182171, RE: Can some of you patriots justify this? Posted by Allyn, Thu Apr-08-10 05:52 PM
This three years old story is blowing up around the planet. Having looked at the video several times, I have some questions:
Why were the dudes with the AK-47 and RPG (which could have reached the helicopter or ground vehicles) crouched and hiding as if ready to attack? Because they likely were going to attack. In my opinion, the call to engage these people was correct.
Based upon statements from the military, the rules of engagement were clear and all of those associated with a group carrying weapons were okay to target. This makes covering both sides of a war very dangerous for journalists and politically unpopular as nearby civilians can be wounded/killed.
Reuters seemed to want everyone to know that two of their photojournalists were killed. This has been very heavily pushed at their website for several days. Now that the video has gone viral, I find it interesting that the story appears to have been minimized.
Does anyone have the feeling that Rupert Murdoch is playing both sides of the fence?
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