So, there it is All over the Internet A very popular video
An American helicopter Has a bead on two Iraqis
The Iraqis are standing by two trucks A pick-up and a larger covered vehicle
They are apparently aware of the helicopter But don't know how well the pilot can see them
One of them pulls a weapon from the cab of the pick-up And runs into the field and dumps the weapon between the furrows
The other one eventually follows the actions of the first And then they both stand around the pick-up truck, acting casual
Meanwhile, you can hear the helicopter pilot Talking to his controller, describing what the Iraqis are doing
They are trying to decide whether or not to "smoke" these guys While the two Iraqis are apparently deciding whether or not to retrieve their weapons
One of the Iraqis moves towards his weapon, then moves back towards the truck The other one moves in and out of the cab of the pick-up, and then heads into the field
In the field is a third vehicle, a farm tractor, with a farmer sitting on it From the furrows, one can see that the farmer has been plowing up the field
The Iraqi that has returned to the field, goes and stands by the tractor By this time the American controller has ordered the American pilot to "smoke em!"
The farmer jumps from the tractor and is the first to be blown to bits by the helicopter guns Then the tractor is blown to bits with the Iraqi standing behind it
The controller then tells the pilot to take out the large truck, under which the other Iraqi is hiding The truck is blown to bits and the second Iraqi crawls from under it, wounded
The controller tells the pilot to take out the pick-up truck and walk his gun up to "smoke" the wounded Iraqi The pick-up and wounded Iraqi are blown to bits, by the cooly professional pilot and controller
The American pilot, a Warrant Officer, and the controller, a Captain, have just killed the "enemy" In a calm and cold, business-like, manner, without questioning what the ramifications of their actions might be
Most likely, the two Iraqis were insurgents, but then again, many Iraqis carry weapons for protection And what about the farmer? Was he an insurgent? Perhaps, but maybe he was an innocent bystander
Maybe he was an insurgent and a farmer, fighting, what he believed was, an evil invader Maybe all three were insurgents, or maybe they were just two truck drivers and a farmer taking a break
Jim Bush is a 61 year old, Vietnam-era veteran, currently living in Katy,Texas. He was raised in a military family. His father received the Silver Star for directing troops while under air attack at Clark Field in the Phillipines, survived the Bataan Death March, and spent three and a half years in a Japanese POW camp. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds received while a POW. Jim served as an army photographer in Okinawa and Korea. In 1987 he traveled to the war zones of Nicaragua with a veteran's group dedicated to stopping the Contra War.
I thank you for the articles you post. I look forward to reading each and every one of your poems and blogs. I joined Op-Ed just now so I could tell you that.
by
Reefee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments)
on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 8:32:43 AM
2 comments
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