Revelations come as little surprise to Iraqis

Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD

To the Iraqis who were there, the revelations from the WikiLeaks organization that the war they lived through was brutal and bloody have come hardly as a surprise.

Americans carelessly opened fire at checkpoints when Iraqis failed to stop. Militias and insurgents roamed the streets, randomly killing members of the opposite sect. Iraqi security forces rounded up suspects at will and tortured them. Iran infiltrated, armed and influenced the Shiite Muslim militias responsible for thousands of the deaths.

The release of 391,832 classified documents Friday on the website of WikiLeaks has refocused attention on the enormity of the violence unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Although they contained no surprises for most Iraqis, the documents contained previously undisclosed figures, such as the 109,032 people estimated by the U.S. military to have died in the war through the end of 2009.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.