If you ever wondered what it is that makes the world hate Americans, what it is that makes the world celebrate our demises and what it is that exhilarates the world every time something bad happens to us, wonder no more. The link bellow which surfaced on Youtube and on the front pages of many news papers and magazines around the globe will make it abundantly clear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ_zTrjMhX8
Those of you, who are willing to stop beating the drums of Americanism and be objective for just a brief moment, ask yourselves “WHY”. Why is our military so out of control and Why has the military NOT taken any disciplinary action against these soldiers? Why do we always over publicize atrocities committed by terrorists but conceal and bury in secrecy atrocities committed by our troops? Atrocities equally worthy of the same exposure.
Let us not forget Guantanamo Cuba, Abu Ghraib Iraq, Bagram military prison in Afghanistan and others. WHY do we tolerate this type of behaviour? If you come up with the answer please feel free to post it on this blog. If you can’t come up with the answer then ask yourselves “WHY NOT”. We cannot and should not hold anyone else to standards to which WE are not willing to adhere.
This is nothing less than military sanctioned murder. This is Jesse James in an Apache helicopter. This is Billy the Kid with a 30 mm gun. This is behaviour which cannot be tolerated by a civilized nation which we claim to be. At least not by our troops. The issue here is the lack of disciplinary action and the subsequent cover-up by the military brass. We cannot criticize the barbarity of terrorists and then engage in it ourselves. We can’t have one foot on the moral high ground and one foot on the pits of hell. A military uniform is not a licence to kill. At least not in the 21st century.
Again this is not News…It’s War Realities.
Signing off…Dr. Politikong
I never realized "nice" was such a chilling word.
ReplyDeleteWell done Dr. Politikong, keep telling the truth.
I believe that this footage is from the pilot's camera, not the gunner's. To my eye, the black tele-photo cameras slung over each of the photographers' right shoulders, rather then around their necks, do indeed look like weapons. If it wasn't for the text and arrows overlayed on the video, I would not have guessed that they were cameras. At 3:45 of the video the two men in the short-sleeved shirts (one solid white, one wide horizontal stripes) standing by the light pole and not labeled as a journalists are definitely carrying long guns, probably AKs as the gunner says he can identify while looking through his sight (not shown). These are the men the gunner is talking about while the pilot's camera (shown) is trained on the journalist walking in front.
ReplyDeleteThe Apache is talking with ground troops in the immediate area, for which it is responsible for protecting. God forbid, if I was in the same situation I probably would have asked for permission to engage, too.
If I was driving through a combat zone with my children in the car, and saw that bloody hell on the road in front of me, I truly don't know if I would stop to help, as these poor souls did, or drive on.
J.T. Barnes
New York City
WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU RIDING AROUND A HOTZONE WITH CHILDREN IN THE CAR?
ReplyDeleteObviously it took them a minute to get there with the van. So it wasnt like they were suprised and caught in the middle of it. If you want to be a hero and try and save someone, DROP THE FUCKING KIDS OFF BEFORE YOU DO IT.
Brenda Tiggs
PHA
WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU RIDING AROUND A HOTZONE WITH CHILDREN IN THE CAR?
ReplyDeleteObviously it took them a minute to get there with the van. So it wasnt like they were suprised and caught in the middle of it. If you want to be a hero and try and save someone, DROP THE FUCKING KIDS OFF BEFORE YOU DO IT.
Brenda Tiggs
PHA
Because that 'hot zone' is their fucking home! Out of Iraq! Now!
ReplyDeleteTrevor Richie
NY, NY
we have no business being in iraq or iran. NONE.
ReplyDeletethey are trillion dollar scams and boondoggles conducted on behalf of amerika's well connected... nothing more.
The only thing to be "won" in either place are contracting dollars and dead bodies.
What a decadent fucking country we live in. Truly.
Robert
Well there are three big possibilities:
ReplyDelete1) They bring the kids along so that if they get shot up, they can say they were out for a picnic and were innocent, even if they weren't. This is horrible, but it does happen, depending on the fanaticism of the parents involved.
2) They bring the kids along to try and prevent from getting shot by using them as a sort of human shield, as already posted.
3) They bring the kids along BECAUSE IT'S THEIR HOME AND THEY ARE LIVING THEIR DAILY LIVES.
Really, all three of these do happen in mideast war zones. Which one was it here, I don't know, but you're ignorant if you discount either #1 or #3.
Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteDoes guilt extend to out new "anti-war" president?
If GWB/Cheney/Rummy/Wolfow are criminals (I think there is a strong case here), then what of BO/etc.?
