Associated Press Removes Mention of US Helicopter Purposely Tearing Down Islamic Banner in Iraq

On 13 Aug 2003, 4:17 PM ET, the Associated Press newswire carried an article headlined "U.S. Soldiers Fire Into Crowd, Killing 1" by Tarek al-Issawi. Here's the entire thing:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - US soldiers shot into a crowd in a Baghdad slum Wednesday, killing one civilian and wounding four, after being fired on with a rocket-propelled grenade, the military said.

The exchange broke out after about 3,000 demonstrators gathered near a telecommunications tower in Sadr City, where they said American forces in a helicopter tried to tear down an Islamic banner.

US military spokesman Sgt. Danny Martin said it appeared rotor wash from a helicopter blew down the banner.

However, amateur video footage obtained by Associated Press Television News showed a Black Hawk helicopter hovering about three feet from the top of the tower and apparently trying to tear down the banner. The footage showed US Humvees driving by and the crowd throwing stones at them. Heavy gunfire broke out and the demonstrators hit the ground.

Martin said soldiers from the 1st Armored Division opened fire after stones, gunfire and one rocket-propelled grenade were directed at them.

One civilian was killed and four were wounded, he said. He said no soldiers were hit.

Sadr City, formerly known as Saddam City, is a Shiite Muslim stronghold in the otherwise Sunni Muslim-dominated capital.

Pay special attention that fourth paragraph, which says that the AP has in its possession amateur footage showing that the US chopper was purposely tearing down the banner.

The next day, at 2:00 PM EST, the Associated Press released a follow-up article, "US Military Apologizes to Shiite Muslims" by Sameer N. Yacoub. Although it goes into detail about the incident, it completely leaves out mention of the video footage, which proves that the US position is a lie. The entire article reads as follows:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The US military apologized to the people of a Baghdad neighborhood Thursday for an incident in which a man was killed after a Black Hawk helicopter blew down an Islamic banner.

In the southern city of Basra, a bomb killed one British soldier and wounded three others, British military spokesman Capt. Hisham Halawi said. It was the first British combat death in nearly two months.

On Wednesday, American forces fired into a crowd of 3,000 demonstrators in Sadr City, a Shiite Muslim slum, after a man shot a rocket-propelled grenade at the soldiers. The shooter was killed and four bystanders were wounded.

"Our intent is not to alienate the Shiite people," said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of coalition forces in Iraq.

"Apparently, the helicopter blew down the flag or somehow the flag was taken down, and we are taking steps to ensure that doesn't happen again," he said, answering a barrage of reporters' questions about why the Black Hawk was hovering above the communications tower.

"There is no policy on our part to fly helicopters to communication towers to take down flags," Sanchez said, insisting the banner was mistakenly blown down by the force of the helicopter blades.

Some Sadr City residents seemed calmed by the US apology.

"I think that this minor incident and misunderstanding is over now. Most of the people are accepting the apology. We will not forget that it was the US soldiers who liberated us from Saddam (Hussein)," said Abid Ali, an auto repair shop owner.

No American soldiers or helicopters were seen patrolling Thursday in Sadr City, where another US apology — in English — was distributed in writing.

"What occurred was a mistake and was not directed against the people of Sadr City," said the statement signed by Lt. Col. Christopher K. Hoffman of the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. "I am personally investigating this incident and will punish those that are responsible."

Most Iraqi Shiites welcomed the ouster of Saddam, who brutally put down a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War. Saddam's minority Sunni Muslim Baath Party oppressed the Shiite majority throughout his regime.

At his weekly news conference, Sanchez also sought to emphasize that American forces were changing tactics while not altering US goals of wiping out guerrilla resistance to the U.S.-led occupation.

"The conduct of our operations is to take into consideration the Iraqi culture and sensitivities, and we want to be precise in our application of combat power. We are going to continue to be aggressive, we have to be aggressive. We're fighting a low intensity conflict here," Sanchez said.

The British casualties Thursday were all army medics traveling in an ambulance on the outskirts of Basra, where residents rioted last weekend to protest fuel shortages and power cuts.

Eight Britons have been killed in combat since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat over in Iraq. In the same period, 60 American soldiers have died in attacks.


The AP has sent its own reporting down the memory hole. Here's the key paragraph, for posterity:

However, amateur video footage obtained by Associated Press Television News showed a Black Hawk helicopter hovering about three feet from the top of the tower and apparently trying to tear down the banner. The footage showed US Humvees driving by and the crowd throwing stones at them. Heavy gunfire broke out and the demonstrators hit the ground.

 

MemHole mirror of articles are here and here

articles copyright 2003 Associated Press

thanks for Brad Lucht for pointing this out


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posted 14 Aug 2003 | copyright 2002-3 Russ Kick