[Oberon]

At 3:19 approx, you can see the two reporters with cameras on straps slung over their shoulders, without being told that they were reporters and those were cameras, one could make the mistake that those were possibly SMGs or RPGs in that shot.
At 3:39, the camera slews up and there are three gentlemen with what appear to be weapons of some sort, at least from the altitude and angle of the chopper. They radio in to check that there are no friendlies in the area, and receive the all clear.
At 4:08, one of the camera crew appears to be picking up a long lens camera from the ground, unfortunately all that is visible on the tape is a long black object, which is something an RPG happens to be. Only at 4:13ish can one be sure that it's a camera, but if in advance you did not know that he was a camera man, would this still register so obviously?
4:21 he reports that there was 'a guy shooting', which obviously did not occur. This is the gunners error. You cannot excuse this statement save for words uttered in the grip of the moment which once uttered can never be returned to whence they came.
4:41 it sounds as though there is a US unit in a nearby street, talk of Humvees and Bradleys, and later in the video he talks in a unit. This would make any gunner just that little more jumpy knowing that his or hers countrymen are just a few streets away and the people you have in front of you could be mustering to attack them.
4:51 Yeah...by this point, now that you know who they are, it's obvious that they are a bit too relaxed to be planning an attack, but that's hindsight for you. Something that you only get after the event.
5:09 Primary engagement concluded. Civilians and combatants scatter alike, he who fights and runs away lives to kill you or a friend another day.
5:19 Two random shots at the fleeing reporter, gunner seems to lose track or something. Some humour. Not appropriate for the situation, but one way of relieving tension.
5:53 Ok, a bit overkill now, although probably aimed at the last survivor. Again, if a combatant survives, he can return to the battlefield. This gentleman was not a combatant, however the crew was firmly in the belief that he was and thus acted so.
Asking for the guy to reach for a weapon is perhaps not appropriate, however in an age when SWAT teams cannot use force unless they've already been shot at (and possibly killed or injured) then he has to have what looks like a weapon in his hands before they can open fire.


Let me bring forward another little story from another war.
Malaya, 1950-52.
45 Commando of the Royal Marines, were deployed to Malaya during the crisis, it was in climate conditions probably quite similar to Vietnam, likewise in geography. Isolated villages surrounded by jungles, perfect ambush territory.
As the Commandos patrolled, they would come across villages and the children of the village would run out to meet them, the Commandos would pick the children up, play games with them, share their rations with them, generally the things that you or I would do with children no matter if we were in a war or not.
The enemy, Communist guerrillas, got word of this, probably through local sympathisers, and began to use the children as a weapon against the Commandos. The children were wired up with explosives, to them it was just a game, perhaps a new type of clothing, and when they ran out to greet the Commandos to play their games and get their sweets, the explosives were detonated and the children and Marines killed.
After a time, quite a few Marines had succumbed to this new tactic, so an order was issued from command, any children who ran towards the Marines as they entered a village were to be shot on sight.
Can you imagine that? To the children it was business as usual, some of them might have had a bomb vest, some of them might not have done...but if they ran towards the Marines to greet them...it was the last thing they did. Let me tell you something...it haunted those Marines to their final days, however what choice did they have? It was kill or be killed, for if one of those children with a bomb vest had met my grandfather in Malaya, I would not be typing these words right now. I'm just bloody grateful that I'm not in a position where my judgment is responsible for the life and death of those around me.