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Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

GI Kills Head of Council in Baghdad Slum

By Anthony Shadid, Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
BAGHDAD, Nov. 10 -- The U.S. military and residents of Baghdad's largest neighborhood differ on the circumstances of Muhannad Kaabi's death. Did he reach for a gun? Did he try to wrestle a U.S. soldier to the ground? Was he killed in cold blood? They do, however, agree on the aftermath, another potential setback in U.S. efforts to court support among the crucial constituency of Sadr City. After a shouting match and fight that lasted a few minutes Sunday, a soldier shot Kaabi, the man leading the U.S.-supervised council that runs the slum, which is home to as many as 2 million people. His death left supporters of U.S. efforts grasping for explanations and handed detractors new evidence that tranquility under the occupation is impossible. "Why would they use force against him?" asked Thamer Hamad, 30, a neighbor who joined the funeral procession Monday that escorted Kaabi's flag-draped coffin from his home. "He was the representative of this city and people trusted him."

The U.S. military, without referring to Kaabi by name, said in a statement that soldiers blocked the vehicle from entering the gate... Kaabi got out and argued with the soldiers, it said. He then got back in the car and attempted to drive through the barricade. The statement said a soldier fired a warning shot, and Kaabi got out again, and fought with the soldier and grabbed at his weapon. At that point, the statement said, another soldier fired two more warning shots. "The driver continued to fight and wrestled the soldier to the ground while attempting to pull the weapon away from the soldier," the statement said. "The other soldier shot the driver in the upper leg."

Iraqi guards who patrol the entrance with U.S. forces denied that Kaabi reached for the soldier's gun or tackled him. Several guards who said they witnessed the incident said Kaabi -- known even to them for his temper -- yelled in English at the soldiers as they tried to search his car. One of the soldiers bumped him with his chest, then pushed him and a shoving match ensued. The fight lasted a couple of minutes, the guards said, and another soldier fired a warning shot into the air. Seconds later, they said, the same soldier fired another shot that struck the slightly built Kaabi, who died a few hours later at a military hospital. "They fired the second bullet deliberately, 100 percent," said Jassem Kadhim Abboud, 40, a city hall employee, who said he witnessed the incident. "It was killing for the sake of killing. It was not self-defense."

While U.S. officials insisted the shooting of Kaabi remained under investigation, they clearly worried Monday about the fallout. "We're concerned about how the good people of Iraq view this. We're concerned about how people might turn this in ways that should not be done," said Col. William Bishop, a civil affairs officer who works with the 41-member council in Sadr City and eight others in Baghdad. "It's a sad event and a good man died, and I'm still not sure exactly what happened." About 200 people poured into the street outside Kaabi's house, within walking distance of the U.S. military base in the area. Women beat their chests in traditional mourning. Men carried the coffin, draped in an Iraqi flag, and shouted, "There is no god but God." Along the procession, residents held up banners denouncing "the criminal act which the infidel Americans committed." Other banners declared Kaabi a martyr and labeled his killing an assassination. "It's so strange. Why would they do something like this?" asked Salim Jabbar, a relative of Kaabi's. "This is the policy of occupation. They don't respect people. They respect only those who serve their interests." Outside Kaabi's house, some relatives traded conspiracy theories, wild speculation that is familiar in Baghdad. He was honest and incorruptible, they said. Perhaps he was not heeding the wishes of the U.S. administration, so he was killed. "This is what we think," said Sawali Kaabi, another relative. "It was deliberate."

posted by A Curmudgeon 6:00 PM