Deutsche Presse-Agentur  --  Arab News

LONDON, 24 May 2004 — US troops committed so many atrocities in Iraq that it felt like “committing genocide”, a former US Marine was quoted as saying yesterday by the British newspaper The Observer.

In a different report the newspaper wrote that US and British soldiers had been assured immunity from prosecution by the future Iraqi authorities, according to British government sources.

Former Marine Jimmy Massey said abuses included killing civilians including women and children without just cause, dumping wounded civilians on the roadside without medical care, humiliating them, and desecrating and stealing from the bodies of dead civilians.

Massey, a former staff sergeant with 12 years of experience with the Marines including duties as boot camp trainer for new recruits, had been deployed to Iraq in March last year.

“In a month and a half my platoon and I killed more than 30 civilians,” said Massey, adding: “We killed a lot of innocent people.”

He eventually told his commanding officer: “I felt like we were committing genocide in Iraq, that we were doing harm to a culture. He said nothing and walked away. I knew my career was over.” Later, his superior told him he was a “wimp” and a “poor leader”.

At one point, the sound of a distant shot prompted his unit to open fire at 10 nearby demonstrators, killing nine. Even though the demonstrators would have been able to fire, they had not, he said.

One man survived the shooting but half of his foot had been cut off, said Massey, adding: “He went away dragging his foot. We were all laughing and cheering.”

When he saw recent pictures of the bodies of four US private security men burned and mutilated by Iraqis in Fallujah, he felt “we did the same thing to them.”

US troops had been messing with charred bodies, kicking them out of vehicles, driving over them and sticking cigarettes in their mouth, he said.

The former Marine also reported he saw US Marines steal gold jewelry, watches and money from dead Iraqis on numerous occasions.

After killing civilians and taking control over villages on one day, the soldiers would do humanitarian work in the same place the next day, he said, wondering: “How do we expect people who’ve seen their brothers and mother killed to turn around and welcome us with open arms?”

Refusing to be transferred to a desk job with the Marine Corps, Massey left the Marines last October and has since been treated for post-traumatic stress and depression in the United States.

The Observer also reported that US and British troops would not be prosecuted for possible mistreatment of Iraqis by the future independent interim government in the country.

The coalition soldiers could only be tried for alleged abuses and mistreatment in their own countries and this deal would be included in the planned new United Nations resolution on Iraq, the paper and the BBC said, citing British government officials.