WikiLeaks video "Collateral Murder" depicts US military killing civilians in Baghdad

This does not excuse violating the rules of engagement, those who did should have been punished as I already said.

as the founder of WikiLeads said on Ratigan's show, aerial combat has become nothing but a glorified video game and these guys were trying to get a higher score so they could brag about it.

In any case, let's get back to the focus of this thread:

Quote:

WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff. Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded. For further information please visit the special project website www.collateralmurder.com.

This is the sort of material we are normally not allowed to see. Because of its classification by the US military.

Congratulations to Wikileaks for making this video available to the public. And congratulations to those who supplied Wikileaks with the video material.

This is the sort of material we need to see, to properly understand what actually happens in situations like the Iraq invasion.

I saw the word, but nearly every time such atrocities come out they get brushed off as not being "surprising". I don't think this should be surprising, it should be disgusting and often it's downplayed for lacking an element of surprise.

I have now had the opportunity to view the video and this probably will not come as a surprise to many of you but I fail to see any reason to feel outrage. Certainly not in the sense that the posters of the video are attempting to invoke.

But not the least of my concerns is the fact that Iraqi civilians were killed in this way & there was a military cover-up of what had occurred. And that it took an organization like WikiLeaks to finally publish this information, two years later.

Finn dAbuzz wrote:

What has this video revealed that proves a cover-up?

That the American soldiers murdered these civilians in cold blood,

deliberately killed children,

and made fun of their victims after the fact.

When you look at the video, you see that the soldier's story -- that these civilians were about to attack something -- was grotesquely at odds with reality, as the video camera depicted it from their perspective.

You guys really have to give it up to Finn; most Conservatives are a little too ashamed of themselves to come right out and state that they don't give a **** about human casualties in wars of convenience we started. But he's up that he couldn't care less that people get murdered. Not even a blip on his radar.

Cycloptichorn

And according to the NYT article I posted yesterday, a military spokesperson is still claiming that this unprovoked attack was legitimate & above board. (My interpretation of the response from memory, not the exact words used, but my understanding of the gist of the statement. I can quote directly from the article, if you like.)

Cycloptichorn wrote:

You guys really have to give it up to Finn; most Conservatives are a little too ashamed of themselves to come right out and state that they don't give a **** about human casualties in wars of convenience we started. But he's up that he couldn't care less that people get murdered. Not even a blip on his radar.

Cycloptichorn

Collateral damage is hardly murder.

Well, you guys don't actually think of Iraqis as people, so how could it be a crime?

What a couple of prize assholes ya'll are

Cycloptichorn

illegitimate war is a war crime.

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Well, you guys don't actually think of Iraqis as people, so how could it be a crime?

What a couple of prize assholes ya'll are

Cycloptichorn

I don't recall saying Iraqis are not people.

Since we disagree about what the video shows, I see no way to resolve our disagreement. Let's just invite everyone to watch it for themselves, and to draw their own conclusions.

oralloy wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:

You guys really have to give it up to Finn; most Conservatives are a little too ashamed of themselves to come right out and state that they don't give a **** about human casualties in wars of convenience we started. But he's up that he couldn't care less that people get murdered. Not even a blip on his radar.

Cycloptichorn

Collateral damage is hardly murder.

People are not collateral.

Though, once again, refreshingly honest of you to let your inner monster shine so openly. Most would be embarrassed to admit that they view other races as Things instead of people.