Wikileaks/Lox/Foolestroupe: "Thus attacking those 'unarmed civilians' in the van was wrong."

FACT: Until Ethan McCord told the interviewer on that programme what he (McCord) saw when he looked into the inside of that van NO ONE THE FOGGIEST NOTION as to what that van was carrying or indeed who was inside it.

Rules Of Engagement (in force at the time of the incident): If you see armed civilians, they are classified as enemy and as such they can be attacked, as can anyone assisting them in any way. On contact no-one is permitted to remove anything or anybody from the scene of that incident, it was the task of those Helo crews to ensure that nothing was removed until such time as US ground forces and the Iraqi Police arrived on the scene.

Now to retrace slightly, would I as the father of two small children driving around with them in my van, blithely drive them into harms way, in a city plagued with sectarian violence and terrorist attacks, then no sorry I most certainly would not. As a parent I would put the lives and safety of my children before anything else, you tell me anything else and I will call you a liar and a fool.

By the bye had the man crawling along the pavement been wearing what he should have been wearing he would in all probability be alive today.

I do not believe that either Lox, or Foolestroupe, have ever personally witnessed any terrorist attack first hand or had to deal with the aftermath of any such attack - I on the other hand have, and as such have some empathy for what Ethan McCord says, at the same time I can appreciate the situation that the crews of Apaches Hotel Two-Six this Crazy Horse One-Eight had to deal with. Had I been their Controller I would have done exactly as their Control on that day did, as I said previously I would rather watch gun camera footage from an Apache killing insurgents than watch Reuters footage of those insurgents killing US Forces personnel. A view that I am sure Ethan McCord would agree with.