BO has had every chance to demobilize and withdraw, but he has broken all of those campaign promises and instead ESCALATED in Afghanistan and is merely sticking to the 'forever occupation' plan in Iraq.
Just a reminder of who BO really is (rhetoric v. action)... BO is GWB in community activist's clothing.
Dennis B.
MA
War is Hell. Unless you've been there and done that you have no clue. You don't know the context in which this attack occurred. What was the operation? Had our troops just been attacked. Were these guys probable insurgents?
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the kids and the reporters. But that's the way to goes.
And for you folks that are shocked and angered by what you see ... just WTF do you think happens in war? People get killed --- on both sides. It's wild. It's crazy.
Soldiers are not clairvoyant. There are no crystal balls. You see what you see. You make the best judgment call you can based on the imperfect info you've got. You act and react. That's it.
Proud to be an American
I like the codes too. A guy trying to load a wounded man into a van and help him is "removing bodies". There was one gun in that entire video and it looked like an M4ish style weapon. I mean you are in an armored helicopter with a gun the size of a motorcycle and I'm sure some of that 100 dollar a gallon gas which is 400 a gallon in afghanistan and you feel threatened by a guy with a 20 round clipped .223 who never even points the weapon toward the aircraft.
ReplyDeleteFucking unreal.
Hats off to the DR. for having the balls to talk about this murder, because that's what it is.
Jeff Fell
Rochester, NY
So if you kill an innocent person on your own, it's murder but if Bush or Obama gives orders to murder someone, you're fighting the enemy? I'm not a religious person but I wonder if "Obama told me to" excuses murder in any religion. I'm not too learned on the bible. Can Bush forgive sins?
ReplyDeleteYou're also aware that an "insurgent" or "militant" is just another way of saying "people that shoot at criminals invading their property".
Stop this madness.
Greg Beck
But what was so OBSCENE to me was that the gunners were so obviously ENJOYING IT.
ReplyDelete"Come on... pick up a weapon" as he circles in the air, far out of range, waiting for the wounded reporter to pick up a weapon that would actually be a camera with a telephoto lens. If shooting a wounded person who is no threat to you on the hunch that they have a weapon isn't a war crime, it should be.
And that's just one example of the eagerness the gunners showed in this video to use their 30mm real-world "video game" weapons.
WE'VE LOST OUR MORAL COMPASS.
Dianne Kupich
Cleveland, Ohio
Monkey why do you hate America so much?
ReplyDeleteYa. I want to grow up to be a predator pussy. Fly a plane from arizona to afghanistan and kill innocent familes and then go home and eat dinner with my family and play with my little kid. Then staple my scrotum into a vagina and let my wife fuck me with her vibrator. At least I'm in a branch of the military where that is not full of cheating wives and husbands. LOL
ReplyDeleteNot really. I would feel lke such a sick twisted, piece of shit, giant pile of pussy juice, if I were able to even operate at that kind of level. But that post sounds masagonistic. Girls are much stronger indivdiuals than these people.
HH
So effin proud to be an American after watching this video.....oh hes got an AK-47, yup the other bastards got one too, oh this ones got an RPG...gotta waste them all.
ReplyDeleteI guess they cant differentiate a machine gun and a camera.
Charles McC.
Manchester, NH
god bless our men in uniform
ReplyDeleteMichael Servis
Queens, NY
I do not need protecting.
ReplyDeleteIn fact I wish you guys would get back over here. In case you don't notice our nation is turning into a second world nation. Maybe if we had more of you here than over there we could get something real done. Some up by our boot straps stuff. Some real American hero shit.
Instead we got kids giggling about running over corpses and begging a crawling dieing man to pick up a weapon to slack his blood lust, or sense of duty, or honor, or what ever the fuck it is. With what we have spent on this endeavor we could have bought every fucking solar panel, ethnaol plant, organic seed store, what ever and just gotten over the fucking oil.
We don't need this. We have never needed this. This shouldn't be who we are.
This blood is on my hands now, and I can't get it off. For what?
J.J. Leonard
NY NY USA
@ Michael Sarvis
ReplyDeleteThey just committed murder, you dimwit.
God DOES NOT bless murder period.
Stop the murdering of innocent people NOW.
Jane Brothers
Baltimore
What the fuck, is everyone on this blog including the monkey TRAITORS.
ReplyDeleteWatch the fucking video. Those assholes want to drive around with kids in their van for cover, too bad. It wasn't possible to tell there were kids in the van, and it was possible to see the adults picking up their wounded terrorist buddies and weapons. Screw them--they all deserved what they got. "Journalists" who embed themselves with the enemy take their chances. These two lost.
