Leaked video showing US helicopter shooting journalists and civilians

[grumbler]

Was it really necessary to destroy the van that was picking up the wounded guy?

Dunno what the ROE was.

[grumbler]

It doesn't show clearly that these people were armed with AK-47s and RPGs, but they were (the ground troops found the weapons when they secured the scene).

Journalists really shouldn't appear in the open with insurgents.  It is dangerous.

Link? I didn't see that mentioned with the video when I saw it on Greenwald's blog, and it would change my opinion quite a bit.

NPR

[Alcibiades]

Durka durka, let's gather out in the open line of sight of two clearly audible and visible Apaches. Durka durka, let's send more pigs to slaughter once it's clear the Americans are a bit trigger happy.

I mean, if this is the quality of insurgent we've been facing since 2003, it's really speaks poorly on the US military. Hurry the fuck up already and win the war.

Apaches are really really quiet.  And you have to actually look for them to find them, they aren't as easy to spot as you may think.

[Fate]

Durka durka, let's gather out in the open line of sight of two clearly audible and visible Apaches. Durka durka, let's send more pigs to slaughter once it's clear the Americans are a bit trigger happy.

I mean, if this is the quality of insurgent we've been facing since 2003, it's really speaks poorly on the US military. Hurry the fuck up already and win the war.

Apaches are really really quiet.  And you have to actually look for them to find them, they aren't as easy to spot as you may think.

Alright, I can accept that. My only frame of reference is the inner city and you can hear (if not see) the news type helicopters from miles away.

[Ed Anger]

I came.

[grumbler]

Durka durka, let's gather out in the open line of sight of two clearly audible and visible Apaches. Durka durka, let's send more pigs to slaughter once it's clear the Americans are a bit trigger happy.

I mean, if this is the quality of insurgent we've been facing since 2003, it's really speaks poorly on the US military. Hurry the fuck up already and win the war.

Apaches are really really quiet.  And you h:mad:ave to actually look for them to find them, they aren't as easy to spot as you may think.

Fate Rule violation!

[CountDeMoney]

I came.

No shit.  My pants are a dairy factory strafed with a 30mm chain gun of spooge after that vid.

[CountDeMoney]

"Well we admit they were armed, BUT THEY APPEARED RELAXED"

LOL Outrage FIAL

That was a laffer.

And sorry, but any video that opens with an Orwell quote automatically fails.

[Ed Anger]

I came.

No shit.  My pants are a dairy factory strafed with a 30mm chain gun of spooge after that vid.

Only thing that turns me on more is dead Swedes or AC-130 videos.

[Warspite]

It's a shame that, in combat, the Apache pilots didn't have the chance to replay the footage over and over again to look for every possible clue and subtlety like the internet chatterati have.

[Admiral Yi]

I heard the NPR story.  Another thing they mentioned was the guys in the Apache thought the cameramen were hoisting RPGs on their shoulders.

On the other hand the journalists were from Reuters, so maybe it wasn't accidental.

[Berkut]

When civvies get killed because combatants are not clearly identifying themselves as non-civilian, the fault does not lie with whomever pulls the trigger, but with those combatants who are using civilian dress to hide their status.

And why is it especially tragic that journalists with insurgent forces are killed when those forces come under fire from the good guys, any more so then when the bad guys kill them when they are with the good guys?

[Alexandru H.]

The best thing about this video is that the victims look like a bunch of liberal gay hippies from San Francisco. Dreams can become reality.

[citizen k]

look like a bunch of liberal gay hippies from San Francisco

[Razgovory]

Saw this earlier, didn't post it here because I couldn't find a video that wasn't edited with quotes and shit.  Despite all the claims of "Murder!" at no time did the pilots show any indication that they thought they were firing on journalists or civilians.  I'm not a military guy, but as far as I could tell they were not acting inappropriately.