US must deliver justice on friendly fire
Pepe Silvia
Posts: 3,758
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... stice-iraq
US must deliver justice on friendly fire
Too many journalists have died at the hands of the US army in Iraq. It's time the Pentagon stopped protecting the perpetrators
The camera of an injured photographer lies covered with blood on the 15th floor of Baghdad's Palestine hotel, 8 April 2003. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
The release last Monday of the US military video Collateral Murder by Wikileaks has already being dubbed a landmark equal to the Abu Ghraib pictures. It could not have come at a more appropriate time as global organisations of journalists commemorate today a similar slaughter of journalists that took place at the hands of the US army seven years ago. Just before noon on 8 April 2003, journalists billeted at the Palestine hotel in Baghdad watched in horror from their balconies as an M1A1 Abrams tank fired a heat round from nearly a mile away on the Jumhurya bridge toward the hotel. The shell hit a 15th-floor balcony, fatally wounding veteran Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Spanish cameraman José Couso of Telecinco. Three other Reuters staff were injured – Paul Pasquale, Samia Nakhoul and photographer Faleh Kheiber.
That morning there was intense fighting all around the hotel in what was to be one of the last days of the battle of Baghdad. Among the 100 or so journalists staying at the Palestine many were huddled on the balconies observing the fight, but none would have ever imagined that they themselves would become targets.
The scene inside the Abrams tank and the exchange between US commanders prior to the order to fire is not as finely documented as the attack by the Apache helicopter shown in Collateral Murder, but the similarities are plenty. In the explanation for the shelling of the Palestine hotel, US commanders on the ground were quick to allege that they were under fire from Iraqis in buildings on the east side of the Tigris, a statement backed immediately by Centcom, maintaining that their forces came under "significant enemy fire from the Palestine hotel in Baghdad". This version was to be consolidated into all the US governments' official communications. Later on Lieutenant Colonel Philip DeCamp, commander of the 4th battalion 64th armor regiment, gave a new twist to the official explanation, asserting that there was an Iraqi fighters' bunker at the base of the hotel. Other commanders maintained that the shell was fired at someone carrying binoculars, which they identified as an artillery spotter.
The rationale for attack that unfolded during the Appache helicopter attack was similar in many aspects. A camera slung on Saeed Chmag's shoulder suddenly became a weapon and a few garbled exchanges with the commanding officer were enough to get the green light to open fire.
The only difference is that in one case tank officers fired at a 17-story building crammed with journalists on its balconies and some on the roof, while in the other the trigger-happy gunner mowed down a small group of unarmed civilians in a courtyard.
For every year since the Palestine hotel shooting, 8 April has come to symbolise impunity over attacks on journalists and media staff in Iraq and around the world. Earlier that day, another journalist, al-Jazeera reporter Tariq Ayyoub, was killed at the network studio when a US air-to-surface missile struck the Baghdad office of the news channel. Since then, documented evidence has emerged of 19 cases of journalists and media – seven in 2003, six in 2004, one in 2005 and five in 2007 – who died directly at the hands of the US army in Iraq.
Another similarity with the Apache helicopter shooting is the reluctance of US authorities to find and put on trial the killers. Over the years, there have indeed been reports of killings published by US authorities, but most failed to thoroughly examine the evidence available and instead put their main thrust on exonerating US personnel at all levels of command.
In the case of Terry Lloyd, also killed in 2003 by US soldiers, the Pentagon let his killers get away with murder. Lloyd's inquest in October 2006 saw a clip of the incident where the makeshift ambulance carrying Lloyd was fired upon by US troops. Lloyd was killed and so were his translator, Hussein Osman, and his cameraman, Fred Nerac, whose body has never been found. None of the US marines who took part in the exchange gave evidence at the inquest. Such is the degree of protection that the Pentagon gives to its soldiers that CPS representatives who travelled to America as part of their own inquiries, could not even talk to the men suspected of involvement.
In all of these cases, families and friends of the killed journalists continue to wait for credible investigations and honest reports about how and why their loved ones died. They just cannot understand why independent investigations of these incidents were not carried out.
For the last seven years, journalists' organisations have been urging US presidents – first George Bush, now Barack Obama – to meet their obligations and deliver justice and fair treatment to the victims of violence by its own soldiers. Their lack of response so far has been the same, showing their armed forces that criminal brutality or carelessness would not be punished. As John Simpson wrote: "Since the first world war, every war in which the Americans have fought has been marked by unnecessary civilian deaths … Now, it seems, there may be a new distinguishing feature of American wars: the killing of journalists."
US must deliver justice on friendly fire
Too many journalists have died at the hands of the US army in Iraq. It's time the Pentagon stopped protecting the perpetrators
The camera of an injured photographer lies covered with blood on the 15th floor of Baghdad's Palestine hotel, 8 April 2003. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
The release last Monday of the US military video Collateral Murder by Wikileaks has already being dubbed a landmark equal to the Abu Ghraib pictures. It could not have come at a more appropriate time as global organisations of journalists commemorate today a similar slaughter of journalists that took place at the hands of the US army seven years ago. Just before noon on 8 April 2003, journalists billeted at the Palestine hotel in Baghdad watched in horror from their balconies as an M1A1 Abrams tank fired a heat round from nearly a mile away on the Jumhurya bridge toward the hotel. The shell hit a 15th-floor balcony, fatally wounding veteran Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Spanish cameraman José Couso of Telecinco. Three other Reuters staff were injured – Paul Pasquale, Samia Nakhoul and photographer Faleh Kheiber.
