'We Have a Haditha Every Day'

From United for Peace:

'We Have a Haditha Every Day'

TAKE ACTION

As horrible as the November 2005 massacre in Haditha was, it appears to be the tip of the iceberg. Today's news brings reports of another alleged mass killing of civilians by U.S. troops in Iraq, including a 6-month-old baby, last March.

While the details of that incident remain murky, the story of Haditha has now been told in chilling detail by numerous respected sources. In a several-hour-long rampage, a group of U.S. Marines shot 24 Iraqi civilians execution-style, at close range -- among them a 77-year-old amputee confined to a wheelchair and seven children ranging in age from 1 to 15. A 41-year-old woman was killed while trying to shield the youngest baby with her body.

U.S. soldiers shot these innocent people. But ultimately, it was U.S. policy that killed them. We need to be sure that all of those responsible for these deaths are held accountable -- not just the individual Marines who snapped and committed terrible atrocities, but every politician from Congress to the White House who has supported this indefensible war.

TAKE ACTION

We need to keep the public dialogue going about Haditha, the war, and political accountability. We encourage you to call into the talk shows on your local radio stations and to write letters to the editors of your local newspapers. (Click here to find contact information for your local media outlets.) See our talking points for more detailed ideas about how to frame the issue.

We must also bring the truth of this tragedy home to our communities. The Iraqi victims of this war have too often been faceless, nameless, invisible. With the Haditha massacre, we know the names and ages of the 24 victims, and we know how they died: Presenting this publicly is a powerful way to dramatize the horrors of this war.

We have posted a list of the names, ages, and genders of the Haditha victims, as well as individual posters you can download representing each of the 24, on our website. We encourage you to hold public events in your community using this information.