You are seeing only a very narrow picture of the events". "[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. On April 5, 2010, the attacks received worldwide coverage and controversy following the release of 39 minutes of gunsight footage by the Internet whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The video doesn't show the broader picture of the firing that was going on at American troops. Josh . Ethan applied for mental health support following this incident and was denied by his commanding officer. Two children were found in the van, a four-year-old girl with gunshot wounds and embedded windscreen glass wounds and an eight-year-old boy with multiple wounds, including brain damage arising from shrapnel damage to his right temporal lobe. We humbly ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused. [115], While the Air Weapons Team was providing support at the first engagement area they were informed by ground troops that they were receiving small arms fire from the south/southwest. I went back outside to the van, and that's when the boy took, like, a labored, breath. Smoked is basically like you're doing pushups a lot, you're doing sit-ups crunches and flutter kicks. Major Brent Cummings claimed they took great pains to prevent the loss of innocent civilian lives. "[4] The New York Times wrote that "Critics contend that the shorter video was misleading because it did not make clear that the attacks took place amid clashes in the neighborhood and that one of the men was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C 107. "[76], Captain Jack Hanzlik, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command stated that the airstrike video "gives you a limited perspective, [it] only tells you a portion of the activity that was happening that day. I know the scene by heart; it's burned into my head. Two former soldiers from the Army unit responsible for the Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" incident have written an open-letter of "Reconciliation and Responsibility" to those injured in the July 2007 attack, in which U.S. forces wounded two children and killed over a dozen people, including the father of those children and two Reuters employees. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The event was covered by Al Jazeera English and Reuters,[16] and later by The Washington Post,[82] The New York Times,[2] The Christian Science Monitor,[83] the BBC,[66] and CNN. [59], An internal legal review by staff at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in Iraq during July 2007 stated that the helicopters had attacked a number of armed insurgents within the rules of engagement, and that in an apparent case of civilian casualties two reporters working for Reuters had also been killed. Since then, McCord has been receiving threats to him and his family on a regular basis. He later sought help for psychological trauma, but was ridiculed by his NCO and told that if he were to go to the mental health officer, "there would be repercussions". So I just sucked it up and tried to move on with everything. The second strike, also using 30mm rounds, was directed at a van whose driver, Saleh Matasher Tomal, appeared to happen to drive by and who proceeded to help the wounded Chmagh. Home: Wichita, Kansas, AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION & RESPONSIBILITY TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE From Current and Former Members of the U.S. Military. He is seen swinging the weapon below his waist while standing next to the man holding the RPG. One of the first soldiers on the scene after the air attack, Ethan McCord, is now the subject of a short documentary, Incident in New Baghdad, which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. It shouldn't have surprised you what you saw. Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image. However, according to the co-pilot for Crazyhorse 1/8 they failed to positively identify the occupants as combatants and returned to the previous engagement area. [94], WikiLeaks said they were unable to confirm whether or not Manning was the source of the video, stating "we never collect personal information on our sources", but saying that "if [Manning is the] whistleblower then, without doubt, [s]he's a national hero"[95] and "we have taken steps to arrange for [her] protection and legal defence". He's no longer in the Army. That's when I started screaming, "The boy's alive! Tasked to conduct escort, armed reconnaissance patrols, and counter-IED and counter-mortar operations, the two helicopters left Camp Taji at 9:24a.m. You can hear the medic saying on the video, "There's nothing I can do here, she needs to be evac'd." [18] A long shadow cast on the ground by a telephoto lens on Noor-Eldeen's camera is misidentified by the pilot as an additional RPG aimed at him and a U.S. Army Humvee directly below his aircraft. That's not leaking, that's a pure editorial." There is no bringing back all that was lost. I've had nightmares. Ethan McCord had just returned from dropping his children at school earlier this month, when he turned on the TV news to see grainy black-and-white video footage of a soldier running from a bombed-out van with a child in his arms. I'm going to help that person. Just over a year ago, WikiLeaks released footage from a gunsight camera of an Apache helicopter engaged in an attack that killed two journalists and eight ci. I don't think that people really want to see this, though, because this is war. We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. The editors asked to see the remaining footage so Reuters could check whether it had been edited or manipulated. We did unto you what we would not want done to us.". For about 5 to 10 minutes the team diverted its attention to this vehicle. McCord: I've spoken with one of the medics who was there. [23] Among the group are two journalists working for Reuters, Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Michael Bailey a medic who treated some of. "These people can put out anything they want, and they're never held accountable for it. "[111] An article at Gawker stated that Reuters reporter Luke Baker had written an article claiming that the airstrikes may have been war crimes, but Reuters refused to run the story. A unit from Bravo Company 216 was within 100 meters of the individuals that were fired upon with 30mm AH-64 Apache cannons. (quote begins at 5:15)", "Soldiers in 'Collateral Murder' video apologise", "Meet The New Public Face Of WikiLeaks: Kristinn Hrafnsson Forbes", "2 Iraqi Journalists Killed as U.S. Personally, I believe the first attack on the group standing by the wall was appropriate, was warranted by the rules of engagement. They also found 10-year-old Sajad Mutashar and his five-year-old sister Doaha covered in blood in a van. [19], The team observed several individuals from this group, some possibly wounded, run into a large multistory building. Ethan McCord describes the moment he realised Sajad Toman was alive In July 2007, 19 people were killed when an Apache helicopter opened fire on a group of Iraqis whom the pilots had identified. McCord: There were approximately two to three other people who were moving who were still somewhat alive, and the medics were attending to them. Their age, their weapons, and the fact that they were within the distance of the forces that had been engaged made it apparent these guys were potentially a threat. He added, "I think what this video shows is really a case that challenges whether the laws of war are strict enough. 