Is that an SLR or an AK47 over your shoulder?

[smac]

When is carrying a camera a dangerous occupation? When the pilot of an Apache gunship thinks it is an AK47 and shoots you. Pretty graphic video of two Reuters news staff being caught up in a skirmish in Baghdad.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/7025616/leaked-u-s-video-shows-deaths-of-reuters-39-iraqi-staffers/

[natskis]

That's scary.

Yeah, those rules of engagement really need to be reviewed!

[Raskill]

Thats sad, sickeningly so.

There was at least one individual with a long arm. Dangerous job taking photos next to guys with rifles in a warzone.

Professionally, I take my hat off to those brave men and women who take the risks to keep us informed from the battlefront. Personally, I think the risks are far too extreme to justify it.

Professionalism of the gunship pilots needs to be called into question.

[biggerry]

two Reuters news staff being caught up in a skirmish in Baghdad

'caught up' is a bit of an understatement...they got f.ing mowed down by a 30mm machine gun..

imagine what happens to the locals carrying a shovel over their shoulder.

[aim54x]

I watched that whole video clip...and thought....it would have been hard to distinguish between those cameras/tripods from rifles/rpgs and the children were not all that visible in the footage.

Mistake? most likely, cover up should not have happened though.

After seeing that, I would not volunteer to be a war photographer.

Pilot professionalism? Banter aside....at least they asked for permission before engagement.

Rules of engagement? Yes they do need to be reviewed to prevent this happening again, but how do you suppose they go about it without making helicopters and infantry easy targets?

I am not being pro-war, I am not excusing the action, but merely stating my views from the footage available.

[biggerry]

footage available

i am no expert by any stretch, however I have been involved with some civil gyro stabilised FLIR's, the imagery you see there is fairly low quality, compressed for the web etc, the stuff they see in their HUDs would be premo quality imo.

[sirhc55]

This is the scenario:

Soldiers of any nation involved, wearing uniforms and carrying the latest in military hardware. The opposition, non-descript individuals without uniform but carrying the latest in military hardware.

Today, six bombs explode in Bagdad killing over 30 civilians. Do we see on this forum any outrage against these murders - an emphatic NO! And who carried this out? The military? No, it’s the same cowards who are always in the news but not the news.

Before any of you shoot me down (pun intended), I have experienced many situations where it was prudent to shoot first and maybe that’s why I can write this today.

As a final note I would add that collateral damage should always be accepted as a fact of life however unsavoury it may be.

[biggerry]

this topic is a dangerous can of worms

*peaks inside can"

Do we see on this forum any outrage against these murders - an emphatic NO!

A bit of a loaded statement imo, its a bit of an incorrect assumption based on only the responses on this thread, I for one am not outraged either way any more due to the desensitization to the whole situation, the fact that every day you hear of deaths on both sides has probably led to this...

collateral damage should always be accepted as a fact of life however unsavoury it may be

should it? why do we not accept the road toll collateral, aircraft crash collateral, etc...its all part and parcel of the industry, right..?

*closes can very tightly*

[Greg B]

Thanks for all your comments, I think we might just leave it at that.

Thread locked.