Warning
This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
Democracy Now!
April 6, 2010
Massacre Caught on Tape: US Military Confirms Authenticity of Their Own Chilling Video Showing Killing of Journalists
The US military has confirmed the authenticity of newly released video showing US forces indiscriminately firing on Iraqi civilians. On Monday, the website WikiLeaks.org posted footage taken from a US military helicopter in July 2007 as it killed twelve people and wounded two children. The dead included two employees of the Reuters news agency, photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh. We speak with WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange and Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald. [includes rush transcript]
From the archives:
Video allegedly shows US forces killing two reporters and six others By Daniel Tencer
The Killing of Khalid W. Hassan – Journalist in the Iraq War Zone By PATRICK COCKBURN
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I watched the video of the footage taken from a US military helicopter in July 2007 as it slaughtered twelve people and wounded two children in Iraq.The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seems eerily similar to the Vietnam era. As usual, the military lied about what happened. The military knows it can lie with impunity because you are seen as unpatriotic if you criticize their actions. I remember people being outraged that Amercan soldiers were prosecuted for their actions at My Lai. Another similarity is the labeling used for justifying the murder of innocents, in Vietnam if it was dead and Vietnamese, it was Viet Cong, Currently, the labels are Al Quaeda or insurgents. According to the military, for being such a small organization, Al Quaeda has an amazing number of commanders. A small minority is outraged by the atrocities committed during the conduct of illegal wars, while the majority of the population is completely oblivious. I know, regardless of what the rest of the world might think, it is legal if the Amercan government gives our wars their stamp of approval. I mentioned the video to some people I know and the response I got from others was you must be weird for caring about this and not American Idol or it is a war so it is justified. The so called powers that be seem to have learned their lessons well from Vietnam. The major news media do not show any footage of war that might disturb the delicate sensibilities of their viewers. I remember that famous scene where Vietnamese children were napalmed, that is definitely off limits today. We have a voluntary military so the middle and upper classes will not be disturbed by the possibility of their sons or daughters dying in meaningless wars. Look at the bright side, if the children from the lower classes do not get killed or physically maimed or psychologically traumatized from the war, they will have learned a skill in the military and will not be a burden to society when they finish their seemingly never ending tours of duty. We can’t have any more welfare scum in this country. If they do get killed, maimed or psychologically traumatized, they can be proud for having done their duty to their country, but God forbid our taxes be raised to pay for their treatment. If we do not get the requisite number of recruits, we can always hire mercenaries to fight our wars. Anyone with any intelligence, should have been insulted by the pathetic propaganda campaign by the second Bush administration to justify the invasion of Iraq. Both wars in Iraq, were clearly about the control of Middle Eastern oil. I do not want to sound self righteous, my own moral indifference about the wars is a source of shame. One question I have for critics of our current and never ending wars, are all Americans equally complicit in the conduct of these wars or only the military industrial complex including the oil companies and their bought and paid for politicians? From what I have seen, the majority of Americans do not have any interest in making the sacrifices necessary to end our dependence on foreign oil. I have not noticed a decrease in the number of SUVs or large cars on our freeways. Does the moral rot start at the top of our society or are we all guilty?
Thanks for your commentary, Michael.
Check out these posts, too:
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/we-are-all-accountable-by-timothy-v-gatto/
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/true-or-false-%e2%80%9cwe-are-all-responsible%e2%80%9d-by-cameron-salisbury/
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/the-united-states-takes-the-matter-of-three-headed-babies-very-seriously-by-william-blum/
Unfortunately we are each & all obligated to dissent gratuitous militarism somehow, sadly silence is complicity. much else of import seems to pale in wartime, boring by now this all is.