Body Count: The War on Terror and Civilian Deaths in Iraq
Based on:
Book/Ebook (2020)
My book documents the impact of the 2003 invasion on the civilians of Iraq up until 2019. It examines the civilian cost and the patterns of violence caused by the alleged ‘War on Terror’.
Brief by:
I am the principal researcher for Iraq Body Count, an NGO documenting civilian harm to Iraqis, carrying out research which is contained in a large public database detailing specific incidents and victims of deadly violence. The need and purpose of this research is to document, with transparency, the impact of war on civilians and the violations of human rights in conflict; enable more timely, reliable and comprehensive monitoring of armed violence, including its impact on specific groups; give a human face to the many nameless victims of armed violence; provide essential information for all parties to take steps to protect civilians; bring states and parties to armed violence into better compliance with international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law; assess the effectiveness of strategy and support post-conflict recovery and reconciliation.
Key findings
In 2014, when ISIS came into Iraq, there was a huge increase in civilian deaths, caused both by ISIS and the responses to ISIS by the coalition forces in the form of airstrikes.
These airstrikes killed thousands of Iraqi citizens too.
We find it easy to sacrifice the lives of 'foreign' people.
It is easy to say it's sad that 2,000 Iraqi children were killed, but "we defeated ISIS", when our children were not among those 2,000. A low value is placed on foreign lives.
Despite the thousands of civilian deaths, there has been complete lack of accountability, complete lack of justice.
There hasn't been a single investigation or trial into the death of even one Iraqi child of the 1,866 Iraqi children that have been killed by coalition forces since 2003.
In 2022, 1,352 Iraqis (3-4 per day) were arrested on terrorism charges and face the death penalty.
Such men rarely get a fair trial, while confessions tend to be collected under torture, which is illegal.
What we see in Iraq is disproportionate hunting of terrorists - or those suspected of terrorism who are held as wholly responsible for civilian killings.
And there is a complete neglect of pursuing other perpetrators of civilian killings, such as Turkish military, Iraqi security forces, militias, American and British forces.
Coalition forces called it Operation Iraqi Freedom, yet in the first 6 weeks of the invasion, 7,500 Iraqi civilians were killed, suggesting the invasion aimed to protect and pursue the Coalition's own interests - control and exploitation of another Middle Eastern state, while masquerading as a humanitarian mission.
The objectives of the democratically elected Iraqi governments, given the thousands of civilians they have also killed, are to stay in power and to eliminate any threats to themselves.
This was observed in the killings of protesters in 2019 and the bombings of cities like Fallujah.
The government doesn't discriminating between those who joined terrorist groups freely and those who were coerced.
Children were taken from their families to be trained as terrorists. Many men who are tried don't even see a lawyer until their trial, there are concerns around justice and punishment.
Proposed action
Turkish airstrikes need to stop
Until the Iraqi government puts the security of its civilians first, no progress can be made
The militia that are in charge of entire areas of Iraq, for example Popular Mobilisation, need to be dismantled or disarmed, because they are also killing civilians
A response to a security issue must never be to start killing people, even when they are suspected terrorists
All these killings have been collected every day and are available on the Iraq Body Count database
The government need to ensure that they have fair, democratic elections and that they value the lives of Iraqis
The Iraqi government need to show accountability by starting to acknowledge the wrongs and crimes committed by all parties
Helpful resources
Database: Iraq Body Count [Access resource]
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Body Count: The War on Terror and Civilian Deaths in Iraq
Cite this brief: Hamourtziadou, Lily. 'Body Count: The War on Terror and Civilian Deaths in Iraq'. Acume. https://www.acume.org/r/body-count-the-war-on-terror-and-civilian-deaths-in-iraq/
Brief created by: Dr Lily Hamourtziadou | Year brief made:
Original research:
- Hamourtziadou, L., Body Count: The War on Terror and Civilian Deaths in Iraq Bristol: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/body-count. – https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/body-count
Research brief:
My book documents the impact of the 2003 invasion on the civilians of Iraq up until 2019. It examines the civilian cost and the patterns of violence caused by the alleged ‘War on Terror’.
