Wikileaks, a non-profit website, recently released the gun sight video of a 2007 incident in Iraq that showed unarmed civilians being gunned down by pilots of U.S. Apache helicopters. A dozen civilians, including two Reuters employees (a photographer and a driver) were killed in the attack. Several others were wounded, including two children. For the past three years, Reuters had tried unsuccessfully to obtain Pentagon materials pertaining to the incident under the Freedom of Information Act. The footage was provided to Wikileaks by a “courageous source” within the U.S. military. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said the material was encrypted but that they were able to break the code.
The video received over 1.3 million hits on YouTube within the first 24 hours after it was released. The entire 18-minute video can be viewed on a special URL established by Wikileaks under the name collateralmurder.com. The video shows seven individuals walking and talking openly in the street. They are clearly unarmed. Two of the individuals have something slung over their shoulders. It turns out that they were carrying cameras. They showed no signs of aggression or ill intent. The only time they made any sudden moves was after the helicopters started shooting. A van pulled up to the scene after the initial attack in an attempt to remove some of the injured from the scene. It too was attacked killing and injuring more civilians. The children were in the van.
The pilots initially said that the men were carrying AK-47s then they said that they had RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades). There’s no way anyone can look at those videos and conclude that the two camera-toting men were carrying either assault rifles or RPGs. A rocket propelled grenade launcher is over a meter in length. An assault rifle has a definite shape and is at least twice the length of the longest camera lens.
From the angle of the footage, it can be concluded that the helicopter was at approximately a 45 degree angle from the men. Apache helicopters are armed with 30 millimeter cannons. These shells travel at between 500 and 540 feet/sec. The lapse of time between the sound of the cannons and the shells hitting the men and the ground around them was a little over 2.4 seconds. That means the helicopter was around 1250 meters away.
For those readers living in Jackson, Miss., imagine standing at City Hall and the helicopter hovering over the Capital building at an altitude of about 2,900 feet. What threat could these men have posed?
The pilots can clearly be heard asking for permission to fire upon these men. They seem to be itching for a kill. The person giving permission is relying on what the pilots are telling them in order to give the kill order. The voice can be clearly heard nonchalantly saying, “Light em all up.” It was almost like they were playing a video game. They are clearly enjoying themselves and can even be heard laughing at times. A 30 mm shell is about the diameter of a shovel shaft and about the length of a soda bottle. One can only imagine what those projectiles did to the victims.
The Pentagon has confirmed that the video is authentic although they try to justify the killings. Before the video was released, the Pentagon story line was that the helicopters had engaged armed insurgents. The word “engage” means to enter into a contest or battle with. Nothing like that ever happened.
More recently, U.S. led forces are now admitting that two pregnant women were killed during a February 12 raid in eastern Afghanistan. NATO officials, who initially denied involvement in the killings said the women, pregnant mothers (one had six children and the other had 10 children) were bound, gagged and killed hours before the raid. Afghan investigators stated that U.S. Special Forces soldiers tried to cover up the killings and reportedly dug the bullets out of the victims’ bodies.
The world is watching. In this technological age of instant information, it is no longer easy to keep the truth hidden. Each act of murder creates new enemies. Each lie creates more doubt in the minds of people who once believed in America. Protecting our homeland is one thing. Invading sovereign nations under false pretenses and killing innocent civilians then lying about it is something else altogether. America’s rules of engagement, whether in military, business or social terms, must be based on truth and respect. Anything less is unacceptable and unworthy of respect in return. Lest predominantly Christian America has forgotten, the Golden Rule [Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31] still applies. It always has and it always will.
Alim. Gaynor is President and CEO of Seedpod Empowerment Institute. For more information, call 769-798-5247 or E-Mail us: alimgaynor@yahoo.com
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