Posted on 04/06/2010 4:17:28 AM PDT by Bulldawg Fan
The investigative organization WikiLeaks on Monday released military video of what it describes as three incidents of an "indiscriminate slaying" by U.S. forces near Baghdad on July 12, 2007.
WikiLeaks says the encounters killed as many as 25 civilians, including two Reuters journalists. The U.S. military said in a statement at the time that a total of 11 people died in the strikes conducted by U.S. and Iraqi forces, including two Reuters employees.
The video, obtained by WikiLeaks, is shot from two Apache helicopters on patrol in Iraq. The choppers were responding to reports of AK-47 gunfire in the suburb of New Baghdad when military personnel on board spotted a group of nine to 12 persons, including what turned out to be the two Reuters photographers, walking through a courtyard. A military official confirmed the authenticity of the footage to Fox News.
The military contends that the U.S. followed the appropriate "Rules of Engagement" for these episodes. In fact at the time, the Pentagon says U.S. troops were hit by rocket-propelled grenades (RPG's) and small arms fire while caught in a clash with Shia insurgents.
"There is no question that coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force," said multinational forces spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl in July, 2007.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I'm sure the rest of us will sadly miss your valuable contributions to the discussions around here. I watched the video too. Since I recognized the anti-American and pro-terrorist leanings of the editors of the video and of the WikiLeaks organization, I was not quite as moved by their "story development" (their own words in the credits at the end of the video) as you apparently were.
As others have pointed out, the Apaches were there in response to a call for air support from our troops who had been ambushed. The Apaches locate a group of armed men in the area. The journalists who were killed appear to have been the kind of useful idiots that the insurgents love to use to capture their ambushes on video and broadcast them to the world, but who never seem to assist the coalition troops responsible for protecting them in the war zone in locating the insurgents. When our troops are attacked (which had just happened) the job of our air support folks is to suppress and eliminate anyone who is engaged in those ambush activities. It appears that this group was just such an ambush team and that they were allowing the journalists to record their ambush. As for the vehicle and its occupants that came to the assistance of the insurgents, they entered an active battlezone and experienced the reasonably foreseeable consequences of that action.
Sorry two idiots got themselves killed, but I want to know that one American soldier’s life was spared. To H@ll with this enemy and anyone against our country.
Well if it upsets you that much, go ahead and leave. You won’t be missed, don’t worry.
I killed a kid in Iraq. We blew his guts out all over the pavement. The little SOB had it coming. Was it sad that it had to be a kid? Sure. But there are two extremely important factors to bear in mind:
1) none of those filthy, backstabbing hajis can be trusted
2) they would each take tremendous pleasure in killing you and your entire family, and they certainly wouldn’t be concerned about who was/wasn’t armed
Get off your high horse, please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is9sxRfU-ik&feature=player_embedded
The FULL, UNEDITED video. Yeah, these guys looked really threatening the way they were standing in the street talking to each other. And the people in the van that came by a few minutes after these horrible threats to human decency were gunned down...well they were stupid enough to be driving in an UNMARKED (oh, the horror) and made the mistake of 1) living in a city that has turned into a warzone and 2) stopping to help people who have only a few minutes earlier been shot to pieces.
It’s all there on the video.
Really? Unedited? You mean the on-board video system on the Apaches put the WikiLeaks commentary into the video like that? And it put those handy little markers to identify the journalists, but didn't put similar markers to identify the AK-47s or the RPGs? And when you watched the FULL, UNEDITED video, you didn't notice the CREDITS at the end? Of course this FULL, UNEDITED video only picks up in chapter two and doesn't include the call from the troops on the ground asking for air support upon being ambushed. Do you work for WikiLeaks?
Carrying AKs and RPGs in a war zone makes you a valid target. If you are walking around with these personnel carrying weapons, you are a stupid valid target. If you are doing these things while in combat against US forces, you are a dead, valid target. You would no longer be stupid however, because the US military brings a schooling that is not forgotten!
Y’all might want to check this out: http://bit.ly/aos3wm
I think that it goes well beyond that even.
LLS
Yeah. What’s also on that video is some were armed with AKs & RPGs (see my link just above). What’s NOT on the video is the activities which brought a gunship to the location scrutinizing locals for suspicious armed activity - Apaches don’t just circle ‘round random groups looking for the slightest excuse to off ‘em.
