1
00:00:26,763 --> 00:00:33,163
There was an SUV full of four
Blackwater contractors who were,
2
00:00:33,163 --> 00:00:35,243
you know, driving around Fallujah.
3
00:00:35,243 --> 00:00:36,963
And they got ambushed.
4
00:00:36,963 --> 00:00:39,083
SHOUTING AND CHEERING
5
00:00:39,083 --> 00:00:42,803
The Iraqis gathered round,
just like having a party.
6
00:00:42,803 --> 00:00:44,883
SHOUTING
CAR HORNS BLARING
7
00:00:47,003 --> 00:00:51,123
Then they picked up what was left
of the bodies and they take 'em
8
00:00:51,123 --> 00:00:54,763
up to the bridge on the Euphrates
and, you know, string 'em up.
9
00:00:59,523 --> 00:01:01,603
It was like on television,
beamed around the world
10
00:01:01,603 --> 00:01:03,443
and the Iraqis are partying,
and they love it
11
00:01:03,443 --> 00:01:05,363
and they're making fools out
of the Americans,
12
00:01:05,363 --> 00:01:07,043
they're hitting them
with their shoes.
13
00:01:07,043 --> 00:01:10,883
And that was like...
That was like the end, you know.
14
00:01:10,883 --> 00:01:13,763
I mean, it was,
what a frigging nightmare.
15
00:01:16,363 --> 00:01:19,083
Major combat operations
in Iraq have ended...
16
00:01:19,083 --> 00:01:23,283
It had been a year since George Bush
had claimed the Iraq war was won.
17
00:01:23,283 --> 00:01:25,643
..and our allies have prevailed.
18
00:01:27,363 --> 00:01:29,403
But the story was far from over.
19
00:01:31,843 --> 00:01:34,323
After the toppling
of Saddam Hussein,
20
00:01:34,323 --> 00:01:37,243
the old regime
lost its grip on power...
21
00:01:38,963 --> 00:01:42,563
..but it was not about to give up
without a fight.
22
00:01:42,563 --> 00:01:45,403
Terrorists and regime remnants
have been attacking our forces
23
00:01:45,403 --> 00:01:47,923
and our forces have been going in
and killing them.
24
00:01:47,923 --> 00:01:52,163
America found itself struggling
to keep control
25
00:01:52,163 --> 00:01:56,083
as a violent insurgency took hold
across the country.
26
00:01:59,203 --> 00:02:01,963
And there was worse to come.
27
00:02:01,963 --> 00:02:03,443
NEWS REPORT: London's morning papers
28
00:02:03,443 --> 00:02:05,923
are calling it a torture
scandal, shocking pictures...
29
00:02:05,923 --> 00:02:09,443
Another bad news day for America
in the Arab world.
30
00:02:18,723 --> 00:02:22,403
The battle to win hearts
and minds had failed.
31
00:02:22,403 --> 00:02:25,283
The US Army was feeling the strain.
32
00:02:25,283 --> 00:02:27,603
I wanted to ask about the convoy
campaign and to find out...
33
00:02:27,603 --> 00:02:31,243
HE BREATHES HEAVILY
34
00:02:27,603 --> 00:02:31,243
..if you can confirm that yest...
35
00:02:31,243 --> 00:02:34,123
Get him out of the room,
it's really embarrassing.
36
00:02:34,123 --> 00:02:37,523
The politicians have
had their say about the Iraq war.
37
00:02:37,523 --> 00:02:42,243
I was going to start off tonight
telling some self-deprecating jokes,
38
00:02:42,243 --> 00:02:44,563
then I couldn't think of any
mistakes I had made to be
39
00:02:44,563 --> 00:02:45,923
self-deprecating about.
40
00:02:50,003 --> 00:02:52,843
In this series, civilians,
journalists
41
00:02:52,843 --> 00:02:58,323
and soldiers tell their personal
stories of the 2003 invasion
42
00:02:58,323 --> 00:03:02,763
and how the years of chaos that
followed changed the world for ever.
43
00:03:16,763 --> 00:03:19,803
Who said that thing,
was it Churchill?
44
00:03:19,803 --> 00:03:24,083
Said the thing,
like you never feel so alive...
45
00:03:24,083 --> 00:03:26,563
..as when you are being shot at
or when you're...
46
00:03:28,043 --> 00:03:29,923
Something like that, such bullshit.
47
00:03:32,523 --> 00:03:36,083
You know, call me or Dexter
what you want,
48
00:03:36,083 --> 00:03:41,563
but going into risky situations
and inviting danger,
49
00:03:41,563 --> 00:03:44,563
like almost inviting danger,
50
00:03:44,563 --> 00:03:47,523
certainly wasn't some, like,
thrill-seeking mission.
51
00:03:47,523 --> 00:03:51,883
There were moments where both of us
were scared shitless, erm,
52
00:03:51,883 --> 00:03:55,603
and that wasn't
the point of the work.
53
00:03:55,603 --> 00:04:00,523
It was to try to find a story
that we felt compelled that needed
54
00:04:00,523 --> 00:04:02,723
to be told.
55
00:04:02,723 --> 00:04:06,523
Ashley Gilbertson came to Iraq
as a freelance photographer
56
00:04:06,523 --> 00:04:08,443
at the start of the war.
57
00:04:08,443 --> 00:04:11,203
After a photograph
he took of an American soldier
58
00:04:11,203 --> 00:04:14,883
in one of Saddam's palaces
was published in Time magazine,
59
00:04:14,883 --> 00:04:17,323
he began working
with Dexter Filkins,
60
00:04:17,323 --> 00:04:20,683
a journalist attached
to the New York Times.
61
00:04:20,683 --> 00:04:22,603
Working with Dexter was amazing.
62
00:04:22,603 --> 00:04:25,043
There was almost nowhere
that he wouldn't go
63
00:04:25,043 --> 00:04:27,163
and the same went for me.
64
00:04:28,563 --> 00:04:31,763
What gets me out of bed in the
morning and what makes me continue
65
00:04:31,763 --> 00:04:36,923
to work is this absolute fury
that I have that things are wrong.
66
00:04:40,083 --> 00:04:43,683
You know, he was like a kid.
He was like so young.
67
00:04:43,683 --> 00:04:48,483
Erm, you know, I thought,
huh, you know.
68
00:04:48,483 --> 00:04:53,323
But he's immensely talented
and really fearless
69
00:04:53,323 --> 00:04:57,123
and very enterprising
so we got along really well.
70
00:04:58,643 --> 00:05:02,563
In moments of extreme chaos,
a bomb would go off,
71
00:05:02,563 --> 00:05:04,883
gunfire,
72
00:05:04,883 --> 00:05:08,243
I think my blood pressure
goes down, not up,
73
00:05:08,243 --> 00:05:11,683
and I think very, very clearly
about what I need to do.
74
00:05:11,683 --> 00:05:16,723
Was there a time when you thought
you had pushed it too far?
75
00:05:16,723 --> 00:05:19,643
Definitely. Erm,
76
00:05:19,643 --> 00:05:22,563
more than once, erm, I felt that.
77
00:05:22,563 --> 00:05:25,363
I felt that in Fallujah.
78
00:05:25,363 --> 00:05:27,123
I definitely felt that in Fallujah.
79
00:05:30,123 --> 00:05:33,123
There's so much that happened there,
80
00:05:33,123 --> 00:05:37,523
like I've got 2,500 pictures
or something from that week.
81
00:05:39,643 --> 00:05:41,523
I barely remember taking
any of them.
