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“What’s an Iraqi Life Worth?” asks a Boston University Professor
Says Andrew J. Bacevich in the Washington Post: “In Iraq, lives differ in value — and so do deaths. In this disparity lies an important reason why the United States has botched this war.” Bacevich is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University.
“Last November in Haditha , a squad of Marines, outraged at the loss of a comrade, is said to have run amok, avenging his death by killing two dozen innocent bystanders.
“And in March, U.S. soldiers in Mahmudiyah allegedly raped a young Iraqi woman and killed her along with three of her relatives — an apparently premeditated crime for which one former U.S. soldier has been charged .
“These incidents are among at least five recent cases of Iraqi civilian deaths that have triggered investigations of U.S. military personnel. If the allegations prove true, Haditha and Mahmudiyah will deservedly take their place alongside Sand Creek, Samar and My Lai in the unhappy catalogue of atrocities committed by American troops….
“As the war enters its fourth year, how many innocent Iraqis have died at American hands, not as a result of Haditha-like massacres but because of accidents and errors? The military doesn’t know and, until recently, has publicly professed no interest in knowing. Estimates range considerably, but the number almost certainly runs in the tens of thousands….
“The insurance payout to the beneficiaries of an American soldier who dies in the line of duty is $400,000, while in the eyes of the U.S. government, a dead Iraqi civilian is reportedly worth up to $2,500 in condolence payments — about the price of a decent plasma-screen TV.”…
12 Responses to ““What’s an Iraqi Life Worth?” asks a Boston University Professor”
What is really interesting, is that all of these cases are less than a year old. As if nothing like this happened before the media picked up on it.
What has happened before and what has been covered up?
We’ve jumped the shark long ago in Iraq, so this is the final gasp of a stupid venture.
And if you take out a $500,000 insurance policy, your beneficiaries receive $500,000 when you die. Funny how that works. Comparing an insurance payout to restitution is apples to oranges.
Still, $2,500 sounds pretty small if US actions were involved. Though $2,500 goes a lot further in the Iraqi economy than the US.
Well, the purpose of my post was to reveal the typical response. It does not go beyond money talk/figure or ‘what I stand to gain’ attitude. When people give a totally dry emotionless response…they are themselves in a serious trouble physically/emotionally/mentally/spiritually.
This applies to the type of response not only to this post…but to others as well…and there is an emerging pattern now.
I have been also talking about schizophrenia among people who find themselves worrying all the time about a “looming crisis or terrorism”. And how this disease slowly cripples their health and thinking/talking/writing pattern.
I will tackle this “heartless” attitude in a separate post after a week or so as I am headed for an important assignment in western India. So don’t miss me/my posts too much!!!…
I would not be contributing for at least one week now. Ciao, namaste, au revoir and bye for now.
Before the latest Iraq war the death benefit was in the thousands and it is not insurance. I need to Google for more details. Maybe we should give the troops some Haliburton stock while we are at it.
It’s called SGLI, Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. Servicemembers pay a premium of $3.25 for every $50,000 of coverage, or $26 per month. It’s a life insurance policy, plain and simple.
Since SGLI is mandatory, the point that it’s an insurance policy is moot.
So let’s look at this from a strict investment perspective using the following scenario:
20 US soldiers engage suspected insurgents in an Iraqi neighborhood. The life cost is 1 US soldier, 5 insurgents (assumed), and 2 confirmed non-combatants at $400,000/soldier + $2,500/non-combatant + $0/insurgent + $300,000 overhead. That comes out to $140,500/insurgent. If we want to keep our budget below $100,000/insurgent for such an operation, we cannot afford to lose more than one US soldier. However, we CAN afford up to $200,000 in collateral damage = 80 Iraqi kids! So where is the incentive to sacrifice a volunteer soldier for even 20 completely innocent lives? Now, assuming we stay within budget, at $100,000/insurgent, our ROI is… what is Iraq worth to us again? (and don’t try to bring up 9/11 because IRAQ WAS NOT INVOLVED! Even W said so repeatedly.)
OR we could bug out and divert the investment to finally eliminating terrorist cells in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Germany, the US, Canada, etc etc who WERE involved in 9/11 and the ’93 World Trade Center bombing.
Swaraaj
Ok Dr.Swaraaj. Let me give you my emotional response- Remove the troops from Iraq Now!
Funny, you didn’t say this when I called them “animals” in a previous post. Let me see those Doctor creditials again…I smell a quack.
Chris
Don’t forget the July 1998 Embassy bombings. They never got those guys yet either. Believe me I REALLY want to get those guys REALLY bad.
Sal said: Believe me I REALLY want to get those guys REALLY bad.
Well ole buddy I still have a ton of maps and charts, a good flashlight, and a shovel. Come get em and go dig those guys out. And rottsa ruck rorge as Astro would say..cause luck is what it takes.
It boils down to two things Sal. Knowing exactly where the guys are going to strike next, and being in that “where” and time to catch em before they strike.
To know where they are going to strike next takes both smarts and money spent on hum-int….people willing to either give them up voluntarily or sell them out. Anybody see that happening?
As I;ve said in other posted replies…this “war on terror/guerilla war” is the war the U S Military has dreaded ever getting involved in.
One tactic, I’d say the main tactic, will be as I’ve said in other posted replies right here in this blog, is for the guerilla’s aka terrorists to start sprining up in hit and run attacks (as todays article “Terrorism in India (Bombay)” and the recent attacks in London, France, etc. indicate.
The Red Chinese Army, depending on which reports read, has anywhere from fifty to two hundred men.
Yet, if the U S and its allies even had this number of troops they could spread out all over the globe chasing after terrorists, transportation, resupply costs alone would bankrupt them in short order.
The fact is that the U S and its allies currently have less than 2.5 million troops making such a task physically and logistically impossible.
The U S military, even with all the modern might, toys of war, is already spread out dreadfully thin around the globe, many of them in perilous global spots and conditions such as our outnumbered 35,000+- U S troops stationed in direct proximity to the 38th parallel and other parts of South Korea, with little or no real functional backup and not enough available transports in the MAC should they need to be egressed from the area on an emergency basis.
Military feet on the ground, and adequate transportation, munitions, and supplies is what it all boils to if we are to continue playing policeman to the world and we and our for the most part unwilling to sacrifice allies just don’t have enough.
Without another extreme military buildup like we had back in the Viet Nam era, all the advantage the U S and its allies really have is our combined nuclear arsnels for backup..God forbid it ever comes to using it.
This socalled religious Jihad terror war is here and I contend it will remain active around the globe for decades at least unless there is radical changes made by several nations including our own in foreign policies and national poltical attitudes.
I dare say, if the situation was reversed, and one or more Islamic nations invaded states of the U S A, set up Islamic provincial governments and governors, dictating their laws and political policies to our U S citizenry…that at least, the right wing religious segment of U S citixens, some just as religiously fanatic as Islamic terrorists, would be acting in the same exact manner as the socalled terrorist insurgents in Iraq are doing today.
And though I’m not at all religious, if that did occur here in Texas, I would be out there making bombs, planting them along the roads and kicking Islamic asses. And believe me, after spending 18 of my 22 years in Naval Special Operations, Intel/Tactics/Weapons I know exactly how to do it.
Its simply time for the U S and its allies to rethink policy regarding foreign nations, realize our present police the world tack, if not completely wrong, is not working but in miniscule knee-jerk degrees. Sometimes helping or trying to help causes more harm than if a thing is left completely alone.
Error correction: Chinese Army two hundred million men.
Wow Chippedchips….this is great response!!!