Friendly Fire Video That Army Covered Up, Leaked to Press
Posted in H.L. News, Main Blog (All Posts) on February 6th, 2007 11:09 am by HL
Video shows US friendly fire attack on British tank
AP
Excerpt
The U.S. military had previously refused to release the video to Hull’s (the victims) family, despite requests by British government officials and the coroner investigating the death. The video was leaked and published Tuesday by The Sun newspaper.
The pilot can be heard in the cockpit trying to establish whether targets on the ground are coalition forces or insurgents.
One man asserts that orange panels on the vehicles could mean they are coalition forces — most are equipped with bright markers to prevent such incidents.
Another man is heard saying the orange markers look like rockets.
“I think killing these damn rocket launchers, it would be great,” a man on the recording is heard saying.
Two U.S. A-10 jets allegedly opened fire on Hull’s tank, which was part of five-vehicle convoy engaged in combat outside of Basra. Four other soldiers were injured, including the convoy’s leader, Capt. Alexander MacEwen.
The convoy — three British Scorpion tanks and two engineering vehicles — had come to a halt at the edge of a shantytown near the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The soldiers were being approached by a crowd of civilians carrying a white flag when they were attacked.
The transcript printed in The Sun records the alleged exchange between the pilots after they realize what has happened.
Pilot 1: “I’m going to be sick.”
Pilot 2: “Ah f—.”
Pilot 1: “Did you hear?”
Pilot 2: “Yeah, this sucks.”
Pilot 1: “We’re in jail, dude.”
H.L.s Take
So, they were not sure whether the vehicles were coalition forces or not, but they fired on it anyway because they wanted to kill some “enemy” rocket launchers. Then the United States refuses to let the video be seen even by the British Government, this happened back in 2003 so they have been covering this up for more then 4 years. Another reason not to join the Army, if you don’t get killed by the enemy you get killed by your own people, then they cover it up and lie about it.
February 6th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I am afraid H.L most Americans watching this will think it is some kind of new video game .
February 6th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
there’s always more to a story than they show on the news……and you can bet your ass that if it was ‘leaked’ someone in power wanted it to be….
February 6th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
If war is an extension of politics, described by General Clauswitz, an early scholar of the mechanics of war.
Then in the same vein, the conduct of war, the path leading to international hostilities must vigilantly guarded, to cease and limit the delight in war or its accompanying appetite for destruction, harnessed by the military industrial complex, a hybrid Stockholm syndrome affecting the Pentagon, which General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower had identified during his term in the White House.
This friendly fire incident underscores this Stockholm Syndrome which the US and UK Governments now find themselves embarrasingly stuck in.
February 7th, 2007 at 12:53 am
the video–> http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,11021-10043,00.html
February 7th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Thanks for that link nOOb, I looked all over for it yesterday and couldn’t find it. I am going to try to post that as a new story as soon as I get to work this morning. I watched the video, you don’t see much but you can hear everything that is going on.