NEW YORK "” The U.S. military is investigating the videotaped fatal shooting of a wounded and apparently unarmed Iraqi prisoner by a U.S. Marine in a mosque in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah (search), a Marine spokesman said.
The dramatic footage was taken Saturday by pool correspondent Kevin Sites of NBC television, who said three other prisoners wounded a day earlier in the mosque apparently also had been shot the next day by the Marines.
The incident played out as the Marines 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment (search), returned to the unidentified Fallujah mosque Saturday. Sites was embedded with the unit.
Sites reported that a different Marine unit had come under fire from the mosque on Friday. Those Marines stormed the building, killing ten men and wounding five, Sites said. The Marines said the fighters in the mosque had been armed with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 (search) rifles.
The Marines had treated the wounded, he reported, left them behind and continued on Friday with their drive to retake the city from insurgents who have been battling U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq with increasing ferocity and violence in recent months.
The same five men were still in the mosque on Saturday, Sites reported.
He was not a prisoner. This squad had for the first time entered that location and they were, according to the reports last night, attempting to determine the status of these men. Such as alive, dead, incapacitated or still a threat.
If he was a prisoner it would be a much easier case or situation from which to draw a conclusion. Combat is hell and instant judgements have to be made or you don't go home to the family. Monday morning QB-ing is fine for football games but not when a mans life is on the line.
You have tolearn that leason first hand to truely appreciate it.
Such inaccurate statements spin the entire incident.
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
I know I sound like a Neanderthal but I couldn't care less. I wish the military had a "take no prisoners" policy. What the he*l are we going to do with these animals if they are alive. Fix'm up and send'm back out? Jail them indefinately?
I may be over-reacting but I just don't see the problem here. AND, I'm just guessing that most other people won't either.
I'll wait for details.In any event my guess this kid was at his junior prom during 9/11.You want blood the Corp will will give you blood.They also have their rules and will handle this. A lot of people on this board with a lot of opinions.me included.But it still boils down to some tired kid getting it done .The best way they can.
VC1111, you're missing the big picture here. I saw the video, although the kill shot was not shown. These marines were sweeping a mosque when one of them saw movement from what they thought was a body. Being that marines have been wounded moving bobby-trapped bodies, they were right to be extremely forceful in dealing with this situation.
This was that unit's first time entering the mosque, and they didn't know what they'd find. As one person has already said in another article, marines are trained to know that an enemy is most dangerous when he's mortally wounded and has nothing else to lose. These terrorists are extremely unpredictable and obviously well armed. We cannot take any chances in this kind of combat situation.
Also, you're transcript is a bit off.
Marine A: "He's (expletive) faking he's dead!"
Marine B: "Yeah, he's breathing."
Marine A: "He's faking he's (expletive) dead!"
Marine A: "He's dead now."
Shortly thereafter the CO steps in and yells something, Marine A says, "I didn't know, sir, I didn't know."
Photography, Dichotomy, Murder
