As we approach the 2008 presidential election, there will be some discussion on the policies of the major candidates on what the US should do in Iraq. We can expect some rhetoric about troop withdrawal, containing the spread of terrorism, and the influence of Iran in determining the future of Iraq. What we are not likely to hear from the candidates is any discussion about what the ongoing US occupation means to Iraqis.

Political commentators and activists alike will often say we need to put a human face on issues in order for people to be motivated to take action. Journalists Laila Al-Arian and Chris Hedges have provided us with a human face in this very disturbing and damning book on what the US occupation in Iraq means in terms of the human cost. Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians puts a human face on the consequences of US policy in Iraq since the invasion of 2003 like few others have done. The book is based upon interviews the co-authors conducted in 50 US combat soldiers who had done time in Iraq.

The book is divided into military themes or actions that provide readers with numerous stories of how Iraqis are viewed and treated by US military personnel. The themes deal with the realities of military convoys, checkpoints, raids on Iraqi homes, detentions, and the farce of policy that the US military calls "winning hearts and minds" in Iraq. In each chapter, the authors present some data on human loss, but what makes Collateral Damage, so powerful is the first hand accounts of US army veterans who witnessed and in some cases participated in the abuse and murder of Iraqi civilians.

Many of the veterans interviewed in this book talked about how they were not prepared to honestly interact with the Iraqi population. Soldiers were not trained to speak the language, understand the culture, nor were they familiar with the history of Iraq. In fact, many of the veterans stated that their commanding officers would often say that they were in Iraq because of 9/11 and that they were there to "fight the 'War on Terror' there so we don't have to fight it on American soil." Another point that many of the veterans raised was how the Iraqis were constantly demonized and demeaned by officers and combat soldiers alike by calling them "Hajis." The racist use of this term dismisses the importance of the word haji, which is a label given to someone out of respect for someone who has gone on a religious pilgrimage. The use of this label also continues a long tradition of demonizing people of countries that the US has occupied, with previous labels such as "gooks," "sand niggers," or "rag-heads."

Collateral Damage is not an easy book to read in that readers will be confronted with the brutality of the US occupation. Several veterans recount stories of how Iraqis were treated, such as the policy where convoy drivers are not permitted to stop or slow down on the road, even if a child tries to stop them. Many of the veterans painfully recall watching Iraqis get run over by trucks or shot at by soldiers if they got too close to the convoy. When soldiers objected to this policy, they were reprimanded.

Some soldiers recounted that during house raids people would be humiliated by being forced to strip in front of their family. Most often weapons were never found, but the homes would be left trashed. One Iraq veteran said that these types of actions are what contributed to the growing resistance to the occupation. "Now, next week, ten roadside bombs go off. Instead of one attack one American troops, twenty attacks on American troops happened. Any nobody can understand why."

Collateral Damage is an important book to help us all sift through the daily headlines of White House and Pentagon claims about the US occupation of Iraq. This book is a "must read" for those who not only care about what is happening to Iraqis, but also for those who want to hear the voices of Iraq veterans who are important to building an anti-war movement.

Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian, Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians, (Nation Books, 2008).