As an honorably discharged veteran of the US Army, and as a soldier in the Novorussian Armed Forces of the Donetsk People's Republic, I want to say something about the US special forces soldiers who were killed by ISIS in Niger on October 4th of last year and about the video of their deaths that has recently been released.
These images provided by
the U.S. Army show, from left, Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of
Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro,
Ohio; Sgt. La David Johnson of Miami Gardens, Fla.; and Staff Sgt.
Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. All four were killed in Niger, when a
joint patrol of American and Niger forces was ambushed by militants of the Islamic State group.
Though these US Army soldiers might have been trying to kill me and my comrades if they had been assigned to Ukraine instead of Niger, I have great respect for them and for their courage, and I am sorry that they were killed. I do not consider them to have been my enemies, though if they had come to Ukraine, I would have. Of course, as the idiot Trump (a pampered coward who has never served in any military) said to the family of Sgt. David Johnson, "He knew what he signed up for." And perhaps they all did, but perhaps they did not understand who they were really fighting for, that the same people who ordered them into Niger also created and armed the terrorists who killed them.
I respect and appreciate the sacrifice made by these brave sergeants, who died fighting ISIS, just like Russian pilot Roman Filipov did in Syria a month ago. I have seen the photos of Major Filipov's dead body, and I have seen the video of his death. I have seen videos of my comrades in the Novorussian Armed Forces being killed by US-trained Ukrop Nazis, and I have seen videos of our snipers killing Ukrop soldiers. And I have seen the helmet cam video of Sgt. David Johnson in Niger, which recorded his own death.
“We ask the media and the public and all responsible entities not to aid these terrorists in recruiting efforts by viewing or bringing to attention these images, these videos. You are complicit in amplifying ISIS propaganda if you do that," Col. Rob Manning told reporters on Monday.
The Defense Department "is aware of alleged photos and ISIS propaganda video from the Oct 4, 2017 terrorist attack in Niger. The release of these materials demonstrates the depravity of the enemy we are fighting," the Pentagon said in a statement.
DID SOMEONE SAY "DEPRAVITY"?
The US military command, "The Pentagon", goes beyond the limits of hypocrisy with such statements. First, the Pentagon in fact created Al Qaida, the original ISIS, and the Pentagon continues to arm, train and pay tens of thousands (at least 60,000 ) of ISIS mercenaries to this day.
AND WHEN THEY SAY "SYRIAN REBELS", THEY MEAN "ISIS MERCENARIES"
It was the US war-makers and "regime-changers" who destroyed the prosperous and stable nation of Libya and turned it into the main base of ISIS in the world today and provided millions of weapons to the terrorists who now infest Libya and its neighboring country, Niger. The US Pentagon has also given millions of dollars and a huge amount of political and media coverage to "The White Helmets", which is "amplifying ISIS propaganda" exactly. As for depravity, what could possibly be more depraved than starting a war and paying and arming both sides?
Why doesn't the Pentagon want people to view the video or bring attention to these images? Because what the raw video shows is the truth - the true brutality, the true depravity of war. What the video shows is the price of war, which should be understood by everyone - soldiers, those who might consider enlisting, civilians, voters and politicians who make the decision to go to war or to try to find other ways to accomplish their political goals.
The Pentagon doesn't want people to view this video. Fuck the Pentagon. The viewing of this video should be MANDATORY for everyone old enough to vote or old enough to enlist. Watch the video and understand what it means to call for war, to send soldiers into battle from which some will not return.
I am a combat veteran, and I too have made videos in battle, and I too have wondered, just as I'm sure Sgt. Johnson did, if each video would be the last. So far, I've been lucky. And I believe sincerely that if those four brave soldiers who died on the barren sands of North Africa could speak to us today, they would say what I say - everyone MUST watch this video. If it was a video of my death, I'd want you to watch it. Whether you wanted to or not. Especially if I was supposedly dying on your behalf. Yeah, I'd have wanted yo to be right there with me, see what it was like. I'd want you to feel as much as you could what I felt, what the men around me felt, as we died. For you.
This video linked below is not propaganda, it is counter-propaganda. This is the truth, the hard and bitter truth of what war really is, and in these war-like times, no one has the right to turn away and say "I don't want to know". NO. You do not have the right to choose to be ignorant. You do not have the right. You are obligated to watch and to understand, what war is, what battle is, what it is like to kill and die. Even if you are a Quaker or a Pacifist, even if you are completely against all war, you have an obligation to know the truth. This video does not dishonor the four brave soldiers who gave their lives for what they believed in. To ignore, to refuse to see and understand, that is to dishonor their deaths and their sacrifice.
This is not the ISIS video. The ISIS video is over 9 minutes long, this one is 5:24. The ISIS propaganda and soundtrack have been removed and replaced with a requiem for these soldiers that is respectful and deeply moving. This video has made strong and good men weep, as it should, as any true understanding of war should. So, watch, understand and remember. This video is the truth of battle, the truth of war. And the next time you hear some politician or loudmouth Rambo wanna-be talking about how "we" should have a war, ask them if they know what war really is. Then tell them to either volunteer to fight the war themselves, or shut the fuck up.
IF YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE, YOU SHOULD NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO.
IF YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE OR TO ENLIST, YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO.
https://vk.com/video-107187851_456239930
