This undocumented vid is flying around the net. Not sure what to make of it. FYI.
Spotted by AndrewJ
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Welcome to Grand Theft Auto –The Theme Park aka Six Flags Over Baghdad. And yes, its owned by Diznee. Because there’s profit to be had.
Looks and sounds like a paintball gun.
Here is a link to the company apparently responsible for the video and their explanation for what you see in the video.
http://www.aegisworld.com/latest_news.lasso
”The report was handed over to the US Military who launched its own enquiry through the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.” Who do these inbreds think they’re kidding? (throws up)
Private military contractors (PMCs) are no better than mercenaries. What else does the coalition expect from mercenaries?
Unless you know the full story you aren’t in a position to make a judgement call on this video. The bad guys over there don’t wear uniforms to distinguish themselves from civilians. If you can’t support the war then you don’t support the troops. Don’t be so eager to help or understand people that would love to kill you and your entire family.
From the Aegis site:
The video purporting to show its security contractors shooting at civilian vehicles on the highways in Iraq came to light in November last year. Aegis launched an immediate enquiry under the auspices of an independent review board which included a British Barrister and Recorder of the Crown Court and a former senior British police officer. It was a thorough and conclusive investigation which reported back before Christmas. Its findings were that the films were recorded during Aegis’ legitimate operations in support of Multi–National Force Iraq and the incidents recorded were within the Rules for the Use of Force. There was no evidence of any civilian casualties as a result of the incidents and the images published were all taken out of context and were therefore highly misleading in what they represented.
The report was handed over to the US Military who launched its own enquiry through the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division. This enquiry is now closed with confirmation that no further investigation or action is warranted. The speculative allegations made at the time of the video are therefore entirely unfounded.
“No further investigation or action is warranted.” Riiight.
I guess you were there in the van with these guys and know the whole story eh, Mike? How about sharing it with us?
How about you actually watch the damn video, Jeff?
“Warefare”, John?
You americans are crazy…
>>If you can’t support the war then you don’t support the troops.
So, if you don’t love the sin, you can’t love the sinner? Sheesh.
So picture yourself there. There are cars coming really close to your vehicle and they just might blow up your vehicle. What to do class? Protect yourself. War is not pretty.
I agree with everyone who supports are troop. War is so serious that you make a video and put Elivs music too it. Go W!
America’s forces are now recruited from among underprivileged kids, and supported by PMC mercs. You don’t expect those types to worry about minimizing civilian casualties.
This is just Vietnam all over again. If you are so paranoid about covert attacks that you shoot with no obvious provokation at vehicles just for driving too close on what is obviously a well-travelled road, you have serious issues.
How many Iraqis saw those incidents in real time? How many of those who did and survived support the USA now, if they ever did? How is anything we saw, no matter the spin, helping us win in Iraq?
Jeff, should I call you the troll you are or suggest you produce links to back up your assertions. Before you link to Aegis, remember, the prisons are chock full of people proclaiming their innocence.
No, I don’t support a senseless war that is doing more to hurt America, and all democracies, then it is good. Yes, I do support the troops. I wish to see every one of them brought home breathing, not in a body bag as does the President and his cadre.
Doubtful? Look for some real reporting from bloggers at Alive in Baghdad and Dahr Jamail. It’s not as rosy as some in Washington might have you believe.
Support our Troops? People these are Mercs that we are paying 5 to 10 times as much as we pay our own troops in order to help hide the total cost of the war in budgets other than the Pentagon. Also makes for better press about “less troops” in the new leaner, meaner military. But costs a hell of a lot more than a draft: except for the political cost.
These are not “our troops” in the sense that we control them any more than we control Halburton.
I admit in this world things are sometimes not as they appear. Perhaps, if the music wasn’t so loud we could hear what was being said and make better judgment . The question, was the music added post to cover their comments or were they just listening to it that loud in the vehicle. The answer to that question could give us a clue to their state of mind.
At best their action is questionable and maybe should be evaluated. After such a review, perhaps some new guidelines should be put into place for threat assessment and the appropriate response.
I wonder what was going on in front of the car. The Aegis report just makes it worse.
22
The music was added to the video post production as opposed to playing in the vehicle while they traveled. The fact “Mystery Train” continues smoothly from scene to scene is sufficient to indicate it was an after thought. Moreover, “Mystery Train” has oft been interpreted as a euphemism not unlike “The Grim Reaper” wherein both depict random death. Thus, another disconcerting element in the video is the perception by the editor that the journey is best accompanied by a song befitting the ride. Finally, I would posit the selection of that specific music was not done by an 18-35 (conventional military age) year old insofar as the popularized version of the track dates from Elvis Presley in 1955.
It’s a consipiracy, I tell ya! To debate these types of things is silly, given that none of us were actually there, and that what we’re basically doing is judging others in a war zone from the safety and comfort of our PCs.
Grow up people.
#25 – You are right. Its better to just sit down like a good citizen and behave as our obviously superior leaders have asked us to. Just go to the mall, buy some shoes, go see Talledega Nights, have something from Cinnabon, and just let those really important people in Washington deal with all this messy war stuff.
It isn’t just our right to be critical. It’s our responsibility.
25
Wrong. I was there in 1955.
Wrong: I was there in 1965.
Wrong: Debating the veracity of the video is not invalid.
As to silence regarding the appropriateness of the activity… you are correct that only the participants know the truth; however the premise of the post was the authenticity of the video and its depicted violence. On that subject, all our entitled to their opinion.
BobH
24
Yeah Wow I totaly missed that!
27
Thank you for your service.
BobH
Knowing what you know and what you have seen what is your gut feeling?
If you don’t like it in Iraq, just think of how you will feel when it’s in the United States. Welcome to WWIII.
BgScryAnml
Accepting your theory of WW3 is accurate; please recall the majority of generals and politicians are infamous for their knee-jerk reaction of immediately implementing the tactics successful in the past rather then astutely evaluating the enemy before them in the present.
The way to victory today is much less painful than bombs and bullets; America must invent their way out of the conflict via a “Manhattan project” developing alternative energy. Turn off the US need to succor at the oil spigot and the funds for Islamic fundamentalists disappear.
I love the “taken out of context” justification for what we all just saw in that video, rattling automatic weapons fire on the highway. For a minute there, I thought it was LA in the 80s …
yes, private security contractors are, in essence, mercs. They are also the second-largest foreign force in Iraq, or at least were a while ago.
US military personnel do not care for them one bit, since they have been known to do things like those depicted in the video, which plays hell with the “hearts and minds” part of counter-insurgency. As one American soldier who worked out with some of the mercs in a gym in the Green Zone noted, “Steroids, weapons and anger are a bad combination.”