If it had been up to me, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Tehran, Mecca, Medina, and Jakarta would have been made glass the day after 9/11.
Mack Stein
Manhattan NYC
Stein, What a fucking pig you are, damn.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone will glass your city and your family, asshole
C.M.
response to Mark Stein:
ReplyDeleteAah, yes.. The classic argument: "Iraqis are subhumans who would rape our children and kill them, if given the chance"
And of course, we all know that Iraqis have no legitimate reason to be pissed off at their Invaders, Conquerors, I mean, their saviors...
What a twisted world you live in, when you generalize an entire population... So let me guess, all Iraqis are Iraqi soldiers, because by definition insurgents are recruiting from the civilian population.
We are in Iraq for oil. War benefits the select few. Those are two facts that there is NO POINT in denying.
If you legitimately believe that Al Qaeda exists (as some kind of James Bond villainous organization), and planned 9/11 from a cave in Afghanistan, I seriously pity someone with such a small mind.
But, I suspect, you are a paid disinformation agent.
Get off this blog now a-hole.
Peter Menendes
South Beach, FL
I don't really have a side concerning this video though it was entertaining to watch over lunch. Dude at 5:13, probably wished he was a little bit faster. 5:01 was that his head that went flying. That was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteCruel you say? C’mon if you are reading this in an America, you and I are one in the same.
You may want to look in the mirror. Do you pay taxes? Do you exchange money with people or institutions who pay taxes? Then you know your tax dollars paid for that helicopter, the troops wages in the military, the guns that opened fire, the radios that gave orders to shoot, and on and on and on. Your tax dollars employ those troops. They work for you and to secure your “freedoms.”
You also know that the American way of life enables war and the senseless killing that comes with it. Oil is the lifeblood of our perpetual growing empire and its citizens who live like modern day kings. Terror this, QA that, Bin Laden whatever… the wars are over oil.
Do you own a car? Own a cell phone? Just Google “products made from oil.” Do you own any of those products? Obviously you own a computer. As you type your rebuttal, remember the computer you are typing away at is made partly from oil that came from the same region where those people were killed. The chair you sit in same thing. The cables transmitting your message to be read on this blog. The machines and factories that make all these products, same thing. Get off your fucking high horse.
Unless you are in the streets and doing something other than hiding behind your computer crying about, “Oh the atrocity!” go fuck yourself. Unless you grow your own vegetables, well your own water, sew your own clothes, built your own house, work for yourself, and are totally self-sustainable you have in one way or another donated to the war machine and the murders it is responsible for.
All I see in these whiny comments is a mental game of circle jerk. A bunch of cowards jizzing on some internet forum board about atrocity to make themselves feel absolved from the whole situation. “Oh, oh, ooooh how hoooorible!” Save it.
I didn’t mind so much when it comments about banks from people who still held dollars thus enabling the very system they whined about. But people are losing their lives, and to pretend like you give a shit anymore than giving a shit in theory but not in the slightest shit in the form of action…well that’s about as disgusting as say gunning an unarmed person down in the street.
At least be proud to be a murderer by association. Don’t lie to yourselves and expect the rest of the world to believe it. Know that the American decadent lifestyle is built on the graves of countless bodies from numerous nations across the globe.
Now back to playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 on my Xbox 360 made with hi-grade petroleum exploited from the coast of Nigeria. After all, I have to get in some more hours of “practice.”
And let the flaming and junking begin in 5, 4, 3, 2…
Tim McNeil
Albany, NY
What gives us the right to shoot anybody there in the first place?
ReplyDeleteSome WMDs that they didn't have seven years ago?
"Whoops, we killed a million people. Sorry. it's war, deal with it."
And then people wonder why terrorists want to kill us... what if the million people that were killed were in Los Angeles or something? Do you think that there'd be some terrorists coming out of Los Angeles to fight back?
"FUCK... it's only a MILLION people. God, Stalin killed more people than that..."
The United States of America: Better than Stalin.
M. Bates
Atlanta, GA
Terrorists wanted to kill us long before we stamped "paid" on Saddam's forehead. Also, no where near a million Iraqis have been killed by our military. Not even close. It's nonsense to use Amnesty International figures. If I could push a button and make them all dead, I would.
ReplyDeleteProtect your country from evil doers. Annihilate them before they annihilate us.
Sherry Brown
Rhode Island
Dr. Politinkong, are you even out of High School yet? You have simply no idea. Islam attacked us during Thomas Jefferson's term - it was jihad then and it's jihad now. They get their ass kicked then they lay low till they rebuild. And the vast majority of those "kills" are either terrorists or AQ or Killed by AQ.
