Have you read the Guardian account of the US copter strike in Baghdad?

[BurtWorm]

WARNING: It will make you sick, enraged or both. It's an eyewitness account by a Guardian photographer who was hit and survived. Truly horrible.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1303827,00.html


I had just reached the corner of the cube when I heard two explosions, I felt hot air blast my face and something burning on my head. I crawled to the cube and hid behind it. Six of us were squeezed into a space less than two metres wide. Blood started dripping on my camera but all that I could think about was how to keep the lens clean. A man in his 40s next to me was crying. He wasn't injured, he was just crying. I was so scared I just wanted to squeeze myself against the wall. The helicopters wheeled overhead, and I realised that they were firing directly at us. I wanted to be invisible, I wanted to hide under the others.

As the helicopters moved a little further off, two of the men ran away to a nearby building. I stayed where I was with a young man, maybe in his early 20s, who was wearing a pair of leather boots and a tracksuit. He was sitting on the ground, his legs stretched in front of him but with his knee joint bent outwards unnaturally. Blood ran on to the dirt beneath him as he peered round the corner. I started taking pictures of him. He looked at me and turned his head back towards the street as if he was looking for something. His eyes were wide open and kept looking.

There in the street, the injured were all left alone: a young man with blood all over his face sat in the middle of the cloud of dust, then fell on to his face.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Everyone should read that

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[jumpstart33]

36. And people believe that Kerry lied about what happened in Viet Nam?

I just don't get it.

[Cronus Protagonist]

40. Actually, they don't care at all

They're enjoying the misdirection. No one seriously believes that he didn't get his medal legitimately. Scratch the surface of these people and you'll find one who knows of which he lies.

You might be a Republican if...
http://cronus.com/quiz

Commentary by a Republican...
http://cronus.com/republican

The REAL Republican Platform...
http://cronus.com/platform

Bush's Illustrated Resume
http://cronus.com/bushresume

Isn't That Strange?
http://cronus.com/oil

:)

[candy331]

2. Cry for all of humanity, Cry for a world power that is showing why

it too needs and will meet the same fate as the ones gone before it.

[Minstrel Boy]

5. "Empires fall, this one will too..."

Contras, Kings and Generals
by David Rovics
An MP3 can be downloaded free here.

Missiles flying in the Third World
Towards a people stranded on their knees
Bombs falling over Baghdad
Killing children who are starving by degrees
There are those of us who'd question
What's the goal and what's the cost
One million dead, malnourished children
A U.N.-sanctioned holocaust

Missiles flying in the Third World
From Hanoi to Wounded Knee
Bombs falling over Baghdad
And each one shouts, democracy
Contras, kings and generals
Brandish stars and stripes
From Rangoon to Los Angeles
Selling oil, guns and crack pipes

Missiles flying in the Third World
And each one will kill a child
Bombs falling over Baghdad
And hunger and death is running wild
We had to destroy the village
In order to save it
To help this jungle grow
First we had to pave it

Missiles flying in the Third World
But fits and starts are everywhere
From the mountains of Chiapas
To the streets of Central Square
Empires fall
This one will, too
So here's to the day
When this one is through

[Strelnikov_]

10. "America is the strongest and most prosperous nation on earth,"

Nately informed him with lofty fervor and dignity. "And the American fighting man is second to none."

"Exactly," agreed the man pleasantly, with a hint of taunting amusement. "Italy, on the other hand, is one of the least prosperous nations on earth. And the Italian fighting man is probably second to all. And that’s exactly why my country is doing so well in this war while your nation is doing so poorly."

"The Germans are being driven out, and we are still here. In a few years you will be gone, too, and we will still be here. You see, Italy is really a very poor and weak country, and that’s what makes us so strong. Italian soldiers are not dying any more. But American and German solders are. I call that doing extremely well. Yes, I am quite certain that Italy will survive this war and still be in existence long after your own country has been destroyed."

