Crazy to think that the higher ups never stopped to think that maybe there is an endless supply of insurgents because they kept forcing the locals to become one. Asides from the fact that the invasion was not justified to begin with.
Two major incidents in my lifetime that changed the way we live was first 9/11 and the War on Terror that followed. Second was the Pandemic, and I have to say that the latter had a bigger impact but now I foresee these two currents combining and even darker days for the entire world are coming.
He's just a young kid, from a disadvantaged background, trying to do a job. Some of these guys are just 17-18 years old. They don't know what they're doing there, just trying to stay alive.
@Tawheed_Taqwa_Tawakkul Lots of these kids enlisting are only 17-18 years old. How much did you know about the world at 17? On top of that, these ain’t prep school educated kids. Most come from inner cities or the back ass of nowhere, where the education system sucks. They come from broken and impoverished homes and are just looking for a way out. It isn’t in their contract that they would be invading Iraq. If you think that, then you clearly haven’t been anywhere near an enlistment contract. On top of that many are lied to by recruiters, who will downplay the danger or the chances of deploying. Given this was the early days of Iraq, the invasion had already finished, and Afghanistan seemed to be going well. Many of the guys were sold a story that the war was over and the fighting was done. I knew one kid who enlisted in the army as a Forward observer. The recruiter told him he’d be part of a fire support team; the dumbass thought that meant he was going to be a firefighter, not calling in artillery strikes. In this video the Iraqis mistaken the Americans for Jews multiple times. They know next to nothing about the Americans. The average American soldier didn’t know shit about politics or Iraq either - you can see they’re all just parroting the popular talking points that was probably briefed to them by their command. I guarantee you the war to the vast majority of them has nothing to do with politics. They’re just trying to not get killed. An interview that is going to be broadcasted on national television is not a good setting to hear someone’s true thoughts, especially when they’re serving in a war zone and under a chain of command.
@@thesecretjuice Gotta ask an officer for the PR script lol. Enlisted guys are just like 'we gotta job to do: 1) carry out the mission assigned to us and 2) dont get killed'
Why do we have to change them? See I felt this way when this was happening. I was young and believed in the lies of democracy and all the propaganda. Now I am older and understand that we are all different and given our own domains for a reason. We aren’t better we are just different and if we didn’t meddle in the affairs of every corner of the world, maybe we could just have a way to help people build their own domains where they can prosper in a way that reflects their culture.
Unbelievable documentary, I have seen a lot of war documentaries and often record and learn more about this particular conflict as it’s an interest of mine. The scenes under the bridge and the Iraqi song of Jihad for the bomber juxtaposed blew my mind and had me at the verge of tears. How two sides view a conflict, both are heartbreaking.
Man, the ambience of these smaller documentaries made in the 90's early 2000's was great. They tend to leave a lot of the sounds around you play out like children, cars, radios .. you can almost smell the atmosphere from here. Now documentaries like this are filled with music cues and jump cuts all over the place.
I was there in August 2004 to October 2005. I was injured then sent to Baladh Iraq then to Germany. Things were crazy around this time. I speak about my experience on my channel. I still pray everyday for both Iraq and my friends who lost their lives.
You may be jaded., or tired of hearing this but I wholeheartedly thannk you immensely for your service!, especially that of those whom lost their lives in that service. I can never repay you, but I thank you and love you for it!.
I am from Iraq and I have some questions. How did they convince you to come, why did you come, and do you regret it now? I ask this because I cannot forgive whoever was the reason for destroying my country and causing countless tragedies for my people, and I cannot rid myself of the desire for revenge. Have you been deceived by Before the government or are you convinced of what you did?
@@ansamjd7253depends where the soldier in question is from. The government did indeed lie and create propaganda to influence the public into supporting the war. 9/11 played a big part in it even tho the 19 men on the plane were mostly Saudi. The unfortunate reality is the majority of the American populace is completely ignorant of the facts of the real world, especially history and the history of other nations, so we are prone to being easily manipulated into supporting terrible evils if they are framed as necessary in order to perpetuate the sheltered existence we live in our land across the oceans from the rest of the world.
@@ansamjd7253 I hear you, I am from the US and it’s shameful, your country was destroyed and your neighbors were killed so politicians can profit from it
Iraqis are seriously some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. It reminds me a lot of my dad's family in Italy. They will give you the literal shirt off their back, feed you until you can't eat any more, and tell you their entire life's story in the process. One minute you're asking for directions, next they're planning your marriage to their cousin's daughter.
You can say that about any race of people. Comments like this are on every video when it comes to UA-cam. It’s always top voted whether it be Mexicans, Norwegians, Iranians, Sudanese, Russian, Chinese, etc.. It was also the exact opposite of what I experienced being in the country but oh well. Good for you, I guess.
@@jasoninthehood9726 The reason for what you've observed is that people from all countries are generally good, and want to show foreigners their kindness and compassion. Middle Eastern countries in particular are known for their hospitality. You can see it when the shop keepers in Ramadi help the British journalist and provide him safe haven, even though they were likely part of the resistance against the US and British. However those same people will not be so kind if you kick down their door, violate their social and cultural norms, arrest their children (often based on poor intelligence or wrong addresses), hold them indefinitely without charge in prisons with horrific conditions, and then tell them they ought to be grateful for the service. Especially when the foreign soldiers doing the door kicking are almost totally ignorant of the local culture, history and language. Then those soldiers get all indignant and moralizing when the locals begin to express their anger at the injustice and callous cruelty they were subjected to. Ask yourself how you would feel if you were in the position of those women waiting outside a notoriously brutal prison for the slight chance of seeing their loved ones. Many Americans who served in Iraq have long since realized the self-defeating nature of the tactics and missions they were ordered to carry out. Upon reflection, and after many years of healing and grief, they were able to understand why Iraqis were so angry at them, and that this anger was in many cases entirely justified. That doesn't mean that the friends and comrades they lost deserved to die, and nor will it bring them back. But it will provide a degree of understanding that isn't possible if you cling to simplistic notions that Iraqis were all just "bad people." It could also help ensure that America never again engages in such a criminal and destructive invasion and occupation. That would be best for not only the rest of the world, but also the American soldiers of the future, who won't have to experience the horrors of fighting an unjust and pointless war, the purpose of which they don't understand and can't even articulate to themselves or others.
