If you have not seen the film from the cameraman who was inside the UN compound yesterday taping as the explosion went off, you should definitely go take a look, if for no other reason than to see what terror looks and feels like. In a word, it is awful. Kevin Drum provided the link, so I will use his instructions, as well:
CBS News has some video from a cameraman who was inside the UN building in Baghdad when the bomb went off. It’s about five minutes long and not for the squeamish, but if you want to know what it’s like being in the middle of a suicide bombing, this is (hopefully) as close as you’ll ever get.
To view it, go to the CBS News site and then click on “CBS News camera captures explosion, aftermath” at the top left of the page. If it’s gone, cut and paste this URL into your browser once you’re at the CBS site:
javascript:vlaunch(‘clip=/media/2003/08/19/video569057.rm’)
You’ll need the RealMedia player to watch the video.
I watched it, and I have several comments.
1.) I am even more convinced that people who think anything of this nature is a cause for celebration need to think about their remarks. Misha at the AI Rottweiler has been widely assailed for his flip and inappropriate remarks, yet sees the UN as a target of terror as poetic justice. There is simply no reason for celebration, and I gain little satisfaction in any ‘irony’ that may have been created by the attack. This was simply devestating and awful- those are real people bleeding and traumatized for life in that video- not just UN employees.
2.) Why, in events like this, when there is a cameraman filming, do you always hear people yelling for them to turn the camera off? It needs to keep rolling- people need to see this sort of thing.
3.) The guy at the beginning of the video yelling to keep everyone calm deserves a medal. Human responses to events like this are utterly unpredictable, but thank goodness there is always one person around who manages to keep his/her head. The benefits of training and instinct, perhaps.
4.) I am shaking with anger.
*** Update ***
Here is a direct link to the video.
RW
Comments at Drum’s site (that Bush wanted this) is equally appalling to the other stuff out there.
Dean
John,
I think people yell at cameramen to turn off their cameras because the perception (rightly or wrongly) is that maybe, if the camera’s off, then the cameraman will actually extend help, rather than stand around, sticking the camera into people’s faces (or their wounds).
I would note that, in the 9-11 film by the two French brothers, there didn’t seem to be such calls, perhaps b/c the brothers had spent time w/ that particular fire company and were considered part of the team, rather than as voyeuristic journalists?
JKC
Watching that was very disturbing. It also solidifies in my mind that people like Misha who gloat over the suffering of innocent human beings because they disapprove of their employer are on the exact same moral plane as the terrorists.
Dean
And how about the Palestinians, JKC? They danced after 9-11. They danced after the Jerusalem bombing.
Are they to be “understood” or viewed as being on the “exact same moral plane as the terrorists.”
I disagree very much w/ what Misha said. But I understand somewhat where he came from. Why are there no Lefties out there calling for people to “understand root causes” about the UNHQ bombing? Why are there no Lefties perhaps citing the wrath and anger of Cambodian women, or Rwandan Tutsis, or Cypriots, still divided, as suggesting that the issue is not simply a bombing but a deeper problem w/ the actions of the UN?
Do you think that Gore Vidal or Barbara Kingsolver or Arundhati Roy will write equivalent pieces to what they’ve said about 9-11 about this?
No, the UN people did not, IMO, deserve to die. But neither do the victims of 9-11 deserve the kind of crapola that the UN people won’t be receiving, either.
JKC
Easy, Dean. I doubt very much that EVERY (or even most) Palestinians rejoiced over 9/11.
That’s like saying every conservative thinks (using the term loosely) like Misha.
And yeah, I do think those who celbrated 9/11 are on the same moral plane as the hijackers.
Eric Sivula
JKC, what the Lebanese who handed out candy to “Palestinians” to celebrate the murder of Jewish children on Tuesday?
If ‘most’ Palestinians were NOT happy about 9-11, why did they say nothing to those who were cheering? Why didn’t they have their own demonstrations saying the deaths of civilians is wrong?
Of course, one could also ask why the ‘peace-loving Palestinians’ cheer in the streets when Israeli children die…..
JKC
ANYONE who rejoices in the murder of innocents is morally bankrupt in my book, be they liberal, conservative, Israeli, Palestinian or whatever.
Not everything is about partisan politics.
Ryan
At the time, when you’re in so much shock and awe, and scared by the blood dripping down your face, you don’t want to worry about video footage and you’re going to scream at that cameraman and get very mad at him for video taping instead of helping. But if you’re that camera man today – look how proud he should be. Poeple need to see what really happened. People need to see that this wasn’t a movie, and it wasn’t just a tv show. That blood was real. These innocent people were bombed at and in much danger, and imagine if no one got to see that video? You would just believe the news, and see their far away video shot. Any video footage is good for memories sake. There was so much mayhem and confusion anyway, if he didn’t have the camera on – he would just be running around crazy. I’m glad the video footage was taken.