Yesterday, Wikileaks.com released the “Collateral Murder” video, now making rounds on the Internet. The video shows engagement by two U.S. Apache helicopters with a group of what appear to be unarmed Iraqi civilians.
The New Yorker identifies many of the law-of-war issues the video raises: proportionality, positive identification, “command culture,” and aid to the wounded. Of course, we as viewers benefit from 20/20 hindsight, thanks in part to Wikileaks’ research. The fog of war clouds the clarity of many of these concepts. Soldiers are trained to be fighters–and killers–not lawyers. With that granis salis should the video be judged. There is no doubt, however, that it is saddening.
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