Collateral Murder

     On July 12, 2007, American helicopters were flying over a public square in Eastern Baghdad, Iraq. There was a group of around ten people walking together, two of which were Reuters news employees, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. Eldeen came from a family of journalists and was known to be one of the best war photographers in Iraq.

                                                                             Video Footage

    As the helicopters flown by American soldiers arrived over the town square in Baghdad, there was a small group of civilian men walking. The American soldiers claimed they had spotted weapons and were targeting Saeed with their camera because he was thought to be carrying a weapon. Saeed clearly had something black strapped to his shoulder, which was not a weapon, but his camera used for photography. The American soldiers were requesting the okay to open fire on this group of men due to the suspicion of weapons being present.

    As the group of men was calmly walking with no commotion, the American troops in the helicopters opened fire on the men. An excessive amount of rounds were spent and all the men were down. American soldiers visualized one man crawling away, which was later known to be Saeed. Saeed was alive, and while attempting to escape, the American troops were visually searching for evidence of a weapon in an attempt to gain permission to fire again. As this was occurring, a van approached to pick up the dead bodies lying in the town square. While two men were loading Saeed and the deceased men into the van, again American soldiers asked for permission to fire. Permission was granted, and the van was under siege.

    Shortly following the events, other American soldiers arrived on the scene and were seen running over a body in the process. They found two wounded children who were inside the van and took them to get medical attention.

    The events of this day were publicized in a way where it appeared there was a battle and the men were insurgents. The official statement claimed they did not know how the men were killed. The event was devastating and video footage shows no viable threat or weapon possession of the Iraqui men. When the van arrived to collect the deceased, American soldiers said statements over the radio like, "Let me Engage," "Come on, let us shoot!," and "Well it's their fault for bringing their kids into a battle." American soldiers did not place value on civilian lives and simply wanted to kill them with no reason or potential threat. 

    These events are devastating and horrendous. The statements from the event were lies about the truth that occurred that day, and the truth would never have been uncovered without this leaked video coverage. George Orwell said, "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind." Orwell shows how political and military leaders hide the cruelty of actions that take place. This event is far from respectable, it is disgustingly evil.