A draft version of the video WikiLeaks produced made reference to the AK-47s and RPGs, but WikiLeaks said that ultimately they became unsure about the RPG, believing the long object could have been a camera tripod, so they decided not to point it out in the released version. After the non-combatants were clear Crazyhorse 1/8 engaged the targets. [20] According to a military review, soldiers in that company "had been under sporadic small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire since" the operationdescribed as "clearing their sector and looking for weapons caches"began. The company was charged with clearing their sector of any small armed forces, and had been under fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). There were some people taking pot shots, sniper shots, at us on the rooftop. [25] Both videos depict the attack on the van, van driver, and two other men, and the aftermath when the two seriously injured children were evacuated by U.S. ground forces who arrived on the scene. [58] Reuters subsequently asked the U.S. military to probe the deaths. The report concludes that the Reuters employees were in the company of armed insurgents. What was shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have created. With such pain, friendship might be too much to ask. We were probably there on the roof for another four to five hours. He responded, "I hadn't heard of WikiLeaks before yesterday. [32] The Apache crew alerted the ground troops of the van and requested permission to engage the vehicle before the ground troops arrived. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions. I've spoken with other soldiers who were there. McCord admits that she was sad to go because she had been there for a decade and a half, but that "it wasn't the end of the world" and that she wasn't worried for "a nanosecond" that . It's very clear that that is the approach, to try and find any mechanism to excuse the behavior, and that is what ended up happening. I can accept their apology, because they saved my children, and if it were not for them, maybe my two little children would be dead. One of the first soldiers on the scene after the air attack, Ethan McCord, is now the subject of a short documentary, Incident in New Baghdad, which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York next week. [38] The children, a girl and boy, suffered injuries. We've been there for so long now and it seems like nothing is being accomplished whatsoever, except for we're making more people hate us. The crew for Crazyhorse 1/8 then located multiple individuals with weapons about 400 meters east of coalition forces and was given clearance to engage the targets. That classified video created its own firestorm. But this particular eventthis is clearly murder. Ethan Mccord and Josh Stieber deployed to Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16 in 2007. The girl suffered from a stomach wound and glass in her eyes, and the boy a head injury. The story was then overtaken by a more updated one out of Washington that incorporated reporting from the original piece. I don't think that people really want to see this, though, because this is war. And where the soldier said [in the video], "Well, you shouldn't take your kids to battle." [87], McCord discussed his experience in the battle in an interview with the World Socialist Web Site on April 28, 2010, stating, "What happened then was not an isolated incident. Forces Clash With Militias", "Reuters seeks U.S. probe into killing of Iraqi staff", "Return to Ward 17: Making peace with lost comrades", "Bradley Manning's statements during his trial", "U.S. gunfire kills two Reuters employees in Baghdad", "WikiLeaks silent on how it broke encryption", "Twitter / WikiLeaks: Have encrypted videos of U", "WikiLeaks posts video of 'US military killings' in Iraq", "Collateral Murder? [19] This account of first bringing the wounded children to the Combat Support Hospital appears to be contradicted by orders by radio that form part of the video record, which forbids it and orders that the children be handed over to local police. That's a violation of the laws of war and of course what the mainstream media have omitted from their stories is this context. [86], Ethan McCord, the soldier seen in the video carrying the injured boy, recalled in an interview on The Marc Steiner Show that on arrival at the scene, "The first thing I did was run up to the van". [68], Stephen Colbert, in an interview with Assange in April 2010, asked him about the title: "You have edited this tape, and you have given it a title called 'Collateral Murder'. The promise we make to our sources is that not only will we defend them through every means that we have available technologically, legally and politically but we will try and get the maximum possible political impact for the material that they give to us. I don't think that [the] big picture is whether or not [the Iraqis who were killed] had weapons. However, personally I don't feel that the attack on the van was warranted. [18][19] The crew estimates the group is twenty men. Ethan was on the ground at the scene of the shooting, and is seen on the video rushing one of the injured children to a U.S. I've had nightmares. [2][22] Pentagon officials told the Reuters news agency that U.S. military lawyers were reviewing the video and could reopen an investigation into the incident,[67] but a spokesperson later said that there were no plans to reopen the investigation. How is this guy supposed to [decide] should I stop and pick them up, or is the military going to shoot me? We have asked our fellow veterans and service-members, as well as civilians both in the United States and abroad, to sign in support of this letter, and to offer their names as a testimony to our common humanity, to distance ourselves from the destructive policies of our nation's leaders, and to extend our hands to you. The video makes plain that in this incident, as in almost