Iraq War Vet: "We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us"

reply to post by OverSword


They acknoledged in the video that they knew there were enough people in the van. This means they saw them through the windows. Now tell me. How often will you see two adults or even teenagers both being smal enough to share one seat to poke their heads out of the window at the same time?

And you're right, if that we myself, I'd be scared. It is a war zone right? So you know what. Let's just take out the whole city. Everyone in it may have an RPG. Or is that a camera? I guess we can kind out later. Even then we'll just drop some weapons and sprinkle some coc aine on them and say they were a threat.

Maybe what you don't realize is that a few hundred yards away the are american troops engaged in combat. You can't judge whats going on in the video just by the video itself. It needs to be put into context. That video is only a small piece i a much larger picture.

reply to post by poedxsoldiervet


Dumb might have been the wrong word.......how about ignorant? Because trust me having lived in a military town, interacted with, worked with and befriended many enlisted personnel I can tell you they are very ignorant. And the ones that I've met who aren't..........are so indoctrinated with this America first gung ho crap they are even worse. I used to work 1 mile from the Air Force Academy. I worked with many cadets and other Air Force officers............some of the most brainwashed dunces I've ever known although many were straight A students, came from prestigious academic high school backgrounds etc. Hell most of them thought not only America could do no wrong their attitude toward Israel and blind support of that country was even more disgusting. Colorado Springs although a great town is one of the most ultraconservative, right wing crapholes I've ever lived in. Between all the military and Focus on the Family it was a shining beacon of the mindset that is ever so pervasive in my fellow Americans.

reply to post by OverSword


Ok how's this for more context. The ground tropps should've been able to identify the children sharing a seat. The ground troops should've been able to identify the RPG as a camera. Are these the same ground troops that drove over bodies after wards (even though the official story was that there were too many bodies to move in with tanks) and laughed?

Doesn't sound like they were too concerned with dying or killing anyone. Sounds to me like a nice game of Halo. All that was missing was the teabagging (which I'm sure will surface in another video).

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy


If some country threatens my country or attacks the soil I rest my head on day and night......I'd be the first one to rise up and fight for America.

No you wouldn't... you'd sit here and bang on the keyboard until your fingers bled like you are now , so please... save me your rhetoric. Guess what Guy?... War is F***** up! and sometimes Bad S*** Happens to good people. Life is like that. The world is full of injustices , why don't you take some of that energy and try to find realistic solutions to problems instead of sitting here complaining about it and blaming others for taking action.

reply to post by EyesWideShut


War is f'd up because PEOPLE that wage war are f'd up. You can sit back and make excuses and wallow in your "that's just the way life is mentality".............those of us human beings who are responsible will seek out a better way of human existence and be the change we wish to see in the world. Apathy has never gotten humanity anywhere. If we as a human race all settled for your attitude what the hell is the point to "progress" and life? And trust me.......my rhetoric is far from empty. You'd be surprised who lurks behind the keyboards on ATS buddy. As if all the "warriors" and brave men and women wear a uniform? Please!!!!!! There are a lot of "soldiers" around here lurking on the internet and in US society that will kick ass and take names when the time is right and if need be. It wasn't "soldiers" who won the Revolutionary war. It was average people who collectively came together and rose up against the British army and tyranny.

[edit on 8-4-2010 by Zosynspiracy]

reply to post by Portugoal


It's very easy to criticize the actions of others while sitting home observing it after the fact. It is another animal to have to make these decisions spur of the moment when it goes down. Do you know what Intel was passed to the pilots prior to the mission. No because you weren't there. When I watched the "Wikileaks" video if it wasn't pointed out to me that the strap on his shoulder was a camera I wouldn't have known , I saw it and thought "Rifle Sling" because that's how my mind works. Is that far fetched , considering the circumstances? After the fact we find out the backstory of what happened and it sucks that innocent lives were lost , but while I was watching the video it looked like a good shoot to me.

If only the video was seen without the editing , if you can tell me you were able to see everything clearly that was going on and you knew that there was a camera attached to the strap on his shoulder , and you knew that those were kids sitting there in that van , then you have a problem telling the truth.

reply to post by Portugoal


You don't know what you're talking about, please read my link on page one of this thread.

This is not your grandfathers war! Actually it is! World Wars I and II were organized by the same schools as these. The agenda was world dominion. When the League of Nations was scuttled by negative American opinion, they started up WWII. The whole thing has always been world domination. The excuses to get us into war have always been excuses. Now they almost have their world dominion within their reach, how do we stop them?
War is bad. Killing people is bad. Killing helpless, innocent people and children is bad. So what do we do to stop it?
Thank you for this thread. It is heartening to see American soldiers speak out against war, against killing.
How do we get this jaugernaut turned around? They keep greasing the skids and it keeps going. It is destroying our country and our people,not just the people we are shooting at. It is an excuse to loot our country and push us further and further over the brink of economic disaster. It is an excuse to corrupt our children and defile them with murdering innocents.
How do we stop it?