82
00:05:43,963 --> 00:05:50,403
Up until November 2004,
I'd been able to cover Iraq
83
00:05:50,403 --> 00:05:55,163
as somebody else's war,
but in Fallujah,
84
00:05:55,163 --> 00:05:59,763
it turned into not just a war
that I was covering,
85
00:05:59,763 --> 00:06:03,083
it turned into something that
I was involved in.
86
00:06:03,083 --> 00:06:05,723
I am here today
because another man died.
87
00:06:15,563 --> 00:06:20,603
A year into the war, Fallujah,
40 miles outside Baghdad,
88
00:06:20,603 --> 00:06:23,203
was a hotbed of anti-American
insurgency.
89
00:06:25,883 --> 00:06:29,283
Fallujah was bad,
like from the beginning.
90
00:06:29,283 --> 00:06:33,083
It just like wasn't a nice place
to go if you were American.
91
00:06:33,083 --> 00:06:35,843
It had become like a giant
car bomb factory.
92
00:06:35,843 --> 00:06:38,923
They were just like making car bombs
and shipping them to Baghdad,
93
00:06:38,923 --> 00:06:40,403
you know, like every day.
94
00:06:40,403 --> 00:06:44,443
Go, go home! Go, go home!
95
00:06:44,443 --> 00:06:45,803
The place was a powder keg.
96
00:06:47,443 --> 00:06:50,243
Whether you were being robbed,
whether you were being held up by
97
00:06:50,243 --> 00:06:52,683
armed bandits, whether somebody was
trying to kidnap you,
98
00:06:52,683 --> 00:06:54,283
whether they were trying
to kill you,
99
00:06:54,283 --> 00:06:56,963
or they were trying to get
under your car to do who knows what.
100
00:06:58,603 --> 00:07:01,723
In Fallujah, the Americans were no
longer just facing
101
00:07:01,723 --> 00:07:03,843
a home-grown Iraqi resistance.
102
00:07:03,843 --> 00:07:07,603
GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING
103
00:07:09,563 --> 00:07:13,163
Since the war began,
foreign Islamic extremists had begun
104
00:07:13,163 --> 00:07:16,843
entering Iraq, bringing with them
a jihadist mentality.
105
00:07:23,003 --> 00:07:26,643
Led by a Jordanian named
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
106
00:07:26,643 --> 00:07:29,803
they would organise themselves
into Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
107
00:07:33,323 --> 00:07:37,243
Zarqawi was a bloodthirsty
psychopath
108
00:07:37,243 --> 00:07:40,923
but, man, he knew had to run
a group like Al-Qaeda.
109
00:07:40,923 --> 00:07:44,643
He set up this kind of
a perfect organism.
110
00:07:44,643 --> 00:07:46,803
Very few people who were in Al-Qaeda
111
00:07:46,803 --> 00:07:49,203
knew other people
who were in Al-Qaeda.
112
00:07:49,203 --> 00:07:51,043
You could kill individual
parts of it,
113
00:07:51,043 --> 00:07:52,843
but the rest of it would just
continue.
114
00:07:52,843 --> 00:07:57,243
He kind of turned this thing loose,
this perfect organism,
115
00:07:57,243 --> 00:08:00,843
on Iraq and it was just
a gigantic killing machine.
116
00:08:02,963 --> 00:08:04,763
By November 2004,
117
00:08:04,763 --> 00:08:07,443
al-Zarqawi had taken control
of the city of Fallujah.
118
00:08:09,483 --> 00:08:11,123
For the Americans,
119
00:08:11,123 --> 00:08:15,643
an Al-Qaeda base just 40 miles from
Baghdad was a propaganda disaster.
120
00:08:20,123 --> 00:08:23,123
If our country shows any
uncertainty or weakness
121
00:08:23,123 --> 00:08:26,763
in this decade, the world
will drift towards tragedy.
122
00:08:26,763 --> 00:08:29,523
This is not going to
happen on my watch.
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00:08:29,523 --> 00:08:31,523
CHEERING
124
00:08:33,883 --> 00:08:36,203
Buoyed up by an election victory,
125
00:08:36,203 --> 00:08:39,723
the Bush administration
began making preparations
126
00:08:39,723 --> 00:08:42,483
for a full frontal attack
on Fallujah.
127
00:08:57,443 --> 00:08:59,403
Civilians mostly cleared out,
128
00:08:59,403 --> 00:09:02,243
I mean, certainly
from what I witnessed.
129
00:09:02,243 --> 00:09:06,483
It's very strange because usually
when an army attacks,
130
00:09:06,483 --> 00:09:09,363
it wants to have surprise.
131
00:09:09,363 --> 00:09:12,323
You're not going to announce
when the attack begins.
132
00:09:12,323 --> 00:09:14,163
The Americans essentially did that.
133
00:09:14,163 --> 00:09:19,003
They were like, on the bullhorns,
we are going to attack.
134
00:09:19,003 --> 00:09:20,563
The city will not be safe.
135
00:09:21,923 --> 00:09:24,843
There's a good chance you will die
if you stay.
136
00:09:24,843 --> 00:09:27,203
ANNOUNCEMENT IN ARABIC
137
00:09:27,203 --> 00:09:29,963
BOYS SHOUT
138
00:09:33,083 --> 00:09:34,243
TRANSLATION:
139
00:09:51,443 --> 00:09:54,763
Nidhal Abed, a young wife
and mother,
140
00:09:54,763 --> 00:09:58,163
was one of 50,000 citizens
who didn't leave Fallujah.
141
00:09:59,843 --> 00:10:04,043
Like many other working-class
families, hers was too poor to go.
142
00:10:44,443 --> 00:10:46,483
CHEERING
143
00:11:19,523 --> 00:11:21,003
Action!
144
00:11:21,003 --> 00:11:22,683
What do you want me to do?
145
00:11:22,683 --> 00:11:26,083
..admire my dress? Yeah.
146
00:11:26,083 --> 00:11:28,363
Do you like my dress? Yes.
147
00:11:28,363 --> 00:11:29,963
Why are we whispering?
148
00:11:29,963 --> 00:11:32,043
Billy's still asleep.
149
00:11:32,043 --> 00:11:33,683
Billy!
150
00:11:36,043 --> 00:11:38,163
Did you have a good night? Huh?
151
00:11:45,203 --> 00:11:47,643
Oh. Oh, you want to get
in the pictures too?
152
00:11:47,643 --> 00:11:50,523
Smile. Come on, smile.
153
00:11:50,523 --> 00:11:52,443
You're on candid camera.
154
00:11:54,563 --> 00:11:59,083
Billy was born
on November the 24th, 1981.
155
00:11:59,083 --> 00:12:02,083
He just sort of popped out.
156
00:12:02,083 --> 00:12:04,963
I was in labour for 53 painful
hours with Sabrina
157
00:12:04,963 --> 00:12:08,043
so this one was like a cakewalk.
158
00:12:08,043 --> 00:12:11,723
I was excited.
He was excited because it was a boy.
159
00:12:11,723 --> 00:12:15,363
A man always wants a boy,
carry on the namesake.
160
00:12:16,443 --> 00:12:20,923
I think he's Mom's favourite.
She'll say no, but...he was.
161
00:12:20,923 --> 00:12:22,163
Hi!
162
00:12:23,363 --> 00:12:27,403
He was very outgoing, very busy.
163
00:12:27,403 --> 00:12:29,763
He always looked for adventure.
164
00:12:29,763 --> 00:12:31,923
He was always pushing his limits.
165
00:12:33,683 --> 00:12:37,043
He definitely wasn't college
material.
