In one moment captured on video taken by a NBC reporter in the battle of Fallujah which shows the shooting of an unarmed man inside of a mosque. That
video has been now shown in the Arab/Muslim media by Al Jazeera and is sending a shockwave of anger and rage through the Muslim world and most of all
among the Sunni Muslims of Iraq. American and Iraqi authorities have tried to stop the rage from spreading among Sunnis, after most of them watched
footage of the shooting which aired throughout the day on Al-Jazeera television. For the most part the western world's reaction has been much more
mild claiming the Marine acted in self defense.
CBSNEWS.com Full Article
The fatal shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed man in a Fallujah mosque by a U.S. Marine angered Sunni Muslims in Iraq on Tuesday and raised
questions about the protection of enemy fighters once they are out of action.
The U.S. Military is investigating the shooting, which was captured on video. A spokesman at Marine Corps headquarters in the gave no further details,
other than to confirm the incident happened on Saturday and that the Marines involved were part of the 1st Marine Division.
International legal experts said the Marine might have acted in self-defense because of a danger that a wounded enemy may try to blow up a hidden
weapon; a key issue was whether the injured man was a prisoner at the time.
The shooting happened one day after the Marine, who has not been identified, was wounded in the face and after another man in his unit was killed by
the booby-trapped body of an insurgent.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
From The Full Article at ABCNEWS.com
American and Iraqi authorities tried to prevent rage from spreading among Sunnis, many of whom watched dramatic footage of the shooting that aired
throughout the day on Al-Jazeera television, a Qatar-based satellite station. American stations did not show the killing itself.
"Look at this old man who was slain by them," said Ahmed Khalil, 40, as he watched the video in his Baghdad shop. "Was he a fighter? Was anybody
who was killed inside this mosque a fighter? Where are their weapons? I don't know what to say."
It was unclear to what extent other Iraqis, particularly the majority Shiite Muslims, cared about the shooting.
Maysoun Hirmiz, 36, a Christian merchant in Baghdad, said she was not satisfied by an announcement by the U.S. military that it had removed the Marine
from the battlefield and will investigate whether he acted in self defense.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
This would for the most part be a non-issue if it was not for having been captured on video by embedded reporters, and then broadcast.
That moment may seem like a non-issue to many of us. To those in the in the Arab world seeing an unarmed muslim being shot like this in of all places
a mosque will only further the cause of radical islamists who have claimed that the United States of America and their military are "the great
evil"
Perhaps it will cause major political problems for the government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi at a time when Iraqi authorities are seeking to
contain a backlash among Sunnis as a result of the invasion of Fallujah.
How are the arab/muslim media web sites reporting this killing?
Al Jazeera.net Full Article
The man was one of five wounded and left in the mosque after US marines fought their way through the area.
A second group of marines entered the mosque on Saturday after reports that fighters opposed to the US presence in Iraq had moved back into it.
Footage from the NBC television crew showed the five still in the mosque. Several appeared to be already close to death, NBC correspondent Kevin Sites
said.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Other News From Al Jazeera:
UN seeks probe into Falluja war crimes
By having these embedded reporters among the military during this battle have we given the enemy a major item they can now use as propaganda to insite
the muslims around the world to join the jihad?
Should the U.S. military censor these "reporters"?
War is hell they say. To the muslims we are the creators of hell and if they are looking for proof they will find it.
This will be seen as a non-issue and an act of self defence by most of us myself included, however those in the arab and muslim world will not share
our view.
Only time will show the true impact of this in both Iraq and the rest of the Islamic world... That could be a long time after most of us have
forgotten about it.
The divide continues to grow.
[edit on 16-11-2004 by UM_Gazz]