The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) is gravely concerned about today’s horrific incidents, in which US missiles were fired on Al-Jazeera offices in Baghdad, killing Tarek Ayoub (a reporter for Al-Jazeera television station). At a later time (approximately 08:07 GMT), US tanks shelled Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel, the main base of foreign media agencies in the city, killing Taras Protsyuk (of Reuters news agency), and Jose Couso (a Spanish cameraman who died of his wounds at the hospital). Three other Reuters staff members were also wounded in the attack.

There were various reports by US and British sources immediately after the blast, some claiming that the Al-Jazeera offices and Palestine Hotel were not deliberately targeted, while others desperately maintaining that the causes of the blasts were “unclear.” US and British military spokespersons rushed to justify the attacks, announcing that US tanks fired a single round on the hotel “…in response to fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades” (General Buford Blount, British commander of the Third Infantry Division).

Since the start of the US-British aggression against Iraq, we have been repeatedly hearing briefings regarding US and British “targeted military operations, precision guided missiles, and pin point attacks” against the Iraqi “regime,” not to mention the “noble” US-British concerns to liberate the Iraqi people.

While we reaffirm our respect for both the people of the United States and Britain, we strongly condemn their governments for such hypocritical policies, and blatant lies regarding both their rationalisation of this war and ruthless methods of distorting the suffering they are inflicting on the people of Iraq.

Today’s incidents are clear evidence that the US and British military forces are neither concerned about nor capable of carrying out precision attacks against Iraqi military targets; they are only eager to remove Saddam Hussein, control Iraq’s resources, and secure Israel from any threat in the region, with the sole consideration of their own strategic interests in the region.

MIFTAH urgently calls for a full investigation into the US-British killing of three journalists in Baghdad today, and the wounding of three others. We fully hold the US and British governments accountable for their killing of civilians in Baghdad, and while the extent of civilian casualties is still unclear at this stage of the war, we urge the international community to launch a concerted effort to assess the exact civilian suffering at a later stage, in order to fully record these horrific US and British atrocities against humanity.