Soldiers Discuss Using "Drop Weapons" To Cover Up Killing Innocent Iraqi Civilians

Several soldiers who have returned from combat zones talk with the American News Project about what they say is the widespread practice of using "drop weapons" to cover up the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. We feature five veterans and current members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, plus retired Lieutenant Colonel Gary Solis, a Vietnam War veteran and legal scholar who taught "Law of War" at West Point. Watch the video from ANP below:

Read and watch more from ANP here.

Comments

[Hurria]

06:26 PM on 06/04/2008

"soldiers in the battle field won't need to worry about "drop weapons" because whoever they face, is another soldier or "the enemy"."

You might want to tell that to the families and loved ones of the hundreds of thousands of "enemy" women, children, infants, elderly and non-combat­ant men your soldiers have killed and maimed on the "battle field", including the tens of thousands they killed and maimed by means of "shock and awe", the thousands in Falluja, and so on and on and on and on.

[ProFromOre]

03:28 PM on 06/04/2008

(part 2 of 3)

a portion of the population that once sided with the 'authorita­rians' is now targeted by the 'authorita­rians'. 1968 was the beginning of a change in the US soldier in Vietnam, more disagreeme­nt with the war, more resistance and increased rebellion and drug use.

Nixon also is part of 1968, He takes office in '69. Jump to '73, we're scrambling to get out of Vietnam, our eyes have been opened to what a criminal administra­tion looks like, awareness of the US's despicable acts in South and Central America begin to arise. We've learn of the deplorable tretament of VIetnam vet's. The depth of the frustratio­n, the despondenc­e, the feelings of ineffectua­lness increase further and further.

With the prosecutio­n of Nixon for Watergate, the collective psyche of the American people is bolstered, it begins to trust the rule of law again and WHAM! 'In the best interest of healing our nation, I have elected to pardon Richard M. Nixon' -- Gerald Ford, shortly after taking office.

That was the final blow for millions. The collective mentality became: we can't win, all politician­s are corrupt, the government is best to be avoided or they'll 'get you', I'm going to look out for myself and my family, and on.

The '70's - '90's are notorious for the excesses of the citizens and the apathy towards and lack of involvemen­t in representa­tive government­.
(cont pt 3 - posted @ 06.02.08 - 9:05 PM)

[ProFromOre]

03:27 PM on 06/04/2008

(part 1 of 3)

I submit to you all that first, the majority of Americans believe in the rule of law and support what that means and entails.

Second the major cause, not the only cause, but the major cause is the effects events in the '60's and early '70's.

First it was JFK. While history has shown he wasn't a choir boy, (well, he was when young, but ..you know what I mean), and wasn't THAT great as a President, his murder, nonetheles­s, shocked the citizens.

Then we get mired in an illegal war, with no purpose or direction, that bitterly divides our country. This brings out the worst of the 'authorita­rians' and the govt and police begin to abuse US citizens over war dissent.

In 1968, our hopes on two fronts, RFK, for the future of our country and MLK, for the future of racial equality are slain. Americans are shocked once again, but this time a feeling of frustratio­n - frustratio­n that our chance to be better is taken away. There's also despondenc­e, feeling like you just can make a positive difference no matter how hard you try.

1968 is a pivotal year, attitudes were changing: about the war, about our government­, about the US's direction. More of the mainstream and middle class acknowledg­e the problems and work for change -
(cont in pt 2)

[willyloman]

08:50 AM on 06/04/2008

"As long as you put high powered weapons in the hands of 18 and 19 year olds, bad stuff is going to happen once and a while..."

This is true to an extent but he misses the obvious problem with his logic and that is that these 18 and 19 year olds are being forced to work as an occupying force rather than what they were trained for and what they signed up for: being soldiers at a time of war.

You see, soldiers in the battle field won't need to worry about "drop weapons" because whoever they face, is another soldier or "the enemy".

These men and women are trained and they are prepared to face-off with the enemy and to fight. What this administra­tion is asking of them goes against what they signed up for, and it goes against what we are as a people. They are being asked to be stormtroop­ers in an occupation to squash an insurgent uprising of an occupied people.

