'Friendly Fire' video

[andy at handiwork]

'Won't posts like yours cause our rivals and enemies in the world to rub their hands in glee and laugh up their sleeves?'

Flattering as it might be to think that enemies are scouring the internet to find postings on forums like this, and then for them to laugh up therir sleeves at another example of the decadent collapse of the wicked west, it is about the most ludicrous thing I have read recently.

[andy at handiwork]

How's about we are now prepared to extradite to the US with a very low level of evidence, purely on the say so of an American court? Bet you that doesn't work the other way. How's about all UK visitors to the US are to be fully finger printed, have bank, credit card and email details taken, and have it all put on an FBI data base?

[Cerberus]

More to the point, in the 21st century, why aren't our combat vehicles fitted with IFF or I band transponders?
Orange panels & inverted chevrons......a sick joke.
C'mon MOD it's about time you provided vehicles fit for purpose.

[Sam Slater]

I'm not too sure what you're getting at. I was trying to say that the pilots judgement of the situation was at fault, and that blaming America -like some think is natural- is wrong. You cannot blame a whole nation for an individuals mistake.

I never mentioned bats, balls or going home. Neither shelling Washington I don't think. I saw both you and Caractacus on different sides and I'm kinda in the middle.

I don't blame America, but I don't think it was an accident that was unavoidable. If the planes radar warning were wailing and they thought they were being targeted from the ground -having to make instant decisions- then I would have likened it to the Menezes killing on the tube. Perfectly understandable.

The pilots had time, and were very relaxed and amicable with eachother. I blame their stupidity in firing upon a convoy they had no intel about.

Even after strafing the convoy once, popov36 again asked if they were friendlies. Think about it. He wasn't too sure was he? My initial reaction is that they wanted to shoot something before going home, that's all.

I may be wrong of course, but it doesn't look good. I certainly wouldn't let this problem interfere with our relationship with the US on this, but we need to make it clear that we're not too happy about it.

[strictlybroadband]

andy at handiwork wrote:

> How's about we are now prepared to extradite to the US with a
> very low level of evidence, purely on the say so of an American
> court? Bet you that doesn't work the other way.

Correct - it doesn't work the other way around.

The special relationship exists only in the British imagination. We were a great power, WW2 happened, we were economically destroyed, the US loaned us a large amount of money (which we paid off finally in 2006) and we've been their bitches ever since.

I've never quite worked out why our leaders are so afraid to say boo to the US - the French told them to remove their troops in the 60s and they went. But we've been occupied since 1942 and still too fucking chicken to point out that WW2's over.

[strictlybroadband]

Sam Slater wrote:

> It's a big time fuck up.

Not really - pretty minor by US military standards. They keep "accidentally" bombing media operations (coincidentally, those which are critical of the US). They "accidentally" bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. They bombed Reuters in Afghanistan. They killed a bunch of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. They bombed a British column and nearly killed John Simpson of the BBC who was embedded with it. They killed that Italian journalist. They killed that ITN journalist. They fired tank shells at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, which happened to be full of journalists at the time. They bomb Al Jazeera offices regularly. They're reported to shoot at Iraqi civilians on a daily basis, almost for sport.

So why the moaning about this one mishap? Because the Sun gave the OK to moan, just this once?

[strictlybroadband]

Officer Dibble wrote:

> Yes, it was a horrible mistake, yes it was a major fuck up, and
> yes shit happens in war. So just what do you propose we do? If
> nothing (as in - it was a regrettable accident), then why
> bother stirring the pot in the first place? Won't posts like
> yours cause our rivals and enemies in the world to rub their
> hands in glee and laugh up their sleeves? Are you doing their
> propaganda machine's work for them? Haven't you thought this
> through, Sam?

Ooh Sam, you've upset Dibble. NEVER CRITICISE THE EMPIRE! You've been told.

[strictlybroadband]

andy at handiwork wrote:

> 'Won't posts like yours cause our rivals and enemies in the
> world to rub their hands in glee and laugh up their sleeves?'
>
> Flattering as it might be to think that enemies are scouring
> the internet to find postings on forums like this, and then for
> them to laugh up therir sleeves at another example of the
> decadent collapse of the wicked west, it is about the most
> ludicrous thing I have read recently.

Next you'll be saying that freedom of speech is a good thing! Commie!

[Sam Slater]

[quote]So why the moaning about this one mishap? Because the Sun gave the OK to moan, just this once?[/quote]

Nope, it's just that 'just this once' I got to see real footage instead of reading a newspaper column, so my judgement goes on what I interpret from it, rather than what someone else interpreted and decided to write.

Fuck ups do happen, and our most recent enemies are clever enough to put targets in civilian areas so as to antagonise the public throughout the west. I don't blame America for everything, but the video footage speaks for itself this time. They (the pilots not America) fucked up and don't really have a reasonable excuse.

I wonder if the US government will show video evidence to us in the future though?

[NandoRick]

First time i've seen the video,Shocking and sad. If you watch it ,sure they show regret after ,but before you here them laughing and joking as if there playing a game on the ps2. If it was my son who was killed i would like to see these cowboys locked up in jail.