Leaked Footage of Journalist Death Fuels Questions

The 2007 video of Reuters journalist Namir Noor-Eldeen’s death in Iraq at the hands of American troops was leaked on Tuesday, after 3 years in which the Pentagon deemed the footage classified information and denied access to it. The leak stirred questions about the behavior of American troops in the battlefield and about the U.S. government’s policy in the diffusion of controversial war material to the press.

The attack occurred in a near-empty street in Baghdad, apparently experiencing no militant activity at the time the Reuters journalist was there. Noor-Eldeen’s camera was confused for a weapon by two Apache helicopter pilots, and he was shot at along with his driver, Saeed Chmag. Further along in the video, the American troops are seen attacking a van tending to the wounded. Two children were also injured during the shooting, in response to which the American troops are heard saying: “It’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle.” The incident resulted in a total of 12 dead.

Combat in Iraq is unconventional militarily, with civilians often caught in the crossfire and enemies that merge with the populace and prove hard to identify. As recently as last week, the attackers of a Sunni family in Baghdad were dressed in outfits similar to that of American and Iraqi troops. Namir Noor-Eldeen was himself known for a photograph he shot of an insurgent, brandishing a bullet vest with the insignia “Police” in bold letters.

While the nature of Namir Noor-Eldeen’s death at the hands of American troops had been known to Reuters since 2007, the footage had been barred from the public, most likely due to its potential as a fuel for the strengthening of anti-American sentiment worldwide. U. S. military officials nevertheless stated this Wednesday that the incident will be revisited, in order to clarify whether or not the rules of proper military engagement were enforced by American troops that day.

The complete New York Times article on the leak can be found here.