all military encounters in both Iraq and Afghanistan, our soldiers are up against forces that do not wear uniformsa violation of international law precisely because it places innocent civilians in jeopardy. She draws parallels with soldiers who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in earlier wars. [22], In the video on the morning of July 12, 2007, the crews of two United States Army AH-64 Apache helicopters observe a gathering of men near a section of Baghdad in the path of advancing U.S. ground troops, some armed with AKMs and RPGs. McCord: I doubt that they were a part of that firefight. [113], The report states that at least two members of the group which were first fired on were armed, that two RPGs and one AKM or AK-47 rifle could be seen in the helicopter video, and that these weapons were picked up by the follow-up U.S. ground troops. Those guys could have just been protecting their area". Minutes after the first engagement ended, the van returned traveling in an opposite direction (north) once again on this same road. It was nominated as a Documentary Short Subject for the 84th Academy Awards. The company was supported by two Apache helicopters from the 1st Cavalry Division's Aviation Brigade, call signs "Crazyhorse 1/8" and "Crazyhorse 1/9". "[4] The New York Times wrote that "Critics contend that the shorter video was misleading because it did not make clear that the attacks took place amid clashes in the neighborhood and that one of the men was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade. This is his account of what he saw. Hanzlik said images gathered during a military investigation of the incident show multiple weapons around the dead bodies in the courtyard, including at least three RPGs. [59] Reuters requested a copy of the full video under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the same day. And cracking jokes is a way of pushing that stuff down. [117], In June 2011 the Federation of German Scientists (VDW) awarded the "Whistleblower Award" to the person who made the video Collateral Murder public via WikiLeaks. Major Brent Cummings claimed they took great pains to prevent the loss of innocent civilian lives. Our secretary of defense may say the U.S. won't lose its reputation over this, but we stand and say that our reputation's importance pales in comparison to our common humanity. The ground controller responds, "If you've [positively identified] the individuals in the building with weapons, go ahead and engage the building". [91], In May 2010, a 22-year-old American Army intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning, was arrested after telling hacker Adrian Lamo she had leaked the airstrike video, along with a video of another airstrike and around 260,000 diplomatic cables, to WikiLeaks. A third, an infantry solider named Ethan McCord, was one of the men who had scooped up the bodies of the wounded children in the apache helicopter attack, what is now known as the "Collateral. Smith describes this reaction as inhuman. They request permission to fire a missile at the building, describing it as "abandoned" or "under construction". The second strike, also using 30mm rounds, was directed at a van whose driver, Saleh Matasher Tomal, appeared to happen to drive by and who proceeded to help the wounded Chmagh. He said that the debate should be re-framed, that it is more appropriate to ask "questions of the larger system" that teaches "doing these things is in the best interests of my own country". Daniel Ellsberg, a former United States military analyst who was known for having leaked the Pentagon Papers to the media, said of the airstrike: It would be interesting to have someone speculate or tell us exactly what context would lead to justifying the killing that we see on the screen. However, the co-pilot/gunner then observed a child and some other non-combatants in the vicinity of the individuals and decided to hold off on the engagement until the non-combatants were clear. She continued, "the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are inflicting huge psychological damage on combatants". Highlighted in the 17-minute version of the video are Noor-Eldeen with a camera and Chmagh talking on his mobile phone. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. I based the account in my book on multiple sources, all unclassified". Lawmakers are increasingly hellbent on punishing the popular social network while efforts to pass a broader privacy law have dwindled. [18][25][31] The Apache crew requested permission to engage, stating it "looks like [the men] possibly, picking up bodies and weapons" from the scene,[33] and repeated their request to shoot,[7][34][35][36][37] before they received permission to begin firing on the van and its occupants. In a third strike, Apache pilots watched people, including some armed men, run into a building and engaged that building with several AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. [59], An internal legal review by staff at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in Iraq during July 2007 stated that the helicopters had attacked a number of armed insurgents within the rules of engagement, and that in an apparent case of civilian casualties two reporters working for Reuters had also been killed. McCord: When it was first released I don't think it was done in the best manner that it could have been. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other veterans we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region. They asked for an explanation of the confiscation of the journalists' two cameras, access to the on-board footage and voice communications from the helicopters involved, and access to the reports of the units involved in the incident, particularly logs of weapons taken from the scene. On April 5, 2010, the attacks received worldwide coverage and controversy following the release of 39 minutes of gunsight footage by the Internet whistleblower website WikiLeaks. [30], Assange stated that some of the press had not reported on the third airstrike, in which three Hellfire missiles were fired onto an apartment complex, which only appears in the longer unedited version of the two videos.