Well Fool, I fought to conceal nothing, gun camera coverage has for a fact been requested in a number of "friendly-fire" instances by Coroners Courts in the UK. So far the US Authorities have point blank refused to release them on every single instance.

Now please correct me if I am wrong here, but on two occasions after this particular instance Reuters demanded that all records related to this incident on the 12th July 2007 be made available for their inspection. The response of the US authorities in this case was that every scrap of information in their possession was presented to Reuters within 14 days of the incident taking place - Reuters was satisfied with that and with what they saw, listened to and read, now how can this be described as a cover up

As to the bent and biased way the story has been reported now two years and nine months after the incident, when it has now been established beyond any doubt that in the group that was fired upon there were armed men, they were not "innocent civilians" so the media should stop lying to the public about it.

As to your view that the crew of the helicopter have to report EVERYTHING they see, that is ridiculous. And the soldier who was interviewed, the soldier who was on foot and had already been fired upon earlier on that very patrol, said:

ETHAN MCCORD: From being in the perspective of the Apache helicopter crew, umm I can see where a group of men gathering, um, when there's a fire fight just a few blocks away, which I was involved in, um, and they're carrying weapons, one of which is an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade.)

Umm, their overall mission that day was to protect us, to provide support for us. Ahh, so I can see where, where the initial attack on the, on the group of men was warranted.

ANY UNNECESSARY LOSS OF LIFE IS SAD

Within this incident quite a number of things could have been done by ALL PARTIES INVOLVED that would have prevented what happened. But taking all circumstances into account, the crews of those Apache Helicopters did the job they were supposed to do within the confines of the Rules of Engagement in force at that time.

The motivation of the crews of the helicopters is plain. simple and honest.

The same can hardly be said for the Reuters Cameraman and his Driver, they went there to film people getting killed, they went there to film an ambush by insurgents of US troops and Iraqi policemen. So as not to betray the presence of the insurgents neither Reuters employee wore the distinctive clothing that could well have saved their lives (It was probably that very point that was made to Reuters when they reviewed the coverage of the incident that resulted in the lack of news copy this incident received after the event).

As for the van? As a parent there is no way on God's earth that I would ever put the lives of my children deliberately at risk period.