Wikileaks Video Released!!

The video is bad enough, but the ignorance of some of the people in this thread is staggering.

US forces were there, allegedly, to hunt down known terrorists, and here we have a video of some giddy kids mistaking cameras for AK-47's and RPG's and slaughtering random people just walking down the street in the town they live in.

There's no excuse for it. To say this kind of incompetance is what's to be expected of soldiers is an insult to everyone who ever served.

[edit on 5-4-2010 by Risen]

I just joined ats so i can flag this thread, this video should be on every news channel, its disgusting to think that there are probably many more cases like this one or worse.

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
Just a few bad apples.... right ATS?

Yep that's the one I'm sick of hearing. Its an excuse to defend murders and psychopaths. Nothing can justify these actions, that's why war needs to be fought face to face. This is like a video game to these guys if they were down there stabbing a knife into someones heart it wouldn't be so easy to dehumanize them.

Rueters should be filing suit over it's dead employees, in my opinion. Reparations are in order for at least the families of these victims. I wonder now how many of our detainees in Gitmo and other places were merely witnesses to events like this. What do you do with witnesses? Call them Taliban fighters?

What a trigger happy shmuch that one G.I was. C.mon please let me shoot. Let use fire on them now!!"

While they're just trying to get a wounded cameram into a van and leave. No one else who came out of the van had guns, THEY HAD NO RIGHT TO OPEN FIRE ON THAT VAN.

Secondly. don't these soldiers goe through some weapon identification courses, you know like the Airforce do? Because it's OBVIOUS even to me with limeted knowledge of weapons that the two cameramen aren't carry rifles' or RPS's. At best they had explsives in a bag

Lastly, I think reporters for big stations should wear a certain type of uniform that distinguishes them from hostiles. Sure it could be used to these people being used as shields for a handful of insurgents ,but thats going on already. At least this way you can cut down on the collatera damage.

This video is pretty sickening, when you hear what these guys are saying. They sound like they're playing Halo or SoF or something. Very chilling and sickening, especially the glee from the one guy, when he noticed he hit the center of the windshield great job buddy, but with all the Spraying/and praying you did, you were bound to hit something. Talk about overkill.

Also like to point out no one shot was fired at the chopper, and no weapons were even aimed at the chopped. The guy leaning around the corner, imo does not have an RPG or he woulda used it at that point or later. It was im my opinion a cameraman trying to get a shot of the helicopter.

This video is disgusting, and to imagine this is like the lesser of the terrible acts that are going on over there right now.

Originally posted by ISHAMAGI

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
Just a few bad apples.... right ATS?

Yep that's the one I'm sick of hearing. Its an excuse to defend murders and psychopaths. Nothing can justify these actions, that's why war needs to be fought face to face. This is like a video game to these guys if they were down there stabbing a knife into someones heart it wouldn't be so easy to dehumanize them.

Wrong. US forces are trained and brainwashed to kill the enemy. KILL THE ENEMY. Butchering them with a knife is no different to gunning them down.

WikiLeaks Publishes Video Of US Military Killing Reuter’s Photographer by Colby Hall | 12:42 pm, April 5th, 2010

WikiLeaks has just published video of US Military killing 12 individuals in Iraq, two of whom were later revealed to be staff members of the Reuter’s news organization. Wikileaks has previously been labeled a “muckraking” website by some in the press, and indeed the graphic video is presented by the site as an “indiscriminate” killing, when it clearly appears to be a grave and horrible mistake — there was a clear military procedure followed. Warning, the following video is graphic in nature. In the past few weeks, the Pentagon has been waging battle on a whole new front: classified information that ends up on the Internet. A primary target this brave new war is a website called WikiLeaks is a website that, according to the NY Times, is viewed as a real threat to national security, according to the Pentagon. Now we have a much clearer understanding of why WikiLeaks is considered a threat. In the following video, US Military in an Apache helicopter gravely mistake a group of Iraqi men for insurgents (what appears to be a camera is viewed by those in the helicopter to be a RPG.) Warning, the video below is graphic in nature.

www.mediaite.com...

This article from twenty five minutes ago.

reply to post by makavelimario


Well welcome to ATS! I hope you come back to contribute to other discussions.

I am deeply upset and shocked. Not only by the acts of those cowards, but by the silence shown by the media. What a #ed up world we are living in.

What's sad is, there are people who are commenting on it like "Kill em all!"

Most likely, these are upper middle-class, white, suburban teenagers who play football for their high school, partake in massive amounts of underage drinking, partying, and being ignorant, have acne riddled faces, date stupid blonde cheerleaders, drink lots of Pepsi and Mountain Dew, eat a lot of Wendy's, and love the red white and blue. That is what America has become.

"Oh but you weren't there you don't know what all was involved". Save it!

I am sure that has already been said and if not it will. This is deplorable.

Now I know the average ground troop can be something shy of a neanderthal - and i can say that because I was one - But you would think you could expect just a bit more from Apache pilots and the guys calling the shots. This is a sad example of US foreign policy.

