U.S. Military Called On to Compensate Iraqi Civilians

'NEW YORK, Jan 15 (OneWorld) - U.S.-based humanitarian groups are urging the administration of President George W. Bush to compensate the families of innocent Iraqi citizens killed as a result of aerial bombings by the U.S. military.

The call comes after U.S. military officials admitted that they had mistakenly bombed a civilian residence in the northern Iraqi town of Baiji over a week ago. The air raid that killed at least six people in their home prompted widespread anger among local communities.

"When mistakes happen, we have a responsibility to help the victims and their loved ones," said Sarah Holewinsky, director of the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign for Innocent Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).

The raid was conducted after seeing three men suspected of planting a roadside bomb near the house, U.S. officials told reporters after the incident. They said the suspected men were assessed as a threat to civilians and military forces.

U.S. officials on the ground have discretionary powers to compensate innocent people who have suffered losses as a result of U.S. actions, including the family members of those killed, CIVIC said in a statement released this week.

The group urged a thorough investigation of the Baiji incident so that assistance can be provided to surviving family members, citing a $38 million fund created by the U.S. Congress in 2003 to help civilian victims of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and named after CIVIC's late founder, Marla Ruzicka, who was killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq last April."
OneWorld

I wonder if Raed has heard about this, I would email the story to him, but receiving an email from me might open him up to extra scrutiny....