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An Analysis of What I Do and Do Not Know Regarding the July 12, 2007 Apache Controversy

-- By RonMazor - 18 Apr 2010

[Short Version]

[Long Version]

(Video being utilized for academic purposes, with the intention of fair use.)

Can the video be trusted?

Background

On July 12, 2007, Reuters journalists Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh were killed in a helicopter strike by U.S. forces, along with nine other individuals.

Are the Youtube videos found above those which were obtained by WikiLeaks?

Though this may seem an obvious matter at first glance, the issue is not so simple. In short, there exist three separate entities who claim ties to the videos, and their relation is not immediately apparent. WikiLeaks is not hosting either video itself, but provides an embedded link to the shorter, 17 minute long Youtube video. The site stipulates that those who desire further information should visit CollateralMurder. At CollateralMurder, one finds embedded Youtube links to two videos--the short 17 minute version found at WikiLeaks and the longer video, purported to be the full version of what WikiLeaks obtained. I have watched both versions side-by-side, and found the two to be substantially similar (see below for analysis).

Both videos are hosted by a user named "sunshinepress." The contact page of CollateralMurder lists a number of emails linked to sunshinepress.org, and includes the phone number for Julian Assange, a founder/spokesperson of Wikileaks. WikiLeaks? also has links with associations to the domain name sunshinepress.org. In further support, Reuters reported that WikiLeaks? originally posted their video(see last sentence) at CollateralMurder? . Further, the original wikileaks video is also hosted by sunshinepress, and sunshinepress.org seems to be a mirror of WikiLeaks.

Conclusion: It is possible that the youtube video hosted by sunshinepress and linked from CollateralMurder is not the full video that Wikileaks obtained, despite CollateralMurder's claims. It is also possible that the address wikileaks.org is not the website of Wikileaks, that Reuters was wrong in asserting that Wikileaks hosted its video on CollateralMurder? , and that the embedded video provided on CollateralMurder? is not the correct video. However, I have found no information that would support such conclusions. As such, I am willing to assume that the videos I posted above reflect two similar versions of the video Wikileaks claims to have obtained.

Is the video the actual Apache gun camera footage, as WikiLeaks/CollateralMurder claim?

It needs to be established that the video being displayed is the actual footage of the event. However, some questions exist. The Pentagon has not released an official, attributable statement confirming the validity of the footage. However, Reuters, the New York Times, the Associated Press and Britain's Daily Telegraph all claim to have verified the video's authenticity via unnamed military sources. Additionally, the events described in the records of the pilot testimonies and the recently released content of the AR 15-6 informal investigation closely resemble the footage. In further support, the still gun camera images contained in the Army reports seem identical to portions of the WikiLeaks? video, and the documentation of the aftermath conducted by ground troops resembles the location shown in the video. At the same time, though, some news sources have reported information which raises doubt about the veracity, with a few reports of a Capt. Jack x stating that the Army can no longer find its gun camera footage (seattle), and stating to Fox News that ""It gives you a limited perspective," said Capt. Jack Hanzlik, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. "The video only tells you a portion of the activity that was happening that day. Just from watching that video, people cannot understand the complex battles that occurred. You are seeing only a very narrow picture of the events." Whether this can be taken as an admission from the pentagon that the video is accurate is unclear from the context, and as stated earlier, I have not unconvered any confirmation that the Pentagon has gone on record verifying the events.

According to the New York Times, on April 5th, "Navy Capt. Jake Hanzlik, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said U.S. forces in Iraq recognize many of the images in the video posted at Wikileaks.org and have no reason to believe it is a fake. However, he said, they were still comparing the video and audio to see if it matched their own."

Read more: http://dailyme.com/story/2010040500002881/ap-source-confirms-video-baghdad-firefight.html#ixzz0lQFJAeyg

Did WikiLeaks? edit or alter the footage in a way which reduces its evidentiary value?

Whether or not WikiLeaks? has been honest in its display of the video is a separate matter. The short version clearly differs from the "full" version, and does so in some troubling ways. As such, it remains to be seen whether or not the longer version is itself uneditted, or if liberties have been taken of which the viewer cannot judge. 1:25 above video starts.

12:28--difference. cuts from 10:54.

12:48 video resumes. Has cut to around 18:51.

At 13:02, cuts audio and replays from around 12:48. Cuts from bottom video at 19:01, and video resumes at 21:18. Video omits information regarding the discovery of an rpg round beneath one of the dead 19:18. Jump from 22:08 (14:33) to 21:09 (14:34) regarding injured child. At 14:34 jumps to 23:05 to show wounded child and soldier running. 23:34 (15:03) to 27:57 (15:04) to talk about rejection regarding evacuation of child to rustamaya and to local hospital instead. Cut at 28:20 (15:27) to 18:07 to catch quote of them saying it was enemy's fault for bringing kid. Misses the dejected "Ah damn. oh well." from the pilot as soon when they hear the news at (17:19). This comment comes almost a minute later, after a long silence. Cuts at 18:18 (15:37). At 15:54 replays footage of firing on van. Claims to show children after artificially zooming in. Cuts at 16:19 before firing starts again.

Is the video an accurate reflection of the events which transpired?

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Section II

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Subsection B

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