166
00:12:37,043 --> 00:12:38,803
You know, he struggled in school
167
00:12:38,803 --> 00:12:42,443
and that would have been good
for him, you know,
168
00:12:42,443 --> 00:12:44,083
to go into the Marines.
169
00:12:48,803 --> 00:12:51,203
Miller was a great guy.
170
00:12:51,203 --> 00:12:54,883
He was someone that could talk to
you without the typical marine
171
00:12:54,883 --> 00:12:57,563
yelling and calling you an idiot,
you know.
172
00:12:57,563 --> 00:13:01,923
Christian Dominguez joined the same
company of Marines as Billy Miller.
173
00:13:03,243 --> 00:13:04,883
I was really scrawny.
174
00:13:04,883 --> 00:13:09,323
I was 130lbs and I thought that
I was just going to become tough.
175
00:13:10,643 --> 00:13:12,923
I was one of the first people
from my high school
176
00:13:12,923 --> 00:13:15,163
to join the Marine Corps
and it was really great.
177
00:13:15,163 --> 00:13:16,803
MILITARY MUSIC PLAYS
178
00:13:16,803 --> 00:13:19,403
APPLAUSE
179
00:13:19,403 --> 00:13:22,643
I was proud of the fact that this
was what he wanted to do.
180
00:13:22,643 --> 00:13:24,643
I was also very scared.
181
00:13:24,643 --> 00:13:29,483
When he joined,
it was just a peaceful little world.
182
00:13:29,483 --> 00:13:33,123
It wasn't a peaceful little
world any more so... Yeah.
183
00:13:33,123 --> 00:13:38,403
..just over a week after 9/11
when he graduated from Boot Camp.
184
00:13:38,403 --> 00:13:41,563
After he graduated and he left us,
he went to Spain.
185
00:13:41,563 --> 00:13:45,723
He came home December 2003
and we surprised my parents.
186
00:13:45,723 --> 00:13:49,443
Is Billy in that box? No.
187
00:13:49,443 --> 00:13:52,003
And I said, "Is Billy in that box?"
188
00:13:52,003 --> 00:13:53,403
She said, "No, Mother."
189
00:13:53,403 --> 00:13:55,963
I said, "Did y'all buy me
a dog or some animal
190
00:13:55,963 --> 00:13:57,843
"because I don't want any animals?"
191
00:13:57,843 --> 00:14:00,803
"No, Mother,
we didn't buy you any animals
192
00:14:00,803 --> 00:14:02,683
"but you need to open it up now."
193
00:14:05,283 --> 00:14:09,363
SHE SQUEALS HAPPILY
194
00:14:14,243 --> 00:14:17,643
It was probably her best Christmas
ever and her last Christmas...
195
00:14:19,243 --> 00:14:20,723
..with him.
196
00:14:24,683 --> 00:14:27,723
In October 2004, Billy Miller
197
00:14:27,723 --> 00:14:30,323
and Christian Dominguez were
deployed with
198
00:14:30,323 --> 00:14:32,043
the 1/8 Marine Battalion,
199
00:14:32,043 --> 00:14:35,483
just outside Fallujah, to prepare
for the assault on the city.
200
00:14:38,763 --> 00:14:42,803
Accompanying them would be Ashley
Gilbertson and Dexter Filkins,
201
00:14:42,803 --> 00:14:44,683
representing the New York Times.
202
00:14:46,203 --> 00:14:49,723
No journalist likes to embed with
military, it's too confining.
203
00:14:49,723 --> 00:14:52,683
You know, imagine you're walking
through an Iraqi village.
204
00:14:52,683 --> 00:14:54,243
You know, I'm a journalist,
205
00:14:54,243 --> 00:14:57,163
I want to know what's going
on inside people's heads,
206
00:14:57,163 --> 00:15:01,803
in their hearts, like what are you
feeling over there, you Iraqis?
207
00:15:01,803 --> 00:15:04,163
Um, and you're standing with a group
208
00:15:04,163 --> 00:15:07,243
of 19-year-old Americans
with giant guns.
209
00:15:07,243 --> 00:15:11,003
And you ask an Iraqi guy,
"Hey," you know, "How's it going?"
210
00:15:11,003 --> 00:15:12,843
You're not going to get
a real answer.
211
00:15:12,843 --> 00:15:17,563
But what happened in Iraq was
it became essentially impossible
212
00:15:17,563 --> 00:15:21,643
to work unless you embedded
with the military
213
00:15:21,643 --> 00:15:23,923
for the simple reason
that you would get killed.
214
00:15:28,083 --> 00:15:32,243
If you could picture young
buck warriors, we're very tribal.
215
00:15:32,243 --> 00:15:34,803
And anybody's who's not in our tribe
is basically the enemy
216
00:15:34,803 --> 00:15:37,483
as far as we're concerned, you know,
just to varying degrees.
217
00:15:37,483 --> 00:15:41,683
Sam Williams was Sergeant
of 1/8 Bravo Company.
218
00:15:41,683 --> 00:15:45,643
Sure enough, when the press starts
showing up, we didn't like 'em.
219
00:15:45,643 --> 00:15:48,683
Turns out they're sleeping
in our squad bay with us.
220
00:15:48,683 --> 00:15:51,603
And when I first saw Ashley,
he had one of those...
221
00:15:53,443 --> 00:15:57,763
..sleep things that covers
your eyes, like a sleep mask?
222
00:15:57,763 --> 00:15:59,523
He's got long curly hair.
223
00:15:59,523 --> 00:16:02,043
I was just, like, "Really?"
224
00:16:02,043 --> 00:16:04,563
You know, "Who's this guy,
and why is he even here?"
225
00:16:04,563 --> 00:16:07,523
And you see Dexter,
Dexter looks like a frat boy
226
00:16:07,523 --> 00:16:11,043
who just woke up from
the biggest party ever, you know?
227
00:16:11,043 --> 00:16:14,523
Just kind of this blown-away look
on his face all the time.
228
00:16:14,523 --> 00:16:17,523
So we were all just, like,
super judgy,
229
00:16:17,523 --> 00:16:20,683
and like, "Look at these guys.
I'm not talking to them."
230
00:16:20,683 --> 00:16:25,123
You see right here, I'm standing on
a model of our battle space.
231
00:16:25,123 --> 00:16:26,883
Whenever, like, something changes
232
00:16:26,883 --> 00:16:30,323
or there's gonna be, like,
a significant operation,
233
00:16:30,323 --> 00:16:33,243
the military gets a briefing
from a legal officer
234
00:16:33,243 --> 00:16:36,763
who will tell you, essentially,
"Here are your rules of engagement,"
235
00:16:36,763 --> 00:16:39,683
which is to say, "Here's when
you can pull the trigger.
236
00:16:39,683 --> 00:16:41,563
"Here's when you can't." And...
237
00:16:43,003 --> 00:16:45,483
..I had never been invited
into one of those.
238
00:16:45,483 --> 00:16:47,403
I think they brought us in
because they thought,
239
00:16:47,403 --> 00:16:49,123
"We're going to be killing
a lot of people,
240
00:16:49,123 --> 00:16:51,203
"so we're going to want
the reporters
241
00:16:51,203 --> 00:16:53,683
"to kind of understand
what the rules are here."
242
00:16:53,683 --> 00:16:55,363
So normally rules of engagement
243
00:16:55,363 --> 00:16:58,123
would be, "Don't shoot
unless you're being shot at."
244
00:17:00,163 --> 00:17:02,723
That's a general conflict
rule of engagement.
245
00:17:03,843 --> 00:17:05,323
These ones were really different.
246
00:17:05,323 --> 00:17:06,643
The rules were like...
