"Collateral Murder", 11 years later...
05 April 2010, WikiLeaks released a video titled “Collateral Murder”. It reveals airstrikes in Baghdad, on July 12, 2007. It showed that the crew of two U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters fired on a group of men and laughed at some of the casualties, some of whom were civilians and reporters. The footage which provoked global discussion on the legality and morality of the attacks, and depicted the war in Iraq like never seen before, from the inside of the cockpit of one such killing machines…
WARNING: the video depicts acts of gruesome brutality and contempt for human life :/
Video "Collateral Murder, 10 Years On"
Part I
Part II
Video of a Live Stream with K.Hrafnsson
Essential Information
Initial release
https://collateralmurder.wikileaks.org/
“5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded…” (read the rest on the initial release website)
Watch the Video
WARNING: the video depicts acts of gruesome brutality and contempt for human life :/
Short, anotated version (17:47)
Full version (39:14)
Download the Video
https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Collateral_Murder,_5_Apr_2010
Anotated, short version: http://file.wikileaks.org/file/collateralmurder/crazyhorse-15-wrapped-in.mp4
Raw footage, full version: http://file.wikileaks.org/file/collateralmurder/crazyhorse-38-wrapped-in.mp4
Background Information
It is the 12th July 2007. US Army occupied Iraq since 2003, after the Iraq war. Some US troops are doing knocking searches. Two US AH-64 Apache helicopters are providing overview flights in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, New Baghdad on this day. During the Iraqi insurgency which Then they see a group of people and identify a camera and a tripod as weapons (AK47 + RPG). It happen, what has never had to happened. They requested permission to engage. They started to shoot at these innocent group of civilians. What followed is a massacre. It seems so surreal, when one hears the soldiers talking and behaving like in a video game, congratulating each other for good shots or laughing about the killed persons. Example: The lead helicopter, using the moniker Crazyhorse, opens fire. “Hahaha. I hit 'em,” shouts one of the American crew. Another responds a little later: “Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards.”
The Victims
Iraqi civilians, some of the killed persons were journalists that were simply doing their Jobs.
Reuters News Agency employees: the photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen (22) and his driver and assistent Saeed Chmagh (40).
Salah Mutashar is the father of the kids in the van, who only wanted to help a wounded Person. His Kids got seriously injured by the US airstrikes.
The Good Samaritans
Salah Mutashar, was on the way with his Kids, Duaa and Sajad. He wanted to bring them to School, when he saw the scenario of dead persons and one wounded Person trying to crawl. He immediately stopped to help when another person came to help also. Together they wanted bring Reuters employee Saeed into the van. In this moment the airstrike started again. Mutashar, Saeed and the other helper died.
Ethan Gideon Sean McCord is one of the soldiers who were around and arrived shortly after his troop heard shots of the Apache helicopters. They found a massacre battlefield and injured kids in a van surrounded by dead bodies. McCord immediately decided to help the kids. He was the only one. For his decision he got blamed and threatened by his comrades and commanding officers. The reaction of his commanding officer was: “quit being a pussy and get the sand out of your vagina.“
On this day over a dozen people got killed including two Reuters news employees. US Army denied any access to Reuters to get informations how the Reuters staff got killed.
McCord is telling his experience as an eyewitness here. Through his effort the kids are still alive. He is committed with support for suicidal veterans and is holding speeches at schools convincing young students not to enlist.
Whistleblower
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, a former army analyst in Bagdad got these files in her hands. She leaked classified diplomatic and military documents, the Iraq and Afghan War logs, including the “Collateral Murder“ helicopter gunsight video to WikiLeaks in 2010.
Manning was imprisoned in 2010 (seven years) and again in 2019. Federal District Court Judge Anthony J. Trenga in Victoria/ Virginia ordered the immediate release of Chelsea just recently on 13th March 2020. Only through her decision to blow the whistle on this cables, we are able to see this material of inhumanity. She became one of the most important whistleblower of our times. Further informations about her case you can get here.
To this day, the war criminals are free. The commanders and the shooters. Julian Assange, who published the war crimes via WikiLeaks is confined in UK prison, facing extradition to the US.
Press Coverage
The Guardian Wikileaks reveals video showing US air crew shooting down Iraqi civilians
Huffpost WikiLeaks VIDEO Exposes 2007 ‘Collateral Murder’ In Iraq
Al Jazeera English Witness - Video of US attack in Iraq 'genuine'
RT WikiLeaks editor on Apache combat video: No excuse for US killing civilians
Complementary Resources
Kristinn Hrafnnson Looking for the Salah Mutashars Family (02:51)
Here you can see a Video of Salah Mutashars Family, three years after the US Army airstrike attack.
More WikiLeaks releases about Irak and Afghanistan wars
Collateral murder was published on 05th April 2010. The Afghan Warlogs with 76910 documents were published later on 25th July 2010 and the the Iraq Warlogs with 391831 documents were published on 22nd October 2010.
Through WarDiaries, WikiLeaks made it even possible to read each and every classified document by yourself, which you can filter very precisely.
Online actions for the 10 Years Anniversary
Due to the global covid19-confinement all planned protests were cancelled. Alternatively short-term online actions were created:
DEA Campaign on Twitter
“In this Special online event the global political impact of one of the greatest journalistic coups of this century will be discussed: the release of the cockpit video of US troops shooting down journalists and innocent civilians in Iraq. Hosted by Don't Extradite Assange Campaign join this online event with editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsson and columnist and essayist Nozomi Hayase. Reserve your place here for Zoom Webinar or watch livestreamed on Don't Extradite Assange social media channels.”
Free Assange Committee Germany on Facebook
“Share this pic on social media or plan B: Print this template, make a pic with or without you and share it far and wide on your social media. Hashtag Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson), Robert Buckland (@RobertBuckland), Priti Patel (@patel4witham), Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP), Donald Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Mike Pompeo (@SecPompeo), United Nations (@UN), European Parliament (@EUParl_EN), Ministry of Justice UK (@MoJGovUK), Department of State (@StateDept), Collateral Murder, and then join our “Collateral Murder”-theme day on Facebook.”
Assange & Wikileaks Coalition on Facebook
“Please everyone share the link below everywhere, so everyone knows just what is at stake.
5th April 2020 marks 10 years since Wikileaks released Collateral Murder. Julian has been hounded ever since.
Post the video link https://bit.ly/2JJ3c05 on all on social media platforms with hashtag #CollateralMurder.”
get involved with further actions here.