And yes, living in a war zone is hazardous to one’s health - whether you go to the war zone or the war zone comes to you.
At exactly 03:45;05 You can see one of the guys turn and display an ROG held in trail. There was also a rifle diplayed in the same sub group.
You need to use better tools to look at the video.
You are hereby exposed as completely ignorant of the facts.
That isn't an AK-47! That is a bouquet of flowers for the Americans! <./frankiep pussyhurts mode>
Worse than that, even aware of the facts he chooses to knowingly support false charges.
Have you ever been in a war zone? Have you ever had to walk down an IED laden street? Ever received enemy sniper, machinegun, rpg, or mortar fire? Ever lost a buddy to a suicide bomber or a building rigged to explode? Ever had a friend maimed for life? Ever been wounded? Ever had to take another human being's life?
"Reporters" sure think hanging out with a bunch of terrorists is a good idea; real funny. Its a real good story as they lie in wait to kill Americans while hiding behind women and children.
Better men than yourself are sent to to deal with the enemies of America.
High stress situations cause thoughts and emotions to run through and sometimes, yeah you laugh. Sometimes you laugh at the situation; you ease the stress and preasure of the situation. What would you do Nancy; cry?
Unfortunately a "reporter" was killed as collateral damage. But you know something? When you serve as the propagnda wing of a terrorist group, you cease being an innocent bystander. If you setup in an ambush and throw your weapons down you are STILL a terrorist. It was all fine and good until thier little ambush was foiled. I know that pains you a few more faces an numbers couldn't be added to the ticker on CNN.
If you're so ashamed of calling yourself a FReeper, go on back to DU or moveon. Come back when you find your twig and berries and have more sympathy for the Patriots of this country than the terrorists.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill
Remember, the corporate media is in bed with the globalist elite and reports what they want to report.
Also remember who owns Faux News:
Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation.
Hang in there FRiend... I saw multiple counts of murder too. They get extra credit for murdering that unarmed, wounded reporter flopping around on the ground, but may have points deducted for only wounding the kids. Not sure though - they did try to see to it that the kids died from their wounds by turning them over to the Iraqi police instead of taking them to a US hospital.
I live near an army base. Going to think long and hard before I take my guns out to the back of my property to do some shooting - there may be Apaches flying about.
I'm a white male Christian gun owning military vet Ron Paul supporter - apparently about the only kind of person "our" gov't thinks is lower than an armed Iraqi walking around his extremely dangerous neighborhood.
Of course, if the army murders me, I'm sure the official army spokesperson will say that the brave helicopter pilot took out a dangerous, armed right-wing militia member. That'll make it OK.
Maybe you should check this out:
Case Closed: Weapons Clearly Seen on Video of Reuters Reporters Killed in Iraq
Regardless of what the very large tubular object being carried by one of the men is, (you can only see the top of the tube moving across the bottom of the screen), the man in the very center of this screen capture (light colored shirt) that turns around and tries to conceal what he is carrying is VERY CLEARLY carrying an RPG launcher with the RPG loaded and ready to go. He tries to shield it from view with his body, but it is very clear what he is carrying. The heftier man behind him (in the striped shirt) is carrying an AK-47 rifle. Even if civilians might carry guns for self-defense in this area; you can't seriously argue that this guy with the RPG is just an innocent civilian standing in the street talking to his buddies.
More info at the Jawa Report.
Joe, you will want to especially think long and hard about it if you choose to go out to the back of your property right after a group of CodePink supported loonies ambushes any of those soldiers near your property. And you might want to avoid using your RPG for your plinking and target practice. And you probably also want to avoid looking to chummy with the CodePink loonies who are walking about your property with their assault rifles and RPG launchers right after they have ambushed our soldiers. The guys in the Apache might not be able to distinguish a Ron Paul voter from the Code Pink loonies at that distance.
Worse than that, even aware of the facts he chooses to knowingly support false charges.
That's OK, he's probably not even here anymore. The comments here in support of our troops make him ashamed that he ever considered himself a FReeper, so he's probably long gone by now -- if he can be taken at his word.
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