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US Soldiers Brag Of Numbers Of Arabs They Kill As New Massacre Looms in Fallujah
The young American Marine is exultant. "It's a sniper's dream,' he tells a Los Angeles Times reporter on the outskirts of Fallujah. "You can go anywhere and there so many ways to fire at the enemy without him knowing where you are."
"Sometimes a guy will go down, and I'll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies. Then I'll use a second shot."
"To take a bad guy out," he explains, "is an incomparable "adrenaline rush." He brags of having "24 confirmed kills" in the initial phase of the brutal U.S. onslaught against the rebel city of 300,000 people.
"Sometimes a guy will go down, and I'll let him scream a bit to destroy the morale of his buddies. Then I'll use a second shot."
"To take a bad guy out," he explains, "is an incomparable "adrenaline rush." He brags of having "24 confirmed kills" in the initial phase of the brutal U.S. onslaught against the rebel city of 300,000 people.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18457
Combine this attitutude by soliders with the following statements by Rumsfeld and things dont look good.
4/20/2004
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday he was skeptical that negotiations in the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah would lead to the detention of those responsible for the killing and mutilation of four American contractors three weeks ago. ...when asked whether the United States would strike a deal that did not include taking the killers into custody, he replied, "One would think not."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20040420-1404-iraq-usmilitary.html
So the US is gearing up for a battle in Fallujah with soliders who are now competing to get in kills? Many civilians left Fallujah, but they are comming back:
FALLUJAH, Iraq, April 20 -- Refugees from this shell-shocked city began trickling home Tuesday, encouraged by news of a political agreement that could end the two-week conflict between U.S. Marines and Iraqi guerrillas and eager to learn what had become of their neighbors and homes.
...
Because many Iraqis have large extended families, officials allowed each family to bring in two vehicles and 25 people. They were let in on a first-come, first-serve basis, and by evening, police said, at least 1,250 residents had re-entered the city.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28721-2004Apr20.html
If fighting starts, US solidiers will probably be competing for kills on easy targets as civilians come back into the city.
Combine this attitutude by soliders with the following statements by Rumsfeld and things dont look good.
4/20/2004
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday he was skeptical that negotiations in the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah would lead to the detention of those responsible for the killing and mutilation of four American contractors three weeks ago. ...when asked whether the United States would strike a deal that did not include taking the killers into custody, he replied, "One would think not."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20040420-1404-iraq-usmilitary.html
So the US is gearing up for a battle in Fallujah with soliders who are now competing to get in kills? Many civilians left Fallujah, but they are comming back:
FALLUJAH, Iraq, April 20 -- Refugees from this shell-shocked city began trickling home Tuesday, encouraged by news of a political agreement that could end the two-week conflict between U.S. Marines and Iraqi guerrillas and eager to learn what had become of their neighbors and homes.
...
Because many Iraqis have large extended families, officials allowed each family to bring in two vehicles and 25 people. They were let in on a first-come, first-serve basis, and by evening, police said, at least 1,250 residents had re-entered the city.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28721-2004Apr20.html
If fighting starts, US solidiers will probably be competing for kills on easy targets as civilians come back into the city.
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Speaking as a US soldier and dedicated secular humanist, that's a fairly brutal demonization... yes, those marines are excited to kill. And yes, it's a little scary. So is war. But keep in mind, these marines aren't running out on day trips from a hotel after watching manditory propaganda films to go on a hunting expedition... these are guys who've been living in the dirt for 5 months watching their friends get picked off one by one in a dubious war with unclear success. Life sucks out there. Life sucks more when your friends are dying. Expecting one to have much empathy for the guy shooting at you and your best friend is... naive.
....as for the civilians, women, and children...
do you honestly think we're monsters? If you don't like the war, fantastic. Neither do I. If you don't like the administration, outstanding, he's a sociopath. If you don't like the government, change it... that's what makes it america. But please pick a more productive outlet for your outrage than those who are as much victims of Bush as the Iraqis...the servicemembers who have to fight his war.
-Nick Day
PFC, US ARMY
....as for the civilians, women, and children...
do you honestly think we're monsters? If you don't like the war, fantastic. Neither do I. If you don't like the administration, outstanding, he's a sociopath. If you don't like the government, change it... that's what makes it america. But please pick a more productive outlet for your outrage than those who are as much victims of Bush as the Iraqis...the servicemembers who have to fight his war.
-Nick Day
PFC, US ARMY
Sure, US troops for the most part dont think they are killing civilians, but the majority of those who have died in Fallujah are civilians since its much easier to avoid getting hit by bullets when one is fighting and has a feel for where the bullets are comming from than if one is a civilian just trying to get across a street one hasn't been watching for hours.
Some US troops are monsters though. Killing warps people. Anyone proud of their "number of kills" is probably such a warped person.
Some US troops are monsters though. Killing warps people. Anyone proud of their "number of kills" is probably such a warped person.
" Some US troops are monsters though. Killing warps people."
Let's not forget, that there are people who are trying to kill the US troops...
(remember George C Scott as "Patton"? It's always better that your enemy buys it instead of you!)
Let's not forget, that there are people who are trying to kill the US troops...
(remember George C Scott as "Patton"? It's always better that your enemy buys it instead of you!)
They are Iraqi patriots, defending their country. Wouldn't you do the same if your country was invaded?
Let's not forget that we entered their country in an illegal and for a vastly unpopular imperialist purpose. To then say we are defending ourselves is ludicrous.
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. soldiers stacked Iraqi prisoners in a human pyramid, and attached wires to one detainee to convince him he might be electrocuted, according to photographs obtained by CBS News which led to criminal charges against six Americans.