"America is not going to be destroyed!" Nately shouted.

Never?" prodded the old man softly.

"Well. . " Nately faltered.

The old man laughed indulgently, "Rome was destroyed, Greece was destroyed, Persia was destroyed, Spain was destroyed. All great countries are destroyed. Why not yours? How much longer do you think your own country will last? Forever?"

From: "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

[Wilber_Stool]

12. Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was just thinking about the old Italian whore house man. "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." said Nately. " No it isn't" said the old man "When the Germans arrived, I cheered and through flowers. When the Americans came I cheered and through flowers. Nothing changed."
That's just off the top of my head so you Catch 22 scholars give me a break.

[NMDemDist2]

3. ....

weeping for the waste and the loss

weeping..

[manic expression]

4. It is just not right...

Please, read this if you haven't.
"There's an injured man. Take pictures - show the world the American democracy,"
I don't know what to say right now...we need to change something.

[mourningdove92]

6. Weeping. Oh my God. Not Again.

Vietnam, that horror of horrors, happening again.

Why? Why did we do that? According to this eyewitness, we bombed several times. Left and came back, again and again.

I'm sorry, I know I am ranting, but the pain is just so great.

[liberalmuse]

7. Goddamnit!

This is SICKENING! My god, this is what fucking Bush is doing. How does that mother fucking bastard sleep at night. I hope all the people he's killed haunt him like demons for the rest of his miserable, tainted, satan-inspired life. I want all the fucking Americans who support this war to have this goddamned picture shoved in their faces. No. I want them to see it up close and personal, like the poor reporter who wrote this story did. I want to scream and never stop right now.

[HamdenRice]

38. How bush sleeps at night?!!>@#

Bush sleeps soundly every night because he does not read these kinds of stories. Remember, Bush does not read newspapers. Bush does not read intelligence briefings, although it is rumoured that one of Condi's most important jobs is to read snippets of them to Bush. Bush, in fact, cannot read well at all.

Wolfowitz, who is closer to the chain of command, is not troubled by these kinds of reports, because he does not even keep track of how many US soldiers have died. How could he know about Iraqis being blown away by helicopters?

[mediaman007]

8. Yup, we'll never read this in America

If it was available, it would only verify the reason we didn't want to go to war. But the war sells newspapers and TV advertising. We are Germany 1932.

[alphafemale]

9. Horrifying.

Maddening.

What have we done?

Please believe that some of us tried to stop this.

[wkirby]

39. American dream?

Are stories like this part of the American Dream?

-Will

[riverwalker]

11. "show the world American democracy"

The 20,000 dead Iraqi civilians will have no memorials, poems, movies, TV specials, books, compensation, and songs. No million dollar light beams, no names carved on a wall. They had NOTHING to do with our 3000 dead on 9/11. Nothing. They can't even get American media to report that they died.

[Bozita]

16. USA is only a democracy when we're selling democracy. At all other times,

... we're a republic.

A real Repug flip-flop.

[starroute]

26. No, we're not even a republic any more

"Republic: A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them."

Felt any supreme power residing in yourself lately?

[Bozita]

29. You hate us for our freedom!

just kidding

[Cleita]

13. So when this is all over, how do we bring them to trial

Nuremberg style? I mean all of them starting with Bush, his cabinet and anyone who is even remotely responsible for these atrocities.

[BurtWorm]

14. That's not an atrocity. The US military does not commit atrocities.

Only John Kerry commits atrocities.

[Cleita]

19. Didn't all those Nazis who never thought they would be

brought to trial on their crimes claim that they were just following orders? Those who issue the orders need to be tried. That's *w, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell and Condi at the very least.

[BurtWorm]

21. I'd like to know what justified showering this crowd of journalists

and by-standers with bullets. Whose hearts and minds were they after? Or was it just hearts and brains?