247
00:17:07,883 --> 00:17:11,523
..dialled really far back.
Like, really loose, you know?
248
00:17:11,523 --> 00:17:14,683
Guy picks up a cellphone,
you can kill him.
249
00:17:14,683 --> 00:17:17,243
If, you know, if you fire
one warning shot at a car,
250
00:17:17,243 --> 00:17:19,523
if it doesn't stop coming at you...
251
00:17:19,523 --> 00:17:20,923
..you can kill.
252
00:17:20,923 --> 00:17:23,923
The expectation was,
and I think it was correct,
253
00:17:23,923 --> 00:17:25,563
"We're going in to attack
254
00:17:25,563 --> 00:17:28,603
"and anybody who resists us
is going to be an enemy.
255
00:17:28,603 --> 00:17:31,443
"It's not going to be a civilian,
because the civilians are gone."
256
00:17:31,443 --> 00:17:33,803
Hey, how you doing?
257
00:17:31,443 --> 00:17:33,803
THEY SHOUT
258
00:17:33,803 --> 00:17:36,083
How you doing, soldiers?
259
00:17:33,803 --> 00:17:36,083
THEY SHOUT
260
00:17:36,083 --> 00:17:38,163
How you doing, sailors?
261
00:17:36,083 --> 00:17:38,163
THEY SHOUT
262
00:17:38,163 --> 00:17:42,803
RECORDING: This is a whole can of
whoop-butt, all combined, OK?
263
00:17:42,803 --> 00:17:45,723
And I'm going to tell you one thing.
It is an honour
264
00:17:45,723 --> 00:17:49,563
for me to be able to serve with each
and every one of you hard chargers.
265
00:17:49,563 --> 00:17:53,923
I mean, I look out here and it's
no different than when we took...
266
00:17:55,323 --> 00:17:57,243
..the damn war over in Korea.
267
00:17:57,243 --> 00:18:01,243
We raised the flag in Iwo Jima.
It's no different.
268
00:18:01,243 --> 00:18:03,643
I'd go to Fallujah right now
after hearing that speech.
269
00:18:03,643 --> 00:18:06,163
I mean, this stuff was...
It was motivating.
270
00:18:06,163 --> 00:18:09,723
But it's disheartening,
at the same time, looking at it now.
271
00:18:09,723 --> 00:18:11,563
And, you know,
one part they don't show is,
272
00:18:11,563 --> 00:18:14,203
oftentimes they start off with
the speech and saying,
273
00:18:14,203 --> 00:18:15,883
"I want you to look to your brothers
274
00:18:15,883 --> 00:18:18,683
"to the left and the right,
and behind you, and realise that
275
00:18:18,683 --> 00:18:21,083
"some of them aren't going to
make it out of there."
276
00:18:21,083 --> 00:18:22,803
And you don't really look, right?
277
00:18:22,803 --> 00:18:24,003
Like, it's part of a speech,
278
00:18:24,003 --> 00:18:26,483
and you're just sitting there like,
"OK, yeah, we get it."
279
00:18:26,483 --> 00:18:29,323
And I just watch that video now
and I can point out
280
00:18:29,323 --> 00:18:30,923
everyone that was killed.
281
00:18:30,923 --> 00:18:32,763
And they were almost in every clip.
282
00:18:32,763 --> 00:18:35,523
Kick some butt. All right?
283
00:18:32,763 --> 00:18:35,523
THEY SHOUT
284
00:18:38,803 --> 00:18:41,443
You're always worried about
your child,
285
00:18:41,443 --> 00:18:47,043
but knowing that he's in a war zone
286
00:18:47,043 --> 00:18:49,963
is a different kind of worry.
287
00:18:49,963 --> 00:18:53,883
But it's not a worry that you can...
288
00:18:53,883 --> 00:18:58,283
At least, I couldn't allow, myself,
to overwhelm me.
289
00:18:58,283 --> 00:19:01,043
Being a police officer for 32 years,
290
00:19:01,043 --> 00:19:05,243
you have to live every day
at a time, as you live it.
291
00:19:06,323 --> 00:19:08,003
And you can't worry about it.
292
00:19:08,003 --> 00:19:10,643
If you worry yourself,
it'll just worry you sick.
293
00:19:16,203 --> 00:19:20,963
After a month of waiting,
on the 7th of November, 2004,
294
00:19:20,963 --> 00:19:25,003
1/8 Bravo Company were given
the order to move into Fallujah.
295
00:19:31,043 --> 00:19:34,523
As we were assembling,
they opened fire.
296
00:19:34,523 --> 00:19:36,043
GUNFIRE
297
00:19:36,043 --> 00:19:38,683
It was just...like a symphony.
298
00:19:40,283 --> 00:19:45,083
Then the voices came over
from the mosques, which were...
299
00:19:45,083 --> 00:19:49,403
..in Arabic, "Come to the fight."
You know, "Come. Defend the city."
300
00:19:50,683 --> 00:19:53,163
And there were so many mosques
and so many loudspeakers,
301
00:19:53,163 --> 00:19:54,923
the intensity of their voices -
302
00:19:54,923 --> 00:19:57,123
they were screaming
into the loudspeakers.
303
00:19:57,123 --> 00:19:59,843
Um, "God is great, God is great,"
like, "Come to the fight."
304
00:19:59,843 --> 00:20:02,083
Um, "They're here.
The Americans are here."
305
00:20:02,083 --> 00:20:04,003
OVERLAPPING VOICES
306
00:20:07,203 --> 00:20:09,083
I could see the tracers coming out.
307
00:20:09,083 --> 00:20:10,443
OK. They're shooting at us,
308
00:20:10,443 --> 00:20:12,763
just kind of spraying machine-gun
fire at us.
309
00:20:12,763 --> 00:20:16,563
You know, and it felt a lot like,
if you've ever seen Star Wars,
310
00:20:16,563 --> 00:20:18,643
where they're attacking
the Death Star,
311
00:20:18,643 --> 00:20:20,763
where they're flying through
this trench
312
00:20:20,763 --> 00:20:23,483
and there's, like, laser guns
just shooting at them
313
00:20:23,483 --> 00:20:25,083
from all over the place.
314
00:20:25,083 --> 00:20:27,643
MACHINE-GUN FIRE
315
00:20:31,083 --> 00:20:34,723
It never looks or feels like
what you imagine.
316
00:20:36,483 --> 00:20:40,203
But in this case,
it looked remarkably like a movie.
317
00:20:41,643 --> 00:20:44,563
I was on the ground
and I was kind of looking up
318
00:20:44,563 --> 00:20:47,523
and I thought, you know,
"That looks like a bottle rocket."
319
00:20:47,523 --> 00:20:51,003
You know, it looks like fireworks
from 4th of July.
320
00:20:56,763 --> 00:20:58,163
And then from out of nowhere...
321
00:20:59,563 --> 00:21:02,763
..we hear these pops above our head.
322
00:21:02,763 --> 00:21:05,843
And you look up, and it's these
shells that have exploded,
323
00:21:05,843 --> 00:21:09,163
and it's like an octopus and
tentacles coming down from the sky.
324
00:21:13,403 --> 00:21:15,243
This bright white light,
325
00:21:15,243 --> 00:21:17,523
with a trail on it, like a comet,
326
00:21:17,523 --> 00:21:21,523
comes sailing in and then
it explodes right above us.
327
00:21:21,523 --> 00:21:26,923
And... And these flaming
sort of chunks of rock
328
00:21:26,923 --> 00:21:29,683
were coming off, and they were...
