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☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → US classifies video showing friendly fire killing UK soldier
US classifies video showing friendly fire killing UK soldier
2007-02-05, 11:47 PM #1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6333853.stm

The bits I heard on the radio this morning were sick. They knew full well they'd made a mistake and rather than own up and apologise the US classified the tape. Not a brilliant move there.

EDIT: It seems that they 'never release documents that are part of an ongoing investigation' but I don't think it excuses them from not letting them be used in the UK inquest into the soldier's death.
2007-02-05, 11:51 PM #2
I wonder if they wandered into a killbox again...
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-02-05, 11:52 PM #3
AMERICANS ARE AT IT AGAIN.

JOB WELL DONE.

BURGERBOYS.
Star Wars: TODOA | DXN - Deus Ex: Nihilum
2007-02-06, 2:47 AM #4
bah, American's can't seem to help themselves...

a few years back they bombed and killed 4 Canadians while they were doing a live fire exercise, the pilot saw the gunfire on the ground and radioed it in and they gave the go-ahead to bomb the threat...

since we're SUPPOSE to be allies you'd think they'd be aware of our presence and not bomb us...
The Gas Station
2007-02-06, 3:26 AM #5
I thought we were at war with Canadia.
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2007-02-06, 4:59 AM #6
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2006914,00.html

Transcript - Language Warning.
2007-02-06, 5:20 AM #7
:(
ORJ / My Level: ORJ Temple Tournament I
2007-02-06, 5:41 AM #8
From the transcript it seems it's mostly the coordinator's fault.
幻術
2007-02-06, 5:52 AM #9
Originally posted by Koobie:
From the transcript it seems it's mostly the coordinator's fault.


Yeah - accidents do happen, tragic though they are - but it's the refusal to share the truth with the victim's family (and to a lesser extent the public) that's most upsetting to me.
2007-02-06, 6:10 AM #10
This orange panel business isn't good...
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-02-06, 7:00 AM #11
Quote:
the US government says it will be prosecute whoever is responsible.


Haha, that grammar reminds me of a particular member of the US government all right.
Sneaky sneaks. I'm actually a werewolf. Woof.
2007-02-06, 7:19 AM #12
It's a tragic event, but I feel that the video shouldn't be available to the general public. I'm sure that the families of the fallen soldier don't want the death of their loved one shown night and day around the globe. That's aside from the obvious reason that it's being classified. I don't see what the issue with that is about.... it's not like this will be blown under the rug. I really feel bad for the pilots that strafed the friendlies, though. They're going to be messed up for a long time.
Current Maps | Newest Map
2007-02-06, 7:45 AM #13
Originally posted by Blood Asp:
I really feel bad for the pilots that strafed the friendlies, though. They're going to be messed up for a long time.


This is true - a point that's probably going to be missed.
2007-02-06, 7:56 AM #14
America has always been at war with Oceania.
"If you watch television news, you will know less about the world than if you just drink gin straight out of the bottle."
--Garrison Keillor
2007-02-06, 8:21 AM #15
America has always been at war with Eurasia!

Goldstein has edited fishstickz's post! That fiend!
Star Wars: TODOA | DXN - Deus Ex: Nihilum
2007-02-06, 10:36 AM #16
The UK and Canada should declare war against the US.

That would make things more interesting.
2007-02-06, 10:46 AM #17
i say we all declare war on France! with their delicious wines and tasty cheeses... :argh:

seriously though, the US politicians will not let this get swept under the rug
Welcome to the douchebag club. We'd give you some cookies, but some douche ate all of them. -Rob
2007-02-06, 11:01 AM #18
To be fair when your a pilot hurtling close to the ground at high speeds you have to rely on your information to target and a split second can screw things up.

A tank from a speeding bomber is a tank... You cant easily see if its friend or foe.
2007-02-06, 12:37 PM #19
There is always the chance some accidents happen. There have been friendly fire incidents dating back to the Second World War, its just that allied soldiers and veichles can be mistaken for an enemy. In this case the pilot had asked his superior for confirmation of the target, so he should not get the blame.

But why did the US Military keep it quiet and classified for so long? and that families of the killed soldier have had to live without knowing how their loved one died? Just hope that this is dealt with so the family can move on.
'Its always a good idea to move foward not back'

/Axecrasher/
2007-02-06, 3:41 PM #20
That transcript was one of the saddest things I've read in some time. My god :/
2007-02-06, 6:10 PM #21
From all that i've seen, many USAF pilots are blind as a bat. I'm not talking about the 1500mph F16 pilot dropping an LGB from a couple thousand feet up, i'm talking about the couple hundred mile an hour A10 with ATG missiles hitting targets that don't look a damn bit like ANYTHING in the enemy arsenal.(USMC AAV7 to be precise). They fly so low and slow that I can literally see the pilot with my Mk 1 eyeball!
Being on the flight line to Barksdale AFB can be fun, unless a B52 is clinging to the treetops.(Has happened twice that I can recall)

As for why it was classified, perhaps something related to the tank(A Challenger II I assume) and it's armor's(Chobham) effectiveness against US weapons or vice versa. That's the only reason I can think of right now.
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2007-02-06, 6:30 PM #22
Or maybe they don't want the poor kids death to be uploaded on YouTube so people can use it as a platform to make retarded political observations.
2007-02-06, 6:38 PM #23
Commander, it's classified because it tells what friendlies were in what groupboxes at what times, and there's something they mention about the vehicles that they don't exactly want to be wide-spread knowledge.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-02-06, 7:00 PM #24
:(
$do || ! $do ; try
try: command not found
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor (X-wing, TIE, XvT/BoP, XWA)
2007-02-09, 11:24 AM #25
Hey Freelancer, turns out these pilots are from Gowen.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-02-09, 11:29 AM #26
yeah now that they've released the tape, guess alot more insurgents are gonna put more orange panels on their vehicles
2007-02-09, 11:44 AM #27
Which is horrible, thanks to this video being online, there will be an increased chance of future mistakes since they'll have to develope a new plan, and will put more stress on comm networks between air and ground units.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-02-09, 12:56 PM #28
Lighten up. Im sick of all the American bashing... jesus christ..
"Nulla tenaci invia est via"
2007-02-09, 2:03 PM #29
In WWII, all media was censored. And it was a good thing.
Wikissassi sucks.
2007-02-09, 2:09 PM #30
In WWII they didn't have video satellite phones, video cell phones, wireless internet video and so on, so there is no chance of the media ever being censored in a war zone again.
Pissed Off?
2007-02-09, 3:44 PM #31
Yeah, my my friend's unit had an IED explode, and the press leaked the names before the military had time to notify the families and allow the families to tell extended-relatives.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-02-10, 1:56 AM #32
Originally posted by Roach:
Yeah, my my friend's unit had an IED explode, and the press leaked the names before the military had time to notify the families and allow the families to tell extended-relatives.



That's really sad. It's not like the press actually gain anything tangible from doing that, like extra copies of a paper shifted, or higher ratings - it just shafts ordinary people.
2007-02-10, 7:04 AM #33
Well US casualties are the only thing embedded reporters give a **** about.
$do || ! $do ; try
try: command not found
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor (X-wing, TIE, XvT/BoP, XWA)
2007-02-10, 7:19 AM #34
Originally posted by saberopus:
That transcript was one of the saddest things I've read in some time. My god :/
Agreed fully. Maybe if we get a bunch of transcripts like these out to the public we can actually get awareness about how much war sucks.
Ban Jin!
Nobody really needs work when you have awesome. - xhuxus

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