ReplyDeleteGood damn riddance as far as the kills of terrorists/AQ. Better there than here. It's amazing you don't glory in it.
Steven Yates
Tenafly, NJ
Steve, you need help. Psychiatric, that is.
ReplyDeleteAs a veteran I can honestly say that I am ashamed of many things I saw in this video. I have a hard time believing that our rules of engagement allow for the shooting of injured, unarmed combatants that are no longer threats. If anything they should have been kept alive for intelligence. Additionally, the laughing and joking that was occurring reminds me that we are just a bunch of animals with a thin coat of humanity. I also wonder how many future Osama's we create through stupid events like this. I know if it were my family killed, I would be looking to set the world on fire.
ReplyDeleteElliott McVain
Miami, FL
Forgive me, but where's the conspiracy? It was in the midst of a war. Assuming all of those guys were innocent (and one has to question if the two Reuters reporters weren't embedded with insurgents to "get their point of view."), war is ugly and mistakes can be made. I'm confused about the complaint of an "uprovoked" attack. In the middle of a war zone with people walking around with guns that are not clearly friendlies, you don't need to be fired upon to take out what the military are assuming to be insurgents.
ReplyDeleteThis tape was leaked to help ramp up the fear campaign here at home. "See what will happen to you, we don't care if you're 'innocent' or not."
Support our troops.
Dave Eckles
Richmond, VA
They had no clue the Apache had them in their sights. The same is true of drones with hellfire missiles, they never see it coming. If you are getting shot at with a Dillion Minigun from an Apache, you are going to have a bad day.
ReplyDeleteIt's the new "brave" way of killing.
M. Meggens
Chicago
We need more blogs this one to spread the truth.
ReplyDeleteI think it is incredibly important that we see just what is happening in Iraq. The crimes of Vietnam are happening again, and not with our permission. I know of very few Americans who would condone the irresponsible killings of civilians, and we need to know what is being done on our dime. There is no difference between financial wrong doing, and military wrong doing when it is being done in the name of us, the American people.
Brian Leech
Ann Arbour, MI
Oh, my God. Did you see any weapons in the hands of Iraquis? I looked and saw no weapons. Our boys are losing their humanity. This is more like a video game war, but real people are getting really dead. Its murder , plain and obvious. But i cannot hold the young ones to account. I was once one of them and am aware of the conditioning that occurs from the moment you enter the service. These kids are ill prepared for the taking of lives and do not yet appreciate their own lives. Only as we age do we begin to see our commonalities and the fragility of life.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly sad.
Meredith Gates
NH
There is so much vitriol on both sides of the coin posted here This video is disturbing to watch, to see people actually be killed by an "unseen" force, which happens to be the US Army. We are so jaded and/or separated from death that when we see what it really looks like, it's hard to digest and ponder.
ReplyDeleteI hate to see people killed or wounded, especially for idealogical differences. I believe these Apache helicopters were providing air support for a ground unit, though, right? So their job was to protect and support whatever troops were in that area. When they see people congregating with weapons, it's cause for alarm and to take whatever action is required or ordered at the time. That action was to neutralize the hostiles, taking with them any others in the area (obviously, if you are going to use a grenade launcher, or whatever weapon that was). They did their job, and they were likely pumped with adrenaline, which made their comments inappropriate. You have to 'hate' your enemy, otherwise it's quite difficult to shoot them. This is why I think there are so many cases of PTSD and psychological disorders with military personnel. It's hard to hate someone you don't know, so you categorize them as 'bastards' or whatever. Anyway.
That's my take on it. It's so hard to watch people killed. I wish war didn't exist and everyone could be friendly and happy with each other. But I don't think that will ever happen. We as humans are flawed, egotistical and power-hungry. We want our way and are willing to kill to get it - Americans, Africans, Russians, Chinese, Iraquis, Iranians, Isrealites, etc... no one is exempt. Until Christ returns, there will always be this kind of video to view, unfortunately. Come quickly, Lord!
Bryan Mitchell
NYC
P.S. - My son is serving in Iraq at the moment. Please keep him, the military, and innocent civilians in your prayers. They need it.
@ poster Mr. Mitchell:
ReplyDeleteSir, even if I did pray, I wouldn't be wasting it on someone who is putting my life and my future and the life and future of my family in jeopardy by being in a foreign land kicking hornet nests.
What's wrong with you? Just because your son made a stupid choice in life, you want me to support him?
There will be no Rapture and there will be no Second Coming. That's all a bunch of bullshit you were taught to believe so that you can justify your own crimes. It's so convenient to say that this will all end when some Christ dude finally shows up. Well, what if he doesn't?
