Don't loot.

[Assault (CAN) 1]

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, I did a search and found nothing so I'll post it anyway.

Don't loot, or you'll pay the consequences of the conquering army.

Yikes!  

Comments?

[Donnervogel 0]

american stupidity

[ran 0]

how to win hearts and minds .......

[toadlife 3]

The 'stupid american's' comment was uncalled for. A better description would be American Ingenuity.

"I'm a taxi driver. That car was my liveleyhood."

I bet they had trouble stealing wood after that.

[laulau 0]

no comment

[Assault (CAN) 1]

C'mon guys, don't ruin my thread by starting nationalistic pissing wars. ;)

IMO, destroying a guy's car over a bunch of stolen 2x4's is totally uncalled for.

However, the narration might be totaly out of context, as has been seen on internet videos before. So it wouldn't suprise me if the guys in question might have been caught doing something much worse.

Besides, don't taxi cabs in Iraq have bright orange or red fenders to mark them as such?

Tyler

[Foxtrot87 0]

There are idiots in all countries. People like those soldiers in the video should be punished for such actions. For example make them come back to that place without a tank, weapons and ammo. In an hour they would have repaired the car and installed some improvements like air conditioning, surround sound system, etc... if they would be alive still. When a next suicide bomber explosion takes place killing other American soldiers their relatives can say thanks to those who smashed the car.

Quote[/b] ] A better description would be American Ingenuity.

I bet you wouldn't say such things if Russian soldiers were cought performing same terrible actions.

Anyway i believe that other American soldiers are ok.

[theavonlady 2]

Make up you minds.

[toadlife 3]

Quote[/b] ] A better description would be American Ingenuity.

I bet you wouldn't say such things if Russian soldiers were cought performing same terrible actions.

Anyway i believe that other American soldiers are ok.

Umm, I was being serious. I'm an american. What they did may have been slighly over the top, but how else should they have delt with criminals for whom they couldn't communicate with?

[theavonlady 2]

I think there's two separate parts to this story, action and behavior:

1. Stopping looters - that is good and it's the obligation of the military forces to do so, especially during those early days of Saddam-free Iraq. If anything, the US didn't do enough to prevent chaos.

2. Behaving like a bunch of gun-toting street jokers. That's what these US soldier's behavior seemed like to me. It's just conduct unbecoming of a soldier, a conduct that could lead to wrong decisions and unnecessarily endangering someones life at another time.

[Tamme 0]

Quote[/b] ] A better description would be American Ingenuity.

I bet you wouldn't say such things if Russian soldiers were cought performing same terrible actions.

Anyway i believe that other American soldiers are ok.

Umm, I was being serious. I'm an american. What they did may have been slighly over the top, but how else should they have delt with criminals for whom they couldn't communicate with?

Demolishing the guys car isn't the right way. So if some foreigner takes my lollipop away from me I'm allowed to beat him up? Thanks for clearing that up.

"I couldn't tell him to give it back because we don't understand each other, so I beat him to the E.R" -"Fine, you're free of charge"

Those soldiers made me furious, acting all tough with their M1A2 and assault rifles, harassing civilians. What are they without all thos fancy toys? Nothing. I hate whimps like that.

[theavonlady 2]

Demolishing the guys car isn't the right way.

And what is?

[Foxtrot87 0]

What they did was not bringing justice for sure. Destroying someone's car because he stole some wood is not a solution. They could take those Iraqis to a police station i suppose. Iraqi people work in the police, they could imprison them until the police arrived, etc. Even in ancient times there was a principle of talion:"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". Destroying that car was cutting off the feeding hand (gee, i wonder if i wrote that correctly) of that Iraqi man and his family. There is only one result of their actions: hatred towards American soldiers. And this would result in more suicide bombings. Neither i nor you want more soldiers to die there. So let's not support such idiots like those.

[theavonlady 2]

They could take those Iraqis to a police station i suppose. Iraqi people work in the police

I bet the police stations were being looted.