No, of course! Not all cultures are the same! Of course, what unites humanity is more than what divides it, but every people has good and bad behaviors! In general, the most generous people are the Arabs because of the Bedouin influence that forces people to become extremely generous to strangers. Whoever does not do this is very bad, reprehensible, and has no honor in Iraqi culture, for example. Of course, I am not saying that Iraqis are “angels.” We have many bad things like any other people, but kindness toward strangers is something that distinguishes us, and it is something that people are proud of and that the family teaches to the children.@@jasoninthehood9726
I was out in Haditha and Hit fighting in 2005 with 3rd battalion 25th Marines. It was a traumatic experience. We lost so many great dudes, full of life. Lots of guys just blown into pieces. Couldn’t find enough sometimes of someone to fill a body bag. That’s the hardest part. I’ve met so many parents and almost 20 years later they haven’t felt one minute “better” or “over it” …it never gets better. I went back over there for 3-4 more years as a security contractor doing bodyguard work and drove all over the country more than a few times over. That helped with the PTSD. It helped me greatly to see the country in less of a combative state. Then I went to Afghanistan and spent a few years working with the Afghans and watched ISIS just walk in to Iraq
"these people dont want to be free" such an american mindset.. and the way the soldiers had nothing but blares to give when the reporter said "maybe they want to be free from america" they know what they were doing was wrong.
Oh yeah, a country run under Sharia law is totally free. 😂 We got a glimpse of that when ISIS and the Taliban started taking control. Hope everyone has fun under that.
It is really good to see, when looking back at this war, that there were honest, good journalists trying to tell the REAL story. Thanks for your good reporting, Sean!!❤
It really is crazy. Sending kids to fight a war where they have no idea who the enemy is. I’ve watched a lot of Iraq war films the amount of times I’ve heard who’s the enemy is mind blowing.
@Tawheed_Taqwa_TawakkulWhen you sign a contract with any US military branch, it explicitly tells you more than once that your life is at risk once you sign and commit to the contract. This is a purely voluntary military so you can’t argue that people didn’t know the risk unlike a place like Russia where you’re conscripted into fighting.
Watching these kids try to wrap their brains around why they are there is painful..I bet alot of these guys dont feel very good about this 20 years later..
I hear ppl talking abt freedom but I see a lot of ppl around the world who don’t look or feel free. That goes for some ppl right here in America too. I don’t think most ppl really know what that word means, they just say it and it’s empty like lots of other stuff humans like to spout off abt.
They only use the word “freedom” to make it more palatable for most people. I’d be perfectly fine if the USA just said it’s military actions were to secure American interests and whatever else just to maintain its position as the number one global authority. Most of you wouldn’t like it if the government was just blunt about it but I don’t mind, I’m all for the country doing what it needs to do.
it's well established that the oncept of freedom, including as a political goal in modern times, has aome wildly differing definitions. probably the most recognized one is the american libertarian freedom, but there are different conceptions including the leftist one of freedom from economic exploitation, or even freedom ideals of religious fundamentalists that boil down to freedom from temptations to sin and challenges to the religion.
we arent talking about a mentality of freedom we are talking about a whole demographic of people being put under strict laws...... the american mindset is a disease
I've noticed a lot of people throw around the word freedom alot when there is perceived oppression towards any demographic of people. This stirs the affected and sympathizers to make rally's where it is chanted for there to be Equality, but I think that right there is the problem. "Equality" in its most basic definition is to treat everybody and everything the same, which is good but equality doesn't not fix any economical problems, we just treat everybody nice and the same. What a rally should be really about is Equity. "Equity" in its basic definition is fairness and justice. It's acknowledging the fact that not everyone starts off the same, and it's the process of getting EVERYONE on equal footing. Unfortunately that kind of concept does not run parallel to capitalism, but I suppose that's an entirely different argument. The world is riddled contradictions and people that pay, kill, and lie, to keep up those contradictions, for the sake of wealth. Welcome to Erf! 😁🤗
thank you Sean for showing this to the World. give unheard people a voice thats true journalism that is was journalism is all about. thank you for this report and the one about Ukraine. stay safe :)
10 mountain and the 82nd Airborne working together. I was attached to about 5 different divisions and every one of my DCUs had a different combat patch
“They are chickens, they run away” - says the American guy who is being best equipped surrounded by friendly tanks, armored vehicles and Air Force, against the “chicken” who have nothing but an AK47 and his balls. That’s how guerilla fighters fight, hit and run tactics is the only way against an superior army.
“America’s never gone to war with a country that has a McDonalds” might just sum it up perfectly. Close second: “What they need here is a Pizza Hut, and “We’re here to help.”
@@ansamjd7253try acting like a human rather than a savage from the 7th Century. Just saying. Edit: The US saw Japan, China, and many other non-European civilizations as 'civilized'. In respect, actions do speak louder than words.
@@JasonScott-ep2wv It is true to the extent that you plunged China into a devastating war over opium and burned Japan with nuclear weapons. You are the last to speak about civilization and humanity. You would not have left a country in the world if you had not caused a war or massacres in it. The recent Gaza war exposed you and the values you claim, and the whole world realized that you are using humanity, freedom, etc. Of slogans as a means to achieve your neo-colonial interests and nothing more
The first truth i have heard out of an Arabs mouth...few months later, this prison was called out for what it was, hell!!! My heart goes out to those innocent people who were tortured,dehumanized, raped and murdered. Shame on America, you did receive reports of this but ignored it!
