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Report: War and Occupation in Iraq
Chapter 2: 
Attacks on Cities

Global Policy Forum and partners 

January 2007 

When we identify positively an enemy target, we're going to go ahead and take it out with every means we have available. I like to remember what Viscount Slim said during the Burma campaign. He said, "Use a sledgehammer to crush a walnut." And that's exactly what we will do. We will use force, overwhelming combat power when it's necessary. - US Major General Charles H. Swannack Jr. [1]

The US Coalition has used overwhelming military force to attack Iraqi cities on grounds that they were “insurgent strongholds.” The offensives, involving air and ground bombardment and armored assaults, have resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, large civilian casualties and colossal destruction of the urban physical infrastructure (making most affected cities at least partly uninhabitable). In addition to the two well-known offensives against Falluja in April and November 2004, there have been assaults on a number of other cities, including Najaf (April and August 2004), Tal Afar (September 2004 and September 2005), Samarra (October 2004), al-Qaim (April-May 2005), Haditha (May 2005), Samarra (October 2004 and March 2006), and Ramadi (June-July 2006). These operations have affected more than two million people [2] and have clearly violated numerous articles of the Geneva Conventions.

Prelude to the Attack: Sealed-off Cities and Heavy Curfews

In preparation for impending military operations, Coalition forces have routinely encircled the targeted areas with sandbags and earthen barricades, as well as barriers of razor wire, to control all entry and exit. In massive operations, with thousands of troops, helicopters and armored construction vehicles, they have surrounded the areas, cordoned them off, closed highways and streets, and set up roadblocks and checkpoints. In the case of Tal Afar, for example, the attacking forces built an 8-foot high, 12-mile long dirt wall that ringed the entire city. [3]

Beleaguered residents have been subject to intensive screening at check points, in order to enter and leave their cities [4] and they have been required to carry special identification cards. At the checkpoints, many have been arbitrarily arrested or detained, while others have been denied access for insufficient documents. “We are like birds in a cage,” said a resident of Abu Hishma to the New York Times, complaining of the humiliation endured. [5]

In Falluja, beginning immediately before the November 2004 siege, the US Coalition imposed a strict curfew, including restriction of movement within the city of all men under 45 years of age. [6] Similar curfews were imposed on Ramadi, Tal Afar and many other cities. The UN reported that road closings and curfews in Ramadi raised prices and created a shortage of basic supplies in early July 2006 before the main attacks on the city began. [7] The village of Abu Hishma was locked down for 15 hours a day, preventing residents from going to the mosque for prayers and badly disrupted many families' livlihoods. [8] US forces have routinely fired on any moving person or vehicle after the curfew. [9]

These operations have given US Coalition troops complete control of all movement into and out of the cities, including all goods and supplies, water, food, medicines, and emergency assistance of all kinds. This “sealing off” strategy seeks to isolate insurgents and show ordinary civilians the heavy cost of not cooperating with Coalition forces. Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Sassaman described the approach quite bluntly in the early months of the occupation: “With a heavy dose of fear and violence, and a lot of money for projects, I think we can convince these people that we are here to help them.” [10]

Forced Evacuation and Those Who Remain

In preparation for the offensives, the US and its allies have issued warnings of impending military operations to the civilian population, urging residents to leave their homes and abandon the urban area. The resulting massive displacement has put tens and even hundreds of thousands of civilian at risk, while creating an excuse for free-fire zones within the target area. [11] In Tal-Afar, US forces played messages over loudspeakers warning residents to evacuate, while starting to bomb the neighborhood of Sarai. [12] Most of the population (80 percent according to Jon Brain, the BBC's correspondent in Baghdad [13] ) eventually fled to escape the heavy fighting.

