The Bodies in Person: An Account of Civilian Casualties in American Wars

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Since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians have died each month as a result of war-related violence in Iraq. The Iraq Body Count Project estimates at least 179,000 civilian casualties of war to date, a number that many believe is an undercount, but that continues to grow steadily to this day. Of the many questions arising from these numbers--numbers for which no one assumes responsibility, and which have been presented, historically, as fallout--perhaps the most fundamental question, for an American citizen, is this: How many civilian casualties should the United States tolerate?

Solatia , written by journalist Nick McDonell, sets out to answer that question. In all its wars, the United States both condemns and causes civilian casualties. But what exactly constitutes a civilian casualty? Why do they occur? What do our officials know of those reasons? How do they decide how many people they are willing to kill by accident--in a night raid, or drone strike, or invasion? And who, exactly, gets to decide? Solatia is a globe-trotting, decade-spanning exploration into one of the most controversial issues in the world. Interviewing intel officers, senators, police chiefs, widowed mothers, drone strike teams, Shiite militants, and many other sources, McDonell weaves together a character-driven narrative history that explains how the world's most powerful country can get things so wrong.