Or say he does? Do you think he's going to read your messages and send you up to heaven for condoning murder?
Again, what's wrong with you? What happened to you to make your brain process information in such a dysfunctional manner?
H. Lebron
Cincinnati, OH
Maybe the reporters shouldn't have been strolling with insurgents with AK's and RPG's that are clearly visible in the video? How about that?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the insurgents shouldnt walk around with their guns and rocket launchers with their kids around if they cared about them.
"Maybe the reporters shouldn't have been strolling with insurgents with AK's and RPG's that are clearly visible in the video?"
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that's exactly what the Soviets would have said about any of our reporters getting killed while they were in Afghanistan covening the Soviet war there.
"Maybe the insurgents shouldnt walk around with their guns and rocket launchers with their kids around if they cared about them."
I didn't see any weapons on the rescue personnel who left the van containing the kids. They were just trying to help the wounded reporter who had no weapon either even after the Apache gunner said, "Come on, grab a weapon..." in the hopes that he'd be able to "justify" firing his 30mm cannon against a badly wounded human being.
Winston Smith
MBS
It is difficult to judge troops based on behavior in a war where the enemy has no such standards to apply. There were clearly weapons in the original group fired upon, and therefore they are to be treated as enemy combatants. The reporters should have been aware of the risks they took in walking with the enemy for a good story.
ReplyDeleteNow, that being said, the unprofessional commentary and behavior of the soldiers on the radio was appalling, as well as the firing on a van coming by to pick up the wounded. Warning shots should have been fired if the desired effect was to send the van running. No such warning was given. Additionally, the gunner's "delight" in several instances where he was "finally" allowed to shoot was disgusting, as well as the comment about "their fault for bringing children into a battle". There was no battle. this was a slaughter, and the first part rightfully so. The second part, absolutely not rightfully so.
These are just my opinions.
Ivan Khalzinov
Bronx, NY
what has happened here was murder. plain and simple.
ReplyDeletethe group of iraqis at the begining of the video were obviously not engaged in combat and i could not make out any weapons.
the attitude of the us helicopter crew was disgusting and if any of them were my sons they would be disowned.
the shitstorm of hate that the us and the uk will get because of our illegal and unjustified murder and political/financial curruption will be richly deserved.
and as for those who defend this action, words fail me.
S. Lieberman
NYC
Dr. Politikong, thank you for continuing to expose the lies and corruptions! Not forgetting the value you bring us as the propaganda machine has overtaken the U.S. The US Gov is at war with the world including it's own citizens.
ReplyDeleteLisa Marusic
Springfield, IL
Yawn... War is hell... Next blog, please...
ReplyDeleteArt C.
For those of you wringing your hands over the tragedy of this, wring them some more. In this theater of warfare, this IS the face of warfare. You assume the victims are innocent. Are you absolutely sure of this? When your adversary hides in hospitals and schools, using their own people as shields, then you have affirmation that their value of life means nothing. And if you spend too much time pondering the issue, you will likely die yourself.
ReplyDeleteIt is, what it is. Awfully bad, at times, isn't it?
S.A Croey
Cicero, IL
Maybe you should have been in the van with the kids.
ReplyDeleteThis goes for everyone else here expressing similar sentiments.
You people are shameless, soulless, and a blight on humanity.
Wendy Vlitas
Buffalo, NY
@ Proud to be an American
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. War is hell. I've been there done that. I have one arm and my right leg is amputated from the knee down. I came back from the front lines not only with physical problems but emotional ones too. My wife left me (can't blame her) because psychologically I became unstable and she feared for her life. Things are getting better now and hopefully in a year or two we'll be back together again. Right now I am getting psychological therapy. So yes indeed for those who haven't seen it War is HELL.
Having said that, here is what my issue is. The pilot and his crew were obviously out of range for the insurgents' weapons. They could have just as easily called the troops on the ground and give them all the info to engage the insurgents. My understanding from the video the ground troops were just around the corner. After all it didn't take them that long to arrive at the scene. Had that happened the results would have been different. So even though being there is really hell, some times bad decisions we take makes that hell even more hellish. In the final analysis Dr.P. is right. These guys were behaving like Billy the Kid with a 30mm gun.
Our soldiers go through a lot of shit in the war zone. I pray for them every day because I've been there. In this case I just can't justify their actions
Rico
NJ
When the FUCK are we going to get out of this war already?
ReplyDeleteIt took us less than four years to beat Nazi Germany and imperial Japan.
Now we've been chasing some guys on camels with boxcutters for almost ten years now... (seven in Iraq)
Think of all the things we could have built if the money wasn't going to murder innocent people.
