In refusing to recognize this, the US military fails both its own soldiers and their victims. I was told to go pull security on a rooftop. [59] Reuters requested a copy of the full video under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the same day. We lost our country and our lives were destroyed. I was trying to wash it off in my room. [118][119], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}331849N 443043E / 33.3137N 44.512E / 33.3137; 44.512 (Airstrike of 2007-07-12). [21][79], The New Yorker praised its release, calling it "a striking artifactan unmediated representation of the ambiguities and cruelties of modern warfare".[3]. [But] I was actually starting to get kind of better. Among the group were two Iraqi war correspondents working for Reuters, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. 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. They did have weapons there. That classified video created its own firestorm. Plus: Irans secret torture black sites, hacking a bank account with AI-generated voice, and Lance Bass unhinged encounter in Russia. Wired.com: How much sniper fire were you getting? classified video created its own firestorm. Gabriel Schoenfeld, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, said of the airstrike: It is precisely the presence of weapons, including RPGs, that goes a long distance toward explaining why cameramen for Reuterspointing television cameras around corners in a battle zonewere readily mistaken by our gunships for insurgents. Lying dead on a street were inanimate objects that turned out to be. [17] Julian Assange said "permission to engage was given before the word 'RPG' was ever used". Assange responded: Yes, absolutely Our promise to the public is that we will release the full source material. [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. [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. Tasked to conduct escort, armed reconnaissance patrols, and counter-IED and counter-mortar operations, the two helicopters left Camp Taji at 9:24a.m. Now, as far as rules of engagement, [Iraqis] are not supposed to pick up the wounded. [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. A unit from Bravo Company 216 was within 100 meters of the individuals that were fired upon with 30mm AH-64 Apache cannons. Wired.com: Did you try to get information about the two children after the shooting? After the incident, we went back to the FOB [forward operating base] and that's when I was in my room. You can make out in the video [someone] carrying an AK-47, swinging it down by his legs. And as far as the way that the soldiers are speaking in the video, which is pretty callous and joking about what's happened that's a coping mechanism. [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. [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". Stuff like that happens on a daily basis in Iraq. I did see a video on YouTube after the Wikileaks [ video ] came out, of the children being interviewed. "When I did come up on the scene, there was an RPG as well as AK-47s there," he said. He is seen swinging the weapon below his waist while standing next to the man holding the RPG". [104][105][106][107] Pursuant to a commutation by President Obama, Chelsea Manning was released on May 17, 2017. I'm guilty of it, too, myself. . It didn't seem real, in the sense that it didn't look like human beings. Wired.com: Do you support Wikileaks in releasing this video? 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. The missile hits the building, and the man is caught in the explosion. The men become obscured behind a building as the Apache moves around the group. Wired.com: Was anyone moving when you got there other than the two children? China Is Relentlessly Hacking Its Neighbors. You can hear the medic saying on the video, "There's nothing I can do here, she needs to be evac'd." On June 7, 2010, The New Yorker reported that Kristinn Hrafnsson, an investigative reporter who worked on the Collateral Murder video and later became a spokesman for WikiLeaks,[54] said he had found the owner of the building involved in the incident. Ethan Cord (Horsley) is still a man with a conscience, and kids, but he is also less reluctant to rely on his ability with a gun. The ground controller responds, "If you've [positively identified] the individuals in the building with weapons, go ahead and engage the building". For about 5 to 10 minutes the team diverted its attention to this vehicle. The ground troops that secured the site of the first two strikes then receive small arms fire from nearby buildings. For instance, the Web site takes special care to slow down the video and identify the two photographers and the cameras they are carrying. The majority of us aren't. Wired.com: There was another attack depicted in the video that has received little attention, involving a Hellfire and a building that was fired on. [92], On February 28, 2013, Manning pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 specified charges. On the same day as the NPR interview, Finkel was asked how he had seen the unedited video and whether WikiLeaks had shown it to him. [57], Reuters reported that it could locate no witnesses who had seen gunmen in the immediate area. This is the problem that we're speaking out on as far as the rules of engagement. If there's anything I can to do help, I would be more than happy to. They were stating that these people had no weapons whatsoever, that they were just carrying cameras. [81] There is no bringing back all that was lost. I think that the people could have been deterred from doing what they were doing in the van by simply firing a few warning shots versus completely obliterating the van and its occupants.