Ambush: Video Shows U.S. Troops Being Hunted, Killed

ABC News - The Blotter ^ | November 12, 2007 8:21 AM | Brian Ross

[james500]

Dramatic new video shows how American soldiers in Afghanistan are being set up for deadly ambushes after trying to make peace with village elders in Taliban-controlled areas.

The effort to win the "hearts and minds" of village elders in the Korengal Valley of Kunar Province in Afghanistan has proved to be a dangerous one for U.S. troops, with elders often suspected of tipping Taliban fighters to the soldiers' schedule and whereabouts.

The video to be broadcast tonight on ABC News' "World News With Charles Gibson" and "Nightline" was shot by "Vanity Fair" contributing editor Sebastian Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington embedded with the 2nd Platoon, Battle (B) company of the 173rd Airborne on a joint assignment for ABC News and "Vanity Fair" magazine.

[maine-iac7]

Hmmmm, I wonder how the journalists would feel if someone were embedded with a stalker who wanted to kill a high profile journalist and refused to warn said journalist? Would they feel the same? These folks should be hung for treason, pure and simple.

Do you have a clue what you're talking about? Cause I sure can't make it out -

The journalist and photog were embedded with our troops - in the same exact place and situation as if they were a member of the 173rd - they weren't paling around with the Taliban...

your ignorance escapes me...pure and simple

If I sound a little 'hostile' - tough! I have family in that film - and you haven't a clue as to what went down then or since

[maine-iac7]

I think that if there is a pattern of ambushes after a meeting with certain “Afghan leaders” those leaders need to meet their demise.

and pray that in Gen Petraeus's new assignment at the Pentagon to take a close look at the current commanders in the field, takes a look as to why these troops are repeatedly sent into the SAME scenario repeatedly - Is their commander practicing conventional war tactics rather than what's going on on the ground?

[ChessExpert]

Lynn Cheney blasted Wolf Blitzer when CNN did this.

She was invited to an interview to talk about her recent patriotic book for children. Wolf conducted an ambush interview by asking her slanted questions about Dick Cheney and torture. She said something like “all right Wolf, what about CNN airing enemy propaganda video on the shooting of American soldiers.” He said “it is not enemy propaganda” about 5 times in different ways before the break. After the break he said that the video was enemy propaganda and was clearly labeled as such, hence no problem.

[maine-iac7]

If it bleeds, it leads. Effing parasites.

Gotta damn well disagree this time - it's a story, an area and troops that have been neglected far too long - since this broadcast, too be followed the same week by another ambush that killed 5 more from the 173rd and a Marine = another exact same set up: patrol goes to village - then heads back to to outpost on long foot patrol - village alerts Taliban ahead of time, Taliban sets up 3 pronged ambush -

The ABC film, (and I do NOT watch the alphabet media - except for this) was quite even balanced,,,in that they had their journalist along with Vanity Fair's photog - and simply reported in real time, step by step with the troops and in the same peril - they didn't go in afterwords and spin.

I think these two battles coming to light in the same week is growing legs - GEn Petraeus, in an unprecedented move, has just been assigned to the Pentagon to take a look at just who is commanding which units and using, unscuccessfully, 'yesterdays' war tactics in 'todays' war...and just maybe this will result in the 173rds getting some help and keeping them from being sent out to experience the same ambush MO over and over again.

Sometimes the war coverage is real and can be helpful - this is one of these times - I happen to know a bit more of what's been going on before this film and since - things you WONT hear on ANY news -

So chill - a pray for our troops of the 173rd AIRBORNE who are fighting in the god-awfullest terrain, in the high mountain winter now - in the open, no warm buildings - in the most dangerous place on earth today.

Did you hear the part where during the first 4 1/2 months of this deployment, they have been in 450 firefights? This is TRUE - and must be some kind of record = and it has not slowed down.

It's about damn time the world knows about it...and we need not to dismiss it out of hand just because it's on Main Slime Media

[maine-iac7]

Why doesn’t ANYONE ask the “Vanity Fair” person why they didn’t STOP the person who was killing our troops?????

