Helocopter Crash surviver Shot to death.

[rahma]

I'm assuming you and everyone else will then be silent the next time an American soldier shoots an unarmed prisoner?

There is a difference between prisoners and people out on the field of battle. Thousands of people have been shot and killed in the last 2 years in Iraq. It's horrible every single time, be they Iraqi, American or any other nationality.

My only hope is that everyone will stop the shooting.

 

[InnerPhyre]

This was not just a man out on the battlefield. He was laying in a heap and could barely move. They picked him up off the ground and searched him for weapons. He had none. He was a non-combatant. For all intents and purposes, he was at that moment, a POW. They told him to walk away and made it seem like they were going to release him to toy with him and give him false hope. Then after he took a few steps, they gunned him down while praising God. That's not the same as shooting someone in a combat situation.

 

[Matth3w]

war is sooo wrong.. i pray for all my friends in iraq.

 

[Alarum]

Please, the number of civilians gunned down at check points?

I'm sorry, it's a horrible event perpetrated by horrible people, but... well, it's hell. The only difference now is the video cameras. Every competent person should have expected scenes like this from the day we decided to enter Iraq.

That being said, lets find the people who did this, shoot any who resist, and try any who don't as war criminals.

Oh wait, we can't try them as war criminals - the Geneva convention doesn't apply. They committed no crime. Silly me, we have no legal basis to do anything to them.

Slippery slope? Nah, we're already at the bottom.

 

[Grey Eminence]

What can I say. The crew and passengers in the helipcopter were mercenaries. No protection is afforded to them. And after the US and UK they are they largest category of forces present in Iraq.

Why should one have sympathy for them? They knew the risks and took the pay. Far moreso than members of the armed forces, since, as members of a mercenary company they could simply walk away.

 

[rahma]

My cynical point was that people get shot in Iraq every day. The american people rarely get to see it. Having watched the arab media since the beginning of the war, seeing someone shot in Iraq is not a shock to me. Seeing someone dead is not a shock to me.

This is war. War is hell.

 

[eldermike]

Why should one have sympathy for them? They knew the risks and took the pay. Far moreso than members of the armed forces, since, as members of a mercenary company they could simply walk away.

I don't feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for the people who simply walk away.

 

[marshlewis]

I don't feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for the people who simply walk away.

For the financial windfall they have given up?.

 

[Vylo]

Horrific. Sad that our soldier have to deal with this, and sadder yet that there are Iraqi's who have to live with these people on a daily basis.

 

[wowbagger]

So sad.
The video really brings to light the inhumanity that war breeds. The Iraqis sounded so excited, almost frenzied by what they had shot down that I'm not surprised they shot him. I'm so amazed he survived at all given the condition of the other bodies and the video showing the helicopter explode as it falls to the ground.

Still, I wonder why there is no news of who he was?

I wonder why people have objections to viewing these types of videos? Before the internet allowed access, I had a completely wrong idea about the true horrors of war. Everyone should get a good dose of reality ever so often.

 

[ClaireZ]

This was not just a man out on the battlefield. He was laying in a heap and could barely move. They picked him up off the ground and searched him for weapons. He had none. He was a non-combatant. For all intents and purposes, he was at that moment, a POW. They told him to walk away and made it seem like they were going to release him to toy with him and give him false hope. Then after he took a few steps, they gunned him down while praising God. That's not the same as shooting someone in a combat situation.

Darn InnerPhyre, can not rep you again this soon. I guess I will have to send you blessings instead, you ok with that?


You are absolutely right, no non-combatants nor POW's on either side should be killed. Of course, the insurgents are hardly playing by the rules of the Geneva Convention. That doesn't make it right for us though, not to abide by it either.

 

[ClaireZ]

What can I say. The crew and passengers in the helipcopter were mercenaries. No protection is afforded to them. And after the US and UK they are they largest category of forces present in Iraq.

Why should one have sympathy for them? They knew the risks and took the pay. Far moreso than members of the armed forces, since, as members of a mercenary company they could simply walk away.

True and yet these people have families too. If we could all stop looking at fellow humans as "the other" we could end this stupid war.

 

[jamesrwright3]

You are absolutely right, no non-combatants nor POW's on either side should be killed. Of course, the insurgents are hardly playing by the rules of the Geneva Convention. That doesn't make it right for us though, not to abide by it either.

The insurgents are not bound by the Geneva convention...they didn't sign it.
We are not bound by it when dealing with non-uniformed comabatants..such as these people. We try to adhere to it as much as possible, but technically we aren't breaking the terms of it if there is an infraction.

 

[ClaireZ]

The insurgents are not bound by the Geneva convention...they didn't sign it.
We are not bound by it when dealing with non-uniformed comabatants..such as these people. We try to adhere to it as much as possible, but technically we aren't breaking the terms of it if there is an infraction.

I know that is why I said they are not following the rules of the Geneva convention. Just because they didn't sign it though, doesn't mean that people as humans shouldn't treat others with dignity and respect even in war.

 

[jclovesall]

horrible

 

[Marklet12]

Just found out today that one of the contractors who died in the copter crash was one of my friends in college. He was just 23. I've been crying about it all morning, but it hasn't really changed how I feel about this war.

 

[ClaireZ]

Just found out today that one of the contractors who died in the copter crash was one of my friends in college. He was just 23. I've been crying about it all morning, but it hasn't really changed how I feel about this war.

So sorry to hear this.

 

[PACKY]

There is a difference between prisoners and people out on the field of battle. Thousands of people have been shot and killed in the last 2 years in Iraq. It's horrible every single time, be they Iraqi, American or any other nationality.

My only hope is that everyone will stop the shooting.

I HOPE EVERYONE STOPS SHOOTING ONLY WHEN ALL OF THE INSURGENTS ARE DEAD OR CAPTURED....