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Van der Stockt has worked in many war zones, including the first Gulf War, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Africa and the Occupied Territories. He told the Le Monde newspaper in France of his experiences with the same troops that would topple the Saddam statue in front of the world media. He told Le Monde:
"During the first few days, with colleagues from the New York Times and Newsweek, I tried to follow the convoys in a SUV by playing hide-and-seek. We were spending a lot of time then with the 1,500 Marines of the 3/4, commanded by Colonel Bryan P. McCoy ... their motto is 'Search and Kill'. The 'Kilo' unit is nicknamed 'Killer Kilo'. The words 'Carnivore' or 'Blind Killer' are painted on their tankls. McCoy could snap with a 'shame on you', a smile flashing across his face to the sniper who had just finished telling him: 'I've got eight, sjr, but only five'. Literally meaning: I've shot eight, but only five of them are dead'."
"On the morning of April 7, the Marines decided to cross the bridge. A shell fell onto an armored personnel carrier. Two marines were killed. The crossing took on a tragic aspect. The soldiers were stressed, febrile. They were shouting. The risk didn't appear to be that great, so I followed their advance. They were howling, shouting orders and positions to each other. It sounded like something in-between a phantasm, mythology and conditioning. The operation was transformed into crossing the bridge over the River Kwai.
"Later, there was some open terrain. The Marines were advancing and taking up position, hiding behind mounds of earth. They were still really tense. A small blue van was moving towards the convoy. Three notvery- accurate warning shots were fired. The shots were supposed to make the van stop. The van kept on driving, made a U-turn. took shelter and then returned slowly. The Marines opened fire. All hell broke loose. They were firing all over the place. You could hear 'Stop firing' being shouted. The silence that set in was overwhelming. Two men and a woman had just been riddled with bullets. So this was the enemy, the threat.
"A second vehicle drove up. The same scenario was repeated. Its passengers were killed on the spot. A grandfather was walking slowly with a cane on the sidewalk. They killed him too. As with the old man, the Marines fired on a SUV driving along the river bank that was getting too close to them. Riddled with bullets, the vehicle rolled over. Two women and a child got out, miraculously still alive. They sought refuge in the wreckage. A few seconds later, it flew into bits as a tank lobbed a terse shot into it.
"Marines are conditioned to reach their target at any cost, by staying alive and facing any type of enemy. They abusively make use of disproportionate firepower. These hardened troops, followed by tons of equipment, supported by extraordinary artillery power, protected by fighter jets and cutting-edge helicopters, were shooting on local inhabitants who understood absolutely nothing of what was going on. With my own eyes I saw about fifteen civilians killed in two days. I've gone through enough wars to know that it's always dirty, that civilians are always the first victims. But the way it was happening here, it was insane."
Van der Stockt said that at the "roughest moment", the most humane of the troops was a guy called Doug who gave real warning shots, aiming for tires or the engine, and saving at least ten lives in two hours, according to the photographer. Distraught soldiers were saying: "I ain't prepared for this; I didn't come here to shoot civilians."
http://www.counterpunch.org/guerrin04162003.html
"During the first few days, with colleagues from the New York Times and Newsweek, I tried to follow the convoys in a SUV by playing hide-and-seek. We were spending a lot of time then with the 1,500 Marines of the 3/4, commanded by Colonel Bryan P. McCoy ... their motto is 'Search and Kill'. The 'Kilo' unit is nicknamed 'Killer Kilo'. The words 'Carnivore' or 'Blind Killer' are painted on their tankls. McCoy could snap with a 'shame on you', a smile flashing across his face to the sniper who had just finished telling him: 'I've got eight, sjr, but only five'. Literally meaning: I've shot eight, but only five of them are dead'."
"On the morning of April 7, the Marines decided to cross the bridge. A shell fell onto an armored personnel carrier. Two marines were killed. The crossing took on a tragic aspect. The soldiers were stressed, febrile. They were shouting. The risk didn't appear to be that great, so I followed their advance. They were howling, shouting orders and positions to each other. It sounded like something in-between a phantasm, mythology and conditioning. The operation was transformed into crossing the bridge over the River Kwai.
"Later, there was some open terrain. The Marines were advancing and taking up position, hiding behind mounds of earth. They were still really tense. A small blue van was moving towards the convoy. Three notvery- accurate warning shots were fired. The shots were supposed to make the van stop. The van kept on driving, made a U-turn. took shelter and then returned slowly. The Marines opened fire. All hell broke loose. They were firing all over the place. You could hear 'Stop firing' being shouted. The silence that set in was overwhelming. Two men and a woman had just been riddled with bullets. So this was the enemy, the threat.
"A second vehicle drove up. The same scenario was repeated. Its passengers were killed on the spot. A grandfather was walking slowly with a cane on the sidewalk. They killed him too. As with the old man, the Marines fired on a SUV driving along the river bank that was getting too close to them. Riddled with bullets, the vehicle rolled over. Two women and a child got out, miraculously still alive. They sought refuge in the wreckage. A few seconds later, it flew into bits as a tank lobbed a terse shot into it.
"Marines are conditioned to reach their target at any cost, by staying alive and facing any type of enemy. They abusively make use of disproportionate firepower. These hardened troops, followed by tons of equipment, supported by extraordinary artillery power, protected by fighter jets and cutting-edge helicopters, were shooting on local inhabitants who understood absolutely nothing of what was going on. With my own eyes I saw about fifteen civilians killed in two days. I've gone through enough wars to know that it's always dirty, that civilians are always the first victims. But the way it was happening here, it was insane."
Van der Stockt said that at the "roughest moment", the most humane of the troops was a guy called Doug who gave real warning shots, aiming for tires or the engine, and saving at least ten lives in two hours, according to the photographer. Distraught soldiers were saying: "I ain't prepared for this; I didn't come here to shoot civilians."
http://www.counterpunch.org/guerrin04162003.html
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