After Butler retired from the US Marine Corps in October 1931, he made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War Is a Racket". The speech was so well received that he wrote a longer version as a short book published in 1935. His work was condensed in Reader's Digest as a book supplement, which helped popularize his message. In an introduction to the Reader's Digest version, Lowell Thomas, who wrote Butler’s oral autobiography, praised Butler's "moral as well as physical courage
Just watched the whole thing, very raw, gave full insight of how everything became the way it is.. that bombing of the bridge at the end and how you filmed those that were killed a week prior just boggles my mind. You can tell by their faces that they’ve had enough and just purely exhausted. How many of them died on that bridge? Waste of lives both worldwide military and Iraqi people. R.I.P to all, 21 years later history has repeated nothing learnt..
i don't know about anyone else. But there is a key lesson i learned here. When the iraqi army, police and civil servants were disbanded, most didn't give a rats ass about saddam. They had no income as the bread winners of their families. There was no security, no order, nothing. They lost HOPE! When people lose hope they will do anything and follow anyone to help them out of their predicament. Hence why society had collapsed. People who lose hope and with the death and destruction around them. they will inevitably go mad, we saw that guy with the grenade. He didnt want to be in that situation he just lost his mind due to his circumstances. Its very sad but would make a classic case study of how man changes and regresses due to awful circumstances of no fault of his own.
Your act is heinous, but God may forgive you if you repent and confess your crime and try to expiate it. This is the only way that can purify your soul.
@@callewag yeah man I do but I truly mean this, thank you for asking. You feel like you were used and thrown away. It's when you're alone that it can really get to but I've got a good support system. Thank you again brother.
Can't blame the soldiers it's the global elites designing things behind the scenes the military wants peace they are just following orders and most honestly felt bad about this because 9/11 is highly controversial on who's responsible
That's crazy we put in work for yall. An yall still tried to kill soldiers. Iraq is a beautiful country if Iraq was built like America. Yall country will be a great place to travel to but Iraqies don't know what they want to do with they self. I lived there from April 2003 to July 2004. From south to northern Iraq. I even stayed in the palace by the tigeries River.
It’s wild hearing the questions to the soldiers. Their responses are so full of propaganda it really puts their actions into context. Like what does “freedom” mean in their context? Also holy shit do some of them seem like assholes. I get your in a shit situation doing bad shit, but that doesn’t seem like rationalization for being a shitty person.
38:47 love the iconography ''here to help'' (See huge machine destroying the area) 46:32 makes a valid point - beautiful journalism here! In hindsight the difference between the two type of IV here are, the US are frontline army soldiers and I'm comparing that to the IV of the Iraqi Resistance leaders. So I guess they will speak with a little more eloquence/acumen
Yeah I noticed that too. Likely elements of 10th Mountain were attached to 82nd Airborne at that time. Both units took part in the First Battle of Fallujah around this time. At 41:47 you can see a soldier with the 82nd patch.
The stresses of this environment..reminds me of Mogadishu Somalia but this is long lasting and of a wider.spread of action. I knew from the very first day we had troops entering there and the suicide bombers or vehicles driving towards the troops and turning around, p layimg games, I knew it was going to be hell
@@abdulbasitabdulsalam5167 He went from living in the successor of ancient Babylonia the pinnacle of human architecture that has yet to be emulated, to the paleolithic stone age in just 8 months.
@@joebenson528Yeah because Iraq pre-invasion was so nice. 😂😂😂 Put down the crack pipe and come back to reality. It went from a shit hole to a shit canyon.
@Tawheed_Taqwa_Tawakkul Vkusno i tochka is 30% cheaper since eliminating the corporate overlord and uses non-gmo/organic ingredients sourced from Russia. Papa Putin needs to share with us, our McDonalds has tasted like dehydrated s*** ever since beef tallow was eliminated in the 90s and soy replaced the beef in the patties. The only thing that is edible is the *farmed* filet O'fish.
Was thinking today what a huge mistake this entire war was. Paul Bremer in particular deserves all the criticism in the world for how he administrated the CPA. The man was a clueless buffoon who had no understanding of Iraqi society or nation-building whatsoever. His decision to 'de-Baathify' the military, government, etc was misguided and a major factor in a sectarian violence that engulfed the country for the next 8 or so years. Then came ISIS... man did the US govt fuck up here or what. No disrespect the the veterans though, it's the politicians who deserve the blame for this mess. I dont get why the Iraqis keep going on about Jews either, like the guy at 14:34. Where the hell did that idea come from?
I think much of the issues between cultures could be solved if we could all communicate fluidly. We need something like AirPods with Google Translate built it.
You introduced the 10th Mountain as the 82d Airborne. I have a feeling whoever you were assigned to just told you that in attempts to pre-emptively shift blame away from themselves. When you can't just say your 'Other Coalition Forces' you have to blame somebody. RLTW
@@c_dubz9401 Some of these dudes have probably been in long enough to serve in multiple units. Assigned unit patch on left shoulder. Unit that you served in combat with on right shoulder.
In the heart of our family, a bond so strong, Me against my brother, righting any wrong. But when our cousin joins the fray, Together we stand, come what may. United we are, against the world we fight, A force to be reckoned with, shining bright. In times of trouble, we stand as one, Facing the storm until it is done. Through thick and thin, we'll never falter, In unity, we find our strength, never to alter. Me against my brother, my brother against my cousin, All of us together, against the outsiders. For in the end, blood runs deep and true, Our bonds unbreakable, our loyalty renewed. United we stand, a family so dear, Me, my brother, my cousin, forever near.
