[21][79], The New Yorker praised its release, calling it "a striking artifactan unmediated representation of the ambiguities and cruelties of modern warfare".[3]. Lawmakers are increasingly hellbent on punishing the popular social network while efforts to pass a broader privacy law have dwindled. Wired.com: Did you try to get information about the two children after the shooting? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The Web site does not slow down the video to show that at least one man in that group was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, a clearly visible weapon that runs nearly two-thirds the length of his body. We heard the gunships open up. McCord: I wasn't around that building when it happened. "The first thing I thought of was my children at home". We acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved ones as we tell Americans what we were trained to do and what we carried out in the name of "god and country". 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. Fox News later stated that "although it could be argued AK-47 rifles are common household items, RPGs are not". . 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. We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. [19], As the tape resumes, two men, one holding an AK-47, are seen walking. [97] On July 30, Manning was acquitted of the most serious charge, that of aiding the enemy, for giving secrets to WikiLeaks. This is urban combat and we're taking the war to children and women and innocents. Smoked is basically like you're doing pushups a lot, you're doing sit-ups crunches and flutter kicks. [55], Assange stated that the attack on the van was the most damning part of the video: "I'm very sceptical that was done under the rules of engagement; and, if it was legal, the rules of engagement must be changed". I think it is good that they're putting this stuff out there. I was called a pussy and that I needed to suck it up and a lot of other horrible things. When I saw their faces, I was relieved, but I was just heartbroken. I know the van, I know the faces of everybody that was there that day. I went back outside to the van, and that's when the boy took, like, a labored, breath. It happened because my content was bad. Now, as far as rules of engagement, [Iraqis] are not supposed to pick up the wounded. I think that the bigger picture is what are we doing there? [78] Gates stated: "They're in a combat situation. You don't just take somebody's life and then go on about your business for the rest of the day. [15] An anonymous U.S. military official confirmed the authenticity of the footage,[16] which provoked global discussion on the legality and morality of the attacks. When we were on that roof, we were still taking fire. [16] The military reported that it could not find its copy of the video. 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. But the time is long overdue that we say that the value of our nation's leaders no longer represent us. I don't think that [the] big picture is whether or not [the Iraqis who were killed] had weapons. If you or I saw someone wounded on the ground what is your first inkling? [57], Reuters reported that it could locate no witnesses who had seen gunmen in the immediate area. 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. "The helicopters were approximately a mile and a half away and they were zooming in on these guys . Wired.com: Do you support Wikileaks in releasing this video? [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". "[90], James Spione made a short documentary film about the airstrikes called Incident in New Baghdad, featuring a first-person account from Ethan McCord. New details reveal that Beijing-backed hackers targeted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, adding to a string of attacks in the region. More than a dozen people were killed in three attacks captured in the video, including two Reuters journalists, one carrying a camera that was apparently mistaken for a weapon. He looked at me, then his eyes rolled back into this head. 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. Two men assisting in the rescue effort were from a group of five standing at an intersection seen in the upper right corner of the video when the Reuters employees arrive in the courtyard reported to Apaches as being a second position combatants were using to attack the Humvee. Give us a picture of what happened that day. Solemnly and Sincerely, Josh Stieber, former specialist, U.S. Army Ethan McCord, former specialist, U.S. Army. It wasnt like a cry of pain really. Manning's Providence Inquiry", "US military video showing 2007 Apache attack on Iraqi civilians released", "Leaked video shows US military killing of civilians, Reuters staff", "Permission to Engage: WikiLeaks collateral murder footage examined", "US soldier linked to Iraq helicopter video leak charged", "Leaked U.S. video shows deaths of Reuters' Iraqi staffers", "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tells Colbert permission to engage was given before the word RPG was ever used", "Leaked video reveals chaos of Baghdad attack", Investigation into Civilian Casualties Resulting from an Engagement on 12 July 2007 in the New Baghdad District of Baghdad, Iraq, "Gates said leaked military video of shooting in Iraq doesn't show the broader picture of Americans being fired upon", "Records released to the public, under the FOIA, that are or will likely become the subject of subsequent requests", "July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike transcript", "Video expands notoriety of WikiLeaks site", "WikiLeaks reveals video showing US air crew shooting down Iraqi civilians", "The pictures that prove US helicopter gunships opened fire on Iraqi civilians", "Calls for inquiry into Apache attack on Iraqi civilians", "U.S. Military Releases Redacted Records on 2007 Apache Attack, Questions Linger", "Wikileaks reveals video showing US air crew shooting down Iraqi civilians", "Video shows deaths of two Reuters journalists in Iraq in 2007", "Massacre Caught on Tape: US Military Confirms Authenticity of Their Own Chilling Video Showing Killing of Journalists", "Military Raises Questions About Credibility of Leaked Iraq Shooting Video", 'Let Us Shoot': US Troops Fire On Journalists, Legal Glance on the Baghdad Helicopter Shooting | Peanik, "U.S. They request permission to fire a missile at the building, describing it as "abandoned" or "under construction". [16][18][30] After the lead helicopter fires, one of the crew shouts "Hahaha. So if people have a different opinion, the full material is there for them to analyse and assess. Tasked to conduct escort, armed reconnaissance patrols, and counter-IED and counter-mortar operations, the two helicopters left Camp Taji at 9:24a.m. Ethan McCord who says he scooped up the children and at least one of his comrades say the incident revealed the bankrupt brutality of the war. Those guys could have just been protecting their area". "[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. Reuters also stated that local police described the attack as "random American bombardment". [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". Smith describes this reaction as inhuman. BACKGROUND ON JOSH STIEBER: Branch of service: United States Army (USA) Unit: 1st ID Rank: Spc. [88], McCord requested mental health assistance following his experiences on July 12, but was told by his superior officers to "get the sand out of [his] vagina" and to "suck it up and be a soldier". [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". [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. Soldier on 2007 Apache Attack: What I Saw", "Redacted internal US Army report: "Investigation into Civilian Casualties Resulting from an Engagement on 12 July 2007 in the New Baghdad District of Baghdad", "WikiLeaks releases video of slaughter in Iraq", "Military shooting of Reuters men online", "Joan Smith: Now we see what war does to those who wage it", "US soldier on Baghdad airstrike: "Not out of the ordinary in Iraq", "2 soldiers in 'Collateral Murder' video apologize. The co-pilot/gunner for Crazyhorse 1/9 spotted three individuals near this building get into a red SUV and drive away to the west. I was also told that there would be repercussions if I was to go to mental health. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Killing of Reuters Employees", "Dealing With Assange and the WikiLeaks Secrets", "Iraq war files: Apache Hellfire victims", "US soldier on aftermath of WikiLeaks Apache attack", Leaked U.S. video shows deaths of Reuters' Iraqi staffers, "Notes from the Courtroom: Alexa O'Brien's Transcript of Pfc. Our heavy hearts still hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your humanity, that we were taught to deny. Our hearts are open to hearing how we can take any steps to support you through the pain that we have caused. I'm going to help that person. We humbly ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused. Colbert asked "So 'Collateral Murder' is to get political impact?" Vehicle; "When I saw those kids, all I could picture was my kids back home". 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]. 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