Body Count The War on Terror andCivilian Deaths in Iraq : The War on Terror and Civilian Deaths in Iraq

The need to secure civilians and their fundamental rights has led to the moral imperative to track, record and memorialise the killing and the suffering of those who find themselves in the midst of violent conflict. Body Count tracks and explores civilian deaths in Iraq following the 2003 invasion by the US-led coalition. It is a recounting of the conflict through the counting of its victims. The book provides a narrative of the War on Terror by charting its course and its impact, through ‘live’ reports and through reflective analysis by the principal researcher of the NGO Iraq Body Count. It highlights the importance and the challenges of casualty recording, it maps the insurgency in Iraq and the ensuing civilian deaths, the struggle between military power and ideology, the increasing radicalisation, the seeking of security through hegemony, and the cycle of violence. The book narrates state collapse through discussions on the neoliberal system’s effect on Iraq’s security, on military interventions and the Western control paradigm, on individual and community trauma. It raises questions on leadership and hegemony, the vulnerability of weak states, winning and losing, regime and energy security. It tells the daily story of Iraq: a story of fear, of executions and mass graves, of airstrikes and car bombs, of heroism and sacrifice, and of life carrying on. Front Cover Body Count: The War on Terror and Civilian Deaths in Iraq Copyright information Table of contents List of Tables Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction: Human Security and the Emergence of Body Counts International humanitarian law and human rights law Casualty recording 1 The Long Journey to the War on Terror The wars US security policy: neoconservatism and empire European Kantians and American Hobbesians The War on Terror: four narratives A clash of civilizations Good versus evil Imperialism by a (benevolent?) hegemon A cluster of morbid symptoms Iraq Body Count 2003–2005 shock, awe and the dossier of civilian casualties 2 The Rising Violence: Writing the War 2006–2007 Iraq 2007: the surge as America fights back 3 The Beginning of the End of Sectarian Violence? Writing the War 2008–2009 2008: Iraq after the surge Iraq in 2009 Arche and hegemony: leadership, power and a story of cooperation Security and vulnerability; threats to the vulnerable state Energy security 4 Iraq 2010–2013 Iraq 2010 Iraq and casualty recording in 2011 Comprehension and humanization of the data in the Iraq War Logs Iraq 2012 The Human Terrain System (2007–2014): managing the ‘far enemy’ The Awakening Councils The Arab Spring 5 Iraq 2014–2017: Obama and the Banality of Killing Tyranny and democracy Captivity and liberation Support and its casualties Iraq 2014: civilian deaths almost doubling Iraq in 2015: the moral chaos of war Iraq 2016: wars and casualties Two battles of Fallujah in 2004 April 2004: 572–616 killed in siege of Fallujah November 2004: 581–670 killed in nine neighbourhoods Irregular warfare: insurgency and terrorism 2016: another year of relentless violence Large-scale attacks The ‘cubs’ and the Islamic State Generation: war; Iraq 2017 Epilogue: Iraq and Its Casualties Today References Index Back cover Lily Hamourtziadou’s investigation into civilian victims during the conflicts that followed the US-led coalition’s 2003 invasion of Iraq provides important new perspectives on the human cost of the War on Terror. From early fighting to the withdrawal and return of coalition troops, the Arab Spring and the rise of ISIS, the book explores the scale and causes of deaths and places them in the contexts of power struggles, US foreign policy and radicalisation. Casting fresh light on not just the conflict but international geopolitics and the history of Iraq, it constructs a unique and insightful human security approach to war.Lily Hamourtziadou’s investigation into civilian victims during the conflicts that followed the US-led coalition’s 2003 invasion of Iraq provides important new perspectives on the human cost of the War on Terror. From early fighting to the withdrawal and return of coalition troops, the Arab Spring and the rise of ISIS, the book explores the scale and causes of deaths and places them in the contexts of power struggles, US foreign policy and radicalisation. Casting fresh light on not just the conflict but international geopolitics and the history of Iraq, it constructs a unique and insightful human security approach to war Lily Hamourtziadou's Important Analysis Of The Scale And Causes Of Civilian Deaths In Iraq Since The Us-led Coalition's 2003 Invasion Sheds New Light On The War On Terror. From Early Fighting To The Departure And Return Of Troops And The Rise Of Isis, She Tracks The Cost Of Conflict And Constructs An Insightful Human Security Approach To War.