IRAQ

Dahr Jamail: Blood is Precious
Iraqis and Americans meet to share grief and committment to justice


Family members left behind by those who have died violent deaths amidst the occupation of Iraq, whether they are Iraqi or American, have every reason to be bitter. After all, each death is due to an illegal occupation as the result of an illegal invasion of a sovereign country (although the United States government disputes this view). With over 1,340 dead US soldiers and an estimated 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians as a result of the war and occupation, there are many families left behind engulfed in grief.
In a recent delegation to Amman, Jordan, US family members who lost loved ones in the conflict in Iraq came to the Middle East to meet with Iraqis who had lost loved ones. The delegation was sponsored by Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights group, and Code Pink, a women’s peace activist group based in Los Angeles. The groups represented in the delegation were Military Families Speak Out and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.