WTF - where are you people coming from???

First off - the "Vanity Fair" person was embedded with the troops - that means, duh, he was with them exactly as if he were a member of the 173rd - how could he know anything ahead of time?

What do you people think - that he was out there on the Taliban side, chumming with them? Or that he was just hanging around the mountains by himself and watching what everyone was getting ready to do>

In addition, many of you keep referring to " the person who was killing our troops"

Did you listen to/watch the film with both ears and eyes open? It was a 3 sided ambush of MANY Taliban fighters...

BTW, the "Vanity Fair" photog broke his foot during the battle, but kept on going - later to be heloed out and operated on - and ...well, never mind, wouldn't want to overload anyone with facts

[maine-iac7]

Because somebody might have shot back at the blasted cowards. They are nothing but leaches, leaching off the blood of our brave troops.

you post the above in answer to some else's diatribe against the Vanity Fair photog for not "STOPPING the person who was killing our troops"

I cannot believe all these IGNORANT posts!

I'm worn out - read my posts 63,64,65 -

_{to self: Where have the old Freepers with common sense and comprehensibility gone?}

[maine-iac7]

And why the heck doesnt' the news crew warn our guys?? Just sayin'

Not again - and again - and again...

It seems from the posts on this thread that I have stumbled through Alice's Looking Glass...

read - and just try to - comprehend the ACTUAL situation on the ground from my posts # 61, 62, 64 and 65 - but far be it from me to cause the facts to get in your way

[maine-iac7]

Against the rules of jouranlism....isn’t that incredible? But, we’re not supposed to question their patriotism? This is truly beyond sick for ABC.

For some inconvenient truth, read my posts # 61, 62. 64 and 65

Sometimes, folks, you have to clean your glasses as it seems the film of understandable wariness about the MSM builds up so thick that you cease the ability to differentiate fact from spin - and automatically disseminate your opinions to fit what you EXPECTED to see, rather than what actually was.

Remember, even a clock is right twice in 24 hours - if you want the facts about that day - if you can be honest with yourself, read my posts

[maine-iac7]

I think you know the answer ... Hate blinds.

Most of these posts are just mind-boggling. Did you people actually watch and listen to the program!? You need to watch it without your own blinders!

REad my posts # - if you can be honest with yourself - # 61, 62,64 and 65

What the H-E-double-L has happened to the FR posters?

[maine-iac7]

This makes those “embeds” fair game as they participated in the killing our our troops.

HOW?

They were embeds - that means they were in the middle of Battle Company right alongside the troops, the same as if they were serving members...they had no heads up intel - they were caught in the ambush, fired upon and in the same danger - They weren't independent observers standing on some other hillside or over paling around with the barbarians -

I am at a total loss at the morass of ignorant posts and attacks on the reporters...who had a lot of guts to put themselves in that situation...embeds are far more likely to tell it straight as they get a real-time fast education and appreciation of what our troops go through

This wasn't a piece done after the fact and then spun - as we are used to - but a report done in real time as it happened...and I can tell you, it did happen this way...no spin

[maine-iac7]

you can win the hearts and minds of those cavemen by bashing in their brains ad kicking their asses until they realize your way is better.

Got that straight up - time to kick a*s and let the pc crap fall by the wayside- let them loose -

[maine-iac7]

How come they don’t have video of our Troops killing the bad guys? Must be too traumatic for them.

Showed plenty of fire power from our Troops going at the barbarians - but if you wanted to see the enemy bodies or enemy close up, the photog would've had to go across the lines of fire into the enemy troops - of course, he wouldn't have come back alive and there would have been no film.

As it was, he did break his foot during the operation - the terrain is some of the toughest there is for battle - but kept on going...he was later coptered out of the outpost and required surgery...

I, for one, thank him for his bravery in embedding and putting himself in the same real-time, minute by minute, whizzing past your ears bullets, dangers that our troops go through...even though he probably didn't anticipate it getting quite that rough.