329
00:21:29,683 --> 00:21:32,803
People were just scrambling
and, like, trying not to get hit,
330
00:21:32,803 --> 00:21:35,123
and, you know,
"What the hell is that?"
331
00:21:37,283 --> 00:21:40,683
I got hit in the back, in my pack,
332
00:21:40,683 --> 00:21:42,723
and it just burned right through
my pack.
333
00:21:42,723 --> 00:21:44,803
It burned through my sleeping bag.
334
00:21:47,883 --> 00:21:50,363
As I learned later, it was
phosphorous, white phosphorous,
335
00:21:50,363 --> 00:21:54,043
and those are our -
meaning American - rounds.
336
00:21:54,043 --> 00:21:57,083
I mean, those were fired
by American guys.
337
00:21:58,963 --> 00:22:01,323
Like, at what? For what?
338
00:22:01,323 --> 00:22:04,203
Uh, at whom? Like, I had no idea.
339
00:22:08,443 --> 00:22:10,323
We go from there,
340
00:22:10,323 --> 00:22:13,643
still on this road, like,
200 metres into Fallujah.
341
00:22:13,643 --> 00:22:18,203
We're right on the edge of the city,
and it's... It's a big city.
342
00:22:21,603 --> 00:22:25,163
And then they get to this road
that they called Phase Line Cathy,
343
00:22:25,163 --> 00:22:28,403
and it's this big east-west road
that crosses Fallujah.
344
00:22:28,403 --> 00:22:31,403
And just to get to that road,
345
00:22:31,403 --> 00:22:33,163
it took them all morning.
346
00:22:33,163 --> 00:22:34,603
Hours and hours of fighting.
347
00:22:34,603 --> 00:22:37,003
Like, every step of the way,
they had to fight.
348
00:22:38,283 --> 00:22:41,083
Spread out, squallers!
Spread them out!
349
00:22:41,083 --> 00:22:42,723
Like, you're running
down the street,
350
00:22:42,723 --> 00:22:45,283
and you can hear the bullets
ricocheting around you, like,
351
00:22:45,283 --> 00:22:47,483
bouncing off the street,
coming off the concrete.
352
00:22:47,483 --> 00:22:49,403
GUNFIRE, BULLETS RICOCHET
353
00:22:51,923 --> 00:22:53,603
And then it stops.
354
00:22:53,603 --> 00:22:57,123
And you get up to this area
that the fire was coming from,
355
00:22:57,123 --> 00:22:58,883
and there's the Marine Scout team
up there
356
00:22:58,883 --> 00:23:01,003
and three dead insurgents
on the road.
357
00:23:08,443 --> 00:23:10,283
Whoo, yeah!
358
00:23:10,283 --> 00:23:12,443
EXPLOSION
359
00:23:15,283 --> 00:23:18,043
The first house we cleared
was a little bit of chaos.
360
00:23:18,043 --> 00:23:20,083
A lot of adrenaline rushing.
361
00:23:20,083 --> 00:23:22,643
Fortunately there was no insurgents
in that house.
362
00:23:22,643 --> 00:23:26,123
But it wasn't exactly how we
planned. There was a lot of people
363
00:23:26,123 --> 00:23:29,443
in there, we were congested,
and it's not how we do things.
364
00:23:29,443 --> 00:23:31,843
But we wanted to make entry, and...
365
00:23:32,923 --> 00:23:36,083
..in Fallujah, the safest place you
can be is inside a cleared house.
366
00:23:38,163 --> 00:23:41,123
And now we're in this house
on a corner
367
00:23:41,123 --> 00:23:43,203
and we had to cross this road
to get to the cultural,
368
00:23:43,203 --> 00:23:45,043
what they were calling
the cultural centre -
369
00:23:45,043 --> 00:23:47,363
this big, like, five-storey,
four-storey building
370
00:23:47,363 --> 00:23:48,803
on the other side of the street.
371
00:23:50,363 --> 00:23:54,043
And so one of the lieutenants
stands at the gate and says,
372
00:23:54,043 --> 00:23:56,763
"All right, go. First platoon go."
373
00:23:56,763 --> 00:23:59,283
And these 40 guys like,
374
00:23:59,283 --> 00:24:02,083
stacked, stream out
and just run across this street
375
00:24:02,083 --> 00:24:03,763
and then it begins.
376
00:24:03,763 --> 00:24:05,403
GUNFIRE
377
00:24:07,883 --> 00:24:10,363
All of this gunfire starts.
378
00:24:10,363 --> 00:24:12,603
A guy falls on the street.
379
00:24:12,603 --> 00:24:15,283
Second platoon goes out.
380
00:24:15,283 --> 00:24:18,963
Some guys drag this guy
out of the street...
381
00:24:18,963 --> 00:24:21,243
..and another guy gets dropped.
382
00:24:31,723 --> 00:24:34,243
And then I'm with this last platoon
sitting in this house
383
00:24:34,243 --> 00:24:37,643
and I remember saying to Dexter,
like, "I really...
384
00:24:37,643 --> 00:24:39,403
"I don't know if I can do this."
385
00:24:39,403 --> 00:24:41,803
Like, you're running
straight into gunfire.
386
00:24:43,643 --> 00:24:45,763
And I don't remember
what he said, but...
387
00:24:45,763 --> 00:24:48,963
I remember them just shouting, like,
"Third platoon, go, go, go!"
388
00:24:48,963 --> 00:24:51,643
so I watched everybody go out
and then just ran.
389
00:24:51,643 --> 00:24:56,203
And they say time slows down,
but it really, it really does.
390
00:24:56,203 --> 00:25:00,843
Like, you can feel every step
that you're taking.
391
00:25:00,843 --> 00:25:04,363
You can see everything taking place
in slow motion around you.
392
00:25:07,563 --> 00:25:12,043
I saw so many bodies
and I saw so many marines go down,
393
00:25:12,043 --> 00:25:14,803
but I never saw an insurgent.
394
00:25:14,803 --> 00:25:18,083
Like, I never saw an insurgent
alive, with a gun.
395
00:25:18,083 --> 00:25:19,443
They were ghosts.
396
00:25:19,443 --> 00:25:21,083
GUNSHOT
397
00:25:21,083 --> 00:25:24,523
They blended in with
this environment so perfectly.
398
00:25:25,723 --> 00:25:27,083
GUNFIRE
399
00:25:28,883 --> 00:25:30,043
Where is it?
400
00:25:30,043 --> 00:25:32,763
It's coming from in there.
401
00:25:32,763 --> 00:25:33,963
Aah!
402
00:25:36,883 --> 00:25:38,803
Is he inside?
403
00:25:36,883 --> 00:25:38,803
GUNFIRE
404
00:25:38,803 --> 00:25:40,083
Watch out!
405
00:25:41,363 --> 00:25:42,843
GUNFIRE
406
00:25:42,843 --> 00:25:44,123
You got him!
407
00:25:44,123 --> 00:25:46,443
GUNSHOTS
408
00:25:50,243 --> 00:25:54,323
Hey! He's wounded,
in between these two houses.
409
00:25:54,323 --> 00:25:56,363
GUNSHOT
410
00:25:56,363 --> 00:25:57,563
He's done.
411
00:25:57,563 --> 00:25:58,963
Hold on, I got one!
412
00:26:03,923 --> 00:26:07,963
Our mission was to clear the city
of insurgents.
413
00:26:07,963 --> 00:26:12,123
It's not right to use the term
seek and destroy, but...
414
00:26:12,123 --> 00:26:14,563
..it was a full-on frontal assault,
415
00:26:14,563 --> 00:26:16,523
into the city of Fallujah,
416
00:26:16,523 --> 00:26:19,883
and you don't stop
until everybody stops shooting.