In many other cases, similarly large percentages of the urban population have left their homes and fled. The most fortunate could seek refuge with out-of-town relatives, but the great majority were forced to stay in temporary shelters and camps, which were eventually set up for the displaced persons by the Red Crescent, the UN or the Iraqi government. In Falluja, a city of about 300,000, over 216,600 displaced persons had to seek shelter in overcrowded camps during the winter months, inadequately supplied with food, water and medical care. [14] Those fleeing al-Qaim, a city of about 150,000, totaled some 100,000 persons, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS). [15] People in Ramadi estimated that about 70 percent of the city’s population of 400,000 left in advance of the US onslaught. [16]

While many have left the cities, significant numbers have remained – an estimated 50,000 in Falluja [17] and more than 100,000 in Ramadi. [18] Coalition forces have assumed that those remaining are insurgents or sympathizers. But those staying behind have included large numbers of civilians, unable or unwilling to abandon their homes, including the old, the sick, and the fearful.

Cut-Off of Water, Food and Electricity

The Coalition has repeatedly denied water to the residents of Iraqi cities under siege, including Falluja, Tal Afar and Samarra , affecting up to 750,000 civilians. [19] Water is the most basic necessity, because humans can only survive a short time without it. Many families have only limited emergency storage and cannot survive long once the central supply has been cut. Along with water, the Coalition has cut off electricity (which may be used to power local wells), and also food and medical supplies, creating a state of siege and an emerging humanitarian crisis for the entire remaining civilian population of the target cities.

In September 2004, the US “turned off” water supplies to Tal Afar “for at least three days,” according to the Washington Post. [20] In October 2004, the Independent reported that “US-led forces cut off power and water” in Samarra . [21] And in November 2004, the UN reported a similar cut-off of vital necessities in Falluja, “directly affecting civilians (approximately 50,000 people then remaining inside [the city]) for whom water is a basic need and a fundamental human right.” [22] Supplies of basic necessities were unavailable within Falluja for many days and were withheld by the Coalition even from the displaced citizens in camps outside, again according to the UN. [23] The UN more recently reported that in early July 2006, US forces imposed a “total blockade” of Rutba “for approximately four days” followed by subsequent blockades “intermittently.” [24]

These methods seem to be part of a deliberate policy of collective punishment, with the goal of forcing civilians to leave and pressing them to turn over insurgent fighters. [25] In some cases, the Coalition has used the siege openly as a bargaining tool. In Ramadi , US and Iraqi forces reportedly told residents that they would not get water, electricity, telephones and other services back unless they would hand over “the terrorists.” [26] According to Lieutenant Colonel Hassan al-Medan, the Iraqi spokesperson for the operation in Najaf, “if we allow the entrance of food and medicines to the city we are just feeding the insurgents” [27] – this in spite of thousands of civilians still within the area.

In his annual report to the Human Rights Commission in March 2005, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, denounced such practices. [28] Ziegler later said in a press conference that the “Coalition's occupying forces are using hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population,” calling this “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.” [29]

Confinement of Journalists and Blockage of Media Coverage

Prior to the major assaults, commanders of the Coalition have prevented journalists from entering the targeted cities. All media workers not “embedded” with US forces have been banned for the duration of the battle and usually a long time afterwards. Sometimes, even embedded media have been refused access. This gives the Coalition almost complete control over international public perceptions of what is happening on the battlefield.

Preceding US military operations in Najaf in August 2004, Iraqi police encircled a hotel where journalists were staying, ordering them to leave the city and threatening to arrest all those who did not comply with the order. [30] While claiming that the ban was based on concerns for the safety of the journalists, police officers said they would confiscate all cell phones and cameras. [31] In Falluja, the US military banned all non-embedded journalists from the city. Reports have claimed that journalists and camera crews were arrested and their equipment confiscated, without explanation, before being released later without charges. [32]

Reporters Without Borders, referring to Najaf, condemned "the totally unacceptable imposition of an information blackout" and insisted that “the presence of journalists on the spot is indispensable, as the worst atrocities are always committed in the absence of witnesses.” [33]

Massive Bombardment

While Coalition forces have inflicted prolonged and intensive air and ground bombardment on these cities, destroying thousands of homes, shops, mosques, clinics and schools, and – inevitably – killing and injuring many civilians. [34] The strategy of massive and indiscriminate bombardment, in advance of ground offensives, has reduced the number of Coalition casualties, at a heavy cost in life and injury to the remaining city residents.

