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04/05/10(Mon)22:52 No.546334In
the video, starting at the 3:50 mark, one member of this group starts
preparing what clearly looks like an RPG launcher, as well as some
individuals with AK-47s. The launcher then reappears at the 4:06 mark as
the man wielding it sets up a shot for down the street. In 2007
Baghdad, this would be a clear threat to US and Iraqi Army ground
forces; in fact, it’s difficult to imagine any other purpose for an RPG
launcher at that time and place. That’s exactly the kind of threat that
US airborne forces were tasked to detect and destroy, which is why the
gunships targeted and shot all of the members of the group.
Another
accusation is that US forces fired on and killed rescue workers
attempting to carry one of the journalists out of the area. However, the
video clearly shows that the vehicle in question bore no markings of a
rescue vehicle at all, and the men who ran out of the van to grab the
wounded man wore no uniforms identifying themselves as such. Under any
rules of engagement, and especially in a terrorist hot zone like Baghdad
in 2007, that vehicle would properly be seen as support for the
terrorists that had just been engaged and a legitimate target for US
forces. While they didn’t grab weapons before getting shot, the truth is
that the gunships didn’t give them the chance to try, either — which is
exactly what they’re trained to do. They don’t need to wait until
someone gets hold of the RPG launcher and fires it at the gunship or at
the reinforcements that had already begun to approach the scene. The
gunships acted to protect the approaching patrol, which is again the
very reason we had them in the air over Baghdad. |
