World: A few key facts revealed in Wikileaks’ latest document leak
- 15k the number of new civilian casualties Iraqi Body Count added to their list in the wake of Wikileaks’ latest data dump – the total number is over 122,000
- 680 Iraqis were killed in often-violent “escalation of force” encounters near military checkpoints; some victims included pregnant women and the mentally ill
- 80% the share of civilian deaths in the overall death count, according to Iraq Body Count – around 150,000 deaths, including over 3,000 by friendly fire
- » Did the U.S. hide torture? The most controversial fact revealed in the reports, barring the release of the reports themselves, appears to be the U.S. military’s complicit role in hiding torture. It’s something that UN representative Manfred Nowak is straight-up calling out the Obama administration for. “There is an obligation,” he said. “to investigate whenever there are credible allegations torture has happened – and these allegations are more than credible – and then it is up to the courts on the one hand to bring the perpetrators to justice and also on the other hand to provide the victims with adequate reparation for the harm they have suffered.” Other human rights groups have pinpointed the British government for similar reasons.