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's a violation of the laws of war and of course what the mainstream media have omitted from their stories is this context. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. McCord admits that she was sad to go because she had been there for a decade and a half, but that "it wasn't the end of the world" and that she wasn't worried for "a nanosecond" that . WikiLeaks also does not point out that at least one man was carrying an AK-47 assault rifle. The report concludes that the Reuters employees were in the company of armed insurgents. I've spoken with other soldiers who were there. In the video, you can clearly see that they did have weapons to the trained eye. Ethan Mccord and Josh Stieber deployed to Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16 in 2007. It could be that since he and Amelia (Sigrid Thornton) have quit. How is this guy supposed to [decide] should I stop and pick them up, or is the military going to shoot me? [61] Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, a U.S. Defense official confirmed the authenticity of the leaked audio and video. She draws parallels with soldiers who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in earlier wars. They split up and the footage follows one who appears to be armed. In the first example maybe it's collateral exaggeration or incompetence when they strafe the initial gathering, this is recklessness bordering on murder, but you couldn't say for sure that was murder. However, I do know some soldiers went in to clear that building afterwards and there were some people with weapons in there, but there was also a family of four that was killed. After the video was released, one of the soldiers involved in the incident, Ethan McCord, stated the following: "If you feel threatened in any way, you're able to engage that person. In addition to five[98][99] or six[100][101][102] espionage counts, she was also found guilty of five theft specifications, two computer fraud specifications and multiple military infractions. [58], On July 25, 2007, during an off-the-record briefing in Baghdad by the U.S. military, two Reuters editors were shown "less than three minutes of video from the Apaches gun camera, up to the exact moment it opened fire the first time." [56], The Washington Post reported it was unclear whether the journalists were killed by U.S. fire or by shooting from the targeted Iraqis. The crew for Crazyhorse 1/8 then located multiple individuals with weapons about 400 meters east of coalition forces and was given clearance to engage the targets. And that in turn is what helped me and Josh write the letter, hoping that it would find its way to them to let them know that we're sorry. The soldier in the video said that your husband shouldn't have brought your children to battle, but we are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your neighborhood, and to your family. There's houses behind where the van was. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. I did see a guy moving from a rooftop from one position to another with an AK-47, who was firing at us. And where the soldier said [in the video], "Well, you shouldn't take your kids to battle." Iraq war veteran Ethan McCord was one of three US soldiers who were on the ground during the Apache helicopter assault on twelve civilians in Baghdad in 2007 that was captured in a video. [43], Assange responded to the investigation report released by the Army in an interview with Democracy Now!, stating that "the tone and language is all about trying to find an excuse for the activity. I can accept their apology, because they saved my children, and if it were not for them, maybe my two little children would be dead. I was trying to wash it off in my room. 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. [18] Both helicopters strafe a group of ten men with 30 mm rounds once they became visible again. [118][119], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}331849N 443043E / 33.3137N 44.512E / 33.3137; 44.512 (Airstrike of 2007-07-12). It's obviously a hard thing to see. Just from watching that video, people cannot understand the complex battles that occurred. [96] Her trial on the remaining charges began on June 3, 2013. [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". I was told to go pull security on a rooftop. I think it is good that they're putting this stuff out there. They wrote that:[71][72][73][74]. It's very clear that that is the approach, to try and find any mechanism to excuse the behavior, and that is what ended up happening. WikiLeaks identified the leak's source as "a number of military whistleblowers". I would like the American people and the whole world to understand what happened here in Iraq. A third, an infantry solider named Ethan McCord, was one of the men who had scooped up the bodies of the wounded children in the apache helicopter attack, what is now known as the "Collateral. There's no before and there's no after". [78] Gates stated: "They're in a combat situation. [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". In refusing to recognize this, the US military fails both its own soldiers and their victims. I had blood all down the front of me from the children. She had a stomach wound? The film received an Oscar nomination in January. As the killing goes on, you obviously would see the killing of men who are lying on the ground in an operation where ground troops are approaching and perfectly capable of taking those people captive, but meanwhile you're murdering before the troops arrive. Smith describes this reaction as inhuman. [22], In the video on the morning of July 12, 2007, the crews of two United States Army AH-64 Apache helicopters observe a gathering of men near a section of Baghdad in the path of advancing U.S. ground troops, some armed with AKMs and RPGs. I did see a video on YouTube after the Wikileaks [ video ] came out, of the children being interviewed. [63] The site stated on its Twitter account on January 8, 2010, that it had a copy of gunsight footage of the incidents. Daniel Ellsberg, a former United States military analyst who was known for having leaked the Pentagon Papers to the media, said of the airstrike: It would be interesting to have someone speculate or tell us exactly what context would lead to justifying the killing that we see on the screen. "The first thing I thought of was my children at home". They were destroyed. The boy's alive!" They asked for an explanation of the confiscation of the journalists' two cameras, access to the on-board footage and voice communications from the helicopters involved, and access to the reports of the units involved in the incident, particularly logs of weapons taken from the scene. These people were operating in split second situations.". http://www.mediasanctuary.orghttp://www.wikileaks.org U.S. 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. 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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