That morning there was intense fighting all around the hotel in what was to be one of the last days of the battle of Baghdad. Among the 100 or so journalists staying at the Palestine many were huddled on the balconies observing the fight, but none would have ever imagined that they themselves would become targets.
The scene inside the Abrams tank and the exchange between US commanders prior to the order to fire is not as finely documented as the attack by the Apache helicopter shown in Collateral Murder, but the similarities are plenty. In the explanation for the shelling of the Palestine hotel, US commanders on the ground were quick to allege that they were under fire from Iraqis in buildings on the east side of the Tigris, a statement backed immediately by Centcom, maintaining that their forces came under "significant enemy fire from the Palestine hotel in Baghdad". This version was to be consolidated into all the US governments' official communications. Later on Lieutenant Colonel Philip DeCamp, commander of the 4th battalion 64th armor regiment, gave a new twist to the official explanation, asserting that there was an Iraqi fighters' bunker at the base of the hotel. Other commanders maintained that the shell was fired at someone carrying binoculars, which they identified as an artillery spotter.
The rationale for attack that unfolded during the Appache helicopter attack was similar in many aspects. A camera slung on Saeed Chmag's shoulder suddenly became a weapon and a few garbled exchanges with the commanding officer were enough to get the green light to open fire.
The only difference is that in one case tank officers fired at a 17-story building crammed with journalists on its balconies and some on the roof, while in the other the trigger-happy gunner mowed down a small group of unarmed civilians in a courtyard.
For every year since the Palestine hotel shooting, 8 April has come to symbolise impunity over attacks on journalists and media staff in Iraq and around the world. Earlier that day, another journalist, al-Jazeera reporter Tariq Ayyoub, was killed at the network studio when a US air-to-surface missile struck the Baghdad office of the news channel. Since then, documented evidence has emerged of 19 cases of journalists and media – seven in 2003, six in 2004, one in 2005 and five in 2007 – who died directly at the hands of the US army in Iraq.
Another similarity with the Apache helicopter shooting is the reluctance of US authorities to find and put on trial the killers. Over the years, there have indeed been reports of killings published by US authorities, but most failed to thoroughly examine the evidence available and instead put their main thrust on exonerating US personnel at all levels of command.
In the case of Terry Lloyd, also killed in 2003 by US soldiers, the Pentagon let his killers get away with murder. Lloyd's inquest in October 2006 saw a clip of the incident where the makeshift ambulance carrying Lloyd was fired upon by US troops. Lloyd was killed and so were his translator, Hussein Osman, and his cameraman, Fred Nerac, whose body has never been found. None of the US marines who took part in the exchange gave evidence at the inquest. Such is the degree of protection that the Pentagon gives to its soldiers that CPS representatives who travelled to America as part of their own inquiries, could not even talk to the men suspected of involvement.
In all of these cases, families and friends of the killed journalists continue to wait for credible investigations and honest reports about how and why their loved ones died. They just cannot understand why independent investigations of these incidents were not carried out.
For the last seven years, journalists' organisations have been urging US presidents – first George Bush, now Barack Obama – to meet their obligations and deliver justice and fair treatment to the victims of violence by its own soldiers. Their lack of response so far has been the same, showing their armed forces that criminal brutality or carelessness would not be punished. As John Simpson wrote: "Since the first world war, every war in which the Americans have fought has been marked by unnecessary civilian deaths … Now, it seems, there may be a new distinguishing feature of American wars: the killing of journalists."
don't compete; coexist
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
"what a long, strange trip it's been"
how on earth can we as civilians possibly undrestand what these men and woman are going through,
they have been trained to kill in a war situation and being far from home in a place where you can't trust anyone
outside your group...it's not our place to judge because we are not there.
Godfather.
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
Exactly
"what a long, strange trip it's been"
right, we can't be inconvenienced with such trivial things as repeatedly killing innocent people because some troops just wanted to kill someone or was too paranoid from being deployed to a place they shouldn't even be.....
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
We will NEVER investigate the death of a journalist until one of our American journalists are killed by our friendly fire. Until then this will continue to happen that's just the way we operate.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
like I said "unless you've been there" I haven't ..have you ?
Godfather.
and that's why the real criminals are the ones that should be tried ... rumsfield, bush, cheney ... those people are the evilest people in the world ... and they walk free ... :twisted:
EXACTLY
The Cheney-Rumsfeld-Bush chain of command is responsible for the death of EVERY soldier and EVERY civilian since this unholy occupation began. The buck-passing bastards are also responsible for the tortuous conditions at Abu Ghraib. They circled their denial wagons and offered up a 19 year old pregnant Lynddie England for court martial.
"what a long, strange trip it's been"
I agree. and i'm usually one of those libs you are talking about. but I still agree with you.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
I'm sorry I don't know enuff about them to agree or disagree with you but my gut feeling tells me you could be right.
Godfather.