He said that the things that people are saying off camera is more shocking this'll happen everytime we decided leave the occupied. This one is teaching us a good lesson on how it works
They should have told the guy at 45:45 that they're just trying to give them a McDonalds and a Pizza Hut. Maybe even give him some McDonalds and Pizza Hut and they would have been like ohhhh nevermind you guys are good guys.
The causes of wars are always anything but what is publicly admitted, as can be seen in the Russian war in Ukraine today. I think the Iraqis and Afghans can understand what Ukrainian civilians are going through. The truth is that the people who suffer most in war are all those who are not involved in the war itself. Politics is played with human lives... so fxckin pointless
when you and your brothers entered Iraq you were seen as heroes, and then you proceeded to be a bigger tyrant than Sadam. And you wonder why they hate you? You had freedom on your lips telling Iraqs they were free from dictatorship, but you had no hammer to break their chains you just had more chains.
Same…I loved my time in Iraq. Learned a lot and matured even more. People that weren’t there at that time will never understand what we saw and did. B co. 2/325th 82nd. AATW!
Whay he really means is the Zionists, and not the Jews. Iraqi Jews lived in Iraq for hundreds of years, untill the Ashkenazis showed up out of no where to colonize Palestine.
Looking at this 20 years later this is probably one of the biggest catastrophe of this century
Crazy to think that the higher ups never stopped to think that maybe there is an endless supply of insurgents because they kept forcing the locals to become one. Asides from the fact that the invasion was not justified to begin with.
Well, no siht sherlock. Our troops died there like dogs while the politicians get to spend family vacations in private islands
@@lanunsikucing5903free Palestine
Two major incidents in my lifetime that changed the way we live was first 9/11 and the War on Terror that followed.
Second was the Pandemic, and I have to say that the latter had a bigger impact but now I foresee these two currents combining and even darker days for the entire world are coming.
@@benjijarmanagreed.
This is one of the most ballsy reporters in the world...he also did great journalism in Afghanistan and was kidnapped by the Taliban.
Damn… where do I find that video?
@@johndconstantine i think it's this one...
ua-cam.com/video/4kBMyaIzoe0/v-deo.htmlsi=iRw7jbpa85tOSaCp
Did he survive?
@@auniquemarshall8037 ya, he did. They kept him for a few months (3 or 4) but ended up letting him & his fixer go. ;)
@@johndconstantine Sure he did a video with The Lad Bible. You can find it on their YT page
‘Trying to change these people’s way of I don’t know’ sums it up perfectly
He's just a young kid, from a disadvantaged background, trying to do a job. Some of these guys are just 17-18 years old. They don't know what they're doing there, just trying to stay alive.
@Tawheed_Taqwa_Tawakkul Lots of these kids enlisting are only 17-18 years old. How much did you know about the world at 17? On top of that, these ain’t prep school educated kids. Most come from inner cities or the back ass of nowhere, where the education system sucks. They come from broken and impoverished homes and are just looking for a way out.
It isn’t in their contract that they would be invading Iraq. If you think that, then you clearly haven’t been anywhere near an enlistment contract. On top of that many are lied to by recruiters, who will downplay the danger or the chances of deploying. Given this was the early days of Iraq, the invasion had already finished, and Afghanistan seemed to be going well. Many of the guys were sold a story that the war was over and the fighting was done. I knew one kid who enlisted in the army as a Forward observer. The recruiter told him he’d be part of a fire support team; the dumbass thought that meant he was going to be a firefighter, not calling in artillery strikes. In this video the Iraqis mistaken the Americans for Jews multiple times. They know next to nothing about the Americans. The average American soldier didn’t know shit about politics or Iraq either - you can see they’re all just parroting the popular talking points that was probably briefed to them by their command. I guarantee you the war to the vast majority of them has nothing to do with politics. They’re just trying to not get killed. An interview that is going to be broadcasted on national television is not a good setting to hear someone’s true thoughts, especially when they’re serving in a war zone and under a chain of command.
38:45
@@thesecretjuice Gotta ask an officer for the PR script lol. Enlisted guys are just like 'we gotta job to do: 1) carry out the mission assigned to us and 2) dont get killed'
Why do we have to change them? See I felt this way when this was happening. I was young and believed in the lies of democracy and all the propaganda. Now I am older and understand that we are all different and given our own domains for a reason. We aren’t better we are just different and if we didn’t meddle in the affairs of every corner of the world, maybe we could just have a way to help people build their own domains where they can prosper in a way that reflects their culture.
Unbelievable documentary, I have seen a lot of war documentaries and often record and learn more about this particular conflict as it’s an interest of mine. The scenes under the bridge and the Iraqi song of Jihad for the bomber juxtaposed blew my mind and had me at the verge of tears. How two sides view a conflict, both are heartbreaking.
Man, the ambience of these smaller documentaries made in the 90's early 2000's was great. They tend to leave a lot of the sounds around you play out like children, cars, radios .. you can almost smell the atmosphere from here. Now documentaries like this are filled with music cues and jump cuts all over the place.
Absolutely, a similar one but shot in Afghanistan is The House of War. It's incredible.
Link: ua-cam.com/video/iZyCzagB_ew/v-deo.html
You're right
I was there in August 2004 to October 2005. I was injured then sent to Baladh Iraq then to Germany. Things were crazy around this time. I speak about my experience on my channel. I still pray everyday for both Iraq and my friends who lost their lives.
You may be jaded., or tired of hearing this but I wholeheartedly thannk you immensely for your service!, especially that of those whom lost their lives in that service. I can never repay you, but I thank you and love you for it!.
I am from Iraq and I have some questions. How did they convince you to come, why did you come, and do you regret it now? I ask this because I cannot forgive whoever was the reason for destroying my country and causing countless tragedies for my people, and I cannot rid myself of the desire for revenge. Have you been deceived by Before the government or are you convinced of what you did?