417
00:26:24,403 --> 00:26:27,323
EXPLOSION
418
00:26:29,083 --> 00:26:31,443
When you have 8,000 of them
419
00:26:31,443 --> 00:26:34,723
moving into a town like that
with all their firepower,
420
00:26:34,723 --> 00:26:37,763
it's a terrifying, uh, force.
421
00:26:37,763 --> 00:26:43,123
I mean, 50 marines
is a terrifying force.
422
00:26:43,123 --> 00:26:45,483
8,000 is just
a massive killing machine.
423
00:27:03,923 --> 00:27:05,123
Target!
424
00:27:26,883 --> 00:27:29,043
TRANSLATION:
425
00:28:32,843 --> 00:28:34,603
EXPLOSION
426
00:28:35,803 --> 00:28:40,523
For a few long days, Ashley and
Dexter moved with 1/8 Company
427
00:28:40,523 --> 00:28:42,843
as they pushed deep into Fallujah,
428
00:28:42,843 --> 00:28:45,843
clearing houses
and coming under sustained attack.
429
00:28:45,843 --> 00:28:48,003
GUNFIRE
430
00:28:48,003 --> 00:28:50,683
Once you start getting shot at,
it all changes.
431
00:28:50,683 --> 00:28:53,083
Once you start getting shot at
and don't run for the hills,
432
00:28:53,083 --> 00:28:55,363
then you start building trust
really quickly.
433
00:28:55,363 --> 00:28:56,643
Because they realise...
434
00:28:56,643 --> 00:28:59,283
And I heard this from multiple
different military units -
435
00:28:59,283 --> 00:29:02,563
they think that the way
we work as journalists,
436
00:29:02,563 --> 00:29:06,443
is we have a template,
an idea of what they're doing,
437
00:29:06,443 --> 00:29:08,923
and we are going out there
to show how bad they are.
438
00:29:10,363 --> 00:29:12,563
But once you cross
the wire with them,
439
00:29:12,563 --> 00:29:15,523
then they start saying, "Ah, OK.
440
00:29:15,523 --> 00:29:18,203
"You're here to see
how it really is."
441
00:29:18,203 --> 00:29:22,963
And I think that
as the war dragged on,
442
00:29:22,963 --> 00:29:25,723
the marines, and, like, the grunts,
443
00:29:25,723 --> 00:29:27,843
these door-kickers,
the trigger pullers,
444
00:29:27,843 --> 00:29:31,043
they realised nobody gave a shit
what they were doing in Iraq.
445
00:29:31,043 --> 00:29:35,203
So we would come out and actually
tell stories, their stories.
446
00:29:36,483 --> 00:29:39,523
Well, it turns out Dex and Ash
held their ground pretty well.
447
00:29:39,523 --> 00:29:42,963
They kept themselves out of
as much trouble as they could
448
00:29:42,963 --> 00:29:45,563
and the times where they got
themselves into trouble
449
00:29:45,563 --> 00:29:46,883
we were there to help them,
450
00:29:46,883 --> 00:29:49,683
and it was never really a burden
on us to have them there.
451
00:29:49,683 --> 00:29:53,003
I mean, these guys were, like,
in the thick of it,
452
00:29:53,003 --> 00:29:54,643
terrified just like we were.
453
00:29:54,643 --> 00:29:56,283
We'd been trained for it.
454
00:29:56,283 --> 00:29:58,123
We have weapons to defend ourselves
455
00:29:58,123 --> 00:30:00,163
and body armour
and that type of stuff.
456
00:30:00,163 --> 00:30:03,363
Those guys were just...
thrown right into it,
457
00:30:03,363 --> 00:30:06,043
like, "Go get 'em."
You know? "Go tell the story."
458
00:30:07,403 --> 00:30:11,603
Ashley and I just... It was so hard
trying to file our stuff, you know,
459
00:30:11,603 --> 00:30:13,363
like, I'm trying to write my story
460
00:30:13,363 --> 00:30:15,883
and Ashley is trying
to file his pictures,
461
00:30:15,883 --> 00:30:17,963
and I was always
looking for electricity.
462
00:30:17,963 --> 00:30:20,003
And so I remember,
it was like the first day,
463
00:30:20,003 --> 00:30:22,563
I don't know what I was thinking,
but I ran into the street
464
00:30:22,563 --> 00:30:25,483
because there was a car out there,
and, you know, pulled the lid up
465
00:30:25,483 --> 00:30:28,643
and tried to put my little
battery clips on the car battery.
466
00:30:29,763 --> 00:30:31,483
I don't want to think about that,
467
00:30:31,483 --> 00:30:34,043
cos there were snipers everywhere.
468
00:30:34,043 --> 00:30:37,603
I remember thinking, like, "This
dude is insane. That is crazy."
469
00:30:37,603 --> 00:30:39,883
Like, he's in the middle of...
470
00:30:39,883 --> 00:30:44,403
Like, so many guys have just been
shot on this exact corner.
471
00:30:44,403 --> 00:30:46,203
The insurgents are everywhere.
472
00:30:46,203 --> 00:30:47,483
And Dexter's out there
473
00:30:47,483 --> 00:30:49,883
trying to pull a car battery
out of a burnt-out car.
474
00:30:49,883 --> 00:30:51,403
Of course the battery doesn't work.
475
00:30:51,403 --> 00:30:53,683
Cos it's a fucking bombed,
burnt-out car.
476
00:30:53,683 --> 00:30:55,243
But it...
477
00:30:56,483 --> 00:30:58,683
It was classic Dexter.
478
00:30:58,683 --> 00:31:00,963
Like, he will file, no matter what.
479
00:31:00,963 --> 00:31:02,403
GUNFIRE
480
00:31:02,403 --> 00:31:07,203
I remember one night
I decided to sleep on the roof
481
00:31:07,203 --> 00:31:09,523
and a couple of hours later
I woke up
482
00:31:09,523 --> 00:31:12,363
because there was something
hot on my neck.
483
00:31:12,363 --> 00:31:15,083
I tried to brush it off
and then it was hot in my hands,
484
00:31:15,083 --> 00:31:17,003
and it's brass casings.
485
00:31:17,003 --> 00:31:19,123
There was... While I was sleeping,
486
00:31:19,123 --> 00:31:21,683
a machine-gunner
had come up above me.
487
00:31:21,683 --> 00:31:24,723
Somehow I'd slept through
this machine-gun automatic fire.
488
00:31:26,283 --> 00:31:28,163
So, then, like, I stretch,
I wake up,
489
00:31:28,163 --> 00:31:30,723
like, "OK, I gotta get out,
gotta go, gotta work."
490
00:31:33,083 --> 00:31:37,363
And then I'm like,
"Shit. My sleeping bag is wet.
491
00:31:37,363 --> 00:31:40,083
"Some asshole must have
spilt water on me."
492
00:31:40,083 --> 00:31:44,243
No. I had also pissed myself
in my sleep.
493
00:31:44,243 --> 00:31:47,683
And I get out of my sleeping bag,
I was wearing blue jeans.
494
00:31:47,683 --> 00:31:50,323
And I had this, like, huge wet patch
on my jeans and like...
495
00:31:51,643 --> 00:31:54,963
Why I'm embarrassed in front of all
these marines, I don't know -
496
00:31:54,963 --> 00:31:57,763
I shouldn't give a shit.
But I did. I was so embarrassed.
497
00:31:57,763 --> 00:31:59,923
So I went downstairs.
498
00:31:59,923 --> 00:32:01,803
"Morning, lads."
