Over 40 killed by American chopper at Iraqi wedding

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Over 40 killed by American chopper at Iraqi wedding

Post by Axtech »

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld ... on-big-pix

U.S. strike kills 40 at Iraqi wedding party
The Associated Press

May 19, 2004, 1:43 PM EDT


BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party early Wednesday in western Iraq, killing more than 40 people, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it could not confirm the report and was investigating.

Lt. Col Ziyad al-Jbouri, deputy police chief of the city of Ramadi, said between 42 and 45 people died in the attack, which took place about 2:45 a.m. in a remote desert area near the border with Syria and Jordan. He said those killed included 15 children and 10 women.

Dr. Salah al-Ani, who works at a hospital in Ramadi, put the death toll at 45.

Associated Press Television News obtained videotape showing a truck containing bodies of those allegedly killed.

About a dozen bodies, one without a head, could be clearly seen. but it appeared that bodies were piled on top of each other and a clear count was not possible.

The Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television reported that more than 20 people were killed and 10 injured in the attack.

Iraqis interviewed on the videotape said partygoers had fired into the air in a traditional wedding celebration. American troops have sometimes mistaken celebratory gunfire for hostile fire.

"I cannot comment on this because we have not received any reports from our units that this has happened nor that any were involved in such a tragedy," Lt. Col. Dan Williams, a U.S. military spokesman, wrote in an e-mail in response to a question from The Associated Press.

"We take all these requests seriously and we have forwarded this inquiry to the Joint Operations Center for further review and any other information that may be available," Williams said.

The video footage showed mourners with shovels digging graves. A group of men crouched and wept around one coffin.

Al-Ani said people at the wedding fired weapons in the air, and that American troops came to investigate and left. However, al-Ani said, helicopters attacked the area at about 3 a.m. Two houses were destroyed, he said.

"This was a wedding and the (U.S.) planes came and attacked the people at a house. Is this the democracy and freedom that (President) Bush has brought us?" said a man on the videotape, Dahham Harraj. "There was no reason."

Another man shown on the tape, who refused to give his name, said the victims were at a wedding party "and the U.S. military planes came... and started killing everyone in the house."

In July 2002, Afghan officials said 48 civilians at a wedding party were killed and 117 wounded by a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province. An investigative report released by the U.S. Central Command said the airstrike was justified because American planes had come under fire.
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Post by nikki4982 »

:neutral: :cry: That's so unbelievably sad.
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Post by clumsychild_ »

That's horrible, just horrible.
Last edited by clumsychild_ on 5/19/2004, 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Tattooed Angels »

what is really sad is what we aren't shown.

I think alot of things are *swept under the rug*
while other things are used as Propaganda to make us look worse then we all ready do.

The whole situtation in Iraq is horrible.

who knows what we are shown is true, and such. I just think it is horrible how the civilians have to live in constant fear of being killed, or dying of some disease that is easliy curable here.

It is the civilians who are the ones suffering most in all of this mess.

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Post by Neil »

I suppose in a far-stretched retrospective, I can say that it's possible for that celebration-esque gunfire to be mistaken for an attack...

BUT....

I think situations like this could be prevented if further investigation BEFORE a preemptive strike takes place.

Just like other attacks.....it could've been prevented. I'm ashaimed.
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Post by Axtech »

Perhaps the invading "liberators" were taught about the soon-to-be-assimilated culture so as to avoid any more "unfortunate mishaps".

Sorry, but I'm bitter. The world's been fucked up the ass before, but this is the first time our generation's been around to really experience it.
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Post by Neil »

I'm with ya on that bitter part, Rob. It's beyond pathetic.
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Post by modern psychokitty »

We've been around before. It just wasn't as publicised.

They really need to scale down the weaponry. No one's impressed by how big and powerful their guns are.
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Post by closeyoureyes »

psycho groupie wrote:It is the civilians who are the ones suffering most in all of this mess.


its the civilians who always suffer the most. no matter how many army people die, they signed up knowing the risks. civilians have no say, especially in a tyranny like iraq.
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Post by closeyoureyes »

Neil down and obey.. wrote:I'm with ya on that bitter part, Rob. It's beyond pathetic.