The Washington Post reported that in Falluja, an “official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described 12 hours of overnight strikes by American helicopters, fighter-bombers, field artillery and tanks as ‘shaping operations.’ Military commanders use the term as shorthand for battlefield preparation, combat operations specifically intended to remove enemy strong points in advance of an assault.” [35] In Falluja, the air strikes began on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month and continued for many days. In Najaf, US Marines bombarded the cemetery near the famous Imam Ali Shrine as well as much of the city center, in a massive attack backed by aircraft and tanks. In Ramadi , US forces carried out intensive bombardment, targeting the city's power stations, water treatment facilities, and water pipes, leaving many destroyed houses and no civilian services functioning. [36]

US military aircraft have destroyed large areas of the cities. Reports have spoken of leveling whole blocks and even multi-block areas. [37] “Those who have witnessed US aircraft firing missiles into packed tenements in Sadr City , and have seen the resulting carnage, treat claims of ‘precision strikes’ … with deep skepticism” commented the London-based Independent newspaper. [38]

Air strikes and artillery bombardment are typically indiscriminate. According to an Iraq Body Count study on the lethality of different types of weapons, aircraft attacks have been responsible for the largest proportion of children killed. [39] In addition to massive bombardment with high explosives, there is clear evidence of the use of illegal weaponry in these ferocious urban attacks.[40]

Snipers and Violent Searches

After extensive bombardment, armed forces storm into the cities with columns of tanks and other armored vehicles, taking over buildings and carrying out house-to-house searches. They often use violent methods to enter the houses, such as setting off an explosive or knocking down part of the front wall with a military vehicle. [41]

The US military has increasingly relied on snipers to back-up infantry patrols. While portrayed as a precise high-tech method to avoid civilian casualties, sniper teams often fire at anyone moving in the streets, in gardens or even inside of buildings. Everyone is treated in the besieged cities as a suspect. Using night goggles and special high-power scopes, snipers shoot at any moving object, which might be a civilian going out in desperate search for food or water, seeking medical care, escaping a collapsing building, or trying to leave the city. During the siege of Falluja in April 2004, the Guardian reported that US snipers shot an elderly woman carrying a white flag, as well as an ambulance and an aid worker delivering medical supplies on foot. [42] The UN reported that, in August 2006, snipers in Ramadi shot thirteen civilians who had breached the curfew, killing six and injuring seven just in one district —al-Eakan al-Jadida. [43]

Attacks on Medical Facilities and Prevention of Humanitarian Assistance

Coalition troops have targeted medical facilities during urban offensives, and repeatedly destroyed and confiscated ambulances, making emergency care nearly impossible. They have also blocked access to humanitarian convoys trying to enter cities, obstructing the work of humanitarian agencies trying to assess needs and deliver relief supplies. [44]

In Fallujah , US troops “destroyed a civilian hospital in a massive air raid, captured the main hospital and prohibited the use of ambulances.” [45] All the medical personal were arrested and the patients removed. Similarly, as the US prepared to launch a major assault on Najaf, Al-Hakeem hospital was “taken over as a coalition military base, off limits to civilians.” [46] Coalition forces did the same in Ramadi in the summer of 2006, when they captured the city’s General Hospital, endangering the sick and rendering health care impossible.[47] According to the UN, troops captured the city’s Specialized Hospital on July 5 and held it more than a week until July 13, after which time they withdrew but set up a patrol outside. Further UN reports have spoken of Coalition snipers stationed on the roof of the Ramadi General Hospital , troops quartered in the hospital garden, and fearful residents avoiding the hospital altogether, while in Tal Afar, the UN reported that the city hospital has been "occupied" for six months. [48]

