Wikileaks releases video of US troops gunning down civilians and reporters

http://collateralmurder.org/
This brings back memories of a story i heard a few years ago about a US helicopter gunship opening fire on a British military vehicle, an incident that was also covered up in a similar fashion.
Despite what the US troops are heard saying, the people fired upon don't appear to have weapons at any point in the video.

Your thoughts?

 

I got to seven minutes into the video and then I couldn't handle anymore. I can't watch people die like that and their killers just laughing it off like that.

AK47s and RPGs... The only people with guns that I saw up to that point were the choppers that were raining hell on them. I really don't understand... It was like target practice! They were shooting them for fun, and they were so casual about it!

 

What gets me are the statements from military personnel that are blatant lies. I watched the entire thing, and it's vaguely disturbing to think that this might not be the only time when the US Military has lied about accidental deaths.

 

God... What they said after they shot those children! Those bastards don't deserve to live! They were children...

 

Here are some stories on the various troops killed by US friendly fire from aircraft. Apparently the US airforce has a "shoot it if it moves and isn't American" policy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2901515.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNGSyACeY8A
And more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1180631/American-pilot-friendly-blunder-killed-British-Royal-Marine-evidence-inquest-Pentagon-policy.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6967982.stm
The pilots that murdered those British troops have not been punished in any way or made to account for their crimes at all.
I don't want to appear to be demonizing American troops, but it's difficult not to be angry about things like this. It's like American troops are above the law and do whatever they like with no consequences. However, i am also aware that civilians have been unlawfully murdered by soldiers of other nationalities; including British soldiers.
I don't think that troops of other nationalities would have things like this covered up by their government or be protected from prosecution though. The revelation of things like this is why Wikileaks can't be allowed to be destroyed.

 

Casualties of War, watch that movie. what happens in the field, should stay in the field. Shoot first, ask questions later. Don't ask, Don't Tell. Court Martial.

All of these are military talks. And war is hell. If you're going to a war torn place, then expect war. You don't expect getting a VIP treatment.

From the angle of that camera in the chopper, you wont see if those are children, or if those are reporters. What you see if people, holding something that can't be verified if its a camera or a RPG, or an AK47....

Also, this clips show how the press do their job. My question is, If you know there is war, you still go there and expect not to be harmed? If I was in that chopper, i wouldn't go down there and ask, do you have weapons? Are you going to kill me? First thing on my mind will be, this is a armed man thats going to shoot me and i wont let him get the chance to do it.

 

I want to ask how the fuck a camera can be mistaken for a rocket-propelled-grenade.

Sure, from the chopper's point of view, you probably wouldn't have seen the children in the van, but the way they responded after finding out two children were injured... How does that not anger you?!

 

At first I'd say that it's a misunderstanding, a large one at first. Although when he says that it looks like an RPG, from the chopper's view, you see something protruding from the wall, it's in the shape of an RPG.

Although the way they acted near the end sickens me.

 

"What happens in the field should stay in the field", are you an idiot? So in your opinion, troops serving abroad may act as they see fit with no regards to consequences, with no regard for human life, to degrade the reputations of the nations that they serve until we are worse than the people we are fighting? And people back home should just accept this because by not being there you forfit the right to an opinion?

That war torn place is also the homeland of those murdered people, and since when in walking down the street in your own country and not being gunned down VIP treatment?, all innocent human life is very important; all people are important.

No, that isn't right. Americans troops are not gods, they have no right to decide to slaughter other people on the basis that they may possible be a threat without any proper verification.
Guns such as AK47s are status symbols in places like Afghanistan; they are fired at weddings and the majority of people own them; however, that point is redundant as none of the civilians in the video had guns.

But just before they open fire, the view of the crowd clearly shows that none of the civs are armed and it is clear that the thing that was sticking round the corner was the camera that can be seen in the reporter's hand.

And despite the fact that they were shot by US troops; they were taken to a shoddy local hospital rather than given the better standard of care that could have been possible at one of the US medical facilities.

 

Ehhhhh, on the grand scheme of things, everyone is unimportant.

 

And from the perspective that most of us mortals view the world, the lives of at least the individuals close to us emotionally are very valuable. And to most people with any sense of compassion; the lives of people further away from us (physically and emotionally) still have worth beyond playthings to be toyed with and destroyed by people who wrongly have power over them.

 

Suicide bombers aren't holding anything and they are a threat, so how is holding something, be even safer? Its war, and they didn't shoot without verification. They asked first if they can engage. Someone was even angry when he waited for the engage order to be declared.

Making war is man's nature, from the beginning of time, to the end of time, there will be war. If you are outrage by their acts, why don't you just go to your nearest camp and have those soldiers arrested? Why did that van with children go to that place? They were taking the dead bodies of those reporters, right? Why bring children along?

You say its their homeland and they can walk to heir streets right? In times of war, walking in your streets without being shot is a privilege. If someone was shot during peace time, i wont be angry, outrage by the event, but its war gentlemen, making a crowd in a deserted street means you are up to something... like i said, i wont go to that crowd asking if they have weapons.

Also, my final word on this topic is this:

You are asking anybody's thought and you react with this:

I'm quoting something from the movie casualties of war and phrases used in the military. So if I'm a idiot, then you are a SOB that is ranting about a video the military took, stolen and made seen by the public.

 

In case it isn't obvious; the writing in bold is my response.

 

I can tell you about some US troops that shot up a british royal marine truck in iraq.
my brother was the driver, everyone in it survived

 

Did it get any news coverage? Do you know whether the people responsible were punished i any way?
Americans firing upon British troops seems to be happening horrifyingly frequently; although i don't have any statistics so it could be that friendly fire is common amongst all troop nationalities for all i know...
EDIT: here's another story about friendly fire i found whilst trying to finds stats to show that i'm not just ragging on the Americans
And more courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_fire#War_in_Afghanistan

 

It never made the news but it was quite well known amongst the troops and people working out there.
Some guy working as a bodyguard out there even saw us at my friends garage and came over to talk about it! this was about 2004 time.
My brother said he just put his head down and got off the road and when it stopped there was a smoking hole in the seat, if he had stayed sat up would propably been hit.

 

It's good to hear that your brother wasn't seriously hurt or killed, it would have been terrible enough were that to happen due to an enemy attack; as an avoidable result of friendly fire it would have been even more of a tragedy.

 

soldier is train to kill ask question later, they dont think, if thier CO said kill everything, thier kill everything, period. If they dont follow order, thier'll put on trial in Courts-martial for disobedient.

people life are not importance during war. human right is only for time of peace not war.

 

I was always told if you feel threatened open fire.
suicide bombers can just walk up to you, how the hell do you know whats under their jacket?
obviously give a warning, if they dont stop.....
nobody can argue with that
soldiers HAVE to have the right to defend themselves if threatened

and calvin, if your co tells you to kill everything and its obviously not a threat, then you can refuse