@@ansamjd7253depends where the soldier in question is from. The government did indeed lie and create propaganda to influence the public into supporting the war. 9/11 played a big part in it even tho the 19 men on the plane were mostly Saudi. The unfortunate reality is the majority of the American populace is completely ignorant of the facts of the real world, especially history and the history of other nations, so we are prone to being easily manipulated into supporting terrible evils if they are framed as necessary in order to perpetuate the sheltered existence we live in our land across the oceans from the rest of the world.
@@TvshkaHummareally are you serious
@@ansamjd7253 I hear you, I am from the US and it’s shameful, your country was destroyed and your neighbors were killed so politicians can profit from it
40 mins in and you realise no one had a clue what they were doing or why they were there or what was coming on the horizon at Falujah and Ramadi
Always easy to say with the knowledge of hindsight....Even 6 years after this documentary much of the world didn't realize the war would produce ISIS.
Agreed!!
They will live with the nightmare of ramadi and falujah for decades
20 mins in and i was looking for this comment.
Thats why these guys are still killing there selves every day at home. Lord forgive them for they not know.
Iraqis are seriously some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. It reminds me a lot of my dad's family in Italy. They will give you the literal shirt off their back, feed you until you can't eat any more, and tell you their entire life's story in the process. One minute you're asking for directions, next they're planning your marriage to their cousin's daughter.
@@Tawheed_Taqwa_TawakkulAnd then you're bound in front of a camera with four masked men behind you waiting to cut your head off..
You can say that about any race of people. Comments like this are on every video when it comes to UA-cam. It’s always top voted whether it be Mexicans, Norwegians, Iranians, Sudanese, Russian, Chinese, etc.. It was also the exact opposite of what I experienced being in the country but oh well. Good for you, I guess.
Go to Iraq and see for yourself and stop defending@@jasoninthehood9726
@@jasoninthehood9726 The reason for what you've observed is that people from all countries are generally good, and want to show foreigners their kindness and compassion. Middle Eastern countries in particular are known for their hospitality. You can see it when the shop keepers in Ramadi help the British journalist and provide him safe haven, even though they were likely part of the resistance against the US and British. However those same people will not be so kind if you kick down their door, violate their social and cultural norms, arrest their children (often based on poor intelligence or wrong addresses), hold them indefinitely without charge in prisons with horrific conditions, and then tell them they ought to be grateful for the service. Especially when the foreign soldiers doing the door kicking are almost totally ignorant of the local culture, history and language. Then those soldiers get all indignant and moralizing when the locals begin to express their anger at the injustice and callous cruelty they were subjected to. Ask yourself how you would feel if you were in the position of those women waiting outside a notoriously brutal prison for the slight chance of seeing their loved ones.
Many Americans who served in Iraq have long since realized the self-defeating nature of the tactics and missions they were ordered to carry out. Upon reflection, and after many years of healing and grief, they were able to understand why Iraqis were so angry at them, and that this anger was in many cases entirely justified. That doesn't mean that the friends and comrades they lost deserved to die, and nor will it bring them back. But it will provide a degree of understanding that isn't possible if you cling to simplistic notions that Iraqis were all just "bad people." It could also help ensure that America never again engages in such a criminal and destructive invasion and occupation. That would be best for not only the rest of the world, but also the American soldiers of the future, who won't have to experience the horrors of fighting an unjust and pointless war, the purpose of which they don't understand and can't even articulate to themselves or others.
No, of course! Not all cultures are the same! Of course, what unites humanity is more than what divides it, but every people has good and bad behaviors! In general, the most generous people are the Arabs because of the Bedouin influence that forces people to become extremely generous to strangers. Whoever does not do this is very bad, reprehensible, and has no honor in Iraqi culture, for example. Of course, I am not saying that Iraqis are “angels.” We have many bad things like any other people, but kindness toward strangers is something that distinguishes us, and it is something that people are proud of and that the family teaches to the children.@@jasoninthehood9726
20 Years have flown by man!
Please save these archives for future generations, war criminals need to face justice.
The politicians
Both you and I know that won’t happen. Wishful thinking.
@@FancySeeingYouHere and military
@@YahudiDestroyerdo you think the military wanna be there?😂
@@Okiver-zk1wo well yes they signed contracts and went there without being forced buddy
But why did they attack Iraq 🇮🇶 ?? Where are the weapons of mass destruction? Have people forgotten what happened in the prison in 🇮🇶
USA is the world largest terrorist
They said it was to remove Sadam Hussein, but who knows what was actually going through Bush and Blair's mind?
@@grahamt5924 nothing but murders
@@grahamt5924 Everyone but you. They wanted Oil, no secrets about it.
Dam Republicans bush😂
I was out in Haditha and Hit fighting in 2005 with 3rd battalion 25th Marines. It was a traumatic experience. We lost so many great dudes, full of life. Lots of guys just blown into pieces. Couldn’t find enough sometimes of someone to fill a body bag. That’s the hardest part. I’ve met so many parents and almost 20 years later they haven’t felt one minute “better” or “over it” …it never gets better. I went back over there for 3-4 more years as a security contractor doing bodyguard work and drove all over the country more than a few times over. That helped with the PTSD. It helped me greatly to see the country in less of a combative state. Then I went to Afghanistan and spent a few years working with the Afghans and watched ISIS just walk in to Iraq
"these people dont want to be free" such an american mindset.. and the way the soldiers had nothing but blares to give when the reporter said "maybe they want to be free from america" they know what they were doing was wrong.
“Most of these people don’t want to be free”. They want to be free. You are not freedom. You are the oppressor.
Oh yeah, a country run under Sharia law is totally free. 😂 We got a glimpse of that when ISIS and the Taliban started taking control. Hope everyone has fun under that.
they dont "freedom" they want sharia law.
@@jasoninthehood9726 That isnt an answer to what the guy said.
@@larsmonsen88 Do you think I care?