Just as people say all the time, This does NOT happen all the time. There are morons in the military just like there are morons at your job. People do stupid things and it just looks bad for the military when in fact it is THAT person. People get so hyped up about us killing civilians, I don't see anyone hyped up over some random dude killing his whole family, or a sexual predator that rapes 5 year olds and kills them for the hell of it. Crap happens so what, I would say 90% of the military today are sound individuals and the other 10% are the people who do stupid stuff like this.

reply to post by m khan


How do we as Americans stop it? HELLO! It's been said time and time again................if young, naive middle class and poor men and women quit signing up to serve their government war would stop overnight. The key is to reverse the brainwashing and faux patriotism that the military uses to indoctrinate our youth. I mean look around you...............the Army is advertising in movie theatres now to the tune of popular rock bands. When I was a kid I NEVER remember seeing an ad for the US military in a movie theatre. The US military spends millions of dollars recruiting and advertising and inticing young people to sign up and serve their masters. You cut the head off the beast and it will die.

reply to post by OverSword


I saw that already and know exactly what I'm talking about. I'll acknowledge there were weapons on 2 of them. But again to say lets engage is a little extreme. I'm sure the city is full of guns. Let's shoot up. I'm sure my city is full of guns. Let's kill everyone. You can't try to say that they were all insurgents.

Now, I've seen so many people try to justify what was done. One uses the superior techonology of America to explain the laxness of the "insurgents." So if these people weren't as bloodthirsty as they appear to be in the video, they would analyze the sitaution, ground and air troops.

To me it all sounds like they want to improve their kill/death ratio and laugh it up a bit.

As for the "Major League Infidel" , like I said, I'd be scared #less myself. But look at the situation. Both groups should've been able to realize they were not about to engage anyone. In terms of editing, I can see that the "RPG" looks an awful lot like a camera and nonetheless it is not pointed at the chopper (both groups of troops should've realized this). Without editing I can see that the people seem to be pretty relaxed. Without editing I can see that the guy who's crawling on the ground is not near or looking for any weapons yet they are ready to kill him. Without editing, I hear them laughing at shooting people, driving over bodies, and blaming the kids injuries on the insurgents.

Sounds like adequate training and professionalism to me.

reply to post by Reign02


Are you trying to justify killing civilians by saying that people don't get hyped up by rape or murder? Excuse me but I do. You're trying to justify one crime with another. Good one. That's like saying, planes crash every now and then so 9/11 was just another blip in aviation.

Originally posted by OverSword
reply to post by freighttrain

 

Yeah that'll work, oh wait, no it won't.
People go to prison and come back more violent.

Not all come back violent.. some... and for those that will not learn from coming back... will get shipped to this island Permanently. Everyone deserves a second chance... people make mistakes... and are lost.. some will learn, some will not!

It seems to me that focusing on the recently released video on this thread takes away from the importance of the OP.

The point made is that whatever was shown on the video, is by no means the most horrific example of the consequences of war.

The story with the woman trying to give the soldiers food only to get blown away for her kindness is beyond soul crushing!

War is hell to begin with ... throw in battle fatigue, a hard to identify enemy, panic, poor planning, poor leadership, vague ambition, and a plethora of other issues and this is the result. Same happened in Vietnam.

ALL OF THIS is on the shoulders of those who chose to wage this war and lied to justify it ... the blood is on their hands, and ours, for we continue to allow it.

Originally posted by Zosynspiracy


War is f'd up because PEOPLE that wage war are f'd up. You can sit back and make excuses and wallow in your "that's just the way life is mentality".............those of us human beings who are responsible will seek out a better way of human existence and be the change we wish to see in the world. Apathy has never gotten humanity anywhere. If we as a human race all settled for your attitude what the hell is the point to "progress" and life? And trust me.......my rhetoric is far from empty. You'd be surprised who lurks behind the keyboards on ATS buddy. As if all the "warriors" and brave men and women wear a uniform? Please!!!!!! There are a lot of "soldiers" around here lurking on the internet and in US society that will kick ass and take names when the time is right and if need be.

