In times of war or conflict, they are known as “collateral damage.”

They are somehow end up in the line of fire and die for a cause they were not fighting for.

These civilian casualties are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons who are trying to go about their daily lives as war planes fly overhead.

Since Monday, 24 Iraqi civilians have died and many more have been injured by erroneously dropped bombs and by being caught in street combat.

Iraqi information minister Mohammed Saeed al Sahaf said of a U.S. bombing in which nine Iraqi children were killed, “This morning, the villains bombarded a civilian quarter.”

Wait a minute. How could Americans be the villains? Aren’t our soldiers in Iraq to liberate the oppressed citizens of the dictator-ruled country?

However, we do not have to look too far into our own past to see the effects these deaths will have on the Iraqi people.

About a year and a half ago, thousands of of American citizens were killed and injured while going about their daily routine when terrorists decided to crash planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The citizens of this country reacted with terror and outrage for what happened to those innocent people and rightfully so.

The Iraqi people who are oppressed by Sadaam Hussein’s totalitarian regime are not that much different than those who were stuck in the World Trade Center when the fateful moment occurred that an airline jet caused it to crumble.

These people are caught in the middle of a conflict with no way out. Not only can they not trust their own government, but they do not know what to expect from ours either.

Recent news reports have stated the war may last longer than anyone expected, which means more civilians may die as they become entangled in the fight for freedom.

The last war fought on American soil was the Civil War, so no generation alive today has seen their buildings, houses and families blown up in the middle of the constant fighting.

These are the realities we should keep in mind when we watch what happens to the people who live across the ocean in a foreign land.

Just as we had compassion for those who died in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we should have compassion for the slain Iraqi citizens who were just trying to live their lives.

And as we support our troops as they march into battle, we should support the people they went to Iraq to liberate.