| Post; Marine did right
I remember seeing that same footage, and I would have to agree that it did indeed appear that the insurgent had a weapon next to him. I also agree with the decsision that the Marine made in shooting the insurgent.
One other comment not really on the same particular scenario. When clearing buildings, in my experience, the first person that the team clearing the building sees is the one that will have the most lead regardless if they are bad or not, usually when we have to clear a building due to an Ambush and the vehicle became disabled, our adrenaline is just pumping and we are focused on seeking safety, four our wounded if any, and for the rest of the team. I remember our vehicle being disabled and we rushed into a building, unfortunately we shot the person we ran across, thankfully they were just happening to be carrying a weapon, unfortunately we found out that it was an Iraqi Police officer, he was grabbing his weapon as he was going to go outside and investigate the disturbance that was occurring outside of his home. Thankfully we did not kill the guy, he was rather hospitable when we patched him up while waiting for recovery. We of course in a sign of good faith did give him authorization to come to the gate and get treated for the wonds that we inflicted upon him.
What I am getting at is this is WAR. Not someplace where you have time to think. All though we are trained to identify our targets prior to engaging, sometimes you have to act on the spur of the moment, and in that moment mistakes can be made, or you could save the lives of every man that is coming through the door behind you.
SSG Lucus J Reaser |