The Secrets of Occupation: Scott Taylor on
Iraq
Date:
Monday, June 21 @ 15:20:00 EDT
Topic: US Foreign Policy
Articles
Earlier this
month, Canada’s top war reporter, Scott Taylor, returned from a volatile Iraq
with more harrowing tales of the “liberated” country under occupation rule. In
this interview, Taylor presents new evidence of how the US Army is trying to
evade responsibility for its actions- and how some soldiers hope to cash in from
the chaos.
Christopher Deliso: Scott, you’ve recently come back from yet another foray into the ever-more dangerous “liberated” Iraq. What was your overall impression of the situation there these days?
Scott Taylor: My major impression was the sheer inhumanity and disregard for life displayed by the occupation forces towards ordinary Iraqis.
Since the Abu Ghraib scandal, more stories are starting to come out. One particularly telling one was recounted to me by a native Turkman, whose nephew was brutally gunned down by US forces a few months ago. The family’s ongoing saga dealing with the US government over this tragedy speaks volumes about the regard the coalition has for Iraqis today.
Even Fatal Mistakes…
CD: So, what was the story?
ST: A mysterious explosion on the evening of Kirkuk, back on February 2, triggered an American response- but unfortunately on an innocent civilian. There was almost no one on the streets after the blast, but since an American ambush patrol spotted a “suspicious” vehicle driving near the blast site, they tracked the car with their night vision goggles, waited until the driver was in range, and then riddled the car with fifty-three bullets.
The driver, 21-year-old Sinan Ibrahim Ismail, was hit 13 times. Eyewitnesses reported that he was visibly moving inside his car for several minutes after the attack, but that they were prevented from aiding him by the Americans.
CD: Didn’t the soldiers have some reason, some intelligence, to have targeted this car?
ST: Actually, it seems they didn’t. “When I asked them why this happened, an American told me that 'this was a terrorist,’” Iraqi doctor Ali Terzi told me. “But when I saw the car I told them they were wrong…this was my cousin.”
Indeed, Iraqi police who arrived at the scene quickly confirmed that Sinan was the wrong guy. He had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The young man was in fact a nursing student at the local college. In a tragic irony, he had actually worked part-time for the previous six months at the U.S. airbase in Kirkuk.
CD: What happened next? Did the US admit the mistake, or sweep it under the carpet?
ST: The military made no attempt to contact the Ismail family. As Sinan's father had died in 1993, responsibility fell to his uncle, Jallil Amen. He was the one who approached the Americans on behalf of the family.
“I was told that the matter was under investigation and I would be notified of the final decision,” Amen told me. “Three months later, they called and told me to come to their headquarters.” It was at this point that the bureaucracy took over.
…Can Be Apologized Away
There, an American Judge Advocate General (JAG) captain presented the Iraqi uncle with a letter which read exactly as follows:
“…On behalf of the Coalition Forces in Kirkuk, Iraq, I want to express my deep sympathy for you and your family for the loss of your son Sinan. I know that this is a difficult time for you but please know that your son was a good man and there is absolutely no evidence that he was working with the anti-coalition forces. I am sorry that we could not deliver our sentiments in person, but security risks prevent this from being possible. I sincerely hope the best for you and your family in the future.”
CD: So, it seems they didn’t even get the relationship correct- Amen was Sinan’s uncle, not his father!
ST: Yes indeed. This apology letter was signed, ‘sincerely’ by Samuel Schubert, Major, U.S. Army Command Judge Advocate.
To clarify the final comments it must be noted that Major Schubert is stationed at the U.S. airbase, five kilometres from the Civil Administration headquarters where the letter was actually delivered by his subordinate. Along with this letter, emblazoned with the official Department of Defence letterhead, Jallil Amen was given $1,000 in cash and a receipt to sign.”
At this, Amen asked what the money was for. After all, he reminded them, “…the BMW alone was worth $5,000.” The JAG officer politely explained that the $1,000 was not compensation for property damage, but a 'grant' from the international aid fund.
An Occupational Goal: Escape Liability
CD: Wow! Is this a common tactic for dealing with “collateral damage?” Is there really a whole part of the “international aid fund” set up for dealing with dead civilian cash-outs?
ST: Apparently so, though no one has said it in as many words. What was remarkable about this whole sordid affair was the reasoning behind it. Amen testified that the JAG “…wanted me to know that the U.S. is not legally liable for such mistakes – and that this money I was to receive was not from the American military… it was offered as a gesture of sympathy.”
CD: Did the Iraqi understand the ramifications of this? If so, what was his reaction?
ST: Actually, Jallil Amen is an ethnic Turkmen. While he can speak passable English, he doesn’t know how to read anything except Turkish. You would think that after a year of “winning hearts and minds” in Iraq, the occupation authorities would at least make an effort to communicate with the locals in a language they could understand. No chance.
Since there was no Turkish translation, Mr. Amen didn’t realize that the “receipt” he signed was actually a settlement agreement- whereby he waived any rights to take future legal action against the Americans.
CD: What we are talking about, essentially, is a blood payment in bad faith- somewhat like the payments to the families of 9/11 victims. Was he given a choice whether he had to take the money?
ST: Mr. Amen told me that he was warned, “…if I do not sign and take the money, they will not give me the letter.” The last thing the JAG captain told Amen, as he forked over the cash was, “…remember, we [Americans] don't put a dollar figure on a human life.”
CD: That’s just f*cked up.
ST: Indeed.
Danger Increases for Foreigners
CD: In past trips to Iraq, you have frequently had narrow escapes, coming in mortal danger from Saddam’s Republican Guard, rock-throwing children, armed Iraqi irregulars and Americans alike. What about this time- has the fallout of the Abu Ghraib scandal and Nick Berg killing made things more dangerous for journalists?