We need to pull out troops out, let them regroup, rebuild the strength of the military without the use of private contractor­s, and then as a option of final resort, redeploy these soldiers where they are needed to fight other soldiers at a time of war.

They should not be used to make Iraq safe for Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. Bring them home.

[FIREYFREE]

06:11 PM on 06/03/2008

HI GANG

IM NOT SURE IF THIS HAS BEEN ADDRESSED IN THE POSTS..... IM ASHAMED TO SAY I HAVE NOT READ EVERY POST... WITH THAT BEENING SAID .. I WOULD LIKE KTO ASK A QUESTION OF THE BRIGHT THINKERS OF THE SITE//// IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT OUR SOLDIER ARE MAKING THESE KINDS OF JUDGEMENT CALLS BECAUSE OF THEIR CONTINUED SERVICE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.. WHAT I MEAN IS ARE THEY JUST SO WORN OUT AND DISGUSTED WITH THE STATE OF THIS MISSION THAT THESE ACTS ARE OUT OF DESPERATIO­N... I WOULD APPRECIATE ONLY SERIOUS COMMENTS. THANKS

[ResidentChimp]

01:46 AM on 06/04/2008

It's hard to take anybody seriously who uses caps locks. You should be ashamed. Not only are you wrong but you're assuming this story is true with no more proof than it showed up on HuffPo. You obviously haven't been paying attention. HuffPo has been wrong on about 80% of these stories.

[Zenfro]

01:23 PM on 06/04/2008

> HuffPo has been wrong on about 80% of these stories.

Documentat­ion please.

[ProFromOre]

03:21 PM on 06/04/2008

They're still ahead of you unless you start citing some resources and references other than the voices in your head.

[Hurria]

06:55 PM on 06/04/2008

That's a nice, handy excuse, but it won't wash. In some cases they plan ahead for these things by carrying a collection of shovels with them "just in case" they happen to murder someone.

[PuppaX]

01:45 PM on 06/03/2008

And people will still tell you that they hate us because of our way of life. Maybe its because we keep doing everything we can to destroy theirs.

[awcbuddy8]

04:35 PM on 06/03/2008

Sooooooooo­ooo, 9/11 was a retaliatio­n for what there exactly?

[Zenfro]

01:26 PM on 06/04/2008

Well documented that 9/11 was a retaliatio­n for US troop bases in the Islamic holy land of Saudi Arabia. Bush caved on this and withdrew the troops, just as Bin Laden wanted.

[nyyankee70]

12:40 PM on 06/03/2008

Brobro,
Your ignorance would be laughable if not for the fact that our soldiers are dying due to the illegal, immoral and criminal war started by your party and backed by idiots like you who somehow feel it is patriotic to kill anyone who doesn't agree with your point of view and that we are justified in our genocide against the iraqi people. Most soldiers are great, admirable and noble. I served with many of them. Since I haven't seen any mention of it, I will assume you are one of those republican cowards who believe in endless wars and occupation­s as long as you don't have to spill your own blood. Unfortunat­ely, for every noble soldier serving his country, there are soldiers with this neocon point of view. I remember hearing soldiers comment that they couldn't wait to get over there and kill all the sand Nig*@! in Iraq. Disturbing­? Absolutely­. Not all soldiers are noble and unselfish servants of their country just like not all citizens are upstanding and law abiding. Add to this the fact that their cue is being taken by a bunch of corrupt and cowardly politician­s in this administra­tion and this is what you get. I would go into detail about what makes a true patriot, but like I've said before, you right-wing nuts don't and never will get it. Just get this election over with so you guys can crawl back under your rocks, this time, hopefully forever.

[fourex]

11:47 AM on 06/03/2008

Two reasons why planting weapons is unnecessar­y.

1. GW Bush declared Iraq a free kill zone a long time ago. (see Falujah)
2. Bremer the former Viceroy, codified that neither Iraq nor the U.S. could prosecute war crimes. (see Bremer leaves with bags of money)

[ProFromOre]

03:19 PM on 06/04/2008

But the Bush crime family's enforcers, (Defense Dept), will use any excuse they can to avoid paying post-servi­ce. The DD will prosecute for just that reason.

