Military To Break Silence On Wikileaks Video As Early As Today

[babylonsister]

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/military-to-break-silence-on-wikileaks-video-as-early-as-today/

Military To Break Silence On Wikileaks Video As Early As Today


Okay, get ready for this one to heat up big time, perhaps as early as today.

The military will publicly address the veracity of the notorioius Wikileaks video, which apparently depicts an American helicopter killing two Reuters journalists during a July 2007 attack in Baghdad, as early as today, a Centcom spokesman confirms to me.

Separately, a military official confirms (as he did to several other news orgs) that they’ve concluded the footage is genuine. “We have no indication it’s not authentic,” the official says.

As you probably know by now, Wikileaks, a whistle-blowing group, posted a 17-minute video of the killings on YouTube on Monday. It’s graphic and disturbing, but if you’re so inclined, you can watch it right here.

The short version is that the video seems to contradict the military’s earlier version of the event, which is that the coalition forces involved were engaged in combat operations. The video shows no hostile action from the victims, and shows the coalition forces bantering lightly and callously about the killings.

There have been some questions raised as to why the video was edited down to 17 minutes, when a 38-minute version also exists. I’m told by a military official that officials have also examined the longer version, and that a public statement is being worked on right now about these and other matters.

For now, we can only hope that the release of the video will prompt a fuller accounting of what actually happened. It’s also worth noting that this sort of revelation is generally a good thing, since it reveals the true nature of war, as well as what our troops are asked to do by civilian leaders. And, finally, you’d think that the onus is on prominent media figures who specialize in military affairs, particularly pro-war ones, to say something about this whole affair.

Stay tuned.

[NJmaverick]

1. I posted a GIF and a JPG to help people see the weapons the pilot saw

you can see that here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8100321

[mike_c]

3. carried low and unthreatening...

...and note that assault rifles are legal in Baghdad. The two men that might have been armed were likely bodyguards, and both are relaxed in the video. No threatening moves were made. Most of the party walks empty-handed.

But you know all this already. Still, you persist in trying to provide cover for war crimes. Why?

[NJmaverick]

7. Nearby US troops were under fire, which is why the chopper was called in

the insurgents carry their weapons like that so they don't stand out

[Motown_Johnny]

4. and the van that was just trying to save lives? any GIF or JPG of that?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[protocol rv]

8. Strange

There was a chalk taking fire from a building about 300 meters away, according to what i heard on the radio chatter, so...they got mixed up.

But that thing you think is an RPG is a camera tripod. Did you ever try to hold a missile launcher? It's not a loaf of bread, weighs too much to be swung that way.

Maybe the solution is for the guys to go home. Like they say in Wisconsin, there's no reason to hunt with those dogs.

[NJmaverick]

9. An RPG is little more than a hollow tube

with the shoulder strap they have no problem handling it in that matter

[Bolo Boffin]

2. Wikileaks also posted the full 38-minute version. Is that Plum Line quoting a story?

Very strange if they don't understand Wikileaks released the whole thing.

ETA: Greg was being unclear:

Update: To clarify, Wikileaks released the short and long version. My point (perhaps clumsily expressed) was that some on the right are trying to cloud the issue but that the military is looking at all of the video, and there are no indications that the shorter video isn’t representative.

[kgnu_fan]

6. Read "Winter Soldier - Iraq and Afghanistan" by Iraq Veterans Against the War