ST: God yes. When I arrived at the home of my long-time host and driver in Baghdad, Anmar Al-Saadi, he advised me that there's a price on my head. “I was offered $2,000 to sacrifice you to the resistance as a hostage,” he said. “Two men approached me in a restaurant after your last visit in April, and said that they had been watching my house.”
CD: What happened? Did you decide to take your leave of Al-Saadi hospitality?
ST: Well, in some ways it wasn’t a surprise to hear about this, considering the dramatic rise in kidnappings since April. But on the other hand I had always found it safer to stay with his family in the suburbs rather than at a hotel- the latter being apparently the mistake Nick Berg made. But no, I decided to stay with them, and made it out without any problems. But apparently, according to Anmar, the resistance thought they could get my government [Canada] to cough up $1 million for my safe release- a hefty return for their $2,000 investment. I told him to tell the resistance they’d be wasting their time, as my government probably wouldn’t miss me that much.
“Of course,” Anmar admitted, “if I don't hand you over they have threatened to harm my family.”
CD: A real offer you can’t refuse, huh?
ST: Yeah, but he braved it out. He was a real hero. Despite the risk, Anmar insisted that we continue our collaboration, but to be safe we changed residence and car.
Lingering Doubts Over the Nick Berg Slaying
CD: On a related subject- Nick Berg- we have heard could not have been killed in the way assumed, because of a lack of blood at the moment of the beheading. It has been alleged that he was killed earlier, and the videotape doctored later, because in the first part he is wearing an orange US-military style jumpsuit, and calmly reciting his family background while sitting on a chair. Not to mention that some have questioned the authenticity of his masked captors, and even detected a voice speaking in Russian. The point being that he could have been killed earlier by the occupation force, and then held up as an atrocity against the Americans to take the focus away from Abu Ghraib, which was then taking up all of the media’s attention. Far fetched, but possible. Do the Iraqis have any views on this?
ST: As you might guess, the issue is the topic of much discussion in Iraq. Everyone has their own theories- none of which supports the notion that Berg was greased by the al Qaeda. Anmar, my driver, was quick to point out that the alleged al-Zarqawi in the video seems awfully spry and nimble for a guy who is supposed to have a wooden leg!
It is also quite a mystery as to where anyone in Iraq would come up with an orange jumpsuit. It is not like they can just pop out to a Wal-Mart. And such fashion items are not exactly found in the Baghdad clothing bazaar.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
CD: How is the situation with the US troops? How’s morale these days?
ST: I talked with several soldiers at the Mosul air base. One of them, a Sergeant Gore, asked whether I was “investing” in Iraqi dinars. I thought he was joking, but he continued with disbelief, “…don't you want to be a millionaire? We're all buying up every dinar we can find and shipping them home.”
CD: Why? What can you possibly do with an Iraqi dinar in America?
ST: Exchange it, that’s what. Right before the war last spring, the currency, which used to be 3:1 against the dollar, hit rock bottom- 3,000 dinars to a single U.S. dollar. However, since then the Iraqi currency has been steadily gaining strength. It’s now at 1,450 dinars against the dollar- a value increase over 100 percent in just twelve months.
Therefore it was easy to follow the logic of Sergeat Gore. “If the dinar climbs back to even one tenth [30 cents to the dinar] of its old worth," he said, "we will all be millionaires in say, five to ten years.” Since they can’t exchange their money downtown, the soldiers eagerly barter with the Iraqi civilians who work on the base as they pass through the front gate.
Answering the Call of the Contractor
CD: In the past, you have reported on the exploits of military contractors in Iraq. Did you come across any this time around?
ST: Well, I didn’t mean any contractors per se, but I did meet some aspiring ones. When I got there, the soldiers guarding the base were having an animated discussion about the lucrative salaries being shelled out to the nearly 15,000 former soldiers who now work in Iraq as private security contractors. “When I'm done my three months here, I'm gonna get out of the [airforce] reserves and come back to Iraq to make some serious money,” said Specialist Johnson, a 21-year-old from Iowa.
Hearing this, some of the regular force MPs [i.e., non-reserves] began to mock young Specialist Johnson, saying he “didn’t have what it takes to be a mercenary.” At this, Johnson retorted, “the joke’s on you, cause I've already signed a contract here [in the Mosul camp] with Global [security company], and they pay $20,000 (U.S.) a month plus expenses.”
Ironically, at the same guardhouse I saw several copies of Army Magazine, the official US military publication. One of the feature stories was full of self-praise for the US Army, describing how it had cleaned up after Iraqi litterbugs. According to the magazine, American-employed local workers are getting a grand total of $2 a day which, as the story noted, “is a lot of money by local standards.” It just goes to show, yet again, that the only standards set by the occupiers of Iraq are double standards.
Scott Taylor is well-known for his two books on the Kosovo and Macedonia wars, and especially for his frequent reports from Iraq- many of which have been gathered in narrative form in his recent book, Spinning on the Axis of Evil: America’s War Against Iraq. A long-time military analyst and former soldier, Scott runs a magazine dedicated to the Canadian military, Esprit de Corps, has been a featured analyst for CNN and the Situation Report television program. He also writes for numerous Canadian newspapers on the unfolding situations in Iraq and the Balkans.
Read all of the other interviews with Scott Taylor published on Balkanalysis.com!
Interviews about Iraq:
Scott Taylor Unabridged (Apr. 2004)
The Empire Strikes Out (Dec. 2003)
Inside America’s “Colossal Blunder” (Oct. 2003)
“The Yanks have Really Screwed Up in Iraq” (May 2003)
Baghdad Braces for War (Sept. 2002)
Interviews about the Balkans:
Macedonia:
the Security Situation (Oct. 2003)
http://www.balkanalysis.com
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