A Coda on "Collateral Murder"

A soldier whose unit was involved in the incident captured on video is saying that these actions were business as usual and were fully in accord with the rules of engagement.

The full statement is after the break, but his basic point is that this is an inevitable part of war.

Certainly this is true to some degree, but the incident is also a reflection of some real issues with US doctrine, particularly with the aggressive use of air power, and rules of engagement.

Both of these problems contribute, and continue to contribute to, a situation where we are creating an environment where we create more insurgents, and, in the long run, more dead American soldiers.

Statement follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 9, 2010 10:45 AM

CONTACT: Media Advisory Sarah Lazare: sarah.lazare@gmail.com

Veteran of "Collateral Murder" Company Speaks Out

WASHINGTON - April 9 - Josh Stieber, who is a former soldier of the “Collateral Murder” Company, says that the acts of brutality caught on film and recently released via Wikileaks are not isolated instances, but were commonplace during his tour of duty.



“A lot of my friends are in that video,” says Stieber. “After watching the video, I would definitely say that that is, nine times out of ten, the way things ended up. Killing was following military protocol. It was going along with the rules as they are.”



Stieber deployed to Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16, whose members were involved in the incident captured in Wikileaks' “Collateral Murder” video, which has made international headlines by depicting a July 2007 shooting incident outside of Baghdad in which over a dozen people, including two Reuters employees, were killed. Although he was not present at the scene of the video, he knows those who were involved and is familiar with the environment. Stieber, who now works to promote peace and alternatives to war, is speaking publicly about his time in Iraq and the incident captured in this video.



“If these videos shock and revolt you, they show the reality of what war is like,” says Stieber. “If you don’t like what you see in them, it means we should be working harder towards alternatives to war.”



Stieber currently lives in Washington, D.C.




BACKGROUND ON JOSH STIEBER:
Branch of service: United States Army (USA)

Unit: 1st ID

Rank: Spc.

Home: Laytonsville, Maryland

Served in: Baghdad (Rustamiyah) 07-08 Fort Riley, KS 06-07, 08-09



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