I was afraid to watch it = but had too,,,after all, all I had to do was sit here in my safe, warm living room and watch what my family member was going through in that battle in the Valley from hell -

YOU?

[Berlin_Freeper]

My point was, very often the MSM fails to report the enemy taking losses. I was not specifically referring to just this single engagement.

And no, I don’t have to fly to the Middle East to have an opinion about that even though your cheap-shot never even came close.

[maine-iac7]

Ok. I *think* you guys are jumping the gun. I’ll wait to watch the video. It looks like these guys were embedded with the unit and have video of an attack. I dont see that it says this camera crew had word of an attack and filmed the soldiers getting ambushed from a safe location. Sebastian Junger (author of the book “the perfect storm”) was part of the film crew. I think this could be really an interesting story. I say this too as somebody who dislikes the media, and I am in the National Guard and looking at gettig deployed late next year.

BLESS YOU!

You didn't even see it yet, but are the first voice of reason in this thread so far! - post #29

here's a link to the film - you will see that your level-headed assessment is right on - (and anyone not afraid of the truth, can read my posts # 61, 62, 64 and 65)

http://www.setaf.army.mil/

BYW, the photog broke his foot during the mission but continued to walk on it for hours - until they made it to a village where he was able to get aboard a chopper and get to treatment - which required surgery -

[2111USMC]

A little off topic, but after watching just the first segment on the ABC site, my concern was that it seemed that their targets in the firefight were an awfully long distance for those short-barreled M4s.

I know the troops like the carbines for the urban stuff, but in this more wide open stuff, my personal opinion is they would be better off with longer barreled weapons.

JMO

[maine-iac7]

There does seem to be some misunderstanding about this article. As it reads, the ABC/VF cameramen are embedded with the 2nd Platoon, Battle (B) company of the 173rd Airborne. There’s no indication that cameramen had any advance warning of the ambushes.

Careful - the voice of reason not welcomed in this thread See my posts #61, 62, 64 , 65

[maine-iac7]

"We went from being the hunters to the hunted," said photographer Tim Hetherington who was with the troops when they were attacked last month.

exactly... as an aside, he broke his foot during the mission but kept going for hours until they reached a village where he caught a chopper out and underwent surgery

Myself, I give kuddos to these two - they didn't report after and then spin = they lived it in real time with our troops - and I can tell you - what we saw is what went down

[maine-iac7]

BUMP

[StormEye]

The so-called “rules of engagement” must be changed. The ABC video said the Taliban jihadists and sympathizers were putting putting women and children on the rooftops in order to prevent return fire from American troops. In other words, these cowards are hiding behind women and children. There is no way I can think of to circumvent this except to make an example of a village or two by napalming these villages to ashes. The word will soon get out that hiding behind non-combatants will not work. It’s a horrible thing to do, but if America is going to win this war we must deal with these primitives on a level they can appreciate.

[maine-iac7]

A little off topic, but after watching just the first segment on the ABC site, my concern was that it seemed that their targets in the firefight were an awfully long distance for those short-barreled M4s. I know the troops like the carbines for the urban stuff, but in this more wide open stuff, my personal opinion is they would be better off with longer barreled weapons. JMO

Can't disagree with you there...May be because humping those mountains with up to 100 pounds on the back, it may be a question of weight - altho' I'd rather figure that ratio out with my more powerful rifle being a given -

Staff Sgt. Larry I. Rougle that was the first killed on the hill - he was lead Scout - point man- and he, and probably a spotter, probably had more powerful weapons.

That said. as I posted in post # 64:

"I think these two battles coming to light in the same week is growing legs - GEn Petraeus, in an unprecedented move, has just been assigned to the Pentagon to take a look at just who is commanding which units and using, unsuccessfully, 'yesterdays' war tactics in 'todays' war...and just maybe this will result in the 173rds getting some help and keeping them from being sent out to experience the same ambush MO over and over again."