@@jasoninthehood9726 yes
It is really good to see, when looking back at this war, that there were honest, good journalists trying to tell the REAL story. Thanks for your good reporting, Sean!!❤
It really is crazy. Sending kids to fight a war where they have no idea who the enemy is. I’ve watched a lot of Iraq war films the amount of times I’ve heard who’s the enemy is mind blowing.
Your army brutally killed my people. Your army is animals, not humans.
“If we can’t make it work here then I think we’re in trouble” 20 yrs later….
'Misadventures of uncle sam ' should be the title..
Or mission accomplished my arse
@@markwebster5749you seen the Guardian doccy on Col. James Steele?
@Tawheed_Taqwa_TawakkulWhen you sign a contract with any US military branch, it explicitly tells you more than once that your life is at risk once you sign and commit to the contract. This is a purely voluntary military so you can’t argue that people didn’t know the risk unlike a place like Russia where you’re conscripted into fighting.
Watching these kids try to wrap their brains around why they are there is painful..I bet alot of these guys dont feel very good about this 20 years later..
I hear ppl talking abt freedom but I see a lot of ppl around the world who don’t look or feel free. That goes for some ppl right here in America too. I don’t think most ppl really know what that word means, they just say it and it’s empty like lots of other stuff humans like to spout off abt.
America is a really comfortable prison camp.
They only use the word “freedom” to make it more palatable for most people. I’d be perfectly fine if the USA just said it’s military actions were to secure American interests and whatever else just to maintain its position as the number one global authority. Most of you wouldn’t like it if the government was just blunt about it but I don’t mind, I’m all for the country doing what it needs to do.
it's well established that the oncept of freedom, including as a political goal in modern times, has aome wildly differing definitions. probably the most recognized one is the american libertarian freedom, but there are different conceptions including the leftist one of freedom from economic exploitation, or even freedom ideals of religious fundamentalists that boil down to freedom from temptations to sin and challenges to the religion.
we arent talking about a mentality of freedom we are talking about a whole demographic of people being put under strict laws...... the american mindset is a disease
I've noticed a lot of people throw around the word freedom alot when there is perceived oppression towards any demographic of people. This stirs the affected and sympathizers to make rally's where it is chanted for there to be Equality, but I think that right there is the problem. "Equality" in its most basic definition is to treat everybody and everything the same, which is good but equality doesn't not fix any economical problems, we just treat everybody nice and the same. What a rally should be really about is Equity. "Equity" in its basic definition is fairness and justice. It's acknowledging the fact that not everyone starts off the same, and it's the process of getting EVERYONE on equal footing. Unfortunately that kind of concept does not run parallel to capitalism, but I suppose that's an entirely different argument.
The world is riddled contradictions and people that pay, kill, and lie, to keep up those contradictions, for the sake of wealth. Welcome to Erf! 😁🤗
thank you Sean for showing this to the World. give unheard people a voice thats true journalism that is was journalism is all about. thank you for this report and the one about Ukraine. stay safe :)
We NEVER shoulda been in that country!! Period
Thank you very much for sharing this film 🎥 you have done a very good job 👏🏻putting it together.
I always thought America lies about its casualties, this really proves it .
10 mountain and the 82nd Airborne working together. I was attached to about 5 different divisions and every one of my DCUs had a different combat patch
i love how the US army is like "sure, you can tag along for a raid, here's a helmet" to a guy who just showed up with a camera
Just last year Langan received the World Press Freedom Award. Respect sir!
Thank you to the videographer. 🇺🇸
You are some of the nicest people my dear Iraqis you did not deserve this
Your face in the end of the video ....is just battered i mean really an embodiment of what iraq is
Didn't Diddy bang Will Smith🤔?
@@infobaseworks2401Usher too
“They are chickens, they run away” - says the American guy who is being best equipped surrounded by friendly tanks, armored vehicles and Air Force, against the “chicken” who have nothing but an AK47 and his balls. That’s how guerilla fighters fight, hit and run tactics is the only way against an superior army.
👍👍👍
LIVE And TELL TRUTH!!!!!!! NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!
“America’s never gone to war with a country that has a McDonalds” might just sum it up perfectly. Close second: “What they need here is a Pizza Hut, and “We’re here to help.”
This is the same colonial Western mentality that does not see people outside Europe as human beings
Heck yeah, he was right, it's mostly about flexing one's soft powers to win the whole heart 'n mind thing.
@@ansamjd7253try acting like a human rather than a savage from the 7th Century. Just saying.
Edit: The US saw Japan, China, and many other non-European civilizations as 'civilized'. In respect, actions do speak louder than words.
@@JasonScott-ep2wv It is true to the extent that you plunged China into a devastating war over opium and burned Japan with nuclear weapons. You are the last to speak about civilization and humanity. You would not have left a country in the world if you had not caused a war or massacres in it. The recent Gaza war exposed you and the values you claim, and the whole world realized that you are using humanity, freedom, etc. Of slogans as a means to achieve your neo-colonial interests and nothing more
gutsy reporter, bet your were unpopular with powers that be , very good work should be way up the viewing , thanks for posting
The first truth i have heard out of an Arabs mouth...few months later, this prison was called out for what it was, hell!!! My heart goes out to those innocent people who were tortured,dehumanized, raped and murdered. Shame on America, you did receive reports of this but ignored it!
This journalist got balls.
After Butler retired from the US Marine Corps in October 1931, he made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War Is a Racket". The speech was so well received that he wrote a longer version as a short book published in 1935. His work was condensed in Reader's Digest as a book supplement, which helped popularize his message. In an introduction to the Reader's Digest version, Lowell Thomas, who wrote Butler’s oral autobiography, praised Butler's "moral as well as physical courage
Just watched the whole thing, very raw, gave full insight of how everything became the way it is.. that bombing of the bridge at the end and how you filmed those that were killed a week prior just boggles my mind. You can tell by their faces that they’ve had enough and just purely exhausted. How many of them died on that bridge? Waste of lives both worldwide military and Iraqi people. R.I.P to all, 21 years later history has repeated nothing learnt..