And people wonder why some Americans fear the possibility of being engaged by their own troops when we see examples like this showing complete disdain for human life. And keep in mind somebody actually sighted on and coldbloodedly did this, how much easier would this have been from some US base controlling a Predator Drone from behind a computer console and a joystick.

Real heroic guys. You make us proud.

Originally posted by DopesickRenegade

Originally posted by Parallex

Originally posted by schrodingers dog

Originally posted by DopesickRenegade
Its very sad innocent people had to die but, my question to everyone who is shocked by this is what did you think war was?

That wasn't war ... that was cold blooded murder!

You're arguing against Generation Kill Dog! They don't know what war IS. They've been brought up to think that murder and war have something to do with each other.

War is Ideology vs Ideology.

Parallex.

Please enlighten me as to what happens in war both sides call each other up and say we'll meet at the playground around 3:00. The pilots obviously thought they saw weapons collateral damage happens.

[edit on 5-4-2010 by DopesickRenegade]

[edit on 5-4-2010 by DopesickRenegade]

The big story is the cover up and lies as a result of this incident. If you screw up you admit it, you don't cover up your mistake. Those people could have been holding kangaroos and the soldiers would have "saw" weapons. They were just begging for an excuse to slaughter those people like they were cattle.

This is sick. People over there treating this like it's a damn video game, and taking humor in another human beings death! No compassion, no humanity, just a killer instinct. Bloodthirsty even! They were itching to pull the trigger, and obviously pleasured themselves in doing it. By the way, I thought they said if the wounded man picks up a weapon we will engage. Hell, he never did! Someone comes to pick up a wounded man and they killed for it!? What can I do to get this to every damn American living today? Please, tell me.

reply to post by jackflap


Oh I knew they would spin it this way. Anti-American wikileaks calling out lying Military commanders? See how they do this? They don't realize that there is a growing population seriously sick of lies? Yes we know in war mistakes are made...but, we expect our leaders to acknowledge those mistakes, not make up stories to deflect responsibility. Our Nation is better than that. Our leaders appear to not be better than that though.

OMG i just saw the video and i had to run to the bathroom to puke... i mean, how there "soldiers" feel themselves heroes, its an insult for the human kind that this stupid gunners and pilots have been born in the same place, shame on you, shame on your mother and your father, shame on you. What has humanity become!!! Is this what the glorious liberation force in iraq is doing!!!! sorry i need to puke again....

I mean they where so eager to shoot, they were almost begging to kill !!!! Shame on you, but you know, this guys will be chased by their sins and by the innocents they killed.

Somebody has to do something!!!!! And the mass media as always is shut in silence, this is a criminal act, i mean, its offensive its pathetic

reply to post by TheOracle


Well media is pretty much owned by the same guys who supports the "peacekeeping" missions in Iraq. It's as simple as that. Money = Power these days.

Originally posted by C0bzz
I uploaded the video to ATS media.

The source codec of your .WMV original didn't get successfully converted to Flash video.

I have a high-quality MP4 version, and I'll replace your upload shortly.

reply to post by DocEmrick


Woa,lets not be hasty.
Stupid blonde cheerleaders need love too and I will be willing to make the sacrifice to do that for them.


Back on topic,I think it was kinda sick to run over a dead body and laugh about it.

Originally posted by fordrew

Originally posted by ISHAMAGI

Originally posted by ModernAcademia
Just a few bad apples.... right ATS?

Yep that's the one I'm sick of hearing. Its an excuse to defend murders and psychopaths. Nothing can justify these actions, that's why war needs to be fought face to face. This is like a video game to these guys if they were down there stabbing a knife into someones heart it wouldn't be so easy to dehumanize them.

Wrong. US forces are trained and brainwashed to kill the enemy. KILL THE ENEMY. Butchering them with a knife is no different to gunning them down.

I am just wondering if you actually know how many troops in the US Military are actually trained to kill ? I mean how many on this thread understand or can break down how the military works .

I am saddened that so many ppl who claim to be open minded ,are sooo fast to believe what they think they see without knowing the whole story .

War is bad .PPL die
I have had ppl I love killed by very young children over the past 8 yrs .I have had ppl I love killed by women pretending to need help ...I could go on,but I won't .

Point is calling someone a murderer when you have no clue about anything is very sad .

If the video is authentic, I am stunned that more care was not given to ID the targets with greater scrutiny. The shoulder slung cameras did not look like AK's. Furthermore, at the time of engagement, the Apaches were not being fired upon.

There is also a risk that reporters take when embedding with allied troops or insurgents during a time of war.

Just amazing... Now we just have to see what comes of this.

I can only imagine what would be discussed if we had extensive film coverage of close range engagements during WWII and coverage of the collateral damage that resulted of the massive carpet bombing campaigns.

War is War after all... Sad but its a reality.

[edit on 5-4-2010 by jibeho]