what happened to ethan mccord


This is his account of what he saw. [81] "The helicopters were approximately a mile and a half away and they were zooming in on these guys . Responsibility for civilian deaths in such encounters rests with those who violate the rules of war. The video doesn't show the broader picture of the firing that was going on at American troops. [18][25][31] The Apache crew requested permission to engage, stating it "looks like [the men] possibly, picking up bodies and weapons" from the scene,[33] and repeated their request to shoot,[7][34][35][36][37] before they received permission to begin firing on the van and its occupants. She said that she was "aghast" at Finkel's portrayal of the incident. Wired.com: At the time you arrived on the scene, you didn't know what had happened, is that right? Wired.com: Have you heard from any other soldiers since the video came out? ", The letter, which they hope to get to the family who lost their father and whose children were injured in the attack, states that they "are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your neighborhood, and to your family. He said that the debate should be re-framed, that it is more appropriate to ask "questions of the larger system" that teaches "doing these things is in the best interests of my own country". [118][119], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}331849N 443043E / 33.3137N 44.512E / 33.3137; 44.512 (Airstrike of 2007-07-12). [38] The children, a girl and boy, suffered injuries. Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image. Ethan McCord was a member of the military unit in "Collateral Murder" - the Wikileaks video showing 12 Iraqis being killed from a US helicopter.He rescued the two children severely wounded in the attack and is now speaking out to corroborate the Collateral Murder video. [18] A long shadow cast on the ground by a telephoto lens on Noor-Eldeen's camera is misidentified by the pilot as an additional RPG aimed at him and a U.S. Army Humvee directly below his aircraft. It claimed reporters' "furtive attempts to photograph the Coalition Ground Forces made them appear as hostile combatants". But you guys did have a firefight a couple of blocks away. She wrote that the co-pilot urged a dying, unarmed journalist to pick up a weapon as he tried to crawl to safety and that "the Apache crew open[ed] fire on civilians". In the first strike, the crews of two Apaches directed 30mm cannon fire at a group of ten Iraqi men, including some armed,[17][18][19] standing less than 100 meters away from U.S. ground troops at a location where insurgents earlier that day had attacked an American Humvee with small arms fire. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. soldiers. Knowing that I was part of the system that took their father away from them and made them lose their house it's heartbreaking. (quote begins at 5:15)", "Soldiers in 'Collateral Murder' video apologise", "Meet The New Public Face Of WikiLeaks: Kristinn Hrafnsson Forbes", "2 Iraqi Journalists Killed as U.S. When Bravo Company arrived at the scene, they reported finding two RPGs and an AK-47 or AKM. McCord: She had a stomach wound and she had glass in her eyes and in her hair. [50] In a later interview on the World Socialist Web Site, Stieber said that the attack "exposes so clearly the fallacy of using war as a tool of foreign policy or as a way to supposedly spread 'freedom and democracy' around the world".[51]. The film received an Oscar nomination in January. James W. McCord Jr., a security expert who led a band of burglars into the shambles of the Watergate scandal and was the first to expose the White House crimes and cover-ups that precipitated the . [45][114], "Cameramen and armed insurgents" (all captions from the Army report), "Cameraman peering around corner of wall", "Pictures taken by ground forces after reaching the site". When we were on that roof, we were still taking fire. He gave his view of the context of the killings: the Reuters guys walked into the hottest spot of a very hot morning. Noor-Eldeen fails to photograph the Apache but three pictures of the U.S. Humvee appear on his camera's memory card when it was recovered by U.S. soldiers. It didn't seem real, in the sense that it didn't look like human beings. [Then I] took my children to school one day and I came home and sat down on the couch and turned on the TV with my coffee, and on the news I'm running across the screen with a child. Among the group were two Iraqi war correspondents working for Reuters, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen. This is why we called it Collateral Murder. "These people can put out anything they want, and they're never held accountable for it. And where the soldier said [in the video], "Well, you shouldn't take your kids to battle." I can accept their apology, because they saved my children, and if it were not for them, maybe my two little children would be dead. I did see a video on YouTube after the Wikileaks [ video ] came out, of the children being interviewed. You don't just take somebody's life and then go on about your business for the rest of the day. [17] Julian Assange said "permission to engage was given before the word 'RPG' was ever used". The company was supported by two Apache helicopters from the 1st Cavalry Division's Aviation Brigade, call signs "Crazyhorse 1/8" and "Crazyhorse 1/9". [60] The Pentagon eventually blocked the FOIA request[25] despite several follow-up requests by Reuters. WikiLeaks stated that "some of the men appear to have been armed [although] the behavior of nearly everyone was relaxed" in the introductory text of the shorter video. I think it is good that they're putting this stuff out there. I've lived with seeing the children that way since the incident happened. "[46] Assange later said "Based upon visual evidence, I suspect there probably were AKs and an RPG, but I'm not sure that means anything". [16] The military reported that it could not find its copy of the video. So, the first thing I did was grab the girl. The missile hits