46:40 I hate to say it but he has a valid point the young chap.
Brings back so many Memories
That Mcdonald talk is hilarious as hell 33:41
Is this what caught your interest through this video full of diamonds? Indeed, you are a worthless person
3:42 the look of joy on the reporter face while discussing destruction and occupation of iraq ❤😂
i don't know about anyone else.
But there is a key lesson i learned here. When the iraqi army, police and civil servants were disbanded, most didn't give a rats ass about saddam. They had no income as the bread winners of their families. There was no security, no order, nothing. They lost HOPE! When people lose hope they will do anything and follow anyone to help them out of their predicament. Hence why society had collapsed. People who lose hope and with the death and destruction around them. they will inevitably go mad, we saw that guy with the grenade. He didnt want to be in that situation he just lost his mind due to his circumstances. Its very sad but would make a classic case study of how man changes and regresses due to awful circumstances of no fault of his own.
Just watching this the smell of Iraq comes back to me. Reminds me of wondering how i was gonna die and i hoped it was fast. I lost my soul there.
Your act is heinous, but God may forgive you if you repent and confess your crime and try to expiate it. This is the only way that can purify your soul.
Hang in there. Have you got friends or family you can talk to?
@@callewag yeah man I do but I truly mean this, thank you for asking. You feel like you were used and thrown away. It's when you're alone that it can really get to but I've got a good support system. Thank you again brother.
امريكا احتلت العراق ودمرت أرضه وقتلت شعبه ومن ثما سلمت العراق لي إيران لي يزاد سفح الدماء بين سنه وشيعه
What country are you from my friend?
خطا
Can't blame the soldiers it's the global elites designing things behind the scenes the military wants peace they are just following orders and most honestly felt bad about this because 9/11 is highly controversial on who's responsible
That's crazy we put in work for yall. An yall still tried to kill soldiers. Iraq is a beautiful country if Iraq was built like America. Yall country will be a great place to travel to but Iraqies don't know what they want to do with they self. I lived there from April 2003 to July 2004. From south to northern Iraq. I even stayed in the palace by the tigeries River.
@@plplerer11شعيطي يطبل للمحتل. طبعا...
Why did you destroy my country? It is now one of the worst countries in the world 💔😑
I agree with you brother Bush should be in jail love from India
I agree with you. From Texas.
@@genestone4951 We in Iraq do not hate the American people, but we hate the American government. Thank you for your beautiful comment.
@@IRAQI_22 الان العراق بخير لا تكذب
@@plplerer11 يصعب عليك قول الحق لاستفادتك من الباطل وما اكثر الساكتين عن الحق لاستفادتهم من الباطل
The whole thing is awful. All that war over 20 plus years. For what? Now we have millions of people growing up the viscerally hate us.
It’s wild hearing the questions to the soldiers. Their responses are so full of propaganda it really puts their actions into context. Like what does “freedom” mean in their context? Also holy shit do some of them seem like assholes. I get your in a shit situation doing bad shit, but that doesn’t seem like rationalization for being a shitty person.
Its very ironic to see united states slowly and shakingly pointing their fingers at Russia and calling them invaders.
Wow, this is so good. I have always been interested, was too young to understand what was going on when this was all happening.
38:47 love the iconography ''here to help'' (See huge machine destroying the area) 46:32 makes a valid point - beautiful journalism here! In hindsight the difference between the two type of IV here are, the US are frontline army soldiers and I'm comparing that to the IV of the Iraqi Resistance leaders. So I guess they will speak with a little more eloquence/acumen
You kept saying you were talking to and on patrol with the 82nd ,but t hey all had 10th mountain patches? Around the 40 minute mark
Yeah I noticed that too. Likely elements of 10th Mountain were attached to 82nd Airborne at that time. Both units took part in the First Battle of Fallujah around this time. At 41:47 you can see a soldier with the 82nd patch.
Oh yes my eyes and mind are very open to clarity how the real situation is the spirit of liberation❤🇲🇨
18:35 that question made him dizzy 😂
I scrolled down to see if anyone else had picked up on that very poignant comment from the reporter. Just you.
@@deidradahl2802 فعلا انا ايضا
The stresses of this environment..reminds me of Mogadishu Somalia but this is long lasting and of a wider.spread of action. I knew from the very first day we had troops entering there and the suicide bombers or vehicles driving towards the troops and turning around, p layimg games, I knew it was going to be hell
34.00 هذا يوضح لك رزية العالم بكون هذه العقلية السخيفة تحكمه
“Two well paid soldiers.” Sorry to inform you they aren’t paid well enough for what they do
Iraqi resistance were the good guys. I bet the media never figured that out.
This is crazy watching this 20 years later especially seeing the things and learning a lot since.
The Iraqis are right, they’re the Israelis!
Great journalism
This dude is smiling in Ramadi when a mob tried getting him. He's very lucky to be alive.
Great documentary.
I walked out and heard Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind and had to triple check the video title
Iraq is a very complicated country to rule it is bc of the diversity of culture and the tribal spirit that controls the ppls mindsets
but saddam was the man had them under control
the moment they killed him they didn't know the horror yet to come
the same with libya
The guy at the BEGINNING " U.S.A GOOD, U.S.A.GOOD, U.S.A FREEDOM.
I guess he learnt the hard way 😁😁😁
@@abdulbasitabdulsalam5167
He went from living in the successor of ancient Babylonia the pinnacle of human architecture that has yet to be emulated, to the paleolithic stone age in just 8 months.
@@abdulbasitabdulsalam5167Yeah, still better than any country in the Middle East or Africa by a long shot though.
