"In 2005, an American soldier in a dangerous Sunni Arab area south of Baghdad killed a boy after mistaking his book bag for a bomb satchel. The Army paid the boy’s uncle $500.

The Foreign Claims Act, which governs such compensation, does not deal with combat-related cases. For those cases, including the boy’s, the Army may offer a condolence payment as a gesture of regret with no admission of fault, of usually no higher than $2,500 per person killed."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/world/middleeast/12abuse.html

"At the end of the process $7 billion was awarded to 97% of the families; the average payout was $1.8 million."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11th_Victim_Compensation_Fund

Iraq:
GDP - per capita (PPP):   
$2,900 (2006 est.) 

USA:
GDP - per capita (PPP):   
$43,500 (2006 est.) 

compliments of CIA world factbook. Irony?

To Americans, a dead Iraqi is worth less than a dead American. No surprises there. It is naive to expect otherwise.

Oh! You are talking in terms of right and wrong? Then these payouts is a non issue. OBL is to be hung to death for crimes against humanity and so should GWB.

The 9/11 fund was really fucked up. Payments were based on salary. So the wives of janitors with no life insurance got a few thousand dollars. The wives of stockbrokers, with $50 million life insurance policies, got that, plus another 10 million from the taxpayers via this fund.

On the separate issue of Iraq, if I was that kid's family I'd say his life was worth that of 5 US soldiers, and I would make sure the debt was paid.

Sadly, the life of 5 U.S. soldiers is worth... how much?

Sadly, the logic of 5 U.S. soldiers for one child, then 2 Iraqi's for each soldier, then 5 more soldiers for each Iraqi -- is the logic of death.  It's the logic of revenge.  It's the logic of the "feud".

It's the logic of trying to 'punish' the innocent clan of the guilty for the actions of the guilty.  Which never ends until everyone is dead.

"On the separate issue of Iraq, if I was that kid's family I'd say his life was worth that of 5 US soldiers, and I would make sure the debt was paid."

Based on... earning potential? Training? Emotional distress? Personal sacrifice? Dependants (non existant for a child)?

you fail it PE.

"The wives of stockbrokers, with $50 million life insurance policies, got that, plus another 10 million from the taxpayers via this fund."

http://www.usdoj.gov/archive/victimcompensation/award_amounts.pdf

Based on 3000 dead on 9/11, then 15,000 killed in Afghanistan in retaliation. So the revenge ratio is established by US precedent.

OK, wives of stockbrokers got $7 million from the fund, not $10 million.

My husband was 31 years old. I'm taking care of two young children. He was going to earn good fucking money, $300K per year, for the next 40 years. Figure it out.

Damn, only 15k killed in Afghanistan?  We've been slacking.  Pull the damned troops out of Iraq so we can put them towards killing the people who really did attack us, or at least tolerated the attackers in their midst.

Sorry, can't get weepy about the poor unfortunate Afghans.  They supported the taliban, tolerated OBL.  Now they've got to deal with the consequences of their poor judgment.  The Pakistanis who are sheltering OBL and the Taliban now should probably get their own share of that trouble.

Stockwife, he had a great $10 million life insurance policy, but that's not enough for you, you greedy whore? I'm glad he's dead, too bad you and your kids weren't visiting him at work that day.

>  They supported the taliban, tolerated OBL.

Maybe the invading armies will feel the same way about the country that supported GWB?

It was the US who trained many of those who fought with Bin Laden.

Thanks God for 9/11!