Our Veterans Have Spoken...

New York City

"The Other War" by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian [July 30/Aug. 6], paints a horribly inaccurate picture of civilian deaths in Iraq and the experiences of many veterans interviewed for this article. That innocent Iraqi civilians are caught in the conflict's crossfire is a great tragedy, one felt deeply by American service members. Difficult, and sometimes questionable, decisions are made in the fog of war. However, this article does the US military and The Nation's readership a disservice with its sensationalistic and unethical reporting methods.

The Nation violated the trust of our organization, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and many of the service members interviewed. Reporters told our members that the focus of this article would be their experience in Iraq generally, not civilian casualties specifically. Many of the veterans spent hours talking to Ms. Al-Arian and shared deeply personal recollections on a variety of subjects, only to have their experiences misrepresented and/or isolated. The most graphic recollections were removed from context and used to bolster the authors' preconceived conclusion about the patterns and frequency of civilian deaths. Critical facts were obscured or omitted entirely.

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