Advocate for civilian victims of war killed in Bagdad

Marla Ruzicka, a California Green Party member and international peace activist, died the other day in Iraq, the victim of yet another car bomb. Her story is amazing — what a brave, loving woman she was. What dedication she had to the true meaning and potential of America. So of course, rabid conservative bloggers are spitting on her memory.

But I think her true legacy, decent and unselfish, will win that battle. Ironically, her death may uncover the project she was working on at the time of her death: the U.S. government’s secret tally of civilian casualties.

Human Rights Watch:

[…]Ruzicka and her colleagues at CIVIC (nearly all local volunteers) worked to identify victims individually, gathering detailed information about the circumstances of their injury, their personal lives, and the impact of the war on them. This information was widely viewed as some of the most accurate data about the condition of civilians and helped put a human face on their suffering. Its reliability made it possible for many civilian victims to receive compensation.[…]