Iraqi Foreign Minister: Terrorists Targeting Civilians, Not U.S.
By Andrew Cochran
In an interview with the Khaleej Times, Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi Foreign Minister, said this about the targeting of civilians in Iraq:
‘The US forces do not kill civilians. Yes, civilians got killed in Haditha and other places but it is the terrorists who target civilians in Iraq. More than 40 to 50 Iraqis are killed daily at markets, places of worship and gatherings due to suicidal terrorist bombings. This is the solid truth which journalists cannot beat us on."
The terrorists don't face prosecution or questioning by the press for their massacres. This morning in Baghdad, another roadside bomb killed four innocent Iraqis at a market and wounded 27. The day of Zarqawi's death, five car bombs in and around Baghdad killed over 40 and wounded dozens.
Whatever happened at Haditha at the hands of U.S. soldiers doesn't begin to compare to the beheading of civilians, the market bombings, the kidnappings of students on buses, and other slaughters conducted by the terrorists in Iraq, whether they're foreign fighters or Iraqi Sunni or Shiite gangsters. Elements of the Arab press will emphasize the Haditha killings and don't report the scope of the terrorists' brutality. The rest of the world press has a professional responsibility to put Haditha in perspective.