[Cleita]

22. I shake my head every day about these horrid events.

My only hope is that justice will prevail when it's all over with. Of course that doesn't bring back the dead or the lives ruined with this. I can't see letting these creeps just go back to Crawford to live out the rest of their days in comfort and obscurity. They have to pay somehow.

[starroute]

28. I saw something earlier today that implied . . .

. . . there might have been secret equipment in the burning vehicle they were scared of having fall into Iraqi hands -- scared enough to shoot up a bunch of civilians to keep it hidden.

I can't find it again now -- maybe it was part of a thread here at DU. But it did give me pause for thought.

[BurtWorm]

31. Then why didn't they just blow up the tank and leave it at that?

Why waste all those people on the street? Not asking you, per se. But it is a question I'd want answered if I was on one of the Armed Services committees.

[Doctor_J]

15. this is why the UN will turn on us

before too long. The BFEE are setting us up for a real disaster.

[Cha]

17. I just saw.."Control Room"

The Al Jazeera documentary on the leadup to the Iraqi Invasion.

It was intense and sickening as well. We saw the reporter for Al Jazeera who got killed on the roof. I had read about it on du many months ago, but to see him and his wife, later, pleading for the truth was really sad.

Wednesday, we are going to see "Uncovered, The Truth ABout the Iraqi War" at a local Community College for free.

And no one makes them accountable..I'm glad this is in the Guardian so at least the English people know and maybe tony blair will be held accountable for his, and bush's, sins against humanity.

[qanda]

18. I banged my fist and slapped my head after reading that article

I've been sad all night and I'm so ashamed. Anyone who says that America does not commit war crimes should read this article.

[Eloriel]

20. Too grotesque for words

Horrific. What we're doing is horrific. Senseless. Unforgiveable. Very hard to consider yourself an American under such circumstances.

[AbbeyRoad]

23. Yes, it's a shocking and well written account

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear people ignorantly rationalize this war by saying that we're taking the fight to the terrorists so that we don't have to fight them here. We invaded a sovereign nation and are terrorizing a civilian population.

Americans should hear this story and should see the pictures, but we, by and large, won't.

[Lefergus70]

30. Kerry has the opportunity

He should jump in here and say "I will stop this slaughter!" Although he backed himself in a corner by supporting the war and is now stuck with it, I think he could cite horrors like this chopper attack, maybe even wave the Guardian before crowds, and say that if he is elected less blood will flow. Then he must declare, every single day, "This is not fighting terrorism!"

It's his only chance; he's behind in the polls. And he has a duty to the entire world to speak out against the most feared leader on earth.

[mike_c]

24. kicking for the military apologists who haven't yet argued...

...that the murdering bastards are just doing their jobs, wearing white hats, and above all, following orders.

[Pobeka]

25. This is why Vietnam and Kerry are an important campaign issue.

Soldiers are not police. They are supposed to kill anything that is not *us*.

Kerry knows this. Most of the world knows this. I'd wager that even most of the U.S.A. knows it too, albeit a large percent live in denial or ignorance of the ugly truth that history is repeating itself.

Vietnam is pertinent. It is here again, under the new name of Iraq.

[Gregorian]

27. The ultimate hypocracy. Utter criminal acts.

Wear your seatbelts. Wear your helmets. Leave no trace. No more fireworks in 4th of July. Pot is illegal. It's all utter bullshit.

Over there we are intentionally harming people. Can you imagine Dick Cheney or his wife with a chunk missing from THEIR arm or knee? That sure as hell wouldn't fly. The world would pay. But these poor people, WHO HAVE ALREADY UNDERGONE 12 YEARS OF SANCTIONS, before this shit began, are getting destroyed every minute of every day. The children. Think about those children. This administration is comprised of robbing murderers. The ultimate bandits. And we are paying them to do it.

By the way, this IS on television. The CBC, and Worldlink are playing these scenes every night.

