Former Staff Sergeant Jimmy Massey, a 12-year Marine veteran and an Iraq War veteran, lives in Waynesville, North Carolina, a small town in the Smoky Mountains just outside of Ashville. According to WSWS (World Socialist Web Site) “Massey entered Iraq as part of the initial US invasion in March 2003. He witnessed—and in some cases participated in—the killing of innocent civilians. During a single 48-hour period, he says, he saw as many as 30 civilians killed by US gunfire at highway checkpoints” (see: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/nov2004/vet-n11.shtml ).
A recent study estimated the number of Iraqi deaths since the start of the war in March 2003 at around 100,000. When asked by WSWS if this number seemed accurate, Jimmy Massey responded: “Yes, but that of course does not include the thousands more who will be dying from disease because of a lack of medical supplies, clean water, or proper sanitation. It does not include the hundreds of thousands that died in Iraq before the war even began from the sanctions. We are committing genocide in Iraq, and that is the intention.” [1].
[1]. Jimmy Massey interviewed by Jeff Riedel, “Iraq veteran Jimmy Massey talks to WSWS. “We’re committing genocide in Iraq”, World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), 11 November 2004: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/nov2004/vet-n11.shtml .