499
00:32:01,803 --> 00:32:03,643
Kept going downstairs
to see what they were doing,
500
00:32:03,643 --> 00:32:05,203
like, what are they shooting at?
501
00:32:06,843 --> 00:32:09,683
And they've got these guys
502
00:32:09,683 --> 00:32:12,683
with no shirts on,
who are coming in off the street.
503
00:32:12,683 --> 00:32:14,283
And the sun is rising.
504
00:32:15,763 --> 00:32:18,843
And it was in that moment
that I shot the only picture
505
00:32:18,843 --> 00:32:20,803
of the Iraq war that I think
506
00:32:20,803 --> 00:32:23,083
even comes close to being
a successful picture.
507
00:32:23,083 --> 00:32:25,563
Like, I regard the work that I did
in Iraq as a total failure.
508
00:32:25,563 --> 00:32:28,443
People look at all my Iraq pictures
like, "Wow, looks like a movie" -
509
00:32:28,443 --> 00:32:29,843
like, fuck you.
510
00:32:29,843 --> 00:32:31,723
Or fuck me. I failed.
511
00:32:31,723 --> 00:32:34,043
If you think that my work
looks like a movie,
512
00:32:34,043 --> 00:32:35,603
it means that you're disassociating
513
00:32:35,603 --> 00:32:38,363
from the reality
that is in those pictures.
514
00:32:38,363 --> 00:32:40,603
But this one picture
that I made in that moment
515
00:32:40,603 --> 00:32:43,643
while I was trying to dry piss off
my jeans so I wasn't embarrassed...
516
00:32:45,003 --> 00:32:48,603
..is the only time that I think
that I inched towards
517
00:32:48,603 --> 00:32:50,843
understanding how we fight.
518
00:32:50,843 --> 00:32:53,163
Which was what my intention was
519
00:32:53,163 --> 00:32:56,363
in spending that much time
with angry men with guns.
520
00:32:58,363 --> 00:33:01,283
It's called The University
Of Jihad, Motherfucker.
521
00:33:01,283 --> 00:33:02,963
Cos when the guys were detained,
522
00:33:02,963 --> 00:33:05,483
the marine said,
"What are you doing here?
523
00:33:05,483 --> 00:33:08,283
And the detainee said,
"We're here studying."
524
00:33:08,283 --> 00:33:11,683
And the marine said, "Yeah,
University of Jihad, Motherfucker."
525
00:33:13,683 --> 00:33:15,523
A couple of days goes by,
526
00:33:15,523 --> 00:33:19,203
and, like, I settle into some rubble
on another night, next to Dexter.
527
00:33:19,203 --> 00:33:23,323
And I say, "Goodnight,"
and he says. "Goodnight.
528
00:33:23,323 --> 00:33:25,163
"Don't piss yourself."
529
00:33:27,843 --> 00:33:29,763
Smart arse.
530
00:33:52,963 --> 00:33:55,483
SHELL FIRE
531
00:33:58,003 --> 00:34:00,243
EXPLOSION
532
00:34:00,243 --> 00:34:01,883
TRANSLATION:
533
00:35:00,603 --> 00:35:03,243
Many local men fled Fallujah,
534
00:35:03,243 --> 00:35:07,763
but Nidhal's husband Ahmed decided
to stay with her and their son.
535
00:35:40,803 --> 00:35:43,923
EXPLOSION
536
00:36:43,323 --> 00:36:45,043
CHILD CRYING
537
00:37:31,483 --> 00:37:33,123
EXPLOSION
538
00:38:34,083 --> 00:38:35,923
GUNSHOT
539
00:38:46,363 --> 00:38:50,523
When I was 13 years old,
I killed this deer
540
00:38:50,523 --> 00:38:54,963
in Centerville, Texas,
and it was a real long shot.
541
00:38:56,323 --> 00:38:57,883
17 steps.
542
00:38:59,363 --> 00:39:01,763
17 steps!
543
00:39:01,763 --> 00:39:03,683
Why don't you go hunting any more
544
00:39:03,683 --> 00:39:05,923
and fishing any more
like you used to?
545
00:39:05,923 --> 00:39:09,723
I don't know. It just doesn't do
anything for me any more.
546
00:39:09,723 --> 00:39:13,363
And after Billy died,
I just lost a lot of, um...
547
00:39:14,563 --> 00:39:15,963
..get up and go.
548
00:39:17,043 --> 00:39:19,483
This is a Corsican ram.
549
00:39:19,483 --> 00:39:21,083
Billy killed that one.
550
00:39:23,003 --> 00:39:26,283
And Billy killed this one here.
551
00:39:29,443 --> 00:39:30,963
Look here, Billy.
552
00:39:34,723 --> 00:39:37,243
Look at it again. Billy.
553
00:39:37,243 --> 00:39:38,763
GIRL LAUGHS
554
00:39:51,363 --> 00:39:54,523
By the 15th of November, 2004,
555
00:39:54,523 --> 00:39:57,443
just a week after entering Fallujah,
556
00:39:57,443 --> 00:40:01,003
Bravo Company had almost finished
the first part of their mission.
557
00:40:04,843 --> 00:40:08,003
Fallujah's this weird town.
It looks like a movie set.
558
00:40:08,003 --> 00:40:10,323
And there's these very
defined borders
559
00:40:10,323 --> 00:40:12,603
and then after those borders,
it's just desert.
560
00:40:13,843 --> 00:40:16,723
So, we went from the top of the city
all the way to the bottom,
561
00:40:16,723 --> 00:40:19,443
one end to the other,
and we got to the end,
562
00:40:19,443 --> 00:40:23,883
and, like, the street ended
and then the desert started.
563
00:40:23,883 --> 00:40:26,683
MACHINE-GUN FIRE
564
00:40:28,203 --> 00:40:32,123
Fallujah is the City of Mosques.
It's called the City of Mosques.
565
00:40:32,123 --> 00:40:34,403
And the insurgents knew that
the Americans
566
00:40:34,403 --> 00:40:35,923
couldn't go into the mosque
567
00:40:35,923 --> 00:40:39,043
so they would use them to stage
and attack the marines
568
00:40:39,043 --> 00:40:40,923
cos they knew that
they had more safety there
569
00:40:40,923 --> 00:40:42,363
than they did in a regular place.
570
00:40:43,803 --> 00:40:48,283
So this mosque just short of
the southern edge of Fallujah -
571
00:40:48,283 --> 00:40:51,243
a tank fired a shell
through the minaret.
572
00:40:53,643 --> 00:40:57,643
And they apparently killed
the insurgent who was inside,
573
00:40:57,643 --> 00:41:00,283
and I said, "I've got to go
and see that."
574
00:41:00,283 --> 00:41:05,163
I needed...a photograph as evidence,
as a reporter,
575
00:41:05,163 --> 00:41:08,323
to show that these mosques
were being used as staging grounds.
576
00:41:08,323 --> 00:41:11,243
A picture of a dead insurgent
inside a minaret
577
00:41:11,243 --> 00:41:13,323
showed that without question...
578
00:41:14,643 --> 00:41:16,403
..these spaces were being violated
579
00:41:16,403 --> 00:41:19,683
and were therefore no longer
protected by the Geneva Convention.
580
00:41:19,683 --> 00:41:23,683
So we went to the Captain and said,
"Hey, man, can you please,"
581
00:41:23,683 --> 00:41:25,363
you know, "radio everybody
and tell them
582
00:41:25,363 --> 00:41:27,843
"that we're gonna be running up
the street to this mosque
583
00:41:27,843 --> 00:41:29,763
"and just tell everyone
not to shoot us."
