This Blog Has Moved

Monday 5 April 2010

Shot Down In Cold Blood



I'm so very saddened by this video. It shows how US Military Apaches kill over a dozen people on July 12, 2007, amongst which were two Reuters employees; photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40.

The Huffington Post article quotes some of the communications by the pilots responsible for thinking a camera was an AK47 or RPG (bazooka).

Rather disgustingly, they open fire on a van and the people who come to the aid of a survivor from the first attack, killing them and wounding two children who were sitting in the van.

I don't for a second think that the job of the armed forces is an easy one, but viewing the video clearly shows that their methods definitely need to be thought through and changes need to be made.

Remembering photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen by the New York Times

2 comments:

  1. Trigger happy americans. The other disgusting thing is the way they seem to revel in the killing and even laugh when the Bradley armoured fighting vehicle runs over one of the bodies. Would they laugh if it was one of their colleagues?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Edmond, i think this business with the "not an easy job" does not wash any more, if it ever did. Whoever thinks his job is not "easy" should opt for a career change, i hear there's plenty of money to be made in the potato and onion trade. When there's human lives involved even one innocent victim is a job poorly done. Period.

    ReplyDelete