"I'm sorry to say it, but I'm the guy who killed the journalists. I'm really sorry, and I feel badly for their families, but I had no choice. My soldiers' lives were in danger."
That's what the Captain, as commander of the tank involved, said after the incident. It was dark, the soldiers were taking heavy machine gun fire, and thought they were returning fire at an enemy forward observer. All of the arrested soldiers were exonerated.
As a former tank platoon leader, I can assure you that tank firing at a target IS a split second decision, done on reflex in response to danger. From target sighting to firing the main gun, you have about 8 seconds to get a round off. If you don't - you're dead. I would have done the same thing.
Declaring a building "off limits" in the middle of a war is a fine thing, but it doesn't always work out.
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Date: 11/4/10 01:52 (UTC)That's what the Captain, as commander of the tank involved, said after the incident. It was dark, the soldiers were taking heavy machine gun fire, and thought they were returning fire at an enemy forward observer. All of the arrested soldiers were exonerated.
As a former tank platoon leader, I can assure you that tank firing at a target IS a split second decision, done on reflex in response to danger. From target sighting to firing the main gun, you have about 8 seconds to get a round off. If you don't - you're dead. I would have done the same thing.
Declaring a building "off limits" in the middle of a war is a fine thing, but it doesn't always work out.