ROFL, more anti-American hatred? I've seen that video several times. It certainly looked like the camera man was armed, that camera looked like a weapon. Then he crouches and looks around the corner with what looks like the front of an RPG.

Mistake? Maybe. Hanging around with other armed people, possibly insurgents, to get a story is bound to be dangerous. That was a good shoot.

Notice that the helicopter kept moving the entire time. Why? RPG's, anti aircraft missiles, and small arms fire. They were obviously in a potentially "hot" situation.

Hind sight is always 20/20.

Did you know that Navy Seals were brought up on charges because a terrorist, Ahmed Hashim Abed, claimed they punched him when capturing him? Thankfully, they beat the charges and Abed walked away (ok, into custody) with a bloody lip.

Now, compare a country bringing soldiers up on charges for maybe punching a terrorist against...oh...I dunno...beheading someone on camera.

Who are the bad guys again?

Sorry, I am tired of the "warmongering, hateful, murderous Americans" stuff. If the US wanted to kill civilians, there would be few left at this point. Mistakes happen. Individuals may commit crimes. But the US military goes out of its' way to minimize collateral damage, often putting its' own troops in harm's way to do so.

Splitter

I've come to understand that it avails little to explain anything to such individuals, mate. Comparison and reason means little to them, so long as they spout the "party line". Whoever does not agree is evil, and there is no other option. That their own way of life might be in danger means little to them as they have long ago given over individual thought to "collective thought". The simple fact is that "we" must not only fight for ourselves but for "them", as the two are one in the same. It's not fair, but it's the fact.

Stalin had 22.000 Polish officers murdered one night in a forest - that would make a great commander too I guess?
Both were f'ing bastards, and the move itself is actually incredible stupid.

Read this and the case it settled. Humanity may have come a long way, but self-preservation of body and conscience is still our prime motive in life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

I wasn't talking about humanity.


If you conquer land you probably intend to keep and exploit it.
Manpower helps a lot, I guess...
BTW: Most of the armies that time weren't exactly freedom fighters, you should fear your personal slave way more than a defeated army composed of mercenaries.

This thread has gone offtopic yet gain :D


Some more PTO footage ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUpCsO3pI08

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Kia79GyWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBTxtt1VgDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEDDRLeSKF0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7u7zdR8Sbs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48Mvy7uNHxY

And that's why the Germans called the Shermans "Tommy Cookers" and the Allies referred to them as "Ronsons" because they lit the first time, every time. Scary.

Splitter

You might be tired of the sentiment, but there sure are a lot of civilians tired of the conditions (loss of infrastructure) and death brought by an occupying force.

Yeah, they were much better off before. You could tell by the way they sulked Saddam's statue was torn down....

They would be much better off if we built them schools and hospitals....oh wait....

Splitter

Bad example. The US admitted eventually the whole thing was staged as a PR/spin event and they rounded up a bunch of civilians and got them to pull it down once the cameras were ready to roll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyn8Kb_do8g

Also the main guy that climbed the statue embarrassed the US a few years later by saying he regretted it and the US occupation was actually worse than Saddam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRtj82fR4N0


You need to pick better examples :D