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"Life is returning to normal for the Iraqi people ... All Americans can be proud of what our military and provisional authorities have achieved in Iraq." -- President Bush, during his radio address August 10.

The abd al-Kerim family didn't have a chance. American soldiers opened fire on their car with no warning and at close quarters. They killed the father and three of the children, one of them only eight years old. Now only the mother, Anwar, and a 13-year-old daughter are alive to tell how the bullets tore through the windscreen and how they screamed for the Americans to stop.

"We never did anything to the Americans and they just killed us," the heavily pregnant Ms abd al-Kerim said. "We were calling out to them 'Stop, stop, we are a family', but they kept on shooting." from Family shot dead by panicking US troops

The news media has chosen not to report on Iraqi civilian deaths, giving only figures for US soldiers who die in combat. Shootings of cars at checkpoints are becoming more and more common, a daily occurance now, because troops trying to maintain order are heatstressed, overworked, and edgy due to continuing guerrila strife.

"Somewhere down the line, we became an occupation force in their eyes. We don't feel like heroes any more." -- Pvt. Isaac Kindblade, 671st Engineer Company