Wikileaks footage of US army gunship killing innocent people

[magus113]

I watched the short version of the video, no less horrible to watch.
Seriously that's fucked up.

[Dylflon]

This is infuriating.

Fuck the military.

[Typhoid]

This is what happens when you train 20-something's to hate a faceless skin colour, get them full of testosterone and adrenaline, take away hobbies or activities, then give them guns.

[Professor S]

I agree that this was a horrible accident, but by all accounts it was still an accident. There was a lot of fighting in that area before the attack shown in the video and there were armed men that were left out of much of the video.

I don't defend the action, but I think this situation needs a little perspective.

[thatmariolover]

Regardless, the video reveals two specific acts that constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions: firing on a wounded or disabled combatant and firing on a provider of aid. The Army claims the van didn't bear a red cross (international sign of aid required to be on ambulances) and that similar vans had been giving aid to the insurgents. So killing the wounded combatant was apparently just collateral damage and not a war crime. If I was an insurgent, I'd start painting red crosses on all my vans - what a terrible way of distinguishing genuine targets.

The US government should have investigated it themselves and made a press release. I'm not saying it wasn't an accident. We just shouldn't be learning about it from a whistleblower.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

Regardless, the video reveals two specific acts that constitute war crimes under the Geneva Conventions: firing on a wounded or disabled combatant and firing on a provider of aid. The Army claims the van didn't bear a red cross (international sign of aid required to be on ambulances) and that similar vans had been giving aid to the insurgents. So killing the wounded combatant was apparently just collateral damage and not a war crime. If I was an insurgent, I'd start painting red crosses on all my vans - what a terrible way of distinguishing genuine targets.

The US government should have investigated it themselves and made a press release. I'm not saying it wasn't an accident. We just shouldn't be learning about it from a whistleblower.

This is why the Geneva Conventions specifically cover uniformed combatants. Once the adversary hides behind civilian clothing and civilians themselves, they drastically increase the chances that innocents will die. Uniforms are meant to help protect non-combatants, not just to be strictly utilitarian.

[Vampyr]

I think the worst part of the video is when the shooter is urging the guy crawling to pick up a weapon so he can shoot him.

No matter what you say, that part isn't an accident.