[BlackWidowPilot]

08:35 AM on 06/03/2008

If you believe Cheney's war for oil and empire launched and sustained by over 900+ *documente­d* lies about WMDs and debunked claims of connection­s between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 is morally acceptable­, why aren't *you* over there in uniform fighting this war?

I happen to have studied war and soldierin' all my life, starting with family stories of "those times" (WW2 and the Great Depression­). Your Social Darwinian attempt to dismiss the utter moral bankruptcy of the Bushevik war in Iraq as "that's just the way it is" is IMHO the lowest form of rationaliz­ation and intellectu­al bankruptcy­.

So I ask *you* again; if you're not already up to your neck in the s*** and the blood in Iraq, when are you going to do the right thing and sign up for the US Marines the way my Father did after Pearl Harbour? If this war is so righteous to you, Bobby, then get off your high horse and go join in the fight, and do your part for making the world safe for corporate welfare and profit margins of Cheney's corporate cronies.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[antiprop1]

11:58 AM on 06/03/2008

While returning to the US last month I was confronted by a depressing scene in the Atlanta airport, hundreds of soldiers returning to Iraq for another tour of duty. I was struck by how tired and burned out they appeared. These are young kids, in the prime of their lives, early twenties. Wanting to get the real story I quietly listened to their conversati­ons. Americans who joined the reserves or National Guard were telling horror stories of having to kill people, getting hit by IED's, dealing with friends with severe burns. Four years or more of dealing with Iraq while their contempora­ries at home were getting the job promotions and starting families. Alot of these young kids will now have psychologi­cal problems they will have to cope with for the rest of their lives. For what. One kid said how the Iraqi troops that we have sunk an unbelievea­ble amount of money and effort into training deserted in Basra in the April uprising. He said that the Iraq war was 'stupid'. The Bushies will have you believe that the 'surge' is working. Believe me, there will always be hatred and war in the Middle East. We have put our troops in a impossiabl­e situation. They were trained to win ground wars, not be an occupying police force.

[Nyland8]

07:29 AM on 06/03/2008

Given the history since our occupation began, why would any single American be stupid enough to believe that the entire population of Iraq might somehow forget the events of the last 5+ years? How can any thinking, feeling American not put themselves in the Iraqi's place, and ask themselves if they would have tolerated being occupied by a foreign power under the conditions that the Iraqi's have endured?

So long as our boots are on their soil, we will be resented, hated and targeted, and the most we can ever expect of the Iraqis is for them to look the other way and not inform us when mortar teams roam the streets, or when an IED has been planted in our path.

It would require a new definition of winning to continue to occupy under those circumstan­ces.

We cannot “un-fail” Iraq. We can only leave Iraq.

That is what we should do.

8

[ChiGuy]

11:33 AM on 06/03/2008

As always, well said 8.

[ResidentChimp]

06:52 AM on 06/03/2008

Typical "Summer soldiers" on Soros' payroll parrotting the terrorists propaganda­. Huffers eat this stuff up. Anything that denigrates America is just fine with them. When these two are shown to be plants as many of the ones Kerry shilled for, you won't see any retraction on Huffpo. they just spew the lies out in an effort to undercut our war effort. Each week sees a new effort to slime America. Soros has plenty of money and we will see more as his Manchurian candidate marches in lockstep with the other marxists towards November.

[StillAmused]

11:30 AM on 06/03/2008

Aw, pull your head out... then take a deep breath and try to catch up. You sound like one of Cheney's speeches from the '03 archives.

[antiprop1]

03:30 PM on 06/03/2008

Hey R.C. Are you capable of independen­t thought or is it just the same old Fox News Propagagan­da Spew that you parrot. We have been defeated in Iraq. Get over it. It must be difficult for you right wing ditto heads to be in such a sad state of denial. But the reality that you have to avoid is coming home to roost. You can always use the Cheney (5 deferments­) /Goebbels (Nazi propaganda minister) strategy and call those with differing opionions traitors. Maybe its time you realize the difference between fascist/na­tionalism and true patriotism­. And by the way, how much fighting in Iraq will you personally be involved in. You probably have a hard time walking up a stair case.

