U.S. helicopter strike kills 8 Iraqi civilians while running for their lives

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0434078820080522?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Thu May 22, 2008 6:05am EDT

BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. helicopter airstrike on Wednesday night killed eight civilians, including two children, north of Baghdad, police officials said on Thursday.

Colonel Mudhher al-Qaisi, police chief in the town of Baiji, said the attack was on a group of shepherds in a vehicle in a farming area. Relatives said some of those killed were fleeing on foot after the U.S. military arrived in the area.

"This is a criminal act. It will make the relations between Iraqi citizens and the U.S. forces tense. This will negatively affect security improvements," Qaisi told Reuters.

A U.S. military spokeswoman, Lieutenant-Colonel Maura Gillen, said the helicopter fired on the vehicle after observing "suspicious activity". She said the driver had ignored warnings to stop. snip

"Coalition forces regret the loss of innocent civilian lives," said Navy Captain Gordon Delcambre in a press statement. "Terrorists continue to show their disregard for human life by endangering children with their illegal and violent activities."

[leftchick]

1. photos here

:cry:



Residents pray near the bodies of civilians killed in an air strike, during a funeral in Baiji, 180km (112 miles) north of Baghdad May 21, 2008.
(Sabah al-Bazee/Reuters)

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Iraq/ss/events/iraq/082701iraqplane/s:/nm/20080522/wl_nm/iraq_dc

[Fireweed247]

6. and then we pretend we are helping them

:cry:
God I cannot take it anymore!!!

[leftchick]

9. when in reality

we are there to steal their oil and be a PERMANENT PRESENCE in the Mideast to protect our Oil and Israel. The 'helping them' was always bullshit.

:puke:

[bdamomma]

2. we will pay for this, or should I say we are paying (literally)

for all this death and destruction. We invaded a country that did NOT DO ANYTHING TO US. God, when is it going to stop?

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. Anything without a US military uniform must be target

practice. MAKES ME FUCKING SICK!!:mad:

[Jim__]

4. Freedom is not free!

Bush gave up golf! :sarcasm:

[spanone]

5. winning hearts & minds......

[wmbrew0206]

7. Put this in another thread, but since there is one on it here

I've spent more time in Bayji than I'd care to. I've worked with the rotary wing aircraft, like the ones involved in this incident, in this exact area and as a JTAC I have very detailed knowledge of what it takes to be allowed to engage a threat with air to surface fires.

There is not enough info in these articles for me to be able to say one way or another if the pilots involved violated the ROE. Normally, when a vehicle is acting suspiciously you go through a standard set up procedures to try and get the vehicle to stop. The two final ones are a disabling shot to the engine block at a certain distance and finally a kill shot to the driver at a closer distance if. That is if the vehicle is moving towards coalition forces and it is seen as a clear threat. If the vehicle is moving away you normally just follow it and see where it goes.

IF, and this is a big IF, this story is accurate about vehicle moving away from coalition forces, the pilots would have been outside the ROE in engaging the vehicle because it had not shown a "Hostile Intent" or a "Hostile Act" which are required before a A/C can engage a target.

The pilots are grounded at this point and will not fly again until this investigation is over. The investigation will be conducted by an officer outside of this unit, probably another pilot. The investigating officer will interview everyone involved and then deliver a report to the division general (2 star). The general will then decide if the pilots violated the ROE. If they are found to have violated the ROE, they will face a court marshal for manslaughter.

I'm not going to say one way or another if I think the pilots screwed up, because I don't second guess other officers' decisions until all the facts come out.

This is really going to hurt the relationship that the coalition and the local Iraqs. Bayji is a very important area and the situation there has been tense for the last couple years. The cooperation of the locals is the reason Al Anbar and other parts of Iraq are no longer a base for AQI or other insurgent groups. This needs to happen in Bayji if the town is going to become secure.

[NNN0LHI]

8. I think you may be missing the most important detail

All the reasons we were given for invading and occupying the formerly sovereign country of Iraq have turned out to be based upon misconceptions or outright lies.

Therefore all those explanations in your post are actually meaningless at this point. Under the circumstances every Iraqi our military has killed, from the very first young Iraqi conscript who was turned into pink mist on the opening night of Shock and Awe while sleeping in his barracks, to the last Iraqi who was killed today is in fact murder.

That is how history will remember this. There is not going to be anything close to resembling something to be proud of coming out of this mess.

Don