Collateral damage video leaked in Iraqi

[WhenKittensATK]

It kinda has be happening when the shooting starts. This was just people walking down a street. The gunner was just begging for the wounded photographer to pick up a weapon (none of which he had), so he could shoot him. A van comes by to pick up the wounded photographer and they shoot the van and its occupants. While searching for weapons before firing, they didn't see any and fired anyways.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Krazyxazn

[MandoPatriot]

It kinda has be happening when the shooting starts. This was just people walking down a street. The gunner was just begging for the wounded photographer to pick up a weapon (none of which he had), so he could shoot him. A van comes by to pick up the wounded photographer and they shoot the van and its occupants. While searching for weapons before firing, they didn't see any and fired anyways.

 

1. You cannot speculate on what it is like to be in a combat zone.

2. Who could tell if the van was a terrorist van or not? An area gets shot up, and some random van drives in and starts picking up people, yea, it's going to look suspicious. The people in Iraq already know that if there is combat in an area, YOU LEAVE IT ALONE AND STAY AWAY.

3. The fact that the military personnel were "begging" to shoot something is irrelevant. If you see someone carrying a weapon in an area already considered "hot", you er on the side of caution. Sometimes, it is your life or theirs type of situation.

4. Being 2 months away from ending my service in the US Army (Infantry), I feel these personnel acted in the safest manner possible to them. Being nonchalant about it is not a sign of anything. Most of the time in an engagement me and my boys would joke around, just to keep sane. War movies are fake.

[Kamikaze_Badger]

Trapt, thanks for your service, I'll resist asking you why the sky's blue or what makes the green grass grow . Good input too. And I've talked to guys who were over in the Middle East, and they often recount times that they laughed their asses off at things that most would find disgusting. The offer still stands to ask me about the TOW missile and EOD stories, they're great morbid humor. Only had one guy ask, and I'm not sure if I sent a reply or not .

[ekiM]

I feel these personnel acted in the safest manner possible to them.

 

I completely agree, mistaking militia in a known dangerous area for civilians costs lives

[ccokeman]

The whole problem is that when the people you are fighting dress and mingle with civilians its hard to distinguish between the two. This is done on purpose to make it more difficult to find and fight them, or they can fire drop the weapon and mingle without taking rounds. So in essence you have a weapon you become a target. Its that simple. Collateral damage is nothing new in war. Look at the amount of people killed in europe and Japan during WWII by the strategic bombing campaigns by both the victors and the vanquished. The amount of collateral damage in todays wars is minimized to a level that when a small group is killed its big news. Someone with an agenda.

 

War is not pretty, people die guilty and or innocent. When there is no uniform to show who you are loyal to then everyone should be a target until they prove their identity.

[LoArmistead]

Oh Jesus Christ, you guys. I'm all for the truth being revealed, but not not at the expense of reality...

 

Background: Fighting was taking place several blocks away between insurgents and US forces (hence why the streets in the video were otherwise deserted). The helicopter was called in as close air support, and was guarding the perimeter of the fighting area to ensure no other enemy forces were allowed to attack the US forces on the ground already engaged, so the pilots are in a very defensive mode. The Reuters journalists were on the ground with this lone group of civilians (some of which were armed with AK47s and at least one had an RPG). In a time of battle, if they are in public with weapons in their hands, they are no longer civilians. They were also beginning to walk in the direction of the fighting with their weapons in-hand. The helicopter rightfully opened fire on them and annihilated the threat. They are called "combat journalists" for a reason. They were hanging out with the wrong militiamen during the wrong battle at the wrong time. It comes with the territory.

 

And that RPG that "no one had?" Let's zoom in a little...

 

 

Hmm... looks like an RPG to me.

 

These Reuters-affiliated journalists also have a very bad habit of getting "very" close to the source for their information on jihadis, if you catch my drift. The US military in this case performed admirably. You lie with the dogs, you come up with fleas, if you come up at all.

 

Here is a video of a retired general walking through the scene:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/201...my.shooting.cnn

[Disparaitre]

RPG's are a much more serious threat than a heavy machin gun for 2 reason:

 

#1. They don't have to hit you to kill you unlike bullets

 

#2. RPG's generally mean that person is far from alone, if there is one person packing that much power in Afghan then there are bound to be more serioous threats nearby that trump a handfull of insurgents with your run of the mill AK-47's.

 

RPG's have a tendancy to make people nervous and you definently want to nail those basterds at all cost before they can light one off and excite thier buddies in the process. The RPG is a weapon of opurtunity because unlike small arms fire where our boys can exchange fire while being fired upon, you do not want to have your head up while RPG's are being fired your way and this makes them more vunerable.

 

I'm sorry if innocent people got killed in the process but it still doesn't hold a candle to making a few hundred thousand people glow like we did in WWII, intentionally bombing innocent people like Germany did in WWII or even intentionally murdering innocent people because you have dirrent beliefs, kinda like what a terrorist does.

 

IF we have to kill 10 people to kill one that could have killed 50, it was worth it and if you don't believe so, ask the other 40 people who get to live and raise families.

 

It's easy for us to judge because we aren't over there but if you honestly think you could do better then sign up and prove it, otherwise stfu up from behind your desk you fn panzies.

 

And yes, I did try to enlist last year but my knee blew out on me during our final 10k march or I'd be over there right now and would dare some little desk jockey to judge my actions while the most they have to dodge is thier boss when he/she is in a bad mood.

Edited April 10, 2010 by WARDOZERX

[The Smith]

 

Hmm... looks like an RPG to me.

Yeah. Absolutely.

[ClayMeow]

As long as terrorists continue to use civilians as human shields, there will be collateral damage. The end.

[CAINuKe]

Actually to me it looks like a SVD instead of an RPG.

 

Still a dangerous weapon.

[Onion]

As long as terrorists continue to use civilians as human shields, there will be collateral damage. The end.

 

Well, if they didn't use human shields, they wouldn't be terrorists, now would they?

 

Their methods are scaring people... They wouldn't be too scary if they fought like an actual army...

[road-runner]

Well I for one haven't forgot 9-11, sometimes innocent people get taken out when there in the wrong place. I also found a video on how the do water boarding over there...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR5q4_4YkCw