US airstrike may have inadvertently killed Iraqi soldiers

[rooster59]

US airstrike may have inadvertently killed Iraqi soldiers

ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said it is investigating an American airstrike that may have inadvertently killed Iraqi soldiers near the city of Fallujah.

In a brief statement, the U.S. military headquarters in charge of the war effort in Syria and Iraq said that one of several airstrikes it conducted Friday against Islamic State targets may have resulted in the death of Iraqi soldiers. It did not say how many may have been killed, but other officials said the Iraqis initially reported that about 10 may have died.

The U.S. statement said the airstrikes were in response to requests and information provided by Iraqi security forces on the ground near Fallujah, which is in Islamic State group control. It said the airstrikes were done in coordination with Iraqi forces. It said the U.S. will investigate what happened and has invited the Iraqis to participate.

When asked how many Iraqis may have been killed, the U.S. military command known as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said, "The coalition is investigating the incident and will make further details available when appropriate."

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-12-19

[Seastallion]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

[reggaebkk]

Air strike my have inadvertently killed... because an air strike is a non-violent hobby, like fireworks and knitting... so the killing was very inadvertent.

[Johpa]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

Given the complexities of modern asymmetric warfare and the complexities of weapons systems, that there are relatively few friendly fire incidences indicates to me that there are systems in place relative to safety.

[Ulysses G.]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

EVERY country has friendly fire incidents - not just America. I'm shocked that you don't know that.

[daveAustin]

They do seem a trifle trigger-happy, but.

[Tywais]

They do seem a trifle trigger-happy, but.

You mean the Iraqis as they are the ones that called in for the fire support? Seems a few times the Iraqis have supplied faulty intel with at least one causing the destruction of a hospital.

[slipperylobster]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

EVERY country has friendly fire incidents - not just America. I'm shocked that you don't know that.

People do know that....but they take every chance to criticize anything America does. If an American farted, and there was a coincidental train wreck on the same day...it would be blamed on Americans. It is that pitiful.

I should add....since our liberation of Kuwait (from Iraq) ...incidentss of friendly fire have been extremely rare.

Edited December 19, 2015 by slipperylobster

[mercman24]

probably flown by an ex 747 pilot reservist. like what killed a load of uk soldiers in iraq, even though they had friendly markings for all to see.

[derator01]

Please stick to the topic.

[retarius]

I saw this on one of the alternative (non MSM) news sources that are usually reliable this morning. I looked at several (biased) UK newspapers, Guardian, Independent, Mail and could find nothing. The report I read had 40 dead soldier and 100 injured although the body count usually comes down after the shock wears off.

Perhaps the Iraqi army were threatening some of the 70,000 moderate terrorists that America supports?

[retarius]

They do seem a trifle trigger-happy, but.

You mean the Iraqis as they are the ones that called in for the fire support? Seems a few times the Iraqis have supplied faulty intel with at least one causing the destruction of a hospital.

errrr I think this happened in Afghanistan, and it was an early American version of the story which changed 4 times in 4 days. The Afghanis denied calling in any airstikes.

[craigt3365]

I saw this on one of the alternative (non MSM) news sources that are usually reliable this morning. I looked at several (biased) UK newspapers, Guardian, Independent, Mail and could find nothing. The report I read had 40 dead soldier and 100 injured although the body count usually comes down after the shock wears off.

Perhaps the Iraqi army were threatening some of the 70,000 moderate terrorists that America supports?

I think these are MSM news sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2015/12/18/77600096/

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/18/us/politics/ap-us-united-states-iraq.html

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/18/460331756/u-s-airstrike-may-have-accidentally-killed-iraqi-troops

Or perhaps you missed them?

http://www.independenttribune.com/news/us/ap/us-airstrike-may-have-inadvertently-killed-iraqi-soldiers/article_9aa9fc94-d854-5997-92fa-155c37b409b4.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/18/iraqi-soldiers-killed-us-airstrike-fallujah

Most MSM sources won't print articles until they are vetted a bit. Unlike some of the alternative sites.

[Rancid]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

EVERY country has friendly fire incidents - not just America. I'm shocked that you don't know that.

Good point, it's just that as the US is in so many more wars than anyone else their rate is higher.

Likewise if other countries were using drones as extensively they also would also have a 90% civilian kill rate.

And let's not forget that if other countries were involved in regime change then they also would have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians without remorse.

So yes, it really is unreasonable to single out the US.

[Chicog]

plus ça change.....

[slipperylobster]

Sometimes the world just needs a-fixing....and shethappens

Suggest the whingners go out and get a beer ... as they have nothing positive to contribute.

simple as that, actually.

Edited December 19, 2015 by slipperylobster

[Credo]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

EVERY country has friendly fire incidents - not just America. I'm shocked that you don't know that.

He probably does know that but prefers to post only anti-American stuff.

There is a problem with faulty intel and the fact that the US isn't and doesn't plan on having ground troops in a combat role.

Soldiers really don't have a habit of sitting still either, so yes, crap happens.

[stillbornagain]

There is a lot of inadvertent death dished out at the hands of careless cowboys. From WW11 through to today, every conflict the US has been in has deaths from friendly fire. You'd think they would have systems in place, safety directives.

Actually, in a complicated situation like combat, friendly fire is going to be inevitable. Especially when you have allied troops not under a unified command. What isn't inevitable, though, is lying about it. You may recall the case of Pat Tillman, the pro football player turned army ranger who was killed in a friendly fire incident. It took months for that fact to emerge thanks to the lies told by Gen Stanley McChrystal (among others).l, one of the darlings of the right wing.

"Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal approved the Silver Star citation on April 28, 2004, which gave a detailed account of Tillman's death including the phrase "in the line of devastating enemy fire", but the next day he sent a P4 confidential memo warning senior government members that Tillman might actually have been killed by friendly fire.^[18] Senior commanders within the U.S. Central Command, including former Commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) General John Abizaid, were notified by the P4 memo,^[19] which described Tillman's "highly possible" fratricide, four days before Tillman's nationally televised memorial service during which he was lauded as a war hero for dying while engaging the enemy.^[20][21]"

The same people who get got themselves in an uproar over Benghazi, were curiously reluctant to voice any criticism of the good general. Hypocrisy much?