Fallujah's Further Punishment

Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.

[...]

Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable.

[...]

The rise in frequency is stark – from two admissions a fortnight a year ago to two a day now. "Most are in the head and spinal cord, but there are also many deficiencies in lower limbs," he said. "There is also a very marked increase in the number of cases of less than two years [old] with brain tumours. This is now a focus area of multiple tumours."

[...]

[H]ealth officials are also starting to focus on possible reasons, chief among them potential chemical or radiation poisonings. Abnormal clusters of infant tumours have also been repeatedly cited in Basra and Najaf – areas that have in the past also been intense battle zones where modern munitions have been heavily used.

  UK Guardian

Still Searching for Justice in Falluja

A US Marine sergeant claimed he killed an Iraqi detainee in self-defense, but a prosecutor has charged that he ignored basic procedures and killed an unarmed man.

In opening statements at the Marine's court martial Tuesday, Ryan Weemer, 26 -- one of three Marines accused in the killings of four Iraqi detainees during the battle for Fallujah in November 2004 -- was charged with unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty.

"This case is about doing the right thing.”

[...]

After Weemer's best friend was gunned down, he and other Marines found four men in a house -- three young men and an older man with a beard. The men were unarmed and had their hands up in the air, Gannon said.

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A military investigation was triggered when Weemer told a Secret Service agent during a job interview in October 2006 that he had been involved in an unlawful killing in Iraq .

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"Ultimately, Sergeant Weemer took the man with the beard, took that detainee, pulled out his 9 mm (gun) and shot him two times," said Gannon. The accused claimed the dead man went for his (Weemer's) gun and he shot him in the chest, said the prosecutor.

"If you're gonna execute someone, would you shoot him in the chest?" countered defense attorney Paul Hacket.

  Raw Story

Great defense.

Now we wait to see whether there is any justice. An earlier trial resulted in an acquittal of another marine involved.

See? Progress!

Tourism in Falluja.

And they have George Bush to thank for it, don't they?

No, really, you must click and read.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.