I am the principal researcher for Iraq Body Count, an NGO documenting civilian harm to Iraqis, carrying out research which is contained in a large public database detailing specific incidents and victims of deadly violence. The need and purpose of this research is to document, with transparency, the impact of war on civilians and the violations of human rights in conflict; enable more timely, reliable and comprehensive monitoring of armed violence, including its impact on specific groups; give a human face to the many nameless victims of armed violence; provide essential information for all parties to take steps to protect civilians; bring states and parties to armed violence into better compliance with international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law; assess the effectiveness of strategy and support post-conflict recovery and reconciliation.
Findings:
In 2014, when ISIS came into Iraq, there was a huge increase in civilian deaths, caused both by ISIS and the responses to ISIS by the coalition forces in the form of airstrikes.
These airstrikes killed thousands of Iraqi citizens too.
We find it easy to sacrifice the lives of ‘foreign’ people.
It is easy to say it’s sad that 2,000 Iraqi children were killed, but “we defeated ISIS”, when our children were not among those 2,000. A low value is placed on foreign lives.
Despite the thousands of civilian deaths, there has been complete lack of accountability, complete lack of justice.
There hasn’t been a single investigation or trial into the death of even one Iraqi child of the 1,866 Iraqi children that have been killed by coalition forces since 2003.
In 2022, 1,352 Iraqis (3-4 per day) were arrested on terrorism charges and face the death penalty.
Such men rarely get a fair trial, while confessions tend to be collected under torture, which is illegal.
What we see in Iraq is disproportionate hunting of terrorists – or those suspected of terrorism who are held as wholly responsible for civilian killings.
And there is a complete neglect of pursuing other perpetrators of civilian killings, such as Turkish military, Iraqi security forces, militias, American and British forces.
Coalition forces called it Operation Iraqi Freedom, yet in the first 6 weeks of the invasion, 7,500 Iraqi civilians were killed, suggesting the invasion aimed to protect and pursue the Coalition’s own interests – control and exploitation of another Middle Eastern state, while masquerading as a humanitarian mission.
The objectives of the democratically elected Iraqi governments, given the thousands of civilians they have also killed, are to stay in power and to eliminate any threats to themselves.
This was observed in the killings of protesters in 2019 and the bombings of cities like Fallujah.
The government doesn’t discriminating between those who joined terrorist groups freely and those who were coerced.
Children were taken from their families to be trained as terrorists. Many men who are tried don’t even see a lawyer until their trial, there are concerns around justice and punishment.
Advice:
Turkish airstrikes need to stop
- They are killing Iraqi civilians. Even those that target and kill PKK fighters need to stop. The Iraqi government should provide the ultimatum that either the strikes stop or they are taken as a declaration of war. It is not acceptable to invade the sovereign space of another state and conduct almost daily airstrikes, or send military across the border to conduct raids.
Until the Iraqi government puts the security of its civilians first, no progress can be made
- They cannot allow another foreign country to come in and kill Iraqis. The government can’t be weak. When something harms civilians, they must say “no”. Until they do, they will have no legitimacy in the eyes of Iraqis.
The militia that are in charge of entire areas of Iraq, for example Popular Mobilisation, need to be dismantled or disarmed, because they are also killing civilians
A response to a security issue must never be to start killing people, even when they are suspected terrorists
- Because when someone has supposedly committed a crime, justice needs to follow the normal procedure. A suspected terrorist still has human rights, as they are a human being. Killing them rather than investigating and holding them accountable is morally and legally wrong. The Geneva Convention states that once a combatant is disarmed, or wounded, or has surrendered then they must be treated with dignity. This is the law. If they are wounded, their wounds must be treated; you cannot starve them or torture them; you cannot cause them any suffering. Even when a suicide bomber is disarmed, they must be treated as a human being.
All these killings have been collected every day and are available on the Iraq Body Count database
- The Iraqi government needs to work with people like the Iraq Body Count staff and other organisations that are documenting these killings and decide what measures need to be taken to make them stop. Then perhaps the people of Iraq would have a greater sense of trust for their government.
The government need to ensure that they have fair, democratic elections and that they value the lives of Iraqis
The Iraqi government need to show accountability by starting to acknowledge the wrongs and crimes committed by all parties