The U.S. rules of engagement state that the use of deadly force should only be used when a subject usually has a weapon and “will either kill or injure someone if he/she is not stopped immediately”.
From the shocking video obtained by Wikileaks it is obvious that the military on the ground in New Bagdad interpret this to mean that anyone carrying a weapon is a legitimate target.
The men we see being killed gave no indications that they were planning to launch any attack – from their position the soldiers even mistook cameras of the Reuters journalists for guns.
This being a hot zone of the city the level of tension has clearly reached a point that attack is routinely regarded as the best form of defence. The casual manner in which permission to engage was given indicates that this was far from being an isolated incident.
Even more inexcusable was the subsequent firing on those who came to the aid of the wounded. That act cannot be dismissed as the fog of war.
Wikileaks are doing an invaluable service in exposing such outrages – they present the material in a highly professional manner after investigating the circumstances fully leaving the powers that be no avenues to weasel out of responsibility.
The Pentagon are said to be angry about the leak of the video when a more noble response would be one of disgust that members of the U.S. military are carrying out acts of cold blooded murder.
But then again, they already know this yet continue to feed their lies to the media.