[31]. Please accept our apology, our sorrow, our care, and our dedication to change from the inside out. There is a period of 20 minutes not included on the leaked tape. Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image. That's the hard part to swallow. [43] The report stated that the helicopter crew did not know how many people were in the building when they destroyed it with missiles, and that "there is evidence that unarmed people have both entered and are nearby". We lost our country and our lives were destroyed. We did unto you what we would not want done to us. [116] The military did not include the attack on the building in their report. An Apache maneuvered around a building to get a clear field of fire and shot all nine men, killing eight. There's no front lines here. [94], WikiLeaks said they were unable to confirm whether or not Manning was the source of the video, stating "we never collect personal information on our sources", but saying that "if [Manning is the] whistleblower then, without doubt, [s]he's a national hero"[95] and "we have taken steps to arrange for [her] protection and legal defence". Soldier Ethan McCord's Eyewitness Story, "Shadowed, Clamoring, Blurry. [19], Fox News said that of the attack "WikiLeaks appears to have done selective editing that tells only half the story. Solemnly and Sincerely, Josh Stieber, former specialist, U.S. Army Ethan McCord, former specialist, U.S. Army. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions. [61], Washington Post reporter David Finkel, who at the time was embedded with Bravo Company 216 Infantry, later covered the incidents of the day in his book, The Good Soldiers. After getting permission to fire, the Apache crew fired on the van. Wired.com: Was anyone moving when you got there other than the two children? Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. "The first thing I thought of was my children at home". A passing van then stopped and attempted to load a wounded man. Ethan McCord, a former US soldier, has shown great courage and integrity by exposing and condemning US war crimes in Iraq. [47] The Australian newspaper said the group was displaying "no obvious hostile action". There had been running gun battles. I went back outside to the van, and that's when the boy took, like, a labored, breath. Their request was denied at the briefing and they were told to seek access under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. As the gunner fires the first missile, another man is seen walking along the street in front of the building. McCord added, "I don't say that Wikileaks did a bad thing, because they didn't. Just from looking into the van, and the amount of blood that was on the boy and the father, I immediately figured they were dead. We are doing what we can to speak out against the wars and military policies responsible for what happened to you and your loved ones. Oh well", and a minute later continued, "Well, it's their fault for bringing kids into a battle". [89], When interviewed by Wired, McCord stated that he supported WikiLeaks in releasing the video, with some qualifications: "When it was first released I don't think it was done in the best manner that it could have been. Home: Laytonsville, Maryland Served in: Baghdad (Rustamiyah) 07-08 Fort Riley, KS 06-07, 08-09, BACKGROUND ON ETHAN MCCORD: Branch of service: United States Army (USA) Unit: 1st ID Rank: Spc. The Push to Ban TikTok in the US Isnt About Privacy. [43] He walks into a building which has been identified as the source of fire at U.S. ground troops. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. The crew for Crazyhorse 1/9 could not engage due to target obfuscation from buildings and dust. soldiers. "[60], Early in 2010, the Internet whistleblower site WikiLeaks made a public request for assistance in decrypting a video it described as "US bomb strikes on civilians", specifically requesting access to supercomputer time. In an Al Jazeera English interview on April 19, 2010, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange explained why WikiLeaks titled the video Collateral Murder: And you can see that they also deliberately target Saaed, a wounded man there on the ground, despite their earlier belief that they didn't have the rules of engagementthat the rules of engagement did not permit them to kill Saeed when he was wounded. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. I just kept telling him, "Don't die; don't die." In July 2007, McCord, a 33-year-old Army specialist, was engaged in a firefight with insurgents in an Iraqi suburb when his platoon, part of Bravo Company, 2-16 Infantry, got orders to investigate a nearby street. After the video was released, one of the soldiers involved in the incident, Ethan McCord, stated the following: "If you feel threatened in any way, you're able to engage that person. He later sought help for psychological trauma, but was ridiculed by his NCO and told that if he were to go to the mental health officer, "there would be repercussions". I was trying to wash it off in my room. Wired.com: What did you understand that to mean? Towards the end of the show, the star actor became an active member of the Screen Actors Guild and after he left "Adam-12." Ad Choices, U.S. On July 12, 2007, a series of air-to-ground attacks were conducted by a team of two U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, New Baghdad, during the Iraqi insurgency which followed the invasion of Iraq. [43], Assange responded to the investigation report released by the Army in an interview with Democracy Now!, stating that "the tone and language is all about trying to find an excuse for the activity. 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