The Measure of a Life, in Dollars and Cents

I wonder what a family member, of the rogues in the White House would be worth?

By Walter Pincus
What's an Iraqi life worth? How about an Iraqi car? - For the U.S. military in Iraq, it may be roughly the same.
A report released late last month by the Government Accountability Office examines the practices and rules guiding condolence payments that the U.S. military can distribute to families of Iraqi civilians killed "as a result of U.S. and coalition forces' actions during combat." These voluntary payments -- known as "solatia" payments -- can also cover injuries and loss or damage to property. They constitute "expressions of sympathy or remorse based on local culture and customs, but not an admission of legal liability or fault," according to the report.The Pentagon has set $2,500 as the highest individual sum that can be paid. Most death payments remain at that level, with a rough sliding scale of $1,000 for serious injury and $500 for property damage. Beginning in April of last year, payments of up to $10,000 were possible for "extraordinary cases" but only with a division commander's authorization.Despite Iraqi civilian deaths reaching tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, throughout the war, we are not talking big condolence payouts thus far. In 2005, the sums distributed in Iraq reached $21.5 million and -- with violence on the upswing -- dropped to $7.3 million last year, the GAO reported.Commanders were first authorized to make such payments in September 2003, and payments were initially financed with money seized from Saddam Hussein and his family and colleagues. Now the payments come from the Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP), a U.S. fund designed to build goodwill among Iraqis through good works such as small-scale water and sewage projects.
The report, titled "The Department of Defense's Use of Solatia and Condolence Payments in Iraq and Afghanistan," offers a particularly coldblooded example of how payments are estimated, drawn from CERP's operating procedures: "Two members of the same family are killed in a car hit by U.S. forces. The family could receive a maximum of $7,500 in CERP condolence payments ($2,500 for each death and up to $2,500 for vehicle damage)."In April 2006, "martyr payments" became permissible, covering the death of Iraqi army members, police officers or government civilians as a result of U.S. or coalition military actions.
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