Coalition forces have also prevented medical and humanitarian relief agencies from entering besieged cities, preventing them from bringing urgent assistance to the population. In Samarra , in March 2006, US troops turned back the Iraqi Red Crescent Committee’s aid convoys, leaving hundreds of families, including children, without medical assistance and basic supplies. [49]

Najaf’s top health official Falah Al-Mahani reported that the attack was causing "a real catastrophe" for local health services. “Ambulances are prevented from reaching the injured people," he said. “Our staff are not able to reach their hospitals. We are paralyzed.” [50] As a result, a far higher proportion of injured civilians have died or suffered serious bodily damage than if medical care had been available.

Civilian Casualties

US-led military operations in populated areas have caused scores of civilian deaths and injuries. People have been killed by ordnance explosions, collapsing buildings, fires, sniper shots and many other results of the attacks. While Coalition forces claim that most of those killed in attacks are men of military-age, many witnesses and other accounts report that many, if not most, of the victims in these operations have been women, children and the elderly. “The United Nations has been unable to obtain accurate figures concerning civilian losses following such operations but reports received from civil society organizations, medical sources and other monitors indicate that they are significant and include women and children,” [51] said a report by UNAMI in 2005.

During just the first week of the siege on Falluja in April 2004, the city General Hospital ’s Director Rafie al-Issawi reported that over 600 people had died, most of them women, children and the elderly. [52] In Najaf too, “the total number killed was 570 with 785 injured. These statistics were taken from local hospitals and didn't include bodies buried in homes or elsewhere during the fighting.” [53] Using accounts from tribal leaders, medical personnel and local witnesses, the Washington Post calculated that “Operation Steel Curtain,” a US offensive in November 2005, included bombings that killed 97 civilians in Husaybah, 40 in al-Qaim, 18 children in Ramadi, and many others in additional cities and villages. [54]

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have expressed concern at the growing number of civilian casualties due to the extremely violent US counter-insurgency operations. [55] The rising use of air strikes, which grew five-fold in 2005, has greatly increased the likelihood of civilian deaths in the battles over urban areas. [56]

Massive Destruction

Heavy fighting has led to fearful destruction in the cities under attack, including historical and religious sites, as well as civilian infrastructure, including water, electricity and sewage systems. US-led forces have bombed and even bulldozed numerous buildings, either as part of offensives or as retaliation against civilians who do not give information about insurgents. [57]

In Falluja, Operation Phantom Fury left the city in ruins, as a “ghost town.” The Study Center for Human Rights and Democracy (SCHRD), a Falluja-based non-governmental organization, reports that the offensive destroyed an estimated 70 percent of the buildings, homes and shops. [58] Speaking in a press conference about the scale of destruction in Najaf, Minister of State Qassim Daoud said: “It is horrible and it is difficult to know where to start.” [59] Officials in Najaf told IRIN, that “a total of 72 shops, 50 hotels, 90 homes, three schools and dozens of cars were destroyed in the fighting.” [60] They said “there has also been massive destruction of the historic old part of the city, some of it impossible to repair.” [61]

In the Ramadi operation of 2006, “instead of continuing to fight for the downtown, or rebuild it,” the New York Times reported, Coalition forces “are going to get rid of it, or at least a very large part of it.” [62] US Department of Defense newspaper Stars and Stripes reports that at least eight blocks of buildings were razed. “We’re used to taking down walls, doors and windows, but eight city blocks is something new to us,” [63] admitted Marine 1st Lieutanant Ben Klay who took part in the demolition work in Ramadi.

With power, water and sewage systems dysfunctional and most buildings in ruins, many of these cities will remain only marginally habitable for a long time to come, in spite of announced (but largely un-implemented) reconstruction programs.