CBS said the photos, to be shown Wednesday night on "60 Minutes II," were taken late last year at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, where American soldiers were holding hundreds of prisoners captured during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
In March, the U.S. Army announced that six members of the 800th Military Police Brigade faced court martial for allegedly abusing about 20 prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The charges included dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts with another person.
At the time, U.S. military officials declined to provide details of the evidence against the six soldiers. But on Wednesday, at a news briefing in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the investigation began when an American soldier reported the abuse and turned over evidence that included photographs.
Kimmitt confirmed that CBS had obtained those photographs.
One picture, according to CBS, shows an Iraqi prisoner who was told to stand on a box with his head covered and wires attached to his hands. CBS said the prisoner was told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted.
In another photograph, CBS said, prisoners' bodies were stacked in a pyramid, and one man had a slur written in English on his skin.
In an interview with CBS correspondent Dan Rather, Kimmitt said the photographs were dismaying.
"We're appalled," Kimmitt said. "These are our fellow soldiers, these are the people we work with every day, they represent us, they wear the same uniform as us, and they let their fellow soldiers down."
"If we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations do that to our soldiers," Kimmitt said.
"60 Minutes II" identified one of the implicated soldiers as Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Chip Frederick, who described to Rather what he saw in the Iraqi prison.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever, and I kept asking my chain of command for certain things, rules and regulations, and it just wasn't happening," Frederick said, according to a CBS News release.
"60 Minutes II" also quoted from an e-mail which Frederick reportedly sent to his family in which he said of Iraqi prisoners: "We've had a very high rate with our styles of getting them to break; they usually end up breaking within hours."
At the news briefing in Baghdad, Kimmitt said the abuse allegations had triggered reviews of the command structure that oversees detentions in Iraq and of the interrogation procedures used in detention facilities.
"We are committed to treating all persons under coalition custody with dignity, respect and humanity," Kimmitt said. "Coalition personnel are expected to act appropriately, humanely and in a manner consistent with Geneva Conventions."
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators have recommended administrative punishment for a number of commanders at Abu Ghraib. The official would not give details on the recommended punishments or how many commanders faced action.
Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group, said in March that many former detainees in Iraq claimed to have been tortured and ill-treated by coalition troops during interrogation.
Methods often reported, it said, included prolonged sleep deprivation, beatings, exposure to loud music and prolonged periods of being covered by a hood.
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/04/28/439835-ap.html
CBS said the photos, to be shown Wednesday night on "60 Minutes II," were taken late last year at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, where American soldiers were holding hundreds of prisoners captured during the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
In March, the U.S. Army announced that six members of the 800th Military Police Brigade faced court martial for allegedly abusing about 20 prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The charges included dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts with another person.
At the time, U.S. military officials declined to provide details of the evidence against the six soldiers. But on Wednesday, at a news briefing in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the investigation began when an American soldier reported the abuse and turned over evidence that included photographs.
Kimmitt confirmed that CBS had obtained those photographs.
One picture, according to CBS, shows an Iraqi prisoner who was told to stand on a box with his head covered and wires attached to his hands. CBS said the prisoner was told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted.
In another photograph, CBS said, prisoners' bodies were stacked in a pyramid, and one man had a slur written in English on his skin.
In an interview with CBS correspondent Dan Rather, Kimmitt said the photographs were dismaying.
"We're appalled," Kimmitt said. "These are our fellow soldiers, these are the people we work with every day, they represent us, they wear the same uniform as us, and they let their fellow soldiers down."
"If we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations do that to our soldiers," Kimmitt said.
"60 Minutes II" identified one of the implicated soldiers as Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Chip Frederick, who described to Rather what he saw in the Iraqi prison.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever, and I kept asking my chain of command for certain things, rules and regulations, and it just wasn't happening," Frederick said, according to a CBS News release.
"60 Minutes II" also quoted from an e-mail which Frederick reportedly sent to his family in which he said of Iraqi prisoners: "We've had a very high rate with our styles of getting them to break; they usually end up breaking within hours."
At the news briefing in Baghdad, Kimmitt said the abuse allegations had triggered reviews of the command structure that oversees detentions in Iraq and of the interrogation procedures used in detention facilities.
"We are committed to treating all persons under coalition custody with dignity, respect and humanity," Kimmitt said. "Coalition personnel are expected to act appropriately, humanely and in a manner consistent with Geneva Conventions."
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators have recommended administrative punishment for a number of commanders at Abu Ghraib. The official would not give details on the recommended punishments or how many commanders faced action.
Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group, said in March that many former detainees in Iraq claimed to have been tortured and ill-treated by coalition troops during interrogation.
Methods often reported, it said, included prolonged sleep deprivation, beatings, exposure to loud music and prolonged periods of being covered by a hood.
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/04/28/439835-ap.html
You can rest assured that if this sniper killed 24 people, at least half were non-combatants. Just like in Vietnam, you count the bodies, and declare them all as combatants. clown
fuck you u bag o shit I just wish they would let us snipe them here, y know dearborn is full of em
kill the dirty fuckin arabs. dirty sand niggerrs they deserve to eat sand. snipe em out it would be fun.
Civilians have no right to say anything about this war. The Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines and their families should be worried/upset/sounding their opinions. You nasty fucking civilians just hide behind the material comfort that has this planet pissed off at our country. Then you sit and bitch about things you couldnt possibly comprehend or understand. Shut your fucking mouths, and let us do our jobs, and don't say shit to us about it, because we want to be done with it.
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