US Soldiers get routed - open up on random cars, civilians.

[BlooInBloo]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003553574

"JALALABAD, Pakistan -- U.S. Marines fleeing a militant ambush Sunday opened fire on civilian cars and pedestrians on a busy highway in eastern Afghanistan, wounded Afghans said. Up to 16 people were killed and 34 wounded in the violence, officials said...

"'They were firing everywhere, and they even opened fire on 14 to 15 vehicles passing on the highway,' said Tur Gul, 38, who was standing on the roadside by a gas station and was shot twice in his right hand. 'They opened fire on everybody, the ones inside the vehicles and the ones on foot.' ...


U.S. forces near Sunday's bombing later deleted photos taken by a freelance photographer working for The Associated Press and video taken by a freelancer working for AP Television News. Neither the photographer nor the cameraman witnessed the suicide attack or the subsequent gunfire. It was not immediately known why the soldiers deleted the photos and videos. The U.S. military didn't immediately comment on the matter.

The freelance photographer, Rahmat Gul, said he took photos of a four-wheel drive vehicle where three Afghans had been shot to death inside.

An American soldier then took Gul's camera and deleted the photos. Gul said he later received permission to take photos from another soldier, but that the first soldier came back and angrily told him to delete the photos again. Gul said the soldier then raised his fist as if he was going to strike Gul."


And finally, the money quote:

"Lt. Col. David Accetta, a coalition spokesman, said the attack demonstrated the militants' "blatant disregard for human life" by attacking forces in a populated area."

Sheesh.

[Selatius]

1. If you claim to fight for freedom, then it's OK to censor journalists?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions and so on and so forth.

[screembloodymurder]

2. Can't blame them. They're taking fire and don't know who the enemy is.

Should they ask for ID? BTW, the enemy resides in the WH.

[mike_c]

4. anyone poor, brown, and muslim seems to be sufficient....

:puke:

[BlooInBloo]

5. They all look the same to a certain kind of Amercian.

[ngant17]

13. I always enjoyed "The Quiet American"

the novel by Graham Greene, made into an excellent DVD.

Iraq is Arabic for quagmire.

[bullimiami]

6. they dont belong there. we didnt go into afghanistan to help, we went to take.

like everything bush (and i mean bushco and the bastard empire) touches. blood, death, misery and ulterior motives follow.

the taliban would have been fine if they played the game, embraced the pipeline, gave up the sacrificial al qaida.
like anyone who gives bushco the finger, they get ground under the boot, a sham democracy set up and the plundering begins.
the little people, like ants, inconsequential. let them scrabble in the dirt for the crumbs.

they hate us and they hate our troops. it will never end as long as we occupy.

[rodeodance]

7. yes, it must be horrible------not knowing who is shooting at them, trying to

stay alive.

[Monkeyman]

10. I know I am wondering about how well trained they are

I can understand taking fire. But you have a spotter you can tell where the fire is coming from. Hell I am just an old combat vet what do I know. I wasn't there

[catnhatnh]

15. Yep...we never shot at types....

...are so clever, we can form opinions even without experience...from what I've heard from combat vets though there was some drivel about "fire discipline"...whatever....

[BlooInBloo]

11. I guess I read a different article than you guys...

... Because I failed to see a single sentence in the article I linked that reported the US troops not knowing where the fire was coming from. I did, however, see a number of sentences that imply they DID know where the fire was coming from.

[Monkeyman]

12. Like I said I wasn't there

[Blashyrkh]

14. So you advocate the "spray and pray" policy of machine gun usage?

"Someone's shooting at me so the first thing I need to do is spray bullets at anything that moves. As opposed to getting the fuck to cover and determining direction of fire to prepare either a counter attack or retreat.

Super effective.

[mike_c]

3. the imperial stormtroopers are winning hearts and minds all over the empire....

eom

[EST]

8. The air of irresponsibility,

doing bad things and hiding from scrutiny, seems to have permeated everything, from the president down to the lowliest grunt. What a country!

We have become the enemy in every aspect. Detonating bombs in Europe and leaving evidence to implicate the Soviets, selling crack to American citizens whose lives are so bad that a momentary respite, in the form of mood altering drugs, is to be preferred to reality.

Complicity in the worst act of terrorism on American soil in the last hundred years to creating evidence that enrolls the populace in a war to aid the crooks. Will it ever end? Not likely.

[rodeodance]

9. AP: U.S. Soldier Threatens Photog, Deletes Images in Afghanistan

U.S. Soldier Threatens Photog, Deletes Images in Afghanistan



Published: March 04, 2007 1:20 PM ET