And some dumb hillbilly will reply:
Freedom isn't free. We have to kill "them" because "they" hate our freedom.
To those dumb hillbillies I ask:
WHAT exactly constitutes victory in the Middle East? Free elections? We have those.
How can you lump a REGION of people into one category and call them all "THEM."
I think that anybody who supports the war should have to go fight in it.
John Glahn II
USA
There are many things disturbing about the video. Trigger happy flight jockies woulda be one. If you think the whole country hated us before I can assure you after that killing spree the neighborhood is throughly entrenched on the other side now. Citizens in Iraq carry guns to protect themselves........it's hard to make the differnce out but some of what I saw and heard was a pretty weak case. The biggest problem is the top brass felt they had to lie about every aspect of the incident. When they lied about the little shit I'm pretty confident they are lying about the the shit also.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Heintz
Manhattan
Nazis would have had the balls to go down there and shoot 'em face to face. These fucks in Helicopters a mile away are chicken shit cowards working for ultra-evil American oil-control interests. Very sad and very scary.
ReplyDeleteThose cameras view A shit ton better than they record because they can enhance anything they need to on receipt. How in the world could that guy possibly mistake a big fat 35 mm camera lens for an AK47. I Have never seen anything that looks remotely like a camera except for a pistol handled 11 inch barreled AR-15 with a large aluminum guard. That could be mistaken for a camera.
ReplyDeleteAnd to say a 14 inch lensed camera is an rpg. He would have to be 12 and in the boyscouts to to make that kind of screw up.
Mike Battaglia
CHICAGO
"How in the world could that guy possibly mistake a big fat 35 mm camera lens for an AK47?"
ReplyDeleteBecause he wanted to.
I served in the military and this is one reason I left Being able to think for yourself and know right from wrong is not something desired in a soldier. Do not think for one second some of these soldiers do not enjoy killing innocents. They think this is a video game. If the police or military did this here they would cover it up or go to jail. In instances where there is no wrong doing, you do not hide from the truth. Yes it is war but to target anyone just so you can shoot is ridiculous. You expect better from americans.
ReplyDeleteManuel Ruiz
Orlando, FL
"Come on, let us shoot!"
ReplyDeleteCowards.
America is a land of Cowards. And Liars. And Whores. And Filth.
Who brought this upon us? Who defiled my homeland? I want to know. I
want them brought before me to kneel, and beg forgiveness.
"I think they just ran over a body. Haha."
This is terrorism.
Fie, you mother fuckers, fie. A THOUSAND TIMES FIE. I hope everyone
responsible for this burns eternally in hell, including all of you who stood by and said nothing.
My conscience is clean.
I remain Randi Persaud.
If you want cheap oil you will have to kill and then kill some more and keep killing until there is little left.
ReplyDeleteTo blame grunts for fulfilling our consumption desires is deeply flawed - we collectively have refused to invest a large proportion of our wealth in energy projects and energy efficiency programmes.
Our leaders or more accurately the men behind the curtain know that to keep their power base they will have to fulfill our cheap oil dreams.
Gary Weaver
St. Louis
Deplorable.
ReplyDeleteAny excuse to light people up with a 30mm cannon...oops, I mean "service targets with delivery systems."
When the command tells them you are the enemy, you too will be on Candid Camera.
Travis W. Hanna
NYC
The video presents a tragic mistake. the men appeared armed and it was nearly impossible to see the kids in the van w/o highlighting and a close-up.
ReplyDeleteU.S. military personnel are not on the rampage to kill innocents and relative to all other times in world history take great pains to avoid these situations.
The loss of life is a terribly sad result for all involved.
Makes you proud to be an American. Killing innocent people, particularly women and children, it's the American way.
ReplyDeleteThose terrorist bringing their kids with them, they got what the deserved according to one of the soldiers, or murderers.
What kind of brainwashing has the American people and armed forces gone through to justify this kind of unbelievable behaviour?
Chad Brown
11097
We keep getting into these stupid wars because what? To save the people of Iraq from whom? What the fuck I care or you care what Iraqis are doing to each other. It's their country we don't belong there. We stayed out of Darfur why? We stayed out of Rwanda why? We should get the hell out of Iraq and Afghanistan. We cannot police the entire world. The more we do shit like this the more enemies we make. I traveled to Egypt last year with my Canadian friend. He was wearing a shirt with the Canadian flag printed on it. Do you think I could have worn a shirt with my American flag on it. I don't fucking think so. Wake up people. The monkey is right. They hate us and we earned it.
