Trying to calculate the cash value of a human life is a morbid and even impossibly futile endeavor. As we found while researching our Iraq 101 feature, economists estimate that every life lost in the Iraq War is worth around $6 million. The reality, of course, is much different. The families of American soldiers killed in action can expect to receive $500,000 or more; contractors’ families can get $100,000 a year; yet Iraqi civilians whose relatives have been killed by, say, an American missile, can expect around $2,500 per person. That may be big money in Baghdad, but it’s hard to justify the magnitude of difference between the official valuation of an Iraqi kid and an American GI. And as Tom Engelhardt writes, this official stinginess also extends to Afghanistan, where the Marines recently paid $2,000 in compensation for each of the 19 civilians gunned down in an incident of what the military calls “excessive force.” If our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq are truly about spreading the ideal of human dignity, you’d think that coughing up a bit more for our blood debts would be an important gesture. Hearts and minds, hearts and minds…
And if you want some heartbreaking reading, see the excerpts of Iraqi civilians’ claims filed with the military, collected by Editor and Publisher. Like this one:
Claimant alleges that on the above date at the above mentioned location, the child was outside playing by their gate and a stray bullet from a U.S. soldier hit their son in the head and killed him. The U.S. soldiers went to the boy’s funeral and apologized to the family and took their information to get to them, but never did. The child was nine years old and their only son.
I recommend approving this claim in the amount of $4,000.00.
Find me an American who thinks their child is worth a measly $4 grand.
