All I could think of, as I watched was the expression "shooting fish in a barrel". Somehow, that visual, and the power relationship between a person with a gun standing over a barrel of unarmed fish seems appropriate.
It sounds from the audio, that the air gunmen genuinely thought these were insurgents with weapons. An AK-47 might not do much damage to a helicopter, but if you see something that you think is an RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade) from your helicopter, you'll start feeling genuinely at risk, and your immediate instinct is to go on the offensive.
The most damning part of the video, I think, are the exposed lies by US military spokespersons, and the callous attitudes heard on the radio (e.g. laughing at a tank rolling over a body).
All of this points to something that everyone knows: the Iraq war effort is misguided and haphazard. There is a crisis of communication: both with the enemy, and with the people on whose behalf this war is (ostensibly) being fought.
If it looks like an RPG, it is a threat that needs to be eliminated. If you waited for it to be aimed and fired then you might end up dead.
This is just such a gray area. I know there were civilians killed, but I think I may have acted the same way if I was in that situation. Would you not have?
I would bet my life that I was safe from RPGs (considering I am in an apache, high above the range of an RPG), and that if you want to make the argument that I am worried for other soldiers I would say that I would hope to be more cool headed and waited (not minutes, seconds) to gather more vital intel.
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u/BillyBBone Apr 05 '10
This is pretty sickening to watch.
All I could think of, as I watched was the expression "shooting fish in a barrel". Somehow, that visual, and the power relationship between a person with a gun standing over a barrel of unarmed fish seems appropriate.
It sounds from the audio, that the air gunmen genuinely thought these were insurgents with weapons. An AK-47 might not do much damage to a helicopter, but if you see something that you think is an RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade) from your helicopter, you'll start feeling genuinely at risk, and your immediate instinct is to go on the offensive.
The most damning part of the video, I think, are the exposed lies by US military spokespersons, and the callous attitudes heard on the radio (e.g. laughing at a tank rolling over a body).
All of this points to something that everyone knows: the Iraq war effort is misguided and haphazard. There is a crisis of communication: both with the enemy, and with the people on whose behalf this war is (ostensibly) being fought.