No Wedding Party, Children's Deaths Indicated, Military Spokesman Says (facts = press guilt)

DoD-AFPS ^ | May 22, 2004 | Rudi Williams

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

No Wedding Party, Children's Deaths Indicated, Military Spokesman Says

By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2004 – There are no indications a wedding party took place at a remote desert site in western Iraq near the Syrian border where U.S. forces are accused of killing about 20 people May 19, including women and children, a senior military spokesman said today.

"Contrary to media reports, there was no wedding tent and no nuptial tent in the area," Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for Multinational Force Iraq said during a Baghdad news conference.

"To the allegation that there was a wedding going on, there was no evidence of a wedding," Kimmitt reiterated. "There were no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration and no gifts.

"The men were almost all military-aged, no family elders that one would expect to see at an event of this type," he said.

To help substantiate his comments, the general showed reporters slides of items found at the site, which included a significant number of weapons, battery packs used to power improvised explosive devices and a host of other non-wedding-related items.

"What was interesting is that the building seemed to be somewhat of a dormitory," Kimmitt pointed out. "There were more than 300 sets of bedding gear in it and about 100 sets of prepackaged clothing. It's suspected that when foreign fighters come in from other countries they change their clothes into typical Iraqi clothing sets.

"We also found a significant number of identity cards, ID-making machines, the capability to make exit visas for Iraq and a couple of passports," the general noted. "And we found a waist-high medical table for examination and treatment."

Highlighting some other intelligence found at the site, Kimmitt said, "There were a couple of other items we found to be quite interesting. None of the bodies had any identification of any kind – no ID cards, no wallets, no pictures. They had watches, and that was about the only way you could identify one person from another.

"We feel that that was an indicator that this was a high-risk meeting of high-level anti-coalition forces," he said. Kimmitt pointed out items found in the victims' pockets, "including a lot of telephone numbers to foreign countries -- Afghanistan, Sudan and a number of others."

He said the site was purported to be a ranch, but there was no indication of ranching activities. "Most homes in remote desert areas support sheep ranching operations," Kimmitt noted. "But there wasn't any evidence of livestock at that location. There were large farm trucks present, but no indication that they'd ever been used for ranching."

"There were also a number of terrorist training manuals (and) suspected forged Iraqi IDs," he said.

Kimmitt said there may have been some kind of celebration going on at the said, but not a wedding. "Bad people have celebrations too," he noted. "Bad people have parties too. It may have been that what was seen as some sort of celebration may have just been a meeting in the middle of the desert by some people that were conducting either criminal or terrorist activities. That's the conclusion we're continuing to draw the more we look at the material, intelligence, post-strike, and follow-up intelligence."

Kimmitt said the coalition believes "a handful of women" could have been present. "We believe six were killed, and we acknowledge that in all of our reports," he said. "But there are still not reports of any children being killed."

Kimmitt said a videotape distributed to the media showing at least a dozen bodies, including small children, wrapped in blankets for burial, being unloaded from a truck doesn't look like the video taken at the site of the attack.

"None of the geography in those videos match the geography of this open area," he noted. "But there are still some inconsistencies. We still remain opened-minded about this. We'll continue to look into everything that's provided to us in the way of evidence."

The general said the area was attacked based on significant multiple sources of intelligence that came in the night of May 18 and morning of May 19. "That caused us to launch a quick-reaction force to that area," he said.

Air and ground element were dispatched to the area. "We got into the area and our soldiers took fire and they responded," Kimmitt explained. "As soon as they finished sweeping the objective, they went back to their bases."

Related Site:
Multinational Force Iraq

Related Article:
Insurgent Route Was Struck, Not Wedding Party, U.S. Maintains

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

...there was no evidence of a wedding," Kimmitt reiterated. "There were no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration and no gifts....

"The men were almost all military-aged, no family elders that one would expect to see at an event of this type"

...items found at the site...a significant number of weapons, battery packs used to power improvised explosive devices, host of other non-wedding-related items.

...the building seemed to be somewhat of a dormitory...There were more than 300 sets of bedding gear in it and about 100 sets of prepackaged clothing.

"We also found a significant number of identity cards, ID-making machines, the capability to make exit visas for Iraq and a couple of passports.."

Kimmitt said there may have been some kind of celebration going on at the said, but not a wedding. "Bad people have celebrations too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who can defend this press - when, in a post-911 world, in a war between good and evil - they print lies, quote the enemy, and endanger our troops - with intent to kill?

Who spread the first lie this time, and who then carried it without carefully checking for accuracy?

How was the claim that our military intentionally fired on a wedding allowed past an editor's desk without verification from a credible source, knowing the inflammatory nature of such an accusation?

How do we hold such an irresponsible, unprofessional free press accountable?

They are getting our troops killed.

Whoever carried the story - including those who believed the lies and passed them on, unchecked - should be fired.

This demands an investigation every bit as much as the prison scandal - especially on top of the other false accusations by the press recklessly endangering our troops and emboldening a very cruel enemy.

Our troops and military officers know that clear communications are essential, and careless words can get their troops killed.

What excuse is there for our free press? Bylines? Deadlines?

What's the value of an American Soldier's life, AP? You clearly know little about the character - courage - value, of our troops.

Please take the imitation news cycle, the "breaking" - "must read" - spin you call news and sell it somewhere else - and let the free world - those who know the price paid for that freedom - have news that IS fit to print - printed AFTER THE FACTS ARE VERIFIED, when our warriors, liberators, best and brightest - will not be further endangered, so that our precious freedoms - and the lives of our precious Soldiers - isn't the price paid for a byline, raise, ratings win - the ego of a vain, ungrateful, free - thanks to our troops, past and present - American reporter.

