threw in the river" | ACLU: Torture FOIA