Don't forget it looks like this film was taken within the first few days of the US capture of Iraq. Everything was in disarray and looting was rampant, to put it mildly, and lawlessness reigned supreme.

Quote[/b] ]they could imprison them until the police arrived

Who had the keys? How could they continue to patrol if they had to go back and forth everytime that nabbed one or several people?

There's a war going on.

Quote[/b] ]Even in ancient times there was a principle of talion:"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". Destroying that car was cutting off the feeding hand (gee, i wonder if i wrote that correctly) of that Iraqi man and his family.

Who was using it to loot. Bad decision, with obvious risks.

[toadlife 3]

What they did was not bringing justice for sure. Destroying someone's car because he stole some wood is not a solution. They could take those Iraqis to a police station i suppose. Iraqi people work in the police, they could imprison them until the police arrived, etc.

What police? There were no Iraqi police at that time. Bringing them down to the local jail and locking them up would have done as much good as doing absolutely nothing.

Even in ancient times there was a principle of talion:"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". Destroying that car was cutting off the feeding hand (gee, i wonder if i wrote that correctly) of that Iraqi man and his family.

Sure, an eye for an eye. That man was depriving others of their property, so the soldiers deprived him of his.

There is only one result of their actions: hatred towards American soldiers. And this would result in more suicide bombings. Neither i nor you want more soldiers to die there. So let's not support such idiots like those.

I challenge you find a criminal who doesn't hate those who enfoce the law. These guys were common thugs. I bet at least one of them is in an Iraqi jail right now anyway.

[Longinius 1]

I guess its just proof of American peace-keeping incompetence and gung-ho mentality of GI's.

The situation should never have gone down that way, the soldiers should have arrested them. Plain and simple.

And impounding the car seems like a more logical solution than crushing it.

And before anyone says "This was the early days and crime was rampant." thats where the incompetence bit comes in. The US and their allies should have planned and prepared for it, so that these soldiers had an option and obligation to act otherwise.

[theavonlady 2]

And impounding the car seems like a more logical solution than crushing it.

You mean they should have TOW'd it?

Quote[/b] ]And before anyone says "This was the early days and crime was rampant."

Too late!

Quote[/b] ]thats where the incompetence bit comes in. The US and their allies should have planned and prepared for it, so that these soldiers had an option and obligation to act otherwise.

Agreed but under the circumstances, they are obligated to maintain law and order. And they didn't do so by shooting looters on site. They did it by making it impossible or not worth their while to try doing it again.

As for your statement about their gung-ho mentality, that I agree with.

[somebloke 0]

The even stupider thing is, the wood the guys nicked was crushed by the tank.

[theavonlady 2]

The even stupider thing is, the wood the guys nicked was crushed by the tank.

Why is that stupid? Did you expect the tank crew to start going house to house, looking for the owners?

It's contraband. Seized and destroyed.

[bn880 5]

Those soldiers won't hear the end of this. I am assuming they will be out of the army for such idiotic behaviour.

Wait think again, it's the US and look an Israeli is supporting them too.

These guys put on a show, I doubt anyone really cared about that car, they probably paid the Iraqis off for it.

[theavonlady 2]

Wait think again, it's the US  and look an Israeli is supporting them too.  

Your epidermis is showing.

Read my posts. I half agree with you.

[bn880 5]

Right, you confuse a brain with an epidermis, that's been the problem all along.

Half agree isn't good enough. Anyway who cares about something like this, much worse going on there.

[Necromancer- 0]

Was the owner of that car really a normal taxi driver or just a looter?

[theavonlady 2]

Was the owner of that car really a normal taxi driver or just a looter?

Or a normal taxi driver hired to assist looters.

[Necromancer- 0]

Was the owner of that car really a normal taxi driver or just a looter?

Or a normal taxi driver hired to assist looters.

in my opinion they just should have been arrested if its not clear if he's just a taxi driver or not.