Imagine veterans, who sacrificed their lives so something of this magnitude wouldnt happen again. The young and insightful can be bitter, but i could never imagine how angry vet's must be. Well, those that dont support Bush anyways.
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Post by I AM ME »

wow this isn't the first time that same scenario has happened either
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Post by closeyoureyes »

:nod:
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Post by Joe Cooler »

It will always happen. Call me a pessimist, but the world will never learn. No matter how many times we say "lest we forget" and no matter how many times we vow that we will learn from the horrors of war, war is going happen. And through war, war crimes are gonna happen. Its that simple. Everyday the geniva conventions are broken. Its sad but true. Sometimes its even unavoidable. Not in the case above, but theres never anything pretty about war.
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Post by Bandalero »

bandalero wrote:who in their right mind shoots a gun in the air when there is a war going on? the article made it sound like he was shot in cold blood, but seriously, common sense should tell you not to do something like that.
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Post by Neil »

Different cultures have different ways of celebrating celebration. Why is it a tradition for the majority of Americans to get COCKED after a wedding?

I just think it could've been prevented......and that's what always gets me.
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Post by mosaik »

reno, justifying these deaths is very illogical. It is their custom to fire weapons in the air at weddings.

This is like me saying "who kisses the bride at a wedding?! geez!"

i thought the war was over? i thought these were a liberated people, not a group that has to watch their every step.
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Post by Bandalero »

people here used to throw rice at weddings, but when birds started dying because they were eating the rice, people put a stop to it, and throw rose pedals or blow bubbles.

if it's their custom, their tradition, or their way of celebrating that's fine. but during a time when a military force is in the area you should look for an alternative way to celebrate. shooting a gun when a military force is around is just asking for trouble. the only way to avoid these situations is to avoid guns in general or even better, refrain from shooting one in the air.

the war is not over, that bullshit statement bush made is just a ploy to make it seem like it's over. Bush boy wouldn't know what the hell war looks like much less know when a war is over.
Whenever death may surprise us,
let it be welcome
if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear
and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.


Nobody's gonna miss me, no tears will fall, no ones gonna weap, when i hit that road.
my boots are broken my brain is sore, fer keepin' up with thier little world, i got a heavy load.
gonna leave 'em all just like before, i'm big city bound, your always 17 in your hometown
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Post by Axtech »

Telling them they have to change their culture, for any reason, because the US military is present is called assimilation.
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Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
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Post by Neil »

Axtech wrote:Telling them they have to change their culture, for any reason, because the US military is present is called assimilation.


Do you ever wonder if Bush would LOVE assimilation? haha
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Post by Axtech »

The more the story changes, the more it stays the same...

Now US officials are saying it was a "safehouse", not a wedding. :roll:

http://www.news4jax.com/news/3323330/detail.html

U.S. Disputes Iraqi Account Of Wedding Airstrike
Iraqis Say Wedding Party Attacked, 40 Killed; U.S. Says Safehouse Hit

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party in the remote desert near the border with Syria, killing more than 40 people, most of them women and children, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it attacked a safehouse for foreign fighters near Syria.

A military officer at the Pentagon said the operation was carried out at about 3 a.m. against a "foreign fighter safehouse" in the desert about 15 miles from the Syrian border. He said the U.S. troops came under hostile fire and called in close-air support.

The officer declined to say if anyone was killed. Lt. Col. Dan Williams, a U.S. military spokesman, said the military was investigating.

The Pentagon officer says U.S. troops recovered weapons, Iraqi and Syrian currency, some passports and some satellite communications gear.

Associated Press Television News footage showed a truck containing bloodied bodies, many wrapped in blankets, piled one atop the other. Several were children, one of whom had been decapitated.

Iraqis interviewed on the videotape said partygoers were firing in the air in a traditional wedding celebration.

"I cannot comment on this because we have not received any reports from our units that this has happened nor that any were involved in such a tragedy," Williams wrote in an e-mail in response to a question from The Associated Press.

American troops have sometimes mistaken celebratory gunfire for hostile fire. Such a case occurred in 2002, when Afghan officials said 48 civilians at a wedding party were killed by a U.S. airstrike. The U.S. Central Command later said the airstrike was justified because American planes had come under fire.
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Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
, I'll find the way to peace and openness.

Image
"Robbo" - © Alex (happeningfish)...^5 ^5 v v
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