Editorials

WikiLeaks: 109,000 civilian deaths from US-led invasion of Iraq

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-25 07:53

In what is widely believed to be the biggest disclosure of secret information in history, WikiLeaks revealed about 400,000 secret war logs on Friday night.

The leaked documents touch upon a wide range of issues concerning the United States-led invasion of Iraq. They made public details of civilian deaths, torture of detainees and summary executions. For example, the deaths of Iraqi civilians are apparently much bigger than the numbers given by the US and British authorities. While both countries insist that no official record of civilian casualties exists, the leaked documents suggest that there were more than 109,000 violent deaths from all causes between 2004 and the end of 2009.

The magnitude of the crimes should make every righteous person angry. It again puts a big question mark against the US self-proclaimed image as the world human rights champion. For years, the US has been wielding the banner of human rights to criticize others, especially the developing countries. It regularly publishes reports on human rights records in other countries in the world.

However, the US refuses to either clarify or rectify its own human rights violations as recorded by the WikiLeaks documents. Instead, US officials expressed anger and condemnation at the leaks. Hours before being posted on the WikiLeaks website, the documents were made available to several international media organizations, including the Associated Press, which claimed that the documents appear to be authentic.

The leaked documents let the world see through the unilateralism and double standards the US has used to trumpet human rights worldwide. Instead of condemning the war crimes, the US authorities have done everything in their power to suppress public opinion. Days before Friday's disclosure, the Pentagon urged news organizations not to publish classified US documents due to be released by WikiLeaks.

The US will lose credibility if it cannot face its own human rights violations squarely.

On the other hand, the disclosure gives the world a chance to see the real picture of the US-led war in Iraq, which otherwise would have been covered up.

It increases international concerns about the future of Iraq. According to the secret war logs, Iraq, weak and divided, could drift into chaos once US forces pull out completely next year.

As instigator of the two wars, the US should adjust its strategies in Iraq and Afghanistan and make greater efforts to convince the rest of the world, as it claims, that the governments in the two countries will be fully capable of managing their own lands. The US also has moral obligations to help post-war reconstruction and provide financial support.

(China Daily 10/25/2010 page8)