Veteran of "Collateral Murder" Company Speaks Out

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WASHINGTON - April 9 - Josh Stieber, who is a former soldier of the “Collateral Murder” Company, says that the acts of brutality caught on film and recently released via Wikileaks are not isolated instances, but were commonplace during his tour of duty.



“A lot of my friends are in that video,” says Stieber. “After watching the video, I would definitely say that that is, nine times out of ten, the way things ended up. Killing was following military protocol. It was going along with the rules as they are.”



Stieber deployed to Baghdad with Bravo Company 2-16, whose members were involved in the incident captured in Wikileaks' “Collateral Murder” video, which has made international headlines by depicting a July 2007 shooting incident outside of Baghdad in which over a dozen people, including two Reuters employees, were killed. Although he was not present at the scene of the video, he knows those who were involved and is familiar with the environment. Stieber, who now works to promote peace and alternatives to war, is speaking publicly about his time in Iraq and the incident captured in this video.



“If these videos shock and revolt you, they show the reality of what war is like,” says Stieber. “If you don’t like what you see in them, it means we should be working harder towards alternatives to war.”



Stieber currently lives in Washington, D.C.






BACKGROUND ON JOSH STIEBER:

Branch of service: United States Army (USA)


Unit: 1st ID


Rank: Spc.


Home: Laytonsville, Maryland


Served in: Baghdad (Rustamiyah) 07-08 Fort Riley, KS 06-07, 08-09



http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/04/09

[alienlovechild 75]

WASHINGTON - April 9 - Josh Stieber, who is a former soldier of the “Collateral Murder” Company, says that the acts of brutality caught on film and recently released via Wikileaks are not isolated instances, but were commonplace during his tour of duty.



“A lot of my friends are in that video,” says Stieber. “After watching the video, I would definitely say that that is, nine times out of ten, the way things ended up. Killing was following military protocol. It was going along with the rules as they are.”



“If these videos shock and revolt you, they show the reality of what war is like,” says Stieber. “If you don’t like what you see in them, it means we should be working harder towards alternatives to war.”

People get killed in wars?

Stieber shouldn't be surprised when his charges boomerang on him when he's labeled a babykiller and can't get a job.

I wonder how his fellow Iraq War vets feel about his claims? Never hear about the soldiers who didn't fire and cam home in bodybags. Where's the video of that?

If you don't like what you saw you had duty to report it. Better yet if you think you'll be ashamed of what you have to do while in the military- don't enlist.

[Teacher Mark 53]

That'll win the hearts and minds for sure.

[Danno 1,228]

“If these videos shock and revolt you, they show the reality of what war is like,” says Stieber. “If you don’t like what you see in them, it means we should be working harder towards alternatives to war.”

Yeah unfortunately we have seen those "alternatives" it's not always pretty.

Ironically enough, when we have wars we see all the unpleasantries on film, when we don't have wars we don't see, the Starvation, the Gulags the death camps, the beheadings and rapes nor torture show trials or executions.