Collateral Damage

April 21, 2008
Pulitzer Prize–winner Hedges (War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
) collaborates with journalist Al-Arian in this slight polemic that investigates “the suffering of Iraqi civilians” at the hands of American troops. With the help of groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, the authors identify and interview 50 combat veterans—their methodology, however, is noticeably flawed: their sample is too small and their selection process is skewed toward critics of the war. Interviewees like Sgt. Camilo Majia, who was court-martialed for desertion and given a bad-conduct discharge, are allowed to relate not only eye-witness but also secondhand accounts. Broad allegations implying that “most troops” are complicit in murdering unarmed Iraqis or that it is “standard” practice to plant weapons on murdered civilians go unchallenged, while the authors point to “a culture of terror and hatred among U.S. forces” for whom abusing civilians has become “a kind of perverted sport.” However admirable the authors’ aims, their selective and biased interpretation of events might disappoint readers looking for a more objective analysis.

August 25, 2008
This is one disturbing and devastating audiobook. Hedges and Al-Arian don’t hold back, providing the listener with many detailed accounts of brutal death and destruction inflicted upon Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces. But what makes their work so profound and heartfelt is that most of their information comes from the U.S. military itself. Through their interviews and research, it becomes apparent that this culture of disdain and disregard for Iraqis and their possessions resides at the top and filters down through the ranks with dreadful result, thus prolonging and continuing to fuel the war. Lloyd James has a gentle but solid voice that invokes the solemnity of the larger ramifications. Listeners will be moved by the restraint and resolve in his voice as he recounts some of the more disastrous events. He weaves back and forth from the prose to the dialogue with ease and detectable transition. A Nation Books hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 21).

June 2, 2008
Pulitzer Prize\x96winner Hedges (War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning) collaborates with journalist Al-Arian in this slight polemic that investigates \x93the suffering of Iraqi civilians\x94 at the hands of American troops. With the help of groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, the authors identify and interview 50 combat veterans\x97their methodology, however, is noticeably flawed: their sample is too small and their selection process is skewed toward critics of the war. Interviewees like Sgt. Camilo Majia, who was court-martialed for desertion and given a bad-conduct discharge, are allowed to relate not only eye-witness but also secondhand accounts. Broad allegations implying that \x93most troops\x94 are complicit in murdering unarmed Iraqis or that it is \x93standard\x94 practice to plant weapons on murdered civilians go unchallenged, while the authors point to \x93a culture of terror and hatred among U.S. forces\x94 for whom abusing civilians has become \x93a kind of perverted sport.\x94 However admirable the authors\x92 aims, their selective and biased interpretation of events might disappoint readers looking for a more objective analysis.