Wikileaks video of combat in Iraq

[bush_cheney2004]

Don't give me that crap the U.S. and UK declared war on Iraq in all but name.

Don't get pissy...they did not declare war...just 'sayin. Did Canada declare war on Serbia? Nope.

[Army Guy]

How many of those troops were Canadian? Canada did not declare war on Iraq and had some 40-50 troops in actual combat and only a few hundred in other positions. That is not a war.

Canada may not have declared War, most of those troops where exchange troops, however before they deploy with thier host nation Governmental approval must be sent and agreed upon...So our government knew they where there...

Also our Navy did take part in many operations within the gulf which supported the Iraqi war,and the US coalition. These taskings are clearly defined on the DND web site....so it was more than a few hundred, and while the Canadian exchange troops where under Direct US command, the Naval task group was clearly flying and operating under Canadian flag and authority from our liberal government...

[Guest TrueMetis]

Canada may not have declared War, most of those troops where exchange troops, however before they deploy with thier host nation Governmental approval must be sent and agreed upon...So our government knew they where there...

Also our Navy did take part in many operations within the gulf which supported the Iraqi war,and the US coalition. These taskings are clearly defined on the DND web site....so it was more than a few hundred, and while the Canadian exchange troops where under Direct US command, the Naval task group was clearly flying and operating under Canadian flag and authority from our liberal government...

Then I guess we should say we went to war with Vietnam to considering all the help we gave the American then. Did those ships four ships even ever actually engage in combat?

[bush_cheney2004]

Then I guess we should say we went to war with Vietnam to considering all the help we gave the American then. Did those ships four ships even ever actually engage in combat?

No, but they were in the war zone as Operation Apollo overlapped the build up and invasion of Iraq. For instance, Iroquois Class frigates served as flagships for Task Force 151.

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/85013738@N00/107703644/

[BCMan]

Well...you should never be emotional when debating a serious issue...

What separates Nato soldiers from Taliban soldiers is that Nato are fighting on people's sides while Talibans are not.

"they don’t have the will to fight"

It has been 9 years now...can you please tell me how many years will it take for their will to diminish???

-I wouldn’t want them to abandon Afghan mission entirely. it should remain a rebuilding mission. No Canadian would want the history to say Canada left Afghanistan just US left Iraq.

It's an emotional subject,sometimes to emotional....Thats not what i was trying to say at all, we do afford the enemy some rights, some compassion, What my piont is there is very few rights given by any side in any War...

[Army Guy]

Well...you should never be emotional when debating a serious issue...

I guess that is what happens when you have invested alot into this issue...

"they don’t have the will to fight"

It has been 9 years now...can you please tell me how many years will it take for their will to diminish???

You think 9 years is to long, try being there and humping a over 160 lbs of kit around in 50 plus degrees....and yet have you tried to research how long insurgent wars normally go on for...ask the IRA , or mienhoff gang, Spains terrorists, shit how long has somolia been turned upside down...

The average peace keeping mission for regular missions is well over 20 years....The last Canadian soldier left Bosina after 19 years in country, and the mission is still on going....I wish i had an answer for you but i don't all i know is it will be a long time....

-I wouldn’t want them to abandon Afghan mission entirely. it should remain a rebuilding mission. No Canadian would want the history to say Canada left Afghanistan just US left Iraq.

Our government has already said, ALL of our military forces will leave Afghan before 2011, as well as All other depts that support the mission or are supported directly by our military including RCMP and Corrections, etc etc ...not many Canadian persons will be left behind...

It is what the Majority of Canadians want....

[waldo]

U.S. Soldier on 2007 Apache Attack... what he saw... and an apologetic "Letter to Iraq":

Wired.com: Wikileaks presented the incident as though there was no engagement from insurgents. But you guys did have a firefight a couple of blocks away. Was it reasonable for the Apache soldiers to think that maybe the people they attacked were part of that insurgent firefight?

McCord: I doubt that they were a part of that firefight. However, when I did come up on the scene, there was an RPG as well as AK-47s there…. You just don’t walk around with an RPG in Iraq, especially three blocks away from a firefight…. Personally, I believe the first attack on the group standing by the wall was appropriate, was warranted by the rules of engagement. They did have weapons there. However, I don’t feel that the attack on the [rescue] van was necessary.

Now, as far as rules of engagement, [iraqis] are not supposed to pick up the wounded. But they could have been easily deterred from doing what they were doing by just firing simply a few warning shots in the direction…. Instead, the Apaches decided to completely obliterate everybody in the van. That’s the hard part to swallow.

And where the soldier said [in the video], “Well, you shouldn’t take your kids to battle.” Well in all actuality, we brought the battle to your kids. There’s no front lines here. This is urban combat and we’re taking the war to children and women and innocents.

AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION & RESPONSIBILITY TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE

From Current and Former Members of the U.S. Military

Peace be with you.

To all of those who were injured or lost loved ones during the July 2007 Baghdad shootings depicted in the “Collateral Murder” Wikileaks video:

We write to you, your family, and your community with awareness that our words and actions can never restore your losses.

We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions.

There is no bringing back all that was lost. What we seek is to learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to tell others of our experiences and how the people of the United States need to realize we have done and are doing to you and the people of your country. We humbly ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused.

We have been speaking to whoever will listen, telling them that what was shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have created. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other veterans we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region.

We acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved ones as we tell Americans what we were trained to do and what we carried out in the name of "god and country". The soldier in the video said that your husband shouldn't have brought your children to battle, but we are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your neighborhood, and to your family. We did unto you what we would not want done to us.

More and more Americans are taking responsibility for what was done in our name. Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we have not forgotten our actions towards you. Our heavy hearts still hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your humanity, that we were taught to deny.

Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image. It has also ignored many veterans who have returned physically injured or mentally troubled by what they saw and did in your country. But the time is long overdue that we say that the value of our nation's leaders no longer represent us. Our secretary of defense may say the U.S. won't lose its reputation over this, but we stand and say that our reputation's importance pales in comparison to our common humanity.

We have asked our fellow veterans and service-members, as well as civilians both in the United States and abroad, to sign in support of this letter, and to offer their names as a testimony to our common humanity, to distance ourselves from the destructive policies of our nation's leaders, and to extend our hands to you.

With such pain, friendship might be too much to ask. Please accept our apology, our sorrow, our care, and our dedication to change from the inside out. We are doing what we can to speak out against the wars and military policies responsible for what happened to you and your loved ones. Our hearts are open to hearing how we can take any steps to support you through the pain that we have caused.

Ethan McCord: United States Army, 1st ID, Specialist; Josh Stieber: United States Army, 1st ID, Specialist