Just a little thing to add here to those who may think of all those in Iraq and Afghanistan as 'Generation Kill', here's a clip from an A-10 during a tragic blue on blue back in 2003 when an A-10 strafed a British convoy, killing one and injuring five. Bad intel meant that they were only made aware of friendly armour in the area after they had already attacked. The video starts as the A-10s receive word of friendly armour in their grid space and realise what has happened:
They know they have screwed up, they know that people might have died, and the tone of their voice displays the raw anger and disappointment they feel.
As wartime reporters they would have known the risk they were taking, furthermore, as TLAM strike has stated, they should have been wearing the PRESS flakjacket and helmet which would have made them stand out and probably saved their lives. They don't give you outfits to protect you from the enemy, it's to protect you from your own side.
But again, I am not aware of the full thoughts of the two men, therefore I will refrain from second-guessing them. It's a tragedy that they were killed but they are not the first, nor will they be the last civilian deaths in war, civilians have been the front line targets in most wars since war began, in my town there is a plaque in our Post Office to the three people who were killed when the town was bombed by a Dornier I think it was, during the war. Dresden and Tokyo were both fire stormed by the allies whilst London and other British cities received heavy bombing from the Luftwaffe.
Ok, the technology has changed since then and you can now post missiles down chimneys instead of blanketing the area, but you are still going to get civilians who are in the wrong place at the wrong time, particularly in a war where the difference between civilian and combatant is not even marked with a uniform.
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