19.6.03
US soldiers admit to firing indiscriminately at Iraqis
If two US soldiers are admitting it, how widespread is this?
But if the Bush regime is simply fuelling this hatred, what is its source? Just go to your local video store or movie theater for a partial answer.
I supppose that this might give weight to a Human Rights Watch request for an investigation into charges that US soldiers fired indiscriminately into a crowd at Al Falluja in April, killing 17 and wounding over 70. But, if the families of soldiers from close allies like Canada can't get justice when the US military kills innocent people, what chance do a bunch of Iraqis have?
The Pentagon likes to keep saying that the military wants to "win hearts and minds", which so far has translated to handing out footballs ("soccer" balls, for you fellow, non-football-watching Yanks) and candy bars to Iraqi kids. But it is taking pointers from its Israeli allies, whose methods are not exactly derived from a glowing, beneficial appreciation of the native population. With more and more deadly shootings of innocent Iraqis in non-combat situations, the close US-Israel cooperation, especially in military affairs, will increasingly be noted.
But only by people who just don't understand that "they" hate us for our freedom.
(Mirror link via Bob at This Modern World.
If two US soldiers are admitting it, how widespread is this?
...in an admission that directly contrasts with the line coming out from the Pentagon's spin doctors Specialist Corporal Michael Richardson added: "There was no dilemma when it came to shooting people who were not in uniform, I just pulled the trigger.What is generating such inexcusable behavior, at least in this instance?
...
Describing the scene during combat Richardson admitted shooting injured soldiers and leaving them to die.
He said: "S***, I didn't help any of them. I wouldn't help the f******. There were some you let die. And there were some you double-tapped."
...despite there being no link between Iraq and the September 11 attacks Richardson admitted that it gave him his motivation to fight Iraqis.This type of ignorance and racism is being fuelled by the Bush administration, which has done everything in its power to advance a link between Iraq and 9-11 that doesn't exist.
"There's a picture of the World Trade Centre hanging up by my bed and I keep one in my flak jacket. Every time I feel sorry for these people I look at that. I think, 'They hit us at home and, now, it's our turn.' I don't want to say payback but, you know, it's pretty much payback."
But if the Bush regime is simply fuelling this hatred, what is its source? Just go to your local video store or movie theater for a partial answer.
I supppose that this might give weight to a Human Rights Watch request for an investigation into charges that US soldiers fired indiscriminately into a crowd at Al Falluja in April, killing 17 and wounding over 70. But, if the families of soldiers from close allies like Canada can't get justice when the US military kills innocent people, what chance do a bunch of Iraqis have?
The Pentagon likes to keep saying that the military wants to "win hearts and minds", which so far has translated to handing out footballs ("soccer" balls, for you fellow, non-football-watching Yanks) and candy bars to Iraqi kids. But it is taking pointers from its Israeli allies, whose methods are not exactly derived from a glowing, beneficial appreciation of the native population. With more and more deadly shootings of innocent Iraqis in non-combat situations, the close US-Israel cooperation, especially in military affairs, will increasingly be noted.
But only by people who just don't understand that "they" hate us for our freedom.
(Mirror link via Bob at This Modern World.