@@joebenson528Yeah because Iraq pre-invasion was so nice. 😂😂😂 Put down the crack pipe and come back to reality. It went from a shit hole to a shit canyon.
Paid actor😂
He was lucky that he didn’t get kidnapped and behaeded
well that film was 6 hours I'll never get back
33:59 bosnia didn’t have a McDonald’s at the time of this filming (it opened in 2011)
No McDonalds in Russia anymore...
@Tawheed_Taqwa_Tawakkul
Vkusno i tochka is 30% cheaper since eliminating the corporate overlord and uses non-gmo/organic ingredients sourced from Russia. Papa Putin needs to share with us, our McDonalds has tasted like dehydrated s*** ever since beef tallow was eliminated in the 90s and soy replaced the beef in the patties. The only thing that is edible is the *farmed* filet O'fish.
@@joebenson528oh wow, another uninformed GMO scaremonger.
Was thinking today what a huge mistake this entire war was. Paul Bremer in particular deserves all the criticism in the world for how he administrated the CPA. The man was a clueless buffoon who had no understanding of Iraqi society or nation-building whatsoever. His decision to 'de-Baathify' the military, government, etc was misguided and a major factor in a sectarian violence that engulfed the country for the next 8 or so years. Then came ISIS... man did the US govt fuck up here or what. No disrespect the the veterans though, it's the politicians who deserve the blame for this mess.
I dont get why the Iraqis keep going on about Jews either, like the guy at 14:34. Where the hell did that idea come from?
To that immam or people putting out hatred or negative things it just comes back to you
Love to read the comments
What an interesting program sean has done some amazing work. The west really fucked up in Iraq
Is there any reporting like this in Gaza now?
They wanna b free without someone helping them but they dont know where the hell to even start on there own.
I think much of the issues between cultures could be solved if we could all communicate fluidly. We need something like AirPods with Google Translate built it.
You introduced the 10th Mountain as the 82d Airborne. I have a feeling whoever you were assigned to just told you that in attempts to pre-emptively shift blame away from themselves.
When you can't just say your 'Other Coalition Forces' you have to blame somebody.
RLTW
I noticed that as well. Kept saying 82nd and they were wearing 10th Mountain patches.
@@c_dubz9401 Some of these dudes have probably been in long enough to serve in multiple units. Assigned unit patch on left shoulder. Unit that you served in combat with on right shoulder.
A brave reporter for that time.
Good but short
10 Mountain - keine Fallschirmjäger - Schild mit zwei gekruezten Schwertern
This guy has big balls
That’s the 10th Mountain Division that he’s with in Fallujah not the 82d
In the heart of our family, a bond so strong,
Me against my brother, righting any wrong.
But when our cousin joins the fray,
Together we stand, come what may.
United we are, against the world we fight,
A force to be reckoned with, shining bright.
In times of trouble, we stand as one,
Facing the storm until it is done.
Through thick and thin, we'll never falter,
In unity, we find our strength, never to alter.
Me against my brother, my brother against my cousin,
All of us together, against the outsiders.
For in the end, blood runs deep and true,
Our bonds unbreakable, our loyalty renewed.
United we stand, a family so dear,
Me, my brother, my cousin, forever near.
He said that the things that people are saying off camera is more shocking this'll happen everytime we decided leave the occupied.
This one is teaching us a good lesson on how it works
The Empire's soldiers were completely kept in the dark about the real motivation behind the illegal invasion. Ofcourse I am talking about Vietnam.
The struggles to steal Iraq's oil and gold 😢
They should have told the guy at 45:45 that they're just trying to give them a McDonalds and a Pizza Hut. Maybe even give him some McDonalds and Pizza Hut and they would have been like ohhhh nevermind you guys are good guys.
The causes of wars are always anything but what is publicly admitted, as can be seen in the Russian war in Ukraine today.
I think the Iraqis and Afghans can understand what Ukrainian civilians are going through.
The truth is that the people who suffer most in war are all those who are not involved in the war itself.
Politics is played with human lives... so fxckin pointless
1:05:37 This triggered some unpleasant memories 😞
Journalists don’t get the recognition they deserve
All makes sense to me now that I've bought shares in Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Kalashnikov and BAE??
34:47 crazy fact. Birth place of religion. And everyone fighting each other over religion too
That’s 10th mountain not 82nd
Sean Langan 🐐
Well I was actually here and I don't want 100% agree with your assessment man. If your video is meant to shit all over all of us you did a great job
what about it dont you agree with? upset that you served for nothing? LOL
Served for a bunch of Zionist billionaires. Not my fault you serve a whack ass military
when you and your brothers entered Iraq you were seen as heroes, and then you proceeded to be a bigger tyrant than Sadam. And you wonder why they hate you? You had freedom on your lips telling Iraqs they were free from dictatorship, but you had no hammer to break their chains you just had more chains.
Same…I loved my time in Iraq. Learned a lot and matured even more. People that weren’t there at that time will never understand what we saw and did. B co. 2/325th 82nd. AATW!
@@user-gt5me3nf6bwhat have you done with your life? keyboard warrior
I tried all the ways to get rid of cholesterol & I failed, I didn't expect that it will take few wars and invasion to get rid of cholesterol.
You're not a journalist seems to like you are an American soldier.
”We don’t want the jews in Iraq”
I think you expelled the whole lot years ago mate.
😂😂😂😂😂
Whay he really means is the Zionists, and not the Jews. Iraqi Jews lived in Iraq for hundreds of years, untill the Ashkenazis showed up out of no where to colonize Palestine.
Their hate towards others will consume them for centuries
@@NareEntshoCry About It...
Based And Arabpilled...
هذه الفلم يعلمك من هم القاتلوو الامريكان. السنه ام الشيعه
yah that was some insane times. glad i wasnt there at that time. too bad that all this happened
Langans in the Hot spots before they became Hot spots! Nice early footage.