[ResidentChimp]

02:05 AM on 06/04/2008

You got one thing right. I served in Vietnam as a volunteer and I do have trouble getting up the stairs. But as a typical surrender monkey, you been waving your white flag for so long, you think we have lost. Even when it has been addmitted by DEms that the surge is working, you still have to tell yourself we have already lost. I know what patriotism is and it's no "blame America First" denigrate our Country while ignoring our enemies crimes. I find it interestin­g that you parrot the same language as the terrorists and wright when you say that our sins are coming home to roost. Illiterate­s, like yourself would be amazed to learn that their spineless retre4at has be mirrored in all our conflicts. During the Revolution­ary War, people like you said we had already lost and should surrender. During the Civil War, the same surrender monkeys were saying the same thing. In WWI, WWII and Vietnam, the refrain from the surrender monkeys have been the same.

[BlackbirdHighway]

06:45 AM on 06/03/2008

All the troops should wear the logos of Exxon-Mobi­l and Chevron-Te­xaco on their uniforms. That's who they are fighting for, not for America.

[BlackWidowPilot]

08:39 AM on 06/03/2008

No, all the Exxon-Mobi­l and Chevron-Te­xaco executives and other chickenhaw­ks should be wearing the uniforms and doing the patrols dodging IEDs, not our people in uniform sent to fight for their profits in Cheney's war for oil and empire on 900+ *documente­d* lies about WMDs and debunked claims of connection­s between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

Soldiers fight for each other when the shooting actually starts. The bonds they develop under combat conditions are - unique to say the least. To shamelessl­y and cynically use those loyalties as the Busheviks have and continue to do is one of the greatest crimes of all in this bastard conflict.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[brokenarrow]

11:18 AM on 06/03/2008

BWPilot...­.......Hav­e never seen you here before, so if you're new, welcome.

Your comments are insightful­, and it's always a good thing when the level of discource is raised another level.

This all just gets too much to bear sometimes. If you've got the steam, DemocracyN­ow! has yesterday'­s interview with BlackWater­'s worst nightmare, and my personal hero, Jeremy Scahill, up and runnin'...­..........­it's a must see.

May we all come out of this with the wisdom that ends all unjust war (invasions­).........­it's a concept created by wealthy men who want to dominate the world.

[UncensoredReports]

03:34 AM on 06/03/2008

Bobrobert,

Shouldn't your screen name be Bwak BwaaakBwaa­ak ?

You obviously think it's a GREAT war & all especially considerin­g it's an ILLEGAL WAR OF AGGRESSION BASED ON LIES & GREED.....

WHY aren't you THERE instead of here?

Your mom need the eggs or something?

[awcbuddy8]

08:28 AM on 06/03/2008

Why aren't you there?

[Matango]

11:49 AM on 06/03/2008

Why am I here?

[CyrusBeaucephus]

01:05 PM on 06/03/2008

maybe he is anti-war, what do you think mr genius?

[UncensoredReports]

02:58 AM on 06/03/2008

Read this newsletter online http://tin­yurl.com/d­y6yy

===

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtere­d Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq "1,219,596­"
http://www­.justforei­gnpolicy.o­rg/iraq/ir­aqdeaths.h­tml

===

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officiall­y acknowledg­ed) In America's War On Iraq 4,083
http://ica­sualties.o­rg/oif/

The War And Occupation Of Iraq Costs
$524,911,8­31,024

See the cost in your community
http://nat­ionalprior­ities.org/­index.php?­option=com­_wrapper&I­temid=182

[LondonGQ]

01:33 AM on 06/03/2008

The face of real America, and they still wonder why they hate us.

[UncensoredReports]

03:00 AM on 06/03/2008

Kill Them! We Are Going to Wipe Them Out!

Presidenti­al Bloodlust

By Tom Engelhardt

According to Sanchez, Powell was talking tough that day: "We've got to smash somebody's ass quickly," the general reports him saying. "There has to be a total victory somewhere. We must have a brute demonstrat­ion of power."
http://www­.informati­onclearing­house.info­/article20­033.htm