Wampum

5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad -- including two Reuters news staff.

Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.

Items of note: Execution of a non-ambulatory wounded person, even if assumed to be a member of the opposition forces. Execution of non-combatant rescuers, even if assumed to be non-combatant opposition forces. Negligent treatment of surviving children previously targeted for execution as non-combatant rescuers. Concealment of tactical operational error resulting in the deaths of a dozen unarmed, non-combatants, and fabrication of evidence that the civilian casualties were armed opposition forces.

The NYTimes blows past the non-ambulatory wounded execution, the non-combatant rescuers execution, the negligent treatment of surviving children previously targeted for execution as non-combatant rescuers, and the concealment of tactical operational error resulting in the deaths of a dozen unarmed, non-combatants, and fabrication of evidence that the civilian casualties were armed opposition forces to report that CentCom just announced that there were machine guns and grenades found on the bodies, and the Reuters staffers got what they deserved.