[52][53]. [19], Fox News said that of the attack "WikiLeaks appears to have done selective editing that tells only half the story. And that in turn is what helped me and Josh write the letter, hoping that it would find its way to them to let them know that we're sorry. That's when I started screaming, "The boy's alive! I went back outside to the van, and that's when the boy took, like, a labored, breath. I've spoken with other soldiers who were there. "[88] McCord also recalled being ordered to "kill every motherfucker on the street" in the event of an attack on their convoy. As the pilot positions the helicopter to attack the building, two unarmed men walk towards, and perhaps into, the building. But for Army veteran Ethan McCord, it was just another day on duty. How to Make Sure Youre Not Accidentally Sharing Your Location, Security News This Week: Sensitive US Military Emails Exposed. He condemned and reported the massacre as soon as it happened. Ethan applied for mental health support following this incident and was denied by his commanding officer. But you're not supposed to do that in Iraq. Ahlam Abdelhussein Tuman, the widow of the man who had been driving the van, and the mother of the children McCord had carried out, responded to the open letter in 2010:[75]. McCord: Yeah. Instead, the Apaches decided to completely obliterate everybody in the van. On 19 April 2010, Ethan McCord, who appears on the ground in the video, and Josh Steiber, a member of the same company who was not present on the day, wrote an open Letter of Reconciliation & Responsibility to the Iraqi People apologising for the events in the video. They're trained as soldiers to go into a building and clear a building. 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. [59][16] In a personal statement during her court-martial, Chelsea Manning stated that the military had access to the video, and was actively examining it, yet it told Reuters in response to the FOIA request that the information might no longer exist. However, personally I don't feel that the attack on the van was warranted. They also found 10-year-old Sajad Mutashar and his five-year-old sister Doaha covered in blood in a van. McCord, who served seven years in the military before leaving in the summer of 2009 due to injuries, recently posted an apologetic letter online with fellow soldier Josh Steiber supporting the release of the video and asking the family's forgiveness. In 2009, Stieber left the military as a conscientious objector and became a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. [19], The events between the attack on the van and the attack on the building (approximately 30 minutes) were not captured on the leaked video footage. 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). Since then, McCord has been receiving threats to him and his family on a regular basis. McCord: When it was first released I don't think it was done in the best manner that it could have been. "[76], Captain Jack Hanzlik, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command stated that the airstrike video "gives you a limited perspective, [it] only tells you a portion of the activity that was happening that day. After attending to the girl's wounds and handing her to a medic, McCord was ordered to take position on the roof but he returned to the van to find the boy moving his hand. 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? In fact, that's one of the reasons I went to the van immediately, because I could hear her crying. After the non-combatants were clear Crazyhorse 1/8 engaged the targets. It was sent back for more reporting in an effort to incorporate a wider range of experts. Inside 'Adam-12' Star, Kent McCord caught the attention of TV lovers when he popularized the "Jim Reed" character in 1968's "Adam-12." McCord maintained the role for seven seasons till the show ended in 1975. It was more of a child who was frightened out of her mind. I know the scene by heart; it's burned into my head. He looked at me, then his eyes rolled back into this head. However, the long version of the video shows that this van had already been targeted by one Apache (Crazyhorse 1/8), prior to the second strike, as it traveled south toward the Reuters employees who were simultaneously targeted by the other Apache (Crazyhorse 1/9) as they walked with the group of men north on the same road toward the van. I just kept telling him, "Don't die; don't die." It has also ignored many veterans who have returned physically injured or mentally troubled by what they saw and did in your country. As the killing goes on, you obviously would see the killing of men who are lying on the ground in an operation where ground troops are approaching and perfectly capable of taking those people captive, but meanwhile you're murdering before the troops arrive. [85] He gave his view of the context of the killings: the Reuters guys walked into the hottest spot of a very hot morning. [32] The Apache crew alerted the ground troops of the van and requested permission to engage the vehicle before the ground troops arrived. In an interview on NPR on April 6, the day after the Collateral Murder video release, David Finkel said that the Reuters reporters were not embedded with anyone, but working independently. Ukraine Suffered More Wiper Malware in 2022 Than Anywhere, Ever. Ethan McCord, a former US soldier, has shown great courage and integrity by exposing and condemning US war crimes in Iraq. The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our livesfrom culture to business, science to design. [63] The site stated on its Twitter account on January 8, 2010, that it had a copy of gunsight footage of the incidents. WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. [32] The legal review carried out by the U.S. Army stated that the two children were evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital via Forward Operating Base Loyalty, then transferred to an Iraqi medical facility the next day. Many soldiers felt threatened just by the fact that you were looking at them, so they fired their weapons on anybody that was looking at them because they (I . Assange responded:[69][70]. McCord, in New York for the festival premiere, told the story of what he experienced while saving two children wounded in the incident. Highlighted in the 17-minute version of the video are Noor-Eldeen with a camera and Chmagh talking on his mobile phone. [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". As the ground troops advanced, a wounded Chmagh was seen crawling and attempting to stand. I think it is good that they're putting this stuff out there. He was kind of sitting on the floorboard of the van, but with his head laying on the bench seat in the front. McCord: She had a stomach wound and she had glass in her eyes and in her hair. [108][109], In a June 7, 2010, article in The New Yorker, Raffi Khatchadourian addressed several issues involved in determining the legality of the attacks, including "proportionality", "positive identification" ("reasonable certainty" that the target has hostile intent), and "the treatment of casualties during an ongoing military operation". There's no easy way to kill somebody. Knowing that I was part of the system that took their father away from them and made them lose their house it's heartbreaking. I was up on a rooftop at that time. The owner told him that three families were living in the building and seven residents had died, including his wife and daughter. The crew for Crazyhorse 1/9 could not engage due to target obfuscation from buildings and dust. 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. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. [62] At a February 2013 pretrial hearing, Manning stated that Finkel "was quoting, I feel in verbatim, the audio communications of the aerial weapons team crew". In the video, you can clearly see that they did have weapons to the trained eye." [17], In an interview with Fox News Assange said that "it's likely some of the individuals seen in the video were carrying weapons" and "based upon visual evidence I suspect there probably were AKs and an RPG, but I'm not sure that means anything. It's very disturbing. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. The soldier, Ethan McCord, has since been discharged from the military and has been an outspoken voice against the Iraq War. [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. The film received an Oscar nomination in January. Smith describes this reaction as inhuman. [115], While the Air Weapons Team was providing support at the first engagement area they were informed by ground troops that they were receiving small arms fire from the south/southwest. But the video and accompanying audio make clear that the soldiers in the helicopter said they spotted 'weapons' among those in the grouplater identified by an internal army investigator as an AK-47 and an RPG. I've had nightmares. Seven men (including Noor-Eldeen) were killed during this first strike; Saeed Chmagh, who was injured, later died in a hospital. Eamonn McCann Mon Aug 19 2013 - 20:49 Bradley Manning was scheduled to speak yesterday at the sentencing phase of his trial for having leaked 750,000 pages of classified documents and videos to. But this particular eventthis is clearly murder. Ethan McCord: Right. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. He added, "I think what this video shows is really a case that challenges whether the laws of war are strict enough. Reuters also stated that local police described the attack as "random American bombardment". The soldier, Ethan McCord, has since been discharged from the military and has been an outspoken voice against the Iraq War. We humbly ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused. 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. That stays with you. Series of air-to-ground attacks conducted in New Baghdad during the Iraqi insurgency, An AH-64 Apache helicopter, the type used in the attack, Arrest, convictions and sentencing of Manning, Attack on personnel and a van per U.S. Army report account, Attack on building per U.S. Army report account, Julian Assange's comments regarding U.S. Army report, List of coalition military operations of the Iraq War 2007, "In Disclosing Secret Documents, WikiLeaks Seeks 'Transparency', "Video Shows U.S. I do know that there was a teenage girl [in there], just because I saw the pictures when I was there, that one of the soldiers took. Their overall mission that day was to protect us, to provide support for us, so I can see where the initial attack on the group of men was warranted. An Apache maneuvered around a building to get a clear field of fire and shot all nine men, killing eight. She continued, "the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are inflicting huge psychological damage on combatants". Ethan and Josh claim that though their unit was following the Rules of Engagement that day, they are taking responsibility for their role in the incident and initiating a dialogue around it; "Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we have not forgotten our actions towards you. "[46] Assange later said "Based upon visual evidence, I suspect there probably were AKs and an RPG, but I'm not sure that means anything". When the helicopter pilots discover that they have killed a number of Iraqi civilians and wounded two children, one of them is heard to say: "Well, its their fault for bringing their kids into a battle".[41]. ], on February 28, 2013, Manning pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 specified.. 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