“Joint” Military Operations and Criticism by Iraqi Authorities

Increasingly, military operations against Iraqi cities are portrayed by US commanders as joint operations between US and Iraqi forces, as a way of making the sieges more palatable to Iraqi and international opinion. Officially, US troops only “back-up” Iraqi forces or the two are said to carry out operations jointly. Observers say, though, that the US always takes the lead and there is little coordination between Iraqi and US troops.

In fact, Iraqi government authorities have often been critical of the operations and condemned the conduct of US forces. After a week of heavy fighting in August 2004, Iraq ’s Interim Deputy President Ibrahim Al-Jaafari “call[ed] for multinational forces to leave Najaf and for only Iraqi forces to remain there.” [64] Deputy Governor of Najaf, Jawdat Kadhim Najam al-Quraishi, followed by 16 of the 30 members of the Najaf Provincial Council, resigned in protest against the assault. [65]

In the case of Falluja, feelings in Iraq ran very high and several members of the Iraq Governing Council criticized the attacks and threatened to resign if the US commanders did not halt the operation. Adnan Pachachi, a leading member of the IGC qualified the operation “as illegal and totally unacceptable.” [66] And Ghazi Yawar, another prominent member said: “How can a superpower like the United States put itself in a state of war with a small city like Falluja. This is genocide.” [67]

In a statement on government television in August 2006, Iraq ’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sharply criticized US-Iraqi raids on Baghdad 's Sadr City , saying that such operations “violate the rights of citizens.” “This operation used weapons that are unreasonable to detain someone – like using planes,” he said, before apologizing to the Iraqi people. He promised “this won't happen again.” [68]

These public statements signal serious differences between Iraqi politicians and US military commanders and they show how little control the sovereign and elected Iraqi government has over these offensives. Iraqi official opposition has not stopped the US military from continuing these campaigns.

Conclusion

International law sets clear standards for the conduct of military operations. The Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks which do not clearly distinguish between military targets and civilians, or have a disproportionate impact on civilians. Coalition military operations have clearly violated these laws, with massive displacement of populations, indiscriminate killings of civilians, and large-scale destruction of habitation and urban infrastructure, including historic buildings and religious sites. Coalition forces have violated further provisions of the Conventions by deliberately targeting hospitals, stopping emergency medical care and blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid. In further violation of the prohibition of “siege tactics,” they have deprived civilians of food, water, electricity, medical supplies and vital services. Such practices have inflicted collective punishment on Iraqis. Taken together they represent a grave violation of international humanitarian law.

Prior to the November 2004 attack on Falluja, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wrote to President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, expressing his “particular concern about the safety and protection of civilians.” He continued: “Fighting is likely to take place mostly in densely populated urban areas, with an obvious risk of civilian casualties...” [69] Shortly afterwards, while the Falluja siege was still going on, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour called for an investigation into possible war crimes. [70] The United States and its partners ignored these warnings about the risk to civilians and war crimes. They continued with attacks on these and other Iraqi population centers.