< /rant>

[Sundog]

Honorable Congressman,

Here is something a bit closer to the truth, something you might have picked up on when I directed you to the blogspot belmont club last night.

This is something quite consistent with the rapid evolution of the details of the story and the disparagingly distant doctor's report.

Cheers.

[river rat]

I'm shocked!!!
You're asking me to believe the Arab lunatics lied - and the media bought it -- and reported it?

That couldn't happen, could it????
</ sarcasm>

The 4th estate, has become the 5th column - the media IS the enemy within....

The media seems to mourn more for the dead islamists - that our own dead...
Something wrong here.....

Semper Fi

[facedown]

REUTERS!!!

[motife]

The video according to one report was shot in Ramadi, near Baghdad and not at this site.

Any media who aired this video needs to explain where it came from.

[rageaholic]

We've heard it all before from the arabs, any foreign insurgent is a religious pilgrim, any gathering of terrorists is a wedding, any dead body was an innocent bystander, the Jews stayed home on 9/11 that cheering palestinian lady was recorded weeks earlier,that bomb factory was a baby milk factory, blah blah blah.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The Wedding Party

News Coverage as a Weapon

INFORMATION WARFARE: Winning the Media Battle

Analysis: A mini-Tet offensive in Iraq?

[Rome2000]

Our press is acting as the propaganda machine for our enemy once again.

They are in full Vietnam mode.

They are just pissed that they can't show any flag draped coffins.

[mtbopfuyn]

Ah ha, I know now why I've not commented on the "wedding" stories. We should turn that dorm into rubble along with those trucks.

The main question here is who sent out that video of the dead children.

[don-o]

How do we hold such an irresponsible, unprofessional free press accountable?

By just keepin on Freeping

I do believe that our friends with a voice do check in here to see what we dig up.

Good on you Cowgirl.

[TheSpottedOwl]

The media gets more and more disgusting every day. I've said this before. Muslims don't have all night wedding parties. All night parties usually involve booze, and they don't drink. This raid took place in the middle of the night.

We're surrounded by traitors.

[cyncooper]

Thank you for this thread.

Thursday I watched a briefing by Kimmitt and Senor live. I distinctly heard with my own ears Thursday morning Gen. Kimmitt say they had done this operation directed against this "rat line", that they had lots of intelligence and that ground troops sent in afterwards did an *extensive* search and saw *no dead children*.

I ended up on CNN after Fox bowed out, then MSNBC. So when CNN ended coverage I was treated to Darren Kagen saying the military denied it was a wedding party, but the operation had resulted in dead children. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone.

Later that same day I listened to a bit of Shep Smith on Fox make the same assertion. In fact I went the whole day and heard not one media outlet report this aspect of the briefing.

I checked all that day for a transcript and finally the next morning (yesterday morning) that was the first thing I looked for and found. Lo and behold, I had heard correctly.

I am outraged that the media--and I must say that includes Fox--completely ignored this very important contradiction of the propaganda of the day.

I would love to know where that video propaganda came from and if there are dead children, who killed them.

I do know for a fact that we did not. I would like to see the benefit of the doubt be given to our side that has consistantly been forthright and time and again is proven to have told the truth.

[cyncooper]

Actually, this time I believe it was AP and that Sheherezade Faramarzi.

Her articles have been unbelievable.

[cyncooper]

AP is the culprit with the video, too.

[Ben Ficklin]

There was a thread on this, a CNN article, a little earlier. At that time I did a google news search and found the AP article that was being carried in the foreign press. Checking Google news again just now, this story is expolding with numerous articles attributing AP ans AFP.

[Congressman Billybob]

Yes, there is a problem when the American press gleefully reports a false and negative story on the front pages, but when that story is proved false, the correction appears on an inside page next to the pet obituaries.

You, and other FReepers, may be interested in my column this week that will be posted tomorrow, "How About 'The No Bullsh*t News'?" It deals in part with this subject.

John / Billybob

[cyncooper]

Here is one of the egregious examples of how the AP has been "reporting". I do believe they have been the driving force behind this, with the rest going along:

Iraq Desert Bombing Video Shows Carnage

Excerpt (starting from the top--the military denial comes after the lies are told):

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Fragments of musical instruments, tufts of women's hair, and a large blood stain are among the scenes in Associated Press Television News film of a destroyed house that survivors say U.S. planes bombed during a wedding party.

It is the first known footage of the aftermath of Wednesday's attack, which killed up to 45 people, mostly women and children from the Bou Fahad tribe in Mogr el-Deeb, a desert village on the Syrian border.

~snip~

No "alleged" about it. The reporter outright asserts as fact that this video was authentic. It was not and I am sick of this garbage and would like to see something done about it.

[AngieGOP]

"they are just pissed that they can't show any flag draped coffins."

The press is also making up for the fact that for months after 9/11 they had to keep their Bush basing down to a minimum. Now the gloves are off and anything goes.

[SandRat]

You're among friends here who know this.
The tough part is getting everyone else to finally realize that --
ABC=All Bull Crap
CBS=Commie Bull S***
NBC=Nuts By Calling
CNN=Crescent Nutty Nothings
MSNBC=More Stupid NBC
CNBC=Committed NBC
and that's just the broadcast lame stream media who are spreading and even creating ENEMY PROPAGANDA!