Flit

COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT BEGINS

TIKRIT, Iraq — The U.S. military swept through Iraqi neighborhoods early Saturday, firing at houses suspected to be harboring hostile forces in the wake of an apparent attack on a Black Hawk helicopter that killed six U.S. soldiers.

"This is to remind the town that we have teeth and claws and we will use them," said Lt. Col. Steven Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment.

Fox News, today. Note that there is no mention of anyone firing back... also that this American action took place before they could confirm whether the helicopter had, indeed been brought down by hostile fire. (Noted at Talking Points Memo).

Would this be one of the "inevitable atrocities" that David Brooks said Americans would have to put up with from now on, one wonders?

In other Iraq news Naomi Klein makes a good case that the CPA's privatization of public assets and ending restrictions on foreign capital are contrary to the 1907 Hague Accords, and hence (you guessed it) a war crime. As John Glenn has said, maybe if the Authority devolved things like taxation and investment policy to the Iraqis and worked on things like restoring security instead, things might be going more smoothly.