New York Times: Video Shows American Killing of Photographer

johnmflores · 04-06-2010, 10:30 AM

Originally posted by deadwolfbones

Interesting thread here: hipinion.com • View topic - wikileaks leaks video of us military killing journalists

First page is mostly the typical "oh how horrible" responses, but on the second page some guys who have actually been on the ground in Iraq start weighing in and things get interesting/informative.

One guy in particular served in Iraq in the very same area as the video. His comments are very insightful. I found this one interesting...

"The cheering and 'hoping' to have the wounded pick up a weapon pisses me off to no end. That is my personal issue with pilots that only see combat through a camera. I truly believe if they see death and destruction first hand, if they see the results of pulling a trigger with their own eyes, there will be no cheering.

The adrenaline rush you get from combat can not be described and can cause you to go almost primal. Afterwards though those faces never leave you."

This is also telling - http://i.imgur.com/NVih0.jpg

I guess the beauty of the Internet age is that even if the mainstream media continues to serve fluff, people can have passionate and substantive discussions online.

One of the things I see from this is the importance of combat photography, video, journalism, and most importantly the footage that we see. I won't debate the right or wrong of the situation, but it is plainly horrific, and people need to be shown that, so that decisions to go to into combat are never taken lightly.

CWyatt · 04-06-2010, 12:57 PM

Originally posted by Blue

Edit: Those guys don't sound military. They sound more like geeks in mama's basement on a video game. Plus, the helicopter would have to be hovering there.

This is discussed in the Al Jazeera article by the wiki-leaks guy - the modern soldier's (sometimes) detachment from the results of their weapons and actions. It really is like some guy playing a video game, that's what's so sick about it.

I think most people would agree that something really turns in your stomach when the cheering comes through when they're gunning people down. There's just something, really, really wrong there. I don't have much experience trying to spot people carrying weapons from a moving helicopter so I can't really comment on that.

Unfortunately the CNN story is a bit of a joke, they have little discussion and seem to just conclude it's 'sad but what happens'.

In my own opinion, it's also weak news by CNN to not show the full video. If that's what's going on in the world - show it.

causey · 04-06-2010, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by johnmflores

One guy in particular served in Iraq in the very same area as the video. His comments are very insightful.

He says: "You would be amazed by the amount of active duty military who are against Iraq. The overwhelming majority of Soldiers think Iraq was a total mistake. Pulling a number out of my ass I think 80% think the war was a mistake."

It turns out the whole world--but a sizable part of the US--supports the troops.

deadwolfbones · 04-06-2010, 02:45 PM

I'm pretty uniformly against the war there, but if I were getting shot at on a daily basis, I can guarantee I'd be 100% against it. :ugh:

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04-06-2010, 10:30 AM	#16
johnmflores Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Somerville, NJ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,361 Original Poster	Originally posted by deadwolfbones Interesting thread here: hipinion.com • View topic - wikileaks leaks video of us military killing journalists First page is mostly the typical "oh how horrible" responses, but on the second page some guys who have actually been on the ground in Iraq start weighing in and things get interesting/informative. One guy in particular served in Iraq in the very same area as the video. His comments are very insightful. I found this one interesting... "The cheering and 'hoping' to have the wounded pick up a weapon pisses me off to no end. That is my personal issue with pilots that only see combat through a camera. I truly believe if they see death and destruction first hand, if they see the results of pulling a trigger with their own eyes, there will be no cheering. The adrenaline rush you get from combat can not be described and can cause you to go almost primal. Afterwards though those faces never leave you." This is also telling - http://i.imgur.com/NVih0.jpg I guess the beauty of the Internet age is that even if the mainstream media continues to serve fluff, people can have passionate and substantive discussions online. One of the things I see from this is the importance of combat photography, video, journalism, and most importantly the footage that we see. I won't debate the right or wrong of the situation, but it is plainly horrific, and people need to be shown that, so that decisions to go to into combat are never taken lightly.

04-06-2010, 12:57 PM	#17
CWyatt Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,291	Originally posted by Blue Edit: Those guys don't sound military. They sound more like geeks in mama's basement on a video game. Plus, the helicopter would have to be hovering there. This is discussed in the Al Jazeera article by the wiki-leaks guy - the modern soldier's (sometimes) detachment from the results of their weapons and actions. It really is like some guy playing a video game, that's what's so sick about it. I think most people would agree that something really turns in your stomach when the cheering comes through when they're gunning people down. There's just something, really, really wrong there. I don't have much experience trying to spot people carrying weapons from a moving helicopter so I can't really comment on that. Unfortunately the CNN story is a bit of a joke, they have little discussion and seem to just conclude it's 'sad but what happens'. In my own opinion, it's also weak news by CNN to not show the full video. If that's what's going on in the world - show it.

04-06-2010, 02:17 PM	#18
causey Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Arlington, VA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,757	Originally posted by johnmflores One guy in particular served in Iraq in the very same area as the video. His comments are very insightful. He says: "You would be amazed by the amount of active duty military who are against Iraq. The overwhelming majority of Soldiers think Iraq was a total mistake. Pulling a number out of my ass I think 80% think the war was a mistake." It turns out the whole world--but a sizable part of the US--supports the troops.

04-06-2010, 02:45 PM	#19
deadwolfbones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: La Crescenta, CA Posts: 7,450	I'm pretty uniformly against the war there, but if I were getting shot at on a daily basis, I can guarantee I'd be 100% against it. :ugh: