AP: Video Shows Iraq Wedding Celebration

[Seraphim]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040523/capt.bag80305232213.iraq_attack_bag803.jpg

Iraqi children celebrate during a wedding ceremony shortly before U.S. helicopters fired on the party, in the remote desert area near Mogr el-Deeb, Iraq (news - web sites), 600 km west of Baghdad and 20 km from the Syrian border, in this image made Sunday, May 23, 2004 from a Wednesday May 19 video obtained by the Associated Press. The attack killed more than 40 people, including Yasser Shawkat Abdullah, the cameraman who filmed the video. The U.S. military says it is investigating the attack and that evidence so far indicates the target was a safehouse for foreign fighters. (AP Photo/APTN)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040524/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_attack&cid=540&ncid=716

[MetalBoy]

That video could have been taken anywhere, I'm still not conviced.

[fred_engles]

Many figures from the video were apparently matched with known witnesses/survivors. I'd say it's almost certainly genuine.

As to my general response to the video: bluntly, I'm pretty convinced that, when it was denying any indications that those killed had been celebrating a wedding, my government was blatantly lying to me and the world at large. Provided this story holds up, I'm full of deep shame for my country and its armed forces.

(A note: I am not suggesting that the US bombed the wedding on purpose. What I'm suggesting is that they sloppily attempted to cover up their deadly mistake - and were caught.)

[Seraphim]

That video could have been taken anywhere, I'm still not conviced.


Go read the article.

[LordHalbert]

I'm not 100% convinced that this "wedding" video is related to the US attack.

It might be a genuine wedding video but it still does not prove that the US attacked this wedding.

[Seraphim]

Listen...people make mistakes.


The dead included the cameraman, Yasser Shawkat Abdullah, hired to record the festivities, which ended Tuesday night before the planes struck.


"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."


But video that APTN shot a day after the attack shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around the bombed out tent.




An AP reporter and photographer, who interviewed more than a dozen survivors a day after the bombing, were able to identify many of them on the wedding party video — which runs for several hours.




APTN also traveled to Mogr el-Deeb, 250 miles west of Ramadi, the day after the attack to film what the survivors said was the wedding site. A devastated building and remnants of the tent, pots and pans could be seen, along with bits of what appeared to be the remnants of ordnance, one of which bore the marking "ATU-35," similar to those on U.S. bombs


A water tanker truck can be seen in both the video shot by APTN and the wedding tape obtained from a cousin of the groom.





As expected, women are out of sight - but according to survivors, they danced to the music of Hussein al-Ali, a popular Baghdad wedding singer hired for the festivities. Al-Ali was buried in Baghdad on Thursday.




Prominently displayed on the videotape was a stocky man with close-cropped hair playing an electric organ. Another tape, filmed a day later in Ramadi and obtained by APTN, showed the musician lying dead in a burial shroud — his face clearly visible and wearing the same tan shirt as he wore when he performed.

[afrographX]

this wasn't the first case where a wedding party got massacred by US-forces (although if not on purpose). the first one was in afgahnistan when i remember correctly. Back then us-aicrafts misinterpreted the celebration shots of some man on the occassion of the wedding as anti-aircaft fire and bombed the party.

the usa should show serious signs of excuse. it would be perverted if they dismiss this as 'colletaral damage'

[cut]

Why can't the US tell us their side? It makes you think they have something to hide

[Jack Mehoff]

Why can't the US tell us their side? It makes you think they have something to hide

Reading is hard?


"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

[cut]

Why can't the US tell us their side? It makes you think they have something to hide

Reading is hard?


"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."


riiiight, so when an a pilot decided to bomb these guys he said to himself...

"right there are celebrations down there but no decorations, I'll bomb it then"

What Brig. Gen. Kimmit is saying is there was no wedding to their knowledge. What I want to know is what was the reason for decision to bomb them. Them Being close to the border and finding one, that's ONE syrian passport, suggest that the "legitimate" reason is just as lame as the excuse

[Jack Mehoff]

Yes, just like making an excuse to say that is a real "wedding". A lame excuse is a lame excuse, right?

[cut]

Yes, just like making an excuse to say that is a real "wedding". A lame excuse is a lame excuse, right?

yes but at least these iraqis are backing up their claims

[Ichhabe]

Why can't the US tell us their side? It makes you think they have something to hide

Reading is hard?


"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

Yeah jackieboy. You just prooved to us that reading is hard. After reading those lines, you probably was so exhausted that you din't have the streanght to read the rest. This was 1 1/2 cm. below the part you struggled reading. ( I make large letters, to ease up the reading.)


But video that APTN shot a day after the attack shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around the bombed out tent.

[Jack Mehoff]

Ichabe, you are actually dumber than you look. It must be your banned boyfriend aka mustamato's gay **** rot your brain. Read the BOLDED words.




Why can't the US tell us their side? It makes you think they have something to hide


"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

[Ichhabe]

That is not telling. That is lying through once theeth.

[cut]

Ichabe, you are actually dumber than you look. It must be your banned boyfriend aka mustamato's gay **** rot your brain. Read the BOLDED words.




Why can't the US tell us their side? It makes you think they have something to hide


"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

that's not their version that's disputing what the other side says.

[Abbyy]

"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

This quote is dedicated by Gen. Kimmitt for stupid rednecks like you. Only such <bad word> like you can think that in opposition are always bad guys while your party always consisted of good guys only.

Additionaly US forces still doesn't bring any evidences that those people were insurgents even if they were.

Truly speaking even wedding's bombing by US in Afganistan wasn't first in this list. Sometime ago i've read novel how Soviet forces in Afganistan striked wedding of friendly local tribe. That happened due to beleive into fake information obtained from captured mojahid (he said that in this area will be mojahid unit).

[cut]

"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

This quote is dedicated by Gen. Kimmitt for stupid rednecks like you. Only such <bad word> like you can think that in opposition are always bad guys while your party always consisted of good guys only.

that's actually not true, a many americans believe in this bad guy vs. good guy stuff. p-)

[Herrmannek]

Bombing weddings HAPPENS, deniying that: DOESN'T ..Someone did that on purpose to save his/her career or whatever, he and all guilty for that case should "give their heads" as a example what to not do...

[2Sheds_Jackson]

Not being there, I have no idea what the situation was. So I don't really know what to think of it.

Even if it was a wedding, so what? Hitler had a wedding too. We would like to have bombed it, if we'd known where to find it. To me the nature of the gathering is less important than the status of those attending.

So they've got TV, and video cameras out in the middle of the desert, eh? Guess they bought it at the local Best Buy. Apparently the dirt poor of the area are far better off than the poor in America. Seems odd to me.

We have two sets of conflicting reports...one says an innocent wedding party, the other talks about a meeting of insurgents. One thing I do know is that it would be difficult to find a pilot who would knowingly bomb the sleeping members of an innocent wedding at 3AM. Especially in the current climate there - whoever approved the release of weapons would have to have been very sure of what they were doing. If this was a mistake, we should own up to it. If not, we'd better hurry up and provide some credible evidence to show that we didn’t screw up.

[Trident-za]

If this was a mistake, we should own up to it. If not, we'd better hurry up and provide some credible evidence to show that we didn’t screw up.

Agree 100%. Personally, I think someone screwed up.... and given the current "political climate" it was decided to try bluff their way out. It was, in all probability, just a dumb mistake with tragic consequences.

On the evidence side of things, so far the coalition is falling behind. The "other side" has provided a lot of evidence, even if it is disputed. The coalition has provided... a Syrian passport?? How many US courts would convict anyone on the basis of that?

Its quite true that bad guys have weddings too... but, pointing out that fact doesn't prove this wedding was celebrated by bad guys.

