Tired of Protecting Civilians?

If I remember it correctly, U.S. forces used to point out to the media that they were taking "extraordinary" measures to protect civilians, as in this story from last year. Now, it seems, they have sadly been brutalized to a point where they don't seem to care that much anymore. Newspapers (like this) report on one of this weeks U.S. air raids on Iraq, quoting "The Health Ministry [which] said that of those injured, 17 were children and eight were women". The Wall Street Journal Online (subscription) does not allow the health minister to be quoted on these numbers, but gives the U.S. military a chance to remind us about their "extraordinary" protectiveness towards civilians:

Dr. Ali Awad of the Fallujah General Hospital said 30 people were killed and more than 40 were injured, including women and children.

The military said intelligence showed up to 60 suspected enemy fighters may have been killed.

But there is no denial, no excuse, no nothing. The military just leave the scene to the Amnesty International who, according to this newspiece:

is calling for an inquiry into recent attacks in which civilians were killed in Iraq in circumstances which may have violated international law.

"There are worrying reports about the mounting casualties amongst civilians who find themselves caught in the battle between American troops and insurgents," said Abdel Salam Sidahmed of Amnesty International Friday . "It is time to ask questions about whether these casualties could have been avoided, and whether needless deaths could be prevented in the future."

It also seem that the U.S. military failed to impress with any extraordinary measures to protect civilians during last weekend's actions, leaving even more room for the Amnesty International's complaints. The newspiece continues:

Thirteen civilians, including a young girl and a television cameraman working with al-Arabiya television, were killed in Haifa street in Baghdad on 12 September when US troops fired from a helicopter at a crowd, allegedly in response to shots fired from the same area. A US army spokesperson justified that attack and described the operation as "successful". The spokesperson said the US army did its best to "eliminate collateral damage". However, press reports contradict the US account that shots were fired at the helicopter from the same area.

"Multinational troops must take necessary precautions to protect civilians, and respect the principles of necessity and proportionality," said Mr. Sidahmed. "Amnesty International is seeking clarification of the measures multinational forces are taking to ensure that they comply fully with their obligations under international law."