We can stop paying our taxes, but I doubt that would do much good. We are all beholden in this mess. I don't want to stop paying my taxes because I'd lose my house. Kerry doesn't want to be as mean to Bush because he's probably partially owned by some of his decisions. And the rest just have an evil agenda. But it is still fueled by us. We want our gasoline. And until we stop, this is going to continue. That isn't my point. And it may not be totally true. But what can we do to stop this before the next death. This is horror.

[DerekG]

32. We're living on the Death Star, folks...

Where's that laser cannon going to be directed towards next?

[Porcupine]

33. Making the world sing.....

From:http://cockburnproject.net/songs&music/iiharl.html


"Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay

I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would retaliate

On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate
Cry for guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would not hesitate

I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher...Some son of a bitch would die"

Why is the son-of-a-bitch shooting children from a helicopter so often flying an American helicopter? Do we really think we are going to win in the long run?

[Nordic]

34. why hasn't this photo been in the US media?

your tax dollars at work, folks!

[BurtWorm]

35. kick

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

37. Two comments

1. I've been pursued by police helicopters. (I didn't know why they were chasing me, so I just ran. Anyone would. Turns out they were looking for someone else.)

Helicopters, even without guns, are effin' scary. Every time I see any kind of helicopter, now, my urge is to shoulder some kind of weapon and bring it down. Totally irrational, but there it is.

2. For a little comic relief... The Sacramento Bee showed a picture of the burning Bradley with a caption describing it as "disabled".

"It'll be fine, it just needs to be remanufactured."

"Help! My car's disabled. Anyone got a fire extinguisher?"

LOL

[manic]

41. I wonder if the pilot said "Whoa Dude"? (video link)

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/july2004/190704liberationvideo.htm

(page with embedded 650KB WMV file)

UPDATE - soory, my 2nd link to more chopper pilot fun is gone, but you can read about it here:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story795.shtml

ps - I need a quick fisking:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2350958#2351774

[BurtWorm]

46. You can hear the rush these guys get in the pace of their breathing.

But a lot of our human killing machines come home from war ruined for life by what they've been asked to do. What does this gunner think--or would he think--watching the replay of that moment?

[BurtWorm]

42. Letter to NY TImes re: Haifa St. Attack story

Courtesy of Danny Schecter's Media Dissector:

http://www.newsdissector.org/weblog/index.cfm


LETTER TO THE NY TIMES

From Susan Oehler: "Your article about the shooting by a US gunship on Haifa Street in Baghdad (Scores Are Dead After Violence Spreads in Iraq, by Tavernise, on September 13, 2004) you have the statement "American military commanders said the helicopters were returning fire aimed at them from the ground."

"There were reporters there, and one of them was on-air for al Arabiya, when this incident happened. It is clear from that transmission that there were no sounds of guns going off in the vicinity of the burning Bradley. There were no guns around the reporter who was hit in the back and killed on the spot. There were many eyewitnesses to this incident, from several news agencies. They all confirm this version of events.

"I fail to understand why you reported what the American military commanders said, yet fail to include what is observable fact of the situation, and fail to include what other reporters were telling everyone. But doing this, you mislead and misinform the American people who read your paper. In my eyes, you have failed as journalists and you failed as decent human beings. "

[genius]

43. This is what freedom looks like. Those ingrates.

[manic]

44. lots more here (minor linkfest)

metafilter has grabs and a link to the BBC video (RM):
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/35561

Independent:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=561021

"The helicopter fired on the Bradley to destroy it after it had been hit earlier and it was on fire," said Major Phil Smith of the 1st Cavalry Division. "It was for the safety of the people around it.".... The US military said that a Kiowa, a light reconnaissance and attack helicopter, fired rockets at the Bradley to destroy weapons and ammunition on board. But it is evident from the al-Arabiya video that the rockets landed among people standing or walking far away from the Bradley.

[BurtWorm]

45. That is truly horrible.

It's also disturbing that the only place to link to the video captures is on a snuff porn Website. How degraded we've become.