Posted on 09/16/2007 4:13:36 AM PDT by RedRover
They have never before been seen by the public.
The images are presented in chronological order using the time/date stamps created by the Scan Eye recording system as the video was being made.
The video we obtained was prepared for the upcoming Article 32 hearing of Captain Lucas McConnell, formerly the company commander of Kilo Co., 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines at Haditha in 2005. McConnell was relieved of command in April, 2006 for alleged dereliction of duty following allegations of murder by members of his infantry company during the day-long battle in Haditha that left 24 Iraqis and one Marine dead, and 11 Marines wounded.
This presentation is intended to refute allegations made in Time magazine and other media outlets which claimed the Marines massacred the Iraqi civilians in a fit of rage following the death of LCpl Miguel T.J. Terrazas, one of Kilo Companys Marines. The cable television network CNN also obtained a copy of this video presentation but for reason best known to its producers elected to disregard most of the exculpatory images contained in it.
[NOTE: Video images with enhancement boxes were altered by selecting the area and brightening it with a Photoshop tool for clarity.
The rectangular white box on each image is the camera target area, designated by the Scan Eagle operator.]
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Nat Helms is a Contributing Editor to Defend Our Marines. He is a Vietnam vet, journalist, combat reporter, and, most recently, author of My Men Are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story (Meredith Books, 2007).
Part one: The ambush site: 0759
Part two: Insurgents regroup: 0814 - 0910
Part three: The last battle: 0913 1544
Good morning, glory. Are you gonna get a new mouse ; )
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I see, said the blind man. A three part post!
Incredible! And THANK you for the time you took to create this detailed account.
Truth to tell, Nat isn't in favor of the war in Iraq. He's not even particularly fond of President Bush. He probably isn't far in his personal beliefs about the war from most CNN reporters.
But the major difference is that Nat seperates a "bad war" from the servicemen and women who are sent to fight, and lynched by the media. Pity they are so few like him around--and no one, that I can see, in the MSM.
Outstanding, Red. Much easier to see the distances, locations, etc. Did the video show the 1st Vehicle in the convoy? According to Frank Wuterich’s statement, the following people fired on the taxi:
Salinas - Vehicle 1
Dela Cruz - Vehicle 2
Wuterich - Vehicle 3
Is the vehicle that you highlight, showing the distance between the taxi and humvee, actually Dela Cruz’s vehicle? According to the vehicle placement in the convoy, Dela Cruz’s vehicle should have been closer to the taxi than Wuterich’s vehicle. It would be interesting to see where Salinas vehicle 1 stopped.
Well what do you think of the video clips?
The Scan Eagle video is only one of three surveillance videos shot that day. Once everything has been released, we'll have an even surer sense of everything that happened in Haditha.
The images posted here are of much lower quality than the original. Still, particularly in wide angle shots, it is hard to make out details.
Lastly, red markings on the images (arrows, circles, etc.) were created by Nat--they are not in the original.
Making sense of the convoy pictures was especially laborious. I feel pretty confident we got it right but when Nat checks in later, we'll go over it all again.
I don't think there is an image of the entire convoy that shows more than a lot of blobs. Again, the operator in real-time would have had a much better view of the scene than we can duplicate with stills online.
This case has fallen apart.
Pray for W and Our Marines.
Based on the location of the bodies and the direction of fire, it is quite obvious that the 5 “schoolboys” were attempting to flee the area. They were headed toward structures to provide cover and away from the Marines. If you compare the scan eage screenshots with the infamous photo from the WaPo this backs up Wuterich’s account.
Please tell me that this video was used in Wuterich’s hearing.
Wasn’t someone saying they shot these guys at point blank range?
Murtha is to blame for making it open season on the Marines. Anything that anyone in the media said went by totally unchallenged.
Glad that jumped out at you. I thought exactly the same thing.
Please tell me that this video was used in Wuterichs hearing.
Can't say for sure. The defense did have it so, if it wasn't used, it would have been because the IO had already seen it.
Murtha must be held accountable.
“It’s incredibly sad that the media in America lack a basic sense of decency and patriotism.”
I disagree with that statement, most vehemently. It is NOT sad, it IS outrageous. NONE who play the game of betrayer do so for any innocent or accidental reason. They are betrayers!
NEVER forget
NEVER forgive
NEVER allow them to escape with a simple “sorry about that”.
NO MERCY.
Ad Triarios Redisse!
Semper Fi
You, of course, are correct on all counts, Grimmy.
Amen to that. The Evil Porker is NOT going to get away with what he did to the accused, to our war effort, and to the pride of our nation, the Marine Corps.
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