HEARTS & MINDS: PART 21,450

U.S. paid nearly $31 million in condolence payments to Iraqis, Afghanis
By Nancy A. Youssef
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thu, May. 31, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense spent nearly $31 million in three years in condolence payments to civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan...a Government Accountability Office report found.

...the Defense Department paid $26 million to settle 21,450 claims, or an average of $1,212 per claim.

The military makes condolence payments for killing or injuring a civilian or for damaging property. Generally, Iraqis and Afghanis received up to $2,500 for property damage or death. In April 2006, military officials in Iraq raised the maximum payment to $10,000. In addition, U.S. officials began paying the relatives of Iraqi soldiers and police who were killed because of U.S. operations

The amount of condolence payments in Iraq dropped by two-thirds between 2005 and 2006. During that time, U.S. officials said that Iraqi civilians were being killed because they couldn't identify U.S. checkpoints. [Sadly, an old story] The U.S. subsequently made checkpoints more easily identifiable, and the military said the number of civilian casualties declined.