ReplyDeleteAlex
NC
My first thought is how impersonal, disconnected and ruthlessly efficient the attack helicopter is at engaging a target.
ReplyDeleteMy second thought is that the slight delay in getting clearance to fire on the van was what saved the children's lives.
The pilots had absolutely no doubt they were firing on the enemy. Yet even then they requested and waited for permission before each squeeze of the trigger. They very much wanted to shoot the wounded man but were waiting for him to pick up a weapon.
That heartens me in a way. Our soldiers will follow the rules when the lines are clear (wounded and not going for a gun, we didn't shoot). The chain of command is strong and unquestioned. That means better rules can lead to better outcomes. We are damn good at killing, which is all the more reason we should do all we can to make sure we kill the right people.
Kathy Guciardo
Perth County
well this is a breakdown in military discipline, the pilot describes the target as being armed, when in fact only some of the people are armed, groups of insurgents do not stand around, which should have been their first clue that this group may not have hostile intentions, but defensive.
ReplyDeletethe suspect with the rpg is seen only briefly and is not standing in the group? when they come under fire, not sure but suspect some of the armed people actually escaped. its entirely likely that in Iraq you arm yourself against attacks from rival militias. there was a bradley tank but it was quite a distance away.
the shooters are way too eager to shoot into a crowd of people, they are too aggressive shooting at wounded individuals while a man in a white coat is trying to evacuate the wounded man (something about shooting ambulance drivers in geneva (hahaha) rules comes to mind.
and far too much gloating over the results. these guys should be rotated out, they are out of control, and frankly i don't want them back into this country without some serious psychological evaluation.
Albert Stall
New Haven CONN
Unfortunately, killing begets killing. All "we" are doing here is creating the next wave/generation of suicide bombers hoping to blow the fuck out of a New York subway station (dang!), or an airliner, or cut the head off of a traveling American next time they venture forth overseas.
ReplyDeleteI sympathize and empathize with soldiers and military men. Say what we will however, these pilots were damn trigger-happy, and they were pretty keen to pull the trigger on what was very obviously a small group of men who were not showing any signs of aggression or hostility at all. Not everyone with a gun (or camera) is Al Qaeda.These boys will have to live with their actions, even though they got the "all clear" from above. They all will, we all will.
The only way to stop the violence is to stop the killing. Yes, damage has been done. Yes, we can withdraw and if we do, there WILL be more terrorist attacks/attempts and they MAY or MAY NOT succeed. It depends on how well we go from OFFENSE to DEFENSE. No one can hate you for defending yourself, but if you were in my country trying to kill me and mine, I'll fuckin die trying to eviscerate you before you ever get the chance. One must see it from the perspective of the "invaded" as opposed to the "invaders" (or should I say "crusaders"?)
We are all responsible for ourselves. That goes for soldiers, politicians, citizens. If we don't start with us, we truly are fucked.
Phil Sims
SF CA
That is truely sickening. I still love this country - although it is getting harder to do with each passing day, and I generally respect the military - I actually served in the Marines for 4 years - but that is just wrong. We should not be there. Is it really any wonder the U.S. has lost so much respect around the world given our recent actions. Going to be a sad day when what goes around comes around
ReplyDeleteMarcos Medrano
PORTLAND OREGON 97201
I recall many years ago being upset by some action of the isreal defense force.
ReplyDeletewhen I mentioned it to my father (who had been in combat) he asked me:
Have you ever been surrounded by people attempting to kill you?
I answered: NO
He then said: "then shut the fuck up"
There are no easy answers.
Joel Wiessman
New York
Oh, really? The guys in the helicopter were surrounded by people attempting to kill them?
ReplyDeleteYou know what? Fuck you, and your dad. And of course the IDF.
Nicos Papazotos
Astoria, NY
This is a terrible situation, but it appears from my completely uninformed eyes that those two journalists were embedded in some sort of militia, the ones that are fighting against the US. Although the soldier misidentified the camera as a weapon, I thought I saw an AK-47 and some sort of missile launcher.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I found the actions of the American soldiers to be very by-the-book and restrained, not firing until they had permission, etc.
It's tragic about the children, but based on what I've heard, it's crazy in Iraq and they have no choice but to act in this manner. If you don't want to get shot, don't carry guns, and don't hang around people who carry guns.
Jed Edwards
Los Alamitos CA
Jesus Christ. Most of the posters on this blog are fucking pussies.War is the natural state of man. Eat or be eaten.
ReplyDeleteJ. Terranova
Probably the most poignant comment in this entire blog.