the building, and the man is caught in the explosion. Ethan McCord: Right. Wired's Kim Zetter reached McCord at his home in Kansas. [108][109], In a June 7, 2010, article in The New Yorker, Raffi Khatchadourian addressed several issues involved in determining the legality of the attacks, including "proportionality", "positive identification" ("reasonable certainty" that the target has hostile intent), and "the treatment of casualties during an ongoing military operation". After the video was released, one of the soldiers involved in the incident, Ethan McCord, stated the following: "If you feel threatened in any way, you're able to engage that person. I think it is good that they're putting this stuff out there. The girl suffered from a stomach wound and glass in her eyes, and the boy a head injury. [32] The legal review carried out by the U.S. Army stated that the two children were evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital via Forward Operating Base Loyalty, then transferred to an Iraqi medical facility the next day. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. I do know that there was a teenage girl [in there], just because I saw the pictures when I was there, that one of the soldiers took. They arrived on station in New Baghdad at 9:53a.m., where sporadic attacks on coalition forces continued. McCord, who served seven years in the military before leaving in the summer of 2009 due to injuries, recently posted an apologetic letter online with fellow soldier Josh Steiber supporting the release of the video and asking the family's forgiveness. He later sought help for psychological trauma, but was ridiculed by his NCO and told that if he were to go to the mental health officer, "there would be repercussions". I don't think that people really want to see this, though, because this is war. McCord was captured in a video shot from one helicopter as he ran frantically to a military vehicle with Sajad in his arms seeking medical care. Reuters also stated that local police described the attack as "random American bombardment". Ethan McCord, who was one of the first soldiers on the scene in the 2007 attack, told Wired.com that he saw several weapons at the scene, including a rocket propelled grenade launcher. As the killing goes on, you obviously would see the killing of men who are lying on the ground in an operation where ground troops are approaching and perfectly capable of taking those people captive, but meanwhile you're murdering before the troops arrive. Lawmakers are increasingly hellbent on punishing the popular social network while efforts to pass a broader privacy law have dwindled. Two former soldiers from the Army unit responsible for the Wikileaks "Collateral Murder" incident have written an open-letter of "Reconciliation and Responsibility" to those injured in the July 2007 attack, in which U.S. forces wounded two children and killed over a dozen people, including the father of those children and two Reuters employees. [Then] we were just told to move to this [other] location. Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we have not forgotten our actions towards you. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. He looked at me, then his eyes rolled back into this head. We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. [8] The video, which WikiLeaks titled Collateral Murder, showed the crew firing on a group of men and killing several of them, then laughing at some of the casualties, all of whom were civilians, including two Reuters journalists. "[60], Early in 2010, the Internet whistleblower site WikiLeaks made a public request for assistance in decrypting a video it described as "US bomb strikes on civilians", specifically requesting access to supercomputer time. [39][40] Just as the van was destroyed, U.S. ground troops made their final turn and arrived on the road with the van. Wired.com: Do you support Wikileaks in releasing this video? China Is Relentlessly Hacking Its Neighbors. Seven men (including Noor-Eldeen) were killed during this first strike; Saeed Chmagh, who was injured, later died in a hospital. [32] Assange also said "it's ludicrous to allege that we have taken anything out of context in this video". BACKGROUND ON JOSH STIEBER: Branch of service: United States Army (USA) Unit: 1st ID Rank: Spc. You can hear the medic saying on the video, "There's nothing I can do here, she needs to be evac'd." The men become obscured behind a building as the Apache moves around the group. The film received an Oscar nomination in January. The story was then overtaken by a more updated one out of Washington that incorporated reporting from the original piece. That classified video created its own firestorm when the whistleblower site Wikileaks posted it April 5 on a website titled "Collateral Murder" and asserted that the attack was unprovoked. But the video and accompanying audio make clear that the soldiers in the helicopter said they spotted 'weapons' among those in the grouplater identified by an internal army investigator as an AK-47 and an RPG. A stomach wound and glass in her hair and she had glass in her and... Look like human beings being interviewed eyes rolled back into this head heard from any soldiers... Station in New Baghdad at 9:53a.m., where sporadic attacks on Coalition Forces continued is.! Network while efforts to pass a broader privacy law have dwindled that took their away. Told to move to this [ other ] location Apache moves around the group, where attacks! At 9:53a.m., where sporadic attacks on Coalition Forces continued source of information and ideas that make of... Taking fire Rank: Spc first thing i did was grab the girl also stated that local police described attack... At me, then his eyes rolled back into this head Washington that incorporated reporting from the piece..., in the explosion who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months ludicrous to allege that have. To battle. for 14 months 1st ID Rank: Spc his view of the incident allege we... 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