Another wedding incident

[Timber Loftis]

So potentially damaging is the video to the US occupation that American officials have demanded that the Dubai-based al-Arabiya television news network, which obtained the footage, give them the name of the cameraman who took it. Al-Arabiya has refused.

"Demanded" or "requested?" Anyway, I think that though journalistic integrity is to be respected, it would be mighty nice of Al-Arabiya to give the US this info so it can fully investigate the claims. Having the cameraman tell his story would help to sort out this conundrum.

Azred, I note you're a funny pre-vert, and that Belle would probably love the additional attention, if physically possible. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 05-22-2004, 01:09 AM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]

[Skunk]

Originally posted by Azred: Skunk, in most American cities fireworks are illegal--to light them will get you fined anywhere from $500 to $2000.

And it doesn't stop an awful lot of people being injured/killed and property being damaged:
http://www.ffca.org/legislation/Fireworks2004.pdf
Even a fully licenced and saftey inspected demonsration is not without risks.

But that wasn't my point. It isn't an argument of
'your traditions are more dangerous than my traditions - so there!

The point I was making was that there appears to be very little training/cultural understanding of Iraq in some units. People fire off guns at celebrations in the ME - it's very common, so a general order to hold fire until you can determine that you are under attack might be in order. Had the Iraqis launched fireworks into the air, they probably would have been confused with illumination flares or rocket launches - and the Wedding Party would still have been targeted.

[shamrock_uk]

And also if they were all asleep as claimed, then there would be no gunfire anyway. And even if it was a few people firing at a helicopter, a four hour assault with that many troops seems a slight overreaction.

[promethius9594]

heh, that line of BS story has everything... lets see:

wedding party
tribal union
hundreds of bombs
armored vehicle division
chinooks everywhere
dead children
sick baby
wounded widowed woman with dead children
amputee teenager (drips sadness for lost potential)
military denial

with the media scandals of falsified pictures lately, im not keen on believing any more of their lines of BS. why dont they interview the american soldiers who were the "victims" of being ambushed by this supposed wedding celebration. i mean, we're not talking about a few rounds into the air, we're talking about a unit being attacked and returning fire. its one thing to celebrate by shooting into the air, its another to celebrate by shooting at american soldiers.

[shamrock_uk]

Firstly, why would a band be attacking american troops? Especially this pop singer.

Secondly, why would the doctor at the local hospital lie about the dead being women and children?

Thirdly, even if we assume that the wedding guests and musicians had suddenly decided to attack American forces, why did American troops kill all these women and children anyway?

[promethius9594]

shamrock, it was a false story. MADE UP by people with an agenda. here is a clip from CNN, if you dont believe me:

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/me...ain/index.html

Coalition: Target not a wedding A senior coalition military spokesman said Saturday that dozens of people killed in a U.S. attack in the Iraqi desert early Wednesday were attending a high-level meeting of foreign fighters, not a wedding. Photos shown to reporters in Baghdad support that contention. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said six women were among the dead, but he said there was no evidence any children died in the raid near the Syrian border. Coalition officials have said as many as 40 people were killed. Kimmitt said video showing dead children killed was actually recorded in Ramadi, far from the attack scene. "There may have been some kind of celebration," Kimmitt said. "Bad people have celebrations too. Bad people have parties too." Kimmitt said troops did not find anything -- such as a wedding tent, gifts, musical instruments, decorations or leftover food -- that would indicate a wedding had been held. Most of the men there were of military age, and there were no elders present to indicate a family event, he said. What was found, he said, indicated the building was used as a way station for foreign fighters crossing into Iraq from Syria to battle the coalition. "The building seemed to be somewhat of a dormitory," Kimmitt said. "You had over 300 sets of bedding gear in it. You had a tremendous number of pre-packaged clothing -- apparently about a hundred sets of pre-packaged clothing. "[It is] expected that when foreign fighters come in from other countries, they come to this location, they change their clothes into typical Iraqi clothing sets." At Saturday's briefing for reporters in Baghdad, Kimmitt showed photos of what he said were binoculars designed for adjusting artillery fire, battery packs suitable for makeshift bombs, several terrorist training manuals, medical gear, fake ID cards and ID card-making machines, passports and telephone numbers to other countries, including Afghanistan and Sudan. None of the men killed in the raid carried ID cards or wallets, he said. "We feel that that was an indicator that this was a high risk meeting of high-level anti-coalition forces," Kimmitt said. "There was a tremendous number of incriminating pocket litter, a lot of telephone numbers to foreign countries, Afghanistan, Sudan and a number of others."

note especially the line: "Photos shown to reporters in Baghdad support that contention."

WHAT THE FLYING F? once again, another example of a biased media printing a make believe story for their agenda to play on emotional bias with absolutely NO research and NO regard for the lives of soldiers who will die because of their slimy tactics. I have lost all respect for the media, its like theyre all lying SOBs

[Stratos]

Originally posted by promethius9594: I have lost all respect for the media, its like theyre all lying SOBs

And yet the story you posted above comes from such a media company...

[promethius9594]

yeah, and i don't trust CNN as far as i can spit either, but at least this time they didnt throw out an untrue story with zero research just to make a buck. the rest of the article was fairly biased though...

[shamrock_uk]

Lol, they're better than Fox I suppose. Haven't heard a murmer about this story anywhere else, but lets hope its true, and I will stand very corrected.

[Skunk]

Originally posted by promethius9594: yeah, and i don't trust CNN as far as i can spit either, but at least this time they didnt throw out an untrue story with zero research just to make a buck. the rest of the article was fairly biased though...

Can't be be true because the Coalition says so - are you aware of just how ridiculous that sounds?

In the end, the only real independent observers are the international press and international bodies like the ICRC and the UN - not the Coaliton or the Resistance groups who each have an axe to grind and who have BOTH been caught telling WHOPPING LIES in the past.

What we know as FACT is that the death toll contained women and children, and that the majority of dead were Iraqis. Furthermore, most of the dead were related to eachother. This is UNCONTROVERTIBLE FACT. The bodies EXIST, and the villagers from testify that the families concerned had lived there for generations. (Herald)


It was screw-up. The guys on the ground messed up royally. There's no shame in making mistakes in war - it happens, and I wouldn't be too harsh on them for it.
But to try and cover up the mistake, dress up party-goers as terrorists and refuse to review the rules of engagement that caused the mess in the first place - now *that* is something to be ashamed of: and indicative of the reasons why only 7% of Iraqis considers the US forces as liberators - down from 40% 6 months ago (Reuters).