Best Backgrounder Yet...

...for the re-education of naive useful idiots like Saskboy and Julian Assange:

In Response to "Murder in Iraq"

(My bold)

"The US Military did not murder or execute anyone."

[---]

"According to reports by the military (who I believe more than Huffington, Wikilinks or any of the other cynics), two AH-64D "Apache" gun-ships were called to conduct a Close Air Support mission in support of ground forces engaged by hostiles with RPG's. This engagement was part of series of engagements that had been taking place throughout the day.

RPG-7 (the most common variety in Iraq) is a man portable antitank or personnel weapon capable of engaging targets accurately up to 500m, with a range of about 900m. If using an anti-personnel warhead it can spread shrapnel over 25m, or if using a HEAT round it can disable a tank or destroy a HMMWV. They are a big deal because they are cheap and easy to fire, making them insurgent friendly for hasty ambushes. As far back as 2004 the ROE in Iraq was to engage anyone carrying one of these things because the only ones carrying them are insurgents or Iraqi Ministry of Interior Commandos and Army Units. Those are the rules regarding RPG's and in 2007 every single Iraqi knows that. RPG attacks by that time had fallen well off their 2005 high.

The AH-64D, or "Apache", does not simply patrol the skies of Baghdad like some fucking beat cops. They are set up in on a specific patrol route and wait for someone to call for their support. Once they come in they secure the area by conducting Close Air Support. They are supporting the troops moving on the ground to the target/objective. If they recognize a threat displaying hostile intent they can engage after reporting and receiving permission OR if they feel the threat is imminent they can just attack. These guys actually gave the "RPG guy" some time before engaging by asking for permission. But the simply truth is that they identified what they thought was hostile intent (the RPG being present) and engaged. The hostile intent was the presence of the RPG. The "RPG guy" did not have to point it at them, just simply holding it in public constituted hostile intent towards the approaching ground forces.

According to Foxnews.com: "Julian Assange, a WikiLeaks editor, acknowledged to Fox News in an interview Tuesday evening that "it's likely some of the individuals seen in the video were carrying weapons." Assange said his suspicions about the weapons were so strong that a draft version of the video they produced made specific reference to the AK-47s and RPGs. Ultimately, Assange said, WikiLeaks became "unsure" about the weapons. He claimed the RPG could have been a camera tripod, so editors decided not to point it out. "Based upon visual evidence I suspect there probably were AKs and an RPG, but I'm not sure that means anything," Assange said."

[---]

"An Apache is a two seat aircraft. The video shows the perspective of the weapons systems, but not the pilot or the gunner. The camera is taking about a 20 degree swipe of all possible visual information in the 360 degree area. You only see what the camera sees, but not everything that is taking place. The Apaches themselves are probably 500m away or even further. They could be closer. Whatever the circumstance, either the pilot or the gunner have eyes beyond what that camera alone sees."

RTWT It's loaded with corrective information.

For the further re-education of our infantile leftists, this is what an RPG launcher looks like. And by the way, RPG stands for "Rocket Propelled Grenade".

In this segment of the video, you can clearly see an RPG hanging over the shoulder of the guy who turns around and then back again.

Continue to believe in your fantasy world, if you must, but bear in mind that no one believes you have the faintest clue about what you are seeing, and not seeing, in the Wikileak videos.