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Allegations against U.S. troops give heft to insurgents' cause

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 5, 2006

A cartoon published Sunday in the Baghdad newspaper Mutammar illustrated the exasperation growing among Iraqis, many of whom had hoped to be enjoying a better life after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.

The drawing shows a man on a hospital bed, his right leg in a cast marked "terrorism" and his left arm in a cast marked "American violations." A patchwork blanket bears the word "utilities." The patient's head and nose are bandaged, and he has a black eye.

But he smiles and does the V-for-victory sign with his right hand. "The price of freedom," reads the caption.

While undermining popular support for the U.S. military presence, charges that U.S. troops may have purposely killed unarmed civilians also are giving insurgents a boost.

"Can anyone blame Iraqis for joining the resistance now?" said Mustafa al-Ani, an Iraqi analyst living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "The resistance and the terrorists alike are feeding off the misbehavior of the American soldiers."

The alleged misconduct involves a November incident in Haditha that resulted in the deaths of up to 24 Iraqis, including women and children, and a killing in a second town. U.S. authorities cleared U.S. troops in a third case, the deaths of up to 13 people north of Baghdad.

On Sunday, U.S. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pledged a thorough investigation into the Haditha deaths, adding it is important to avoid a rush to judgment.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in broadcast interviews Sunday in Washington, said "American forces are the solution here, not the problem" and promised that in the Haditha investigations, "We'll get to the bottom of it."

Many Iraqis insist the cases represent only a fraction of wrongful killings by U.S. troops since the 2003 invasion, and they complain of what they think is the low regard Americans have for Iraqi lives and culture.

Such sentiments produce supporters for the insurgents, most of whom are Sunni Arabs, like most victims of alleged wrongful killings.

The portrayal of Americans as brutal occupiers at the root of Iraq's problems has long been a key component in propaganda from insurgents and their sympathizers, and the latest charges feed the perception of them as trigger-happy and insensitive.

For the Americans, the negative image makes it more difficult to overcome their language and cultural isolation, complicating the effort to win over Iraqis - or to glean intelligence in areas where the insurgents are most active.

Hassan Bazaz, a Baghdad University political scientist and the head of an independent research center, said the strong interest being shown by Western news media in the alleged U.S. misconduct is only catching up with views in Iraq.

"There is nothing new or surprising for Iraqis," said Bazaz, who is from a prominent Sunni Arab family. "The problem is that the outside world has been isolated from what happens on the ground in Iraq. What the media says now is only a fraction of what happens every day."

Embittered Sunni Arabs are convinced the Americans and Shiites are in the same corner, sharing a mutual desire to hurt Sunnis. Allegations of targeted killings, torture and arbitrary detention of Sunnis by Iraq's U.S.-trained, Shiite-dominated security forces strengthen that feeling.

Sunni Arab leaders, including mainstream ones participating in Iraq's political process, have sought to gain political capital from the allegations against U.S. troops.

"I suggest that the Americans should confess their big failure in Iraq and apologize to the Iraqis," said Salih al-Mutlak, who leads one of two Sunni Arab political blocs in Parliament.

The issue hasn't just caused anger in the Sunni community, however. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has been among the harshest critics of the alleged misconduct and says his government will pursue its own investigation into the Haditha deaths.

[Last modified June 5, 2006, 05:13:37]