Posted on 11/16/2004 8:12:36 AM PST by dinok
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a series of alleged abuses in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Human rights official Louise Arbour said those responsible for any violations should be brought to justice.
Controversy over the Fallujah offensive was fuelled by video footage showing a US Marine shooting dead a wounded and unarmed Iraqi.
The pictures showed some marines entering the mosque on Saturday.
The marine, who has since been taken off battlefield duty, is seen standing above a figure slumped against a wall aiming his rifle at the man's body.
"He's f****** faking he's dead," the soldier is heard to shout. "He's breathing... he's f****** faking he's dead."
A shot rings out, and the words: "He is now" can be heard on the video.
US broadcaster NBC said the dead man, one of about five pictured inside the mosque, was an unarmed insurgent who had been discovered the previous day and been left to await medical attention.
The reports said the unnamed marine involved had been wounded in the face the day before the killing but had returned to duty almost immediately.
Another soldier had died moving the booby-trapped body of an insurgent.
The US military has begun an investigation into possible war crimes over the incident.
The First Marine Division said it wanted to determine whether the marine acted in self-defence, violated military law or failed to comply with the international Law of Armed Conflict.
"...continuous close-combat for a week, frightened of booby-traps & other concealed weapons, on a hyper-aggressive caffeine buzz, and about a hundred other things..."
War for infantrymen is an extremely tense enterprise. Its 10 times worse in an urban environment. Through in that they are not fighing uniformed enemies and its 20 times worse as they can not often tell who is who until its too late.
God be with them.
This soldier just forgot that there were 2 sets of enemy in the room!
The video, provided later to Associated Press Television News and other members of the network pool, showed the bullet striking the man in the upper body, possibly the head. His blood splatters on the wall behind him and his body goes limp.
It is unclear from the footage whether the body was moving before the shot. Kevin Sites, the TV reporter embedded with the Marines, said the man who was shot to death didn't appear to be armed or threatening in any way, and there were no arms visible in the room.
I'd love to see a bunch of Franch blue helmets try and take this guy from the Marines!
Hey UN .. when are you going to hand over the OFF Documents ???
She looks like Mrs. Claus in that getup.
This has a SPECTER hanging over it....
Arlen Specter has no problem with the UN Criminal Court getting its claws into our guys.
I am also sick of Judicial Couch Potato Americans expressing their outrage that Marines aren't acting like Marines!
If you want them to wait and get fired upon first...send the police to Iraq...not soldiers!
This Marine is in trouble. We need to make the liberal media understand that it is not okay to hunt our troops. Send letters to NBC and their advertisers and wage a war that theyll understand. Our troops can not second guess, its life and death there.
They are going to question whether or not this Marine thought his life was being threatened in Fallujah? They want to second guess him?
Me thinks the UN and the US legacy media have an interest in poking the US, read President Bush, in the eye. This Marine will be exonerated. Case closed.
In other news, the UN Food for Oil program investigators are naming names, the Russian gov't, the French gov't, the German gov't. Now that's news!!
To that article: Yeah, the dead body booby trapped didn't appear threatening either.
I hope they pursue this with the same vigor they pursued the OIL-FOR-FOOD SCANDAL
A shot rings out, and the words: "He is now" can be heard on the video.
Faking that you are dead means that he is not surrendering and still intends to try and cause harm; this makes him a combatant using deception to attempt death or injury against his enemy. He was shot to prevent that.
No problem at all and this guy should not be punished for doing that which a Marine does.
Well said...the pos terrorist was faking in order to get a marine to lower his weapon and get in close enough to be killed..
The smart play is to put a kill shot into every terrorist you find regardless....better safe than sorry..
The next step is for the medical evacuation of all presstitudes
imo
A very good point. I wonder if protecting the reporter had anything to do with the Marine's decision to kill the terrorist? Some thanks, eh?
We have a conservative Commander and Chief and Sec Def
They should be taking care of this...and protecting the Marines
It is what they promised to do..
It would only take one phone call...
Get real! Do you think our invasion of Iraq is "placating" the UN and the French?
Good point. Considering what is going on in the rest of the world, the US is the last nation the UN needs to investigate for human rights abuses.
Sites needs to get his house in order. I would NOT want to be in his shoes! ANYTHING this POS gets will be well deserved. He does NOT have what it takes to polish the Marine's boot that he blasphemed with his leftist propaganda.
KILL ALL TERRORISTS... LET GOD SORT THEM OUT!!!
GOD BLESS THE U.S. MARINES!!!
LLS
Whoa! I think the UN is on to something here...
...They should start with the four Blackwater men dismembered and hung from a main bridge.
...Then, the UN can go into the investigation of all the beheadings of not only kidnapped Infidels but Iraqis.
...Don't forget the indescriminate car-bombings of civilians.
...Next, the torture houses should be looked into.
...After that, they should investigate the many summary executions of Iraqi civilians by ununiformed Baathist and Al Qaeda terrorists when they ruled the city in a reign of terror.
...Next, they can look into the numerous kidnappings, rapes and beatings of Iraqi civilians which took place by gun-toting "foreigners" and ex-Sadddam operatives.
...Then, there were the number of "judicial" executions for violations of Sharia Law.
...Don't forget the dismemberment, mutilation and disembowelment of an unidentified blond woman left lying on the main street.
...And of course, surrendering and then treacherously taking up arms is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.
...so is the booby trapping of wounded and using religious buildings as fortified positions, barracks and ammo dumps.
Yup. The UN has lots of human rights abuses in Fallujah which they can investigate.
Lots.
The last time Ron Paul sponsored a bill to remove the US from the UN, twice as many Republicans supported the UN than opposed it.
LOL! Point made!
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