Collateral Murder

I'm not ever really sure what to say about this.

First, WikiLeaks is an extremely important website that you should familiarize yourself with. It gives whistleblowers a safe and secure way to get out information in the form of documents and video that wouldn't come to light otherwise.

You know it's a useful tool when a 32-page U.S. CounterIntelligence report stated they wanted to marginalize the site so it would cease to be. They justified the thinking in part, because countries like China, North Korea and Russia have already blocked the site.

Yeah we should follow the lead of nations that don't allow a free press. That seems American.

That being said, on to the main point. The video below has been making the rounds and everyone should see it.

Be advised, this 17-minute video has been edited down from raw footage and contains harsh language, along with a few comments from our soldiers that is quite embarrassing.

I'm supportive of our troops, but the proper comment after firing upon a group of unidentified people and realizing two children are wounded is not, "Well, it's their fault for bringing their kids to a battle".

To boil things down (which does the story a disservice, but you can read the details in several places) a U.S. helicopter crew fired upon and killed a group of Iraqi "insurgents", among them 2 Reuters cameramen.

For a very interesting and enlightening interpretation of the video, check this link to former infantry sergeant Anthony Martinez's blog

Ultimately, while this video makes me angry I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Certainly tragic and food for thought. Again, the video is pretty disturbing so watch with care.