Posted on 05/19/2004 10:16:18 AM PDT by Eurotwit
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party before dawn Wednesday in western Iraq (news - web sites), killing more than 40 people, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it could not confirm the report and was investigating.
Lt. Col Ziyad al-Jbouri, deputy police chief of Ramadi, said between 42 and 45 people were killed in the attack, which took place about 2:45 a.m. in a remote desert area near the border with Syria and Jordan. He said the dead included 15 children and 10 women.
Dr. Salah al-Ani, who works at a hospital in Ramadi, put the death toll at 45.
Associated Press Television News obtained videotape showing a truck containing bodies of people who were allegedly killed in the incident. Most of the bodies were wrapped in blankets and other cloths, but the footage showed at least eight uncovered, bloody bodies, several of them children. One of the children was headless.
Unfortunate things happen during mil ops. To bad , so sad, move on. In fact it might dawn on the Arabs if such nocturnal gatherings get blasted fairly often that it might be a good idea to stop firing on the infidels as they do have long teeth.
If the U.S government practiced what it demands of Israel, this type of incident wouldn't even be on the radar. Of course I'm infuriated by the double standard - one set of rules for your ally, another set of rules for yourself. I'm reminded of the Rushism to the effect the world is governed by the aggressive use of force. It always has been and always will be as long as there are bad guys around and sometimes innocents unfortunately get caught in the crossfire. Its called life.
Now, what kind of person holds a wedding in the middle of a desert at 2:45 a.m. and wouldn't that be cause for suspicion.
Could you clarify your comments please?
My brief comment was directed at the veracity of the report. It seems preposterous to me unless verified by other sources.
We don't disagree about unfortunate things happening during military ops. But why censure Israel for something that happens everywhere else in the world? If we played by those rules, I'd have no problem with it. I do have a problem with our claiming the injunction we want to apply to Israel doesn't apply to us. If we had followed it, this woudn't have made the news today. Just my 2c worth.
I am afraid my thoughts are more cynical than that.
I'm sure the decorated anti-aircraft artillery centerpiece behind the cake made all the difference during the traditional wedding photos... other couples will be sooo jealous.
Uhh... if the events described are accurate, I don't think you're attitude is appropriate and I hope the US Military takes it a bit more seriously. We're not talking about the death of a housecat here.
complete with women and children as both human shields and combatants.
Oh well, S happens.
More...
Associated Press Television News obtained videotape showing a truck containing bodies of those allegedly killed.
About a dozen bodies, one without a head, could be clearly seen. but it appeared that bodies were piled on top of each other and a clear count was not possible.
Iraqis interviewed on the videotape said partygoers had fired into the air in a traditional wedding celebration. American troops have sometimes mistaken celebratory gunfire for hostile fire.
''I cannot comment on this because we have not received any reports from our units that this has happened nor that any were involved in such a tragedy,'' Lt. Col. Dan Williams, a U.S. military spokesman, wrote in an e-mail in response to a question from The Associated Press.
''We take all these requests seriously and we have forwarded this inquiry to the Joint Operations Center for further review and any other information that may be available,'' Williams said.
The video footage showed mourners with shovels digging graves. A group of men crouched and wept around one coffin.
Al-Ani said people at the wedding fired weapons in the air, and that American troops came to investigate and left. However, al-Ani said, helicopters attacked the area at about 3 a.m. Two houses were destroyed, he said.
U.S. troops took the bodies and the wounded in a truck to Rutba hospital, he said.
''This was a wedding and the (U.S.) planes came and attacked the people at a house. Is this the democracy and freedom that (President) Bush has brought us?'' said a man on the videotape, Dahham Harraj. ''There was no reason.''
Another man shown on the tape, who refused to give his name, said the victims were at a wedding party ''and the U.S. military planes came... and started killing everyone in the house.''
In July 2002, Afghan officials said 48 civilians at a wedding party were killed and 117 wounded by a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province. An investigative report released by the U.S. Central Command said the airstrike was justified because American planes had come under fire.
More killing, please!
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EF12Ak01.html
I have a feeling that these maybe real weddings where the celebrants notice an infidel aircraft and pop off a few shots at it. I would be real surprised if there haven't been strong warnings about shooting off guns into the air because this sort of thing might happen.
Setting a standard you don't adhere to yourself. If we don't exercise "restraint" in Iraq, then there's not going to be an investigation into the circumstances. Israel at least follows up if something goes wrong during their army operations. If the President means to set an example, the best way is not to shoot first in Iraq and ask questions later. That is what I mean by our exercising restraint there. After all, by the President's own lights, we just took innocent lives.
>It's Bush's fault again? That's interesting because I >could have sworn I just saw him speaking from the WH just >a few minutes ago.
Oh didn't you hear? Bush woke up yesterday and said "I haven't met my daily quota of innocent women and children being killed in a celebration. Ricey baby, go order me up some of dem dead Iraqi's while they are having a party. And video tape it for me too"
(Please note: this is sarcasm)
"Don't flinch. If an operation goes awry and friendly casualties are unexpectedly high, immediately bolster morale and the military's image by striking back swiftly in a manner that inflicts the maximum possible number of casualties on the enemy and his supporters. Hit back as graphically as possible, to impress upon the local and regional players that you weren't badly hurt or deterred in the least."
and...
"Do not worry about alienating already-hostile populations."
'Nuff said.
They should of aloped in Vegas.
Maybe some wedding planners should head over and introduce these people to balloon and butterfly releases.
American troops have sometimes mistaken celebratory gunfire for hostile fire.
Can't they tell the difference between happy, joyus firing and I want to kill you firing?? Who is training these people??? /sarcasm
... and near the Syrian-Jordanian border, no less. When rifles are being fired into the air, what's the U.S. military supposed to do? Land their helicopters and ask for IDs?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.