Footnotes

[1] Major General Charles H. Swannack, Jr., Commander, 82nd Airborne Division. Special Operational Briefing from Baghdad (November 18, 2003)
[2] The pre-attack population of the named cities comes to about two million. This does not include other urban targets, notably the very populous Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad that has sustained several attacks, including a major operation in August-September 2004.
[3] Speech by George W. Bush. President Discusses War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (March 2006)
[4] American Friends Service Committee, “The Price of Forgetting (January 20, 2005)
[5] Dexter Wilkins, “Tough New Tactics by US Tighten Grip on Iraq Towns” New York Times (December 7, 2003)
[6] United Nations, Emergency Working Group -- Falluja Crisis, “Update Note” (November 11, 2004)
[7] UNAMI, Human Rights Report (July 1- August 31, 2006) p. 12
[8] Dexter Wilkins, “Tough New Tactics by US Tighten Grip on Iraq Towns” New York Times (December 7, 2003)
[9] For example see: B. Dominick, “In Fallujah , US Declares War on Hospitals, Ambulances” New Standard (November 12, 2004)
[10] Cited in Dexter Wilkins, “Tough New Tactics by US Tighten Grip on Iraq Towns” New York Times (December 7, 2003)
[11] According to the US Army Field Manual FM 6-20, a free-fire zone is “a specific designated area into which any weapon system may fire without additional coordination with the establishing headquarters.” The term has generally been expanded to include combat zone in which anyone unidentified is considered an enemy combatant, or areas in which soldiers can shoot at anyone moving around after curfew, without first making sure that they are hostile.
[12] Jonathan Finer, “US Forces Chase Ghost Fighters Amid Iraqis” Washington Post (September 9, 2005)
[13] Cited in “Iraq to Clear ‘Insurgent Town’” BBC (September 9, 2005)
[14] United Nations, Emergency Working Group – Falluja Crisis (December 19, 2004)
[15] As cited in “Iraq: Displaced in the West Need More” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (November 16, 2005)
[16] Yasin al-Dulaimi and Daud Salman, “Ramadi: Mass Exodus Amid Rising Tensions” Institute for War and Peace Reporting (June 15, 2006)
[17] United Nations, Emergency Working Group -- Falluja Crisis, “Update Notes” (November 11, 2004 and November 13, 2004)
[18] Yasin al-Dulaimi and Daud Salman, “Ramadi: Mass Exodus Amid Rising Tensions” Institute for War and Peace Reporting (June 15, 2006)
[19] Daniel O’Huiginn and Alison Klevnas, “Denial of Water to Iraqi Cities” Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq. (November 2004)
[20] Steve Fainaru, “After Recapturing N. Iraqi City, Rebuilding Starts from Scratch” Washington Post. (September 19, 2004)
[21] Ken Sengupta, “Onslaught in Samarra Escalates in 'Dress Rehearsal' for Major US Assault on Rebels'” Independent (October 3, 2004)
[22] United Nations, Emergency Working Group -- Falluja Crisis, “Update Notes” (November 11, 2004 and November 13, 2004)
[23] As per November 22, 2004, “The water system remains turned off, and PDS distribution has not resumed in either Falluja or for IDPs in the area.” United Nations, Emergency Working Group – Falluja Crisis, “Update Note” (November 22, 2004)
[24] UNAMI Human Rights Report (July 1 – August 31, 2006) p. 12
[25] Daniel O’Huiginn and Alison Klevnas, “Denial of Water to Iraqi Cities” Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq (November 2004)
[26] Dahr Jamail, “Fallujah Delux” ZNet. (June 15, 2006)
[27] As cited in “Urgent Aid Required as Displacement Increases in Talafar” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (September 14, 2004)
[28] United Nations, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, to the Human Rights Commission (January 24, 2005) Document E/CN.4/2005/47
[29] “UN Food Envoy Says Coalition Breaking Law in Iraq” Reuters (October 14, 2005)
[30] Adrian Blomfield, “Police Fire at Reporters as US Tanks Roll Up To Shrine” Telegraph (August 16, 2004)
[31] “Iraq Evicts Reporters from Najaf” Associated Press (August 16, 2004)
[32] Reporters Without Borders, Annual Report (2004)
[33] “New Blackout in Najaf Deplored” Reporters Without Borders (August 15, 2004)
