Yeesh.
What will this mean for the occupation of Iraq?
Just one more civilian casualty. I doubt it will make a bit of difference.
From the linked article:
Sounds like a good ole’ fashioned ‘whoops’ to me. I can certainly see how a large shoulder-carried camera could be mistaken for a rocket launcher of some flavor, in the heat of the moment.
What will this mean for the occupation of Iraq? Nothing.
Yeah. cameras look exactly like rocket launchers…not.
The government will simply find a way to blame the victim, the public will buy it and that will be that. The last thing this administration cares about is civilian casualties.
I agree that this will mean nothing to the occupation of Iraq. However, from the description given by the colleague of the cameraman, it doesn’t sound like there was too much “heat” at the “moment.” They had been talking to one soldier, who denied them a request to speak to an officer, but allowed them to film from a bridge. They get in the car, see a tank roll up, get back out to film it, and the cameraman gets shot. The colleague believed that they were clearly seen. The shooter fucked up, bad.
I feel very sad for the cameraman and his family. I feel for the soldier who shot him, who will likely live with this death weighing on his heart. “Good ole’ fashion ‘whoops’” doesn’t really accurately catch all of that, huh? At least, I hope not, for anyone with a heart or conscience.
Obviously, certain types of cameras look enough like a rocket launcher to get you shot if you point it at soldiers, huh? Or are you suggesting that the soldier shot the cameraman out of pure spite; That he intended to kill a reporter?
I think what’s being suggested is that our troops are so scared they shoot at anything that even appears threatening. And for that I blame your hero , our misleader.
It doesn’t sound like an accident to me.
Diog:
Ok then. Not an accident. I’m listening. What scenario do you envision for this deliberate shooting? What motivation do you suppose that these soldiers had to open fire on a person that they knew was a newsman?
On second thought, what Reeder said. These guys had already spoken to US soldiers and had been told they could film from the bridge. It was broad daylight and they were easy to see. Somebody got really trigger happy in a big-ass hurry. Either he intended to shoot a reporter or he was so shit-scared and paranoid that he was just shooting at anything that moved. I would obviously suspect the latter over the former but that bespeaks a lack opf leadership and discipline in the ranks. How many innocent Iraqis have been shot in retaliation for guerilla attacks because US troops were just blasting away at everything in sight? I can understand where the paranoia would come from but somebody in leadership has to be a steadying hand over there.
It sounds like an accident to me. The camera crew apparently only talked to the soldiers in front of the prison. So sure, the prison guards knew they were journalists.
But they were not the ones that shot. Do we know if those soldiers on the tank were told about the camera crew and that they were filming on that bridge? How do we know that those soldiers knew the people in that car on the bridge were journalists?
Shyoukhi says they were noted and seen clearly. How would he know the people in the tank had seen and noted them clearly for what they actually were?
Why does he have to tell the soldiers they shot a journalist? Could it be that they weren’t wearing anything to identify themselves or their vehicle as “PRESS”…
have you ever been in combat situation where you had to watch your life and the lives around you on a non-stop basis? are you even familiar with what anti-tank and other ‘rocket launchers’ look like?
Seems some kids with guns are nervous and trigger happy ? Speaks loads about the conditions in Iraq… conditions that Bush describes as “not dire yet”.
Like someone said… how many of the civilian casualties were useless deaths like this journalists death.
They weren’t in a combat situation, remember? At least, not officially.
I agree that these soldiers are so worried about the ongoing attacks on them that they probably reacted on instinct. I can see how a camera might look like a rocket launcher if seen only indistinctly. I can see how some soldier made a mistake.
But doesn’t the fact that such a mistake was made speak volumes about the conditions in Iraq?
Well, first of all, ALL of Iraq is a combat zone, at the moment, from what I understand, and screw whatever the news media or the President says. If someone is taking shots at American soldiers or blowing shit up, it’s a combat zone.
Secondly, from what I understand, the American soldiers there are more than a little jittery. They get to walk around wearing American soldier uniforms that have everything except targets hanging on them, and there are plenty of Iraqis that are only too happy to take potshots at them on general principle.
Thirdly, if I were there now, and I saw someone pointing something at me that was large, black, bulky, and sitting on his shoulder, I’d cap the bastard NOW and ask questions later.
Fourthly, I would have to be insane to shoot a Reuters cameraman and then not kill everyone who saw me do it.
It was a mistake. A tragic, stupid mistake, but I have a very hard time believing our boys are happily slaughtering reporters for fun over there. Particularly if they’re dumb enough to then let the international news report the story.
those soldiers you refer to as kids are probably more responsible and morally up-right than your majority of couch quarterbacks commenting on the happenings of this war.
i’m sure you would be nervous too if you were in a ‘conflict area’, where people you know are being killed on a daily basis doing things like guarding iraqi museums and hospitals. not to mention the entire country is armed to the teeth with weapons ranging from automatic weapons to RPG’s.
how many civilians would still be dying due to disease and starvation because their ruler would not comply with 12 years of sanctions. i think the number would be far more than those killed in a few of war.
i’m not sure what you mean? i think the majority of us still consider iraq to be a dangerous place even after the war was officially declared over.
please elaborate. 
Just popping back in to do some more back-pedalling. My first impulse on seeing the shoulder held camera mistaken as a rocket launcher was “yeah, right” and I posted in haste. I immediately thought better of that response and I tried to back off of that in my next post and agree that the guy was just trigger happy but maybe I wasn’t clear enough.
*I don’t think the kid intentionally killed a journalist. I’m sorry I said that. *
I agree that he probably just got spooked and has doubtlessly been on edge for months. Somebody should have issued a general warning to soldiers at the prison that there were journalists near by and not to shoot them, but I don’t blame the kid.
As soon as I can think of a way to blame GWB, I’ll post it.
Will the shooter face disciplinary action?