Iraq: US helicopter attacking civilians

[Pete-Rock]

Have you ppl seen this? WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video that shows an American helicopter shooting and killing civilians.

Story: NY Times

Video: Wikileaks


Opinions?

[clovnul]

I don't remember any war where innocent civilians haven't been killed.

[Pete-Rock]

I don't remember any war where innocent civilians haven't been killed.

yeah but in this case the civilians were killed on purpose, read the article

[maidencolorado]

Probably could have picked a less divisive title for this thread.

Being in a heavily military area, I see both sides of this. It is a tragedy that civilians were killed and the reported comments (I didn't and won't watch the video) cross a line. However, on the other side, the troops are facing guerrilla warfare where the opposing forces will dress as civilians, use mosques as strongholds and target police, medical staff and civilians themselves. I have friends and relatives who have and are continuing to serve in various capacities in Iraq and Afghanistan, both in military and humanitarian areas, some of the things they have told me about are very disturbing.

Warfare isn't civil, never has been, never will be. Atrocities are taking place on both sides, unfortunately. The video was edited to less than half of the running time, the part edited out could show nothing or could have shown evidence to back up the claims of the military, we'll never know. I am anxiously awaiting the time when our troops will be pulled out of the area.

[clovnul]

I know, seriously, this is not something new.

[AmIEvil01]

Does it make any difference for the victims if they have been killed on purpose or not? Is it more nice to kill them accidently than kill them on purpose?

[The Commader]

Yeah I've heard it in german News! But for me it is no surprise. Americans are anywhere with the American army: Nicaragua, Vietnam, El Salvadore, Iraq, Japan (Hiroshima). Thank God that they have none Hero like John Rambo!
Kennedy was very intillgent during the Cuba crisis!

[Pete-Rock]

Probably could have picked a less divisive title for this thread.

you are absolutely right, and I'm sorry for that. I copied and pasted it from a newspapers website without thinking too much about it and later it was to late to edit my post.

The video was edited to less than half of the running time, the part edited out could show nothing or could have shown evidence to back up the claims of the military, we'll never know.

The full video is available on the website as well.

[maidencolorado]

Probably could have picked a less divisive title for this thread.

you are absolutely right, and I'm sorry for that. I copied and pasted it from a newspapers website without thinking too much about it and later it was to late to edit my post.

No worries

The video was edited to less than half of the running time, the part edited out could show nothing or could have shown evidence to back up the claims of the military, we'll never know.

The full video is available on the website as well.

As I said, I didn't and won't watch the video, but I am glad to hear the full thing is available to shoot down the conspiracy theorists to either side of the issue.

Hearing some of the things I have from troops returning, it is no wonder that civilians are being killed, but they are being used as cover in some situations and in others, the opposing forces are dressing in civies and attacking unsuspecting troops, so it is to be expected that the troops are a bit on edge.

Like I said earlier, doesn't excuse the excessive language or behavior, but then again, I am not in the arena and the heat of the situation, so it is easy to sit back and judge from the comfort and safety of my office and without knowing any of the extraneous circumstances.

[unforgiv3n82]

war sucks.
politics sucks.

i don't like where this "war on terror" is going...
i mean... based on the video... who would you said is the real SADISTIC TERRORIST NOW???

this kind of news makes me sad, it really does, but this is the world we live in, and we cannot pretend that this is not happening.

i hope at some point we all can live at peace. i know it's a long way to go...

"You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one..." (J. Lennon)