Here's a quick guide on how to value life in a globalised free-market economy:
If you are a British journalist shot dead in Rafah by Israeli soldiers while filming a documentary about Gaza, your family receives £1.5 million in compensation to prevent the British government extraditing the soldiers and charging them with manslaughter. Nice bit of hush money for the death of a man who willingly set foot in a war zone and deliberately risked his life!
However, if you are an Afghan trying to go about your daily routine and get slaughtered by USA soldiers who also kill 14 others and wound several in the same senseless attack on your village, your family should expect a mere US$2,500 (or £1,729).
Exchange rate: 1 UK life = 867 Afghans (1,500,000 / 1,729 = 867)
In Iraq, the USA makes "condolence payments" of between $1,500 and $7,500 for each "regrettable death", although most of the 98,000+ verifiable casualties (some sources suggest more than 1 million) will never be acknowledged by the USA and no compensation will be paid to those families.
While I recognise that death and disability compensation for service personnel are ridiculously low even within western nations like the USA, UK and Australia, it is important to accept the fact that such personnel are volunteers and are being paid to fight. Civilians are not.
It may be worthy to note that there have been 4,237 US military deaths in Iraq to date - a ratio of 1 US to 23 Iraqis killed (or 1:306 by less conservative records).
Similarly, in the recent Gaza conflict we know that 14 Israelis died compared with more than 1400 Palestinians, a ratio of 1 Israeli = 100 Palestinians (Src: Daily Dispatch and Daily Freeman)
An eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth ... hardly!
More good information here
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