[34] Amnesty International, Iraq: Civilians under Fire (April 2003)
[35] Karl Vick, “Fallujah Strikes Herald Possible Attack” Washington Post (October 16, 2004)
[36] Brian Conley, “Ramadi Becomes Another Fallujah” Inter Press Service. (June 5, 2006)
[37] Michael Schwartz, “A Formula for Slaughter: The American Rules of Engagement from the Air” TomDispatch.com. (January 6, 2006)
[38] Ken Sengupta, “Onslaught in Samarra Escalates in 'dress Rehearsal' for Major US Assault on Rebels'” Independent (October 3, 2004)
[39] Iraq Body Count, A Dossier on Civilian Casualties in Iraq (2003-2005)
[40] See Chapter 3 of this report
[41] World Health Organization, Detailed Situation Report in Talafar (August 19, 2005)
[42] Jo Wilding, “Getting Aid Past US Snipers Is Impossible” Guardian (April 17, 2004)
[43] UNAMI, Human Rights Report (July 1- August 31, 2006) p. 13
[44] For example, see “Medical Need Massive in Fallujah – Red Crescent” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (November 10, 2004)
“‘We have supplies and people who want to help. People are dying due to the shortage of medical materials and other needing food and water, but you have to watch them die because US troops do not let you go in,’ [spokesman for the Iraq Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Firdoos ] al-Abadi added.”
[45] Brian Dominick, “In Fallujah , US Declares War on Hospitals, Ambulances” New Standard (November 12, 2004)
[46] Scott Baldauf, “The Battle of Najaf” Christian Science Monitor (August 9, 2004)
[47] Antonio Castaneda, “US Marines Take Over Iraq Hospital” Associated Press (July 6, 2006)
[48] UNAMI, Human Rights Report (July 1- August 31, 2006) p. 12, UNAMI, Human Rights Report (November 1-December 31, 2006) p. 27, and UNAMI, Human Rights Report (July 1-August 31, 2005), p. 5.
[49] “Aid Agencies Unable to Enter Samarra” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (March 22, 2006)
[50] Cited in Chris Shumway, “More Reports of US War Crimes in Najaf as Major Assault Looms” New Standard (August 11, 2004)
[51] UNAMI, Human Rights Report (September 1 – October 31, 2005)
[52] Abdul-Qader Saadi, “Fallujah Death Toll for Week More than 600” Associated Press (April 12, 2004)
[53] “Cost of Iraq Reconstruction Calculated” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (September 8, 2004)
[54] Ellen Knickmeyer, “US Airstrikes Take Toll on Civilians” Washington Post (December 24, 2005)
[55] For example, see Amnesty International, Iraq: End Bloodshed and Killing of Children (October 1, 2004)
[56] Ellen Knickmeyer, “US Airstrikes Take Toll on Civilians” Washington Post (December 24, 2005)
[57] For example, see Patrick Cockburn, “US Soldiers Bulldoze Farmers' Crops” Independent (October 12, 2003)
[58] Cited in Dahr Jamail and Ali Fadhil, “Rebuilding? Not for Fallujah” Inter Press Service (June 25, 2006)
[59] “Clean-up Process Starts in Najaf Following Fighting” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (August 31, 2004)
[60] “Cost of Iraq Reconstruction Calculated” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (September 8, 2004)
[61] “Cost of Iraq Reconstruction Calculated” United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (September 8, 2004)
[62] Dexter Wilkins, “In Ramadi, Fetid Quarters and Unrelenting Battles” New York Times (July 5, 2006)
[63] Monte Morin, “US Troops Razing Ramadi Buildings to Renew Security” Stars and Stripes (September 2, 2006)
[64] Cited in Maher Mohammad, “Iraq Urges US Troops to Leave Najaf” Reuters (August 11, 2004)
[65] “Najaf Officials Quit in Protest” al-Jazeera. (August 13, 2004)
[66] “Iraqi Governing Council Members Denounce US Action” Radio Free Europe (April 9, 2004)
[67] “Governing Council Blasts Fallujah ‘Genocide’” Financial Times (April 10, 2004)
[68] Cited in Qassim Abdul-Zahra, “Iraq PM Criticizes US-Led Attack” Associated Press (August 7, 2006)
[69] “Kofi Annan’s Letter: Fallujah Warning” BBC (November 6, 2004)
[70] Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Statement read by José Luis Dias, Spokesperson, at the regular press briefing held at the UN Office in Geneva. (November 16, 2004)



 

 

 


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