ReplyDeleteDo some research on the Stanford Prison Experiment. It is pretty easy to do some terrible things to your "enemy" when you treat them as lesser than yourself, whether your enemy be the Iraqis, Jews, Palestinians, Blacks, Protestants, etc., etc.
I would love for my fellow men and women to treat each other as the brothers and sisters that we all are. No wars, no murder, no theft, but then I'd be confusing the world that should be with the world that is. It's never going to happen people.
I think the sanitized worldview that us "civilized" westerners grow up with skews our thought process. When was the last time you killed another living being to feed yourself? You go to the grocery store and pick up your meal and think, isn't this swell? Anybody up to play a game of Buzkashi? Life is messiest thing around; we just happen to be at the very top of the food chain. Male chimpanzees form gangs to roam their territory and will kill any outsider that happens to cross their path. We would like to think we're pretty smart and have outgrown such barbaric tendencies, but as this post has shown, when it comes down to it, we're just a bunch of really aggressive monkeys with big brains. We'd like to think we're not, but unfortunately, we are.
Keith Dickey
WA
We have to remember why we went over there. WMD, ok if he had them he could have put them in the missles and shot them at the U.S.. The missles would have fell short by a long shot but with the momentum and the water current could have eventually reached our shores. Then if somebody was messing around and hit the tip with a hammer hard enough it would have released the biological gases. A very scary scenario. Well since we are over there now we might as well give them democracy and freedom. UNFUCKING BELIEVABLE THE HYPOCRISY.
ReplyDeleteIan Wilks
Santa Barbara California
United States of America
Those of you stupid ignorant bastard who justify this killing and you think you are so tough and proud of these morons in the Apache, why don't you try going there on the street level of any Iraqi city and challenge any 15 year old who standing there to a fight without weapons and to the death. One on One. And see who ends up standing. I guarantee you it won't be the American. We are always tough when we have all these weapons to protect our sorry asses. We are always tough and victorious in the movies. But ask any American soldier who found himself alone and lost in the backstreets of Iraq, Gaza, West Bank Lebanon Syria or anywhere in the Middle East. Then tell me who the fucking cowards are.
ReplyDeleteJessy R
SF California
I can't believe there are people posting comments of support for these fucking flying cowboys with 30mm guns. Wake up you moronic redneck inbreds. The military has brainwashed you to the point where you can't think for yourselves anymore. Just like the stupid cowboys in the Apache. If they were able of processing rational thought they would not have even requested permission to shoot. Obviously there were troops near by they could have informed of the situation on the ground and the outcome would have be much more appropriate. As one of the commentators said the intelligence value of apprehending these so called insurgents would have being more valuable and desirable than some greenhorn behind a 30mm gun playing cowboys and Indians. You are nothing but bunch of fucking pussies hiding behind tanks and Apaches shouting at civilians.
ReplyDeleteI hope these idiots in the helicopter develop a conscience and commit suicide. That's what they deserve.
John Wayne
On a horse without a name.
Assholes
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS !!!!!
ReplyDeleteAll the communists, muslim loving cowards on this blog ENOUGH ALREADY.
The only reason you are safe is because our brave boys are killing these scums.
Good riddance.
Dick Matz
LA CA
Barbarians. Terrorists that's what we have become.
ReplyDeleteHarim
NYC
There use to be a time where we were all proud of our soldiers. NO more. There was a time where the world looked up to our soldiers. NO more. There was a time where the international community respected and admired our country and its people. NO more.
ReplyDeleteShameful!
Sandra Brown
NY
Support our Country get rid of scum idiots like Dick Matz from
ReplyDeleteLA CA whose IQ is 10
Donna Walse
San Diego CA
p.s. Dick Matz get out of the state
Fucking muslim lovers like the monkey should be put on the next plane to Iran. That's where you belong you fucker. You starting up shit about our boys. You should be thrown out of this great country. You and your stinking family. Go find your relatives in the jungles of the sahara. Screw off bastard muslim.
ReplyDeleteDyson B
California
Hey Kong pretty soon you are going to have to move up here in Canada. I don't think you are making too many friends in the States. I don't think they like you. Americans always had a problem when people pointed out their faults. After the Jewish people they are Gods second choice. Or at least that's what they think. You come up here Kong. We love you.
ReplyDeleteJames Bowman.
Ontario, Canada
Dr. Kong, you gotta love Dyson B
ReplyDeletefrom California. It's goddamn morons like him that give the rest of us a bad name. Listen Dyson B big time redneck from CA. Jungles don't exist in Sahara you fucking moron. Sahara is a desert. You know what a desert is? That's where assholes like you belong, with the rest of the snakes.
Rosita Hosita from Pasita
California