U.S. troops shoot, kill cameraman in Iraq

[CaptnKirk]

Tabb -
Part of an answer to your earlier question
(Clip fom the Washington Post)

The two men, veteran Palestinian journalists based in the West Bank,
were dressed in civilian clothes, and neither wore a flak jacket.

Whole Article

 

[LunarRay]

This place continues to be a war zone, obviously. In such an environment one would think special escort for journalists and the like.. along with inspection teams should have military escort. I say military so there won't be any communication problem. The soldier gets a pass from me on this one... no internal review and no reassignment. This is a break down between the Press et. al. and the occupying force command. Not the fault of the OFC.

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
Tabb -
Part of an answer to your earlier question
<STRONG>(Clip fom the Washington Post)</STRONG>

The two men, veteran Palestinian journalists based in the West Bank,
were dressed in civilian clothes, and neither wore a flak jacket.

Whole Article

Thanks, that'll fit nice in my favorites

 

[da loser]

Originally posted by: dexvx

And all you people can whine about accidents are bound to happen, but they dont need to happen. The EU sent troops (mostly French elite forces) to the Congo months ago. You have never heard of a single atrocity from the media since then. Most of the fighting there was also jungle terrain geurilla fighting with hit/run assaults by the rebels.

not trying to hijack this thread, but i just wanted to address the congo issue.
strategypage on congo you could also search the bbc, but they're not as detailed.

it's not that clean. their mission is extremely limited and not even close to the scope as iraq. they will be forced to send more troops if they actually want to stop anything or impose control.

i think the reason why it's not in the news at least in america, is because we're not there. but i wouldn't expect too much media coverage anyway, since the congo is very dangerous and rugged.

just to stay on topic. in response to lunar ray. that's precisely the problem. these guys don't want to stick to the military. i'm wondering why they don't get hunting clothing so they stick out. neon orange and green would make you stick out. even if some attacker uses it, at least it'll give more forewarning. the key is to stand out.

 

[dexvx]

^

Who said the war in the Congo was clean? You just dont hear a civilian getting killed every other day.

Theres also an Arstechnica thread tlaking about the subject. Apparently, journalists and cameramen are required to wear a uniform with big white letters "TV" or "PRESS" on them. If that was the case, the shooters had no excuse, unless they were illiterate or legally blind. But based on the graduation rate of American High schools, I wouldnt doubt the former (ok that was a joke, lighten up).

Well, enough speculation, we need facts.

i'm wondering why they don't get hunting clothing so they stick out. neon orange and green would make you stick out. even if some attacker uses it, at least it'll give more forewarning. the key is to stand out.

I'm sorry, but would you want to wear a large Neon Orange hunting vest? I'm sure in the Middle East, that means you're target practice.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
Tabb -
Part of an answer to your earlier question
<STRONG>(Clip fom the Washington Post)</STRONG>

The two men, veteran Palestinian journalists based in the West Bank,
were dressed in civilian clothes, and neither wore a flak jacket.

Whole Article

From your article: "On average, U.S. soldiers come under attack a dozen times a day, usually with a mix of rocket-propelled grenades, improvised mines, mortars and small-arms fire."

This makes for itchy trigger fingers. Try playing Counter Strike all day 7/52 and throw in a few civilians into the mix and see if there aren't a few mishaps. Our boys might be the finest trained military force in the world but they are only human and mistakes to happen.

 

[dmcowen674]

I don't know why anyone didn't post this but why wasn't the Journalists riding with the Tank/troops as embedded Journalists?

 

[CaptnKirk]

The 'Embedded' reporters finished with the end of the primary assault,
News teams now are pretty much Agency or Free-lance.

Nitemare -

This is a clip from an E-Mail I got from my Son back in early June.
He was on operations between Baghdad and Mosul then:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The people over here are crazy - you have hit the sentiment on the nose,
kids will throw rocks, the parents will say "Stop" ond some will say "Do whatever you want" -
so it's mixed - and the problem with that is if something goes down it would be hard to
decipher from which hand a rock was thrown and which hand a gernade was thrown.
So I'm really out there busting their balls - I don't take much sh!t.
There have been unfortunate accidents on both ends, and I'm keeping from being one of them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(That was a bear to clean up for the post)
Anyway that's how it was almost 3 months ago, still not free to say much more.

 

[tweaker2]

so here i am riding lead-gun up front. i assume i'm in lead simply because i live at the bottom of the food chain militarily, and my main purpose is to be a sacrificial ordnance magnet. i'm the first target of opportunity from an enemy filled with rage, hate and disgust for me and what i stand for, and i fully understand that's what i'm up against. i feel like a bullseye is painted on every side of my ride and predominantly displayed on every side of my helmet. i feel absolutely naked and fully exposed to my executioner.
it's dusty, dirty and i'm suffering from sphincter cramps from it being puckered up to the max all the time. my death is just an instant away for every second i'm out there. people are all over the place. hiding places abound. my fate rests with every single person that i see and especially those that i don't see. i'm moving at speed so potential combatants reveal themselves continuosly.
i have pictured in my mind what potential dangerous silhouettes to look out for. i'm entrusted with the other lives in my ride. i am their protector. i will protect my brothers-in-arms. they would do the same for me.
therefore, i will do my utmost best to eliminate my enemy before he does the same to me.
i know that if i don't shoot first, i'll probably get killed, along with those who entrusted their lives to me. i also know my enemy has an extreme advantage... he can hide, i cannot.
i know my enemy will take every advantage of the non-combatants in the area and use them as either shields or confusers. i also know many of them are posers who are assisting the triggers that would do me in.
then, in the distance i see a silhouette that i'm trained to instinctively react to. he's facing directly at me and pointing something at me that is on his shoulder. previously, i am told that the rpg is the most favored weapon to use against lead vehicles to cripple me and block the vehicles behind me and make them sitting ducks. therefore, the whole convoy's fate rests on my shoulders.
i have a split second to decide wether he lives or me and my buds do.

guess what?

 

[CaptnKirk]

Well done Tweaks - good perspective of situation.

 

[Sarcasticor]

Have you ever been in a situation like that, ANYONE? you aim, you determine target, if target is sure, you pull the trigger...


I cannot say i blame them, being in a war zone that long (no matter what Bush says, it is still a war zone)...

They need to be relieved, anyone who has been in that situation knows this, more mistakes will happen if they are not...

You can run your workers down withouth loosing to many, bur run your soldiers down and you will loose your face...