Report: $40M paid to Iraqis for condolence

[unhappycamper]

Report: $40M paid to Iraqis for condolence
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, February 28, 2008

The Pentagon has paid more than $40 million to Iraqis whose family members were accidentally killed or whose property was destroyed by coalition military action since the beginning of 2005, The Washington Times reported Wednesday.

Condolence payments are meant to mitigate anger against the U.S. military as it works to reduce violence in Iraq. They are in keeping with a system in Iraqi Muslim culture in which a payment for damage or death eliminates the need for revenge, the paper noted.

Though they have spent the money, military officials say they can’t account for how many victims it covered.

“The specific numbers of people or families compensated by the U.S. military and (coalition forces) is not known,” military spokesman Maj. Winfield S. Danielson III told The Times.

The payments — which provide the first rough measure of confirmed “collateral” damage during the war — are capped at $2,500 for a loss of life and $1,500 for a loss of property, according to the report. Payments can also be made for personal injuries.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52903