[cut]

If this was a mistake, we should own up to it. If not, we'd better hurry up and provide some credible evidence to show that we didn’t screw up.

I couldn't agree more

[Herrmannek]

If this was a mistake, we should own up to it. If not, we'd better hurry up and provide some credible evidence to show that we didn’t screw up.

I couldn't agree more

Yup

[LordHalbert]

I think the US had better come up some counter evidence.

May be some of it is sensitive in nature.

The whole Iraqi wedding thing could be an elaborate hoax but it's relatively simple to provide counter evidence if it's false.

[usa320]

come on, who brings Ak-47's, RPG's, RPK's, IED's, foreign passports and ammunition to a wedding party at 3 am?

[LordHalbert]

The US should show video or pictures of said weapons.

[Fargin]

So far it's a lose-lose situation, minds are already made.

[Trident-za]

come on, who brings Ak-47's, RPG's, RPK's, IED's, foreign passports and ammunition to a wedding party at 3 am?

Well... as some posts have stated, Iraqi customs for weddings dictate a "late" evening. AK47's are standard at these affairs. RPK's and RPg's I dont know about.... has the presence of these weapons been established? IEDs? Same question... I don't know, havent read anything about these. Foreign passports? Wonder how many people in the USA this second have foreign passports.... must be bad guys, all of them!

Damn, if the Apaches accidently fired on a wedding celibration in New York, what would the repercussions be? But.... in this case, it was only Iraqis, and they lived close to the border... so who cares.... (damn, I hope for the sake of you US people living near the border with Canada that your country never declares war on Canada),.

Again, I think this was a simple ****-up... but these attempts to explain it away by blaming the dead victims is too much for me to handle without some response. You might be proved right in the long run, but until the coalition presents "credible evidence", your arguments (Usa320 etc) suck.

[ronin2172]

^and who holds a wedding party at 2:30 in the morning on the Syrian Border where there have been numerous engagements? The circumstances of this alleged wedding party is 'curious' to say the least.

As for this 'cover up' i remember seeing a report from amnsety international talking about british soldiers who allegedly shot up a wedding reception in southern Iraq killing an 8 year old girl in the process. The report also alleged that the MOD was being very secretive in their investigation of said incident ( in other words cover up). Amnesty International said their report was based on eye witness testimony, and they even had a picture, and name of the alleged victim mind you they didn't speak or couldn't speak for the legetimacy of the 'eyewitnesses' or provide any real evidence. So using the logic that some on this forum r using concerning the wedding massacre, i guess americans r not the only one's guilty of a 'cover up' huh cut?

Maybe we should all take a wait and see stance before we rush to judgement

[He219]

The US should show video or pictures of said weapons.
;)

To help substantiate his comments, the general showed reporters slides of items found at the site, which included a significant number of weapons, battery packs used to power improvised explosive devices and a host of other non-wedding-related items.

"What was interesting is that the building seemed to be somewhat of a dormitory," Kimmitt pointed out. "There were more than 300 sets of bedding gear in it and about 100 sets of prepackaged clothing. It's suspected that when foreign fighters come in from other countries they change their clothes into typical Iraqi clothing sets.

"We also found a significant number of identity cards, ID-making machines, the capability to make exit visas for Iraq and a couple of passports," the general noted. "And we found a waist-high medical table for examination and treatment."

Highlighting some other intelligence found at the site, Kimmitt said, "There were a couple of other items we found to be quite interesting. None of the bodies had any identification of any kind – no ID cards, no wallets, no pictures. They had watches, and that was about the only way you could identify one person from another.

"We feel that that was an indicator that this was a high-risk meeting of high-level anti-coalition forces," he said. Kimmitt pointed out items found in the victims' pockets, "including a lot of telephone numbers to foreign countries -- Afghanistan, Sudan and a number of others."

http://www.dod.mil/news/May2004/n05222004_200405221.html

[Romulus]

Word^^^^