video footage of a 2007 incident in which civilians were killed.
Gates said the videos released by the group
WikiLeaks were out of context and provided an incomplete picture of the
battlefield, comparing it to war as seen “through a soda straw.”
“These people can put out whatever they want and are
never held accountable for it,” said Gates, speaking to reporters while
in route to
The Web site last week released classified video of a 2007 incident in
in which two Reuters news agency employees and several other civilians
were killed or wounded by an Apache helicopter whose crew mistook them
for insurgent fighters.
The video ignited international outrage for showing
the helicopter crew praising one another’s shooting and seeking more
human “targets.” The incident was investigated previously by the
military and crewmembers were found innocent of any wrongdoing. Reuters
had been turned down in prior efforts to obtain the video.
Nonetheless, Gates told reporters that the videos
were akin to looking at war through a narrow lens and said that
millions who have viewed it on YouTube and elsewhere could not
understand what was going on before or after the airstrikes incidents.
“That is the problem with these videos,” Gates said.
“You are looking at the war through a soda straw and you have no
context or perspective.”
U.S. officials have said that the journalists were
walking with or near people who were armed and in the proximity of a
firefight.
WikiLeaks organizers could not be reached Tuesday to
comment on Gates’ charges. The group’s Web site includes the 2007 video
in a presentation it has titled “Collateral Murder.” WikiLeaks said
this week it may soon release another video, of a 2009 U.S. airstrike
in
The WikiLeaks Web site lists no staff members, but names its supporters, which includes several media companies, the
The Times and several other media companies and
public interest organizations intervened in a 2008 court case in which
a U.S. judge ordered the U.S. version of the Web site shut down for
publishing confidential business documents from
Despite his criticism for the leaks, Gates also
emphasized that he takes the issue of civilian casualties seriously. He
said he supports restrictions on airstrikes and other tactics that Gen.
“Every time I talk to General McChrystal, he talks
about this,” Gates said. “His view is the civilian casualty question is
a strategic question in
Gates said U.S. and allied forces thoroughly prove
incidents involving civilian casualties because they can threaten the
success of the overall effort.
“We investigate every single one not only to
determine if there is accountability or what actually happened but also
if there are lessons to be learned to avoid it the next time,” Gates
said.
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(c) 2010, Tribune Co.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
