Fourteen Iraqi Civilians Die in April Bombing

by Joan Johnson, WAMM

On April 7, 2000, the Star Tribune published another brief report about U.S. and British bombings against Iraq. This time fourteen Iraqi civilians were killed.

Why isn't this front-page news? These are human beings like you and me, going about their everyday business, then suddenly they are obliterated by the U.S. and Great Britain because we can't stop playing our war games, creating unfair "no-fly zones" over a country which we have battered with sanctions and bombs for almost a decade.

This bombing of Iraq is a tragedy and a travesty, and the least the Star Tribune should do is report it as such on the front page, complete with real victims and victims' families and with the stories of those whose lives have been ruined forever by U.S. bombs.

Last August, the Pioneer Press ran an article about an Iraqi farm family--twelve people decimated by U.S. bombs. Although it didn't make the front page and the headline called it "a mistake" instead of what it really was--a tragedy--at least an Iraqi perspective was included. The Pioneer Press was diligent in giving us the name of the town, the names of some of the affected people, the words of a bereaved family friend, as well as the governor's statement that he felt violated by U.S. and British actions. They also included a photograph of the destruction.

The Star Tribune would do well to learn from this kind of honest reporting, where the story includes the perspective of our contrived "enemies," ordinary human beings like you and me who love their children and their homeland.

Last year, the Pioneer Press also did us the service of running stories on local people who have visited Iraq and witnessed the devastation of sanctions and past and present bombings. They included in their coverage a story about a weekly vigil of 20 to 30 protesters who continue to be present on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.

The Star Tribune has not provided this kind of coverage. When is the Star Tribune going to break from the status quo of mainstream sanitized reporting and give us the truth?

This article is edited from a longer letter to the editor of the Star Tribune.