Coalition Troop Abuses in Iraq - What's Being Done to Iraqis in Your Name

A 2-minute video of British troops chasing Iraqi youth involved in a street protest, dragging them into a walled compound and beating them as other British troops returning from the dispersed protest pass by with barely a glance.

Most disturbing, perhaps, is the British soldier who is videotaping the attacks from a distance above. He gives voice to the actions being committed by his fellow soldiers in the courtyard below, cheering them on.

"I didn't know" is not a valid excuse.

In a democratic republic, it's a citizen's responsibility to know what our government (and those governments with whom we partner) is doing in our name. It's our responsibility to question authority and demand answers. If none are forthcoming, it is our obligation to throw the bums out. Because it is the decisions that are made in our name that create the conditions that causes terrorism. It's not those making the decisions who are on the front line of the backlash that is terrorism. It's me, it's you, it's our families and friends. Bush and Cheney don't have to fly commercial or take mass public transit. Regular Americans don't reap the great riches that are the result of Bush-Cheney policies.