It's not the Soldiers or Marines that write policy , It's elected officials. The Grunts are just doing their jobs. If you're this fired up, then go do something about it. There has been war throughout human history , Some people CANNOT be reasoned with. Somethings simply CANNOT be dealt with diplomatically. You said it yourself "People that wage war are f'd up" Don't you think someone should be there to protect you from those f'd up people? There are people in this world who will kill you without reason because of brainwashing or blind faith or because it's Thursday. THAT IS REALITY!!! life is cheap in many places.

I hear you talking about seeking a better way of human existence but I don't see any examples. I too was a dreamer as a kid, but Now I'm a realist. Sometimes you experience things in life that take those rose colored glasses away and you see things for what they are.

You are such a contradiction , 1 second you are all "Save the whales" and the next one you're all

"There are a lot of "soldiers" around here lurking on the internet and in US society that will kick ass and take names when the time is right and if need be."

So you piss on Soldiers and Marines for doing their JOB , but when the time is right you "are ready to kick ass and take names"?!? (but only if need be of course) ... Really?

Pick a side of the fence and stay on it.... don't talk about it... be about it. You wanna be the catalyst for change for the better of humanity?.... great go start making moves and do it. You wanna go kick ass and take names, Great join the USMC and go get some. But just do something... sitting here complaining about how things should be is... well... WEAK!

Originally posted by Reading

Originally posted by hotbakedtater

And please keep the America Hate rhetoric to yourself. If America is hated for this, other countries are hated for the same cruelties, war is ugly and this is war. No one gets to wear the I am the worst country badge in war, because all war is ugly and violent.

From the first chapter of the Bible Human nature has been to murder. Humans live in other places than America.

Seems like we have enough hate to go around and them some.

First hand experience.... when I lived in Iran, it was during the Iraq and Iran war... Iraqi missiles were falling from the sky over Tehran. We all used to run for cover in the doorway of our home (more secure foundation, safer in case of earth quake as well) suddenly we hear this loud bang sound and our ceiling cracked (Iran most roof are flat) all the way... we didn't know what it was at the time, so about half hour later once the planes were gone we went to the roof....

There lied a 5-7 feet missile.. with Arabic text (most likely Iraqi writing on it) with Iraq and guess what... US flag on it! To this day I have not forgotten that image... it's been burned into my subconscious mind!

What the hell is an american flag doing on an Iraqi missile... ? Oh right.. THEY suppose war, sell weapon to both sides and watch them kill each other as they make profit and gain control over the chaos! Simple.. yet evil scheme to take over the world in a long run...



To be honest it seems most of the world problems today to do with war and weaponry stem from america, so you know what you dont tell me to keep it to myself.

Ill say the same thing about isreal and its treatment of palistinians which btw is funded massively by uncle sam.

From selling arms to installing puppet goverments your countries hands are far from clean, other countries at least have the decency to do it secretly!

[edit on 8-4-2010 by freighttrain]

[edit on 8-4-2010 by freighttrain]

reply to post by schrodingers dog


I think the recently released video is an example, just as this article is, for the blatant misdirection of the Iraq war and I'm sure it can be applied to other wars aswell. It is said that in order to kill an enemy you have to dehumanize them. Well obviously the Americans have done that to the entire occupied population.

These two examples give great insight on the injustices the people must face. It is the militants choice to enter into war. But the people never really had a choice. They were occupied and they get shot down. Doesn't set a good precedent if, let's say America is ever invaded. They should how some dignity and I think we can all agree on that, whether or not it is war.

reply to post by EyesWideShut


He is doing something. He is voicing his opinion. Ideas are what lead to things being done. I think the entire problem with the let's kill everyone culture that has enveloped Americans feeling when it comes to the Middle East is that you people seem to think that war is the be all and end all.

To say he is weak because he doesn't support an unjust war is well...sad. He is weak because he is typing his opinion. What are you doing? Now I'm sure you're going to say I am in the military and defend the country. Good for you. But don't say that killing civilians is part of the JOB.

Originally posted by janon
reply to post by OverSword

 

Maybe I'm alone on the issue but I wouldn't kill some folks just on a hunch. What I really don't get is if this was within the ROE why was it against the Geneva Convention and international laws of war?

You asked the question that should be asked. The Geneva Conventions of 1947 did adopt the Code of Armed Conflict, which prohibits intentionally killing civilians,and makes a war crime of shooting at anyone, even a combatant, who is hors de combat or too injured to continue fighting. But no one has been charged with these sorts of offenses except in a military proceeding which is a sham. The DOD should be bombarded with FOI requests to release the names of these war criminals, who then should be tried, convicted and executed and their bodies thrown on the streets of Iraq or Afghanistan to be desecrated in public. That might get the attention of these murderous scum.