584
00:41:31,283 --> 00:41:33,683
And this time Reed said, "No.
585
00:41:33,683 --> 00:41:36,123
"If you wanna go, this time
you gotta go with the squad
586
00:41:36,123 --> 00:41:38,083
"because it's too dangerous
out there."
587
00:41:38,083 --> 00:41:42,603
And I said, "No,
I've got a policy against...
588
00:41:42,603 --> 00:41:44,203
"like, this non-intervention policy
589
00:41:44,203 --> 00:41:47,603
"where, like, stuff shouldn't
happen on account of me."
590
00:41:51,883 --> 00:41:54,523
So, the Captain said,
"Well, you can't go."
591
00:41:55,643 --> 00:41:57,523
And I said,
"Well, I need the picture."
592
00:42:01,203 --> 00:42:03,803
Dexter and I agreed to it.
593
00:42:03,803 --> 00:42:05,523
That we would go with the squad.
594
00:42:08,123 --> 00:42:13,323
I was chosen to lead a patrol,
along with my Lieutenant,
595
00:42:13,323 --> 00:42:18,083
out down to this minaret
that was 400m away, maybe,
596
00:42:18,083 --> 00:42:20,203
that had this dead sniper in it.
597
00:42:20,203 --> 00:42:23,163
What did you think about
doing this job? I was angry.
598
00:42:24,483 --> 00:42:26,923
I did not want to do it
in the first place,
599
00:42:26,923 --> 00:42:29,083
because we were pretty much done
with the city,
600
00:42:29,083 --> 00:42:31,843
so for me it was like
that one last patrol thing
601
00:42:31,843 --> 00:42:34,043
and I'm just like, "I don't want
to do this," you know,
602
00:42:34,043 --> 00:42:35,523
just so he could take a picture?
603
00:42:36,643 --> 00:42:39,403
You know, all right, if that's
the job and that's the mission
604
00:42:39,403 --> 00:42:42,363
then that's what I'll do,
but I don't agree with this at all.
605
00:42:42,363 --> 00:42:43,963
WHISTLES
606
00:42:47,243 --> 00:42:52,483
I remember the moment I thought,
"Maybe this isn't a good idea."
607
00:42:52,483 --> 00:42:55,203
We were walking towards the minaret.
608
00:42:55,203 --> 00:43:00,003
And, you know,
Fallujah had been so violent,
609
00:43:00,003 --> 00:43:02,563
so destructive,
610
00:43:02,563 --> 00:43:05,843
smoke and ruin everywhere.
611
00:43:05,843 --> 00:43:09,043
And we were walking to the minaret.
612
00:43:09,043 --> 00:43:13,043
And for the first time in a week.
it was quiet.
613
00:43:13,043 --> 00:43:14,723
There was nothing.
614
00:43:20,883 --> 00:43:24,203
If you could picture,
you kind of enter a compound
615
00:43:24,203 --> 00:43:30,883
and the main mosque is kind of
to your direct front and left.
616
00:43:30,883 --> 00:43:34,523
The minaret is to your direct front
and right.
617
00:43:34,523 --> 00:43:37,403
And there's two groups
of auxiliary buildings.
618
00:43:39,923 --> 00:43:42,363
So we clear out
these auxiliary buildings,
619
00:43:42,363 --> 00:43:43,923
we clear out the mosque...
620
00:43:46,443 --> 00:43:49,483
And the last building left
is the minaret,
621
00:43:49,483 --> 00:43:51,523
so we're going to go
clear the minaret,
622
00:43:51,523 --> 00:43:54,203
see if we can get up
and find this sniper, dead sniper.
623
00:43:58,843 --> 00:44:00,963
And when we got to the base
of the minaret,
624
00:44:00,963 --> 00:44:04,483
Lance Corporal Billy Miller
was stacked at the door.
625
00:44:04,483 --> 00:44:07,403
And he said, "Hey, Dominguez,
come stack on me."
626
00:44:07,403 --> 00:44:10,683
Stack means "get behind me
and let's go up there together."
627
00:44:14,283 --> 00:44:16,643
Ashley Gilbertson was there
628
00:44:16,643 --> 00:44:19,083
and with his Australian voice
he was trying to tell us,
629
00:44:19,083 --> 00:44:21,483
"Hey, you stay back,
I'm just going to go run up there
630
00:44:21,483 --> 00:44:23,403
"and take a quick picture."
631
00:44:23,403 --> 00:44:25,523
I wanted to get the picture
and just leave.
632
00:44:25,523 --> 00:44:28,523
Get out of there as soon as we could
so that nothing happened.
633
00:44:29,843 --> 00:44:33,083
Before we went there,
a marine stopped me
634
00:44:33,083 --> 00:44:35,883
and said, "I've got to go ahead
and clear it."
635
00:44:35,883 --> 00:44:39,203
So...that was Lance Corporal
William Miller.
636
00:44:39,203 --> 00:44:41,643
He went up first.
637
00:44:41,643 --> 00:44:45,203
He was followed by
Christian Dominguez,
638
00:44:45,203 --> 00:44:46,763
then me,
639
00:44:46,763 --> 00:44:50,163
and Dexter was apparently behind me.
I didn't turn around to see.
640
00:44:53,363 --> 00:44:55,443
Itself, the minaret was scary.
641
00:44:55,443 --> 00:44:57,443
It was dark, the stairs were creaky,
642
00:44:57,443 --> 00:44:59,603
you know, the bricks were...
643
00:44:59,603 --> 00:45:02,363
It just seemed like the whole thing
was going to fall apart anyway.
644
00:45:03,763 --> 00:45:07,963
We're climbing
and it's just the sound of rubble,
645
00:45:07,963 --> 00:45:11,403
like crunching concrete
under our feet when we're climbing.
646
00:45:11,403 --> 00:45:15,083
There was a whole bunch of rubble
on these stairs,
647
00:45:15,083 --> 00:45:17,363
like, it was such a confined area.
648
00:45:17,363 --> 00:45:19,963
I mean, it wasn't much wider
than this chair.
649
00:45:19,963 --> 00:45:21,963
And we're walking up there and...
650
00:45:23,163 --> 00:45:26,963
The steps were pretty big
in that Billy Miller was going up
651
00:45:26,963 --> 00:45:29,923
and he was almost a full step
ahead of me.
652
00:45:31,323 --> 00:45:33,443
And we kept tripping,
653
00:45:33,443 --> 00:45:37,643
and he almost said something.
He almost said...
654
00:45:37,643 --> 00:45:38,803
"Shit."
655
00:45:44,683 --> 00:45:49,403
And just as you start to get
a little bit of light
656
00:45:49,403 --> 00:45:50,763
through a hole in the wall,
657
00:45:50,763 --> 00:45:53,563
from where the tank shell went
through and killed this insurgent...
658
00:45:55,003 --> 00:45:58,683
..and I'm thinking, "This is almost
over. Get my picture and get out."
659
00:45:58,683 --> 00:46:00,563
Then there was a gunshot.
660
00:46:00,563 --> 00:46:03,763
Maybe multiple gunshots.
661
00:46:00,563 --> 00:46:03,763
GUNSHOT
662
00:46:05,763 --> 00:46:07,203
And I felt water all over me.
663
00:46:08,603 --> 00:46:11,603
You know, immediately I thought,
shit, somebody released their rifle
664
00:46:11,603 --> 00:46:13,923
by accident and shot these CamelBaks
that they all wear,
665
00:46:13,923 --> 00:46:16,763
it's like these little backpacks
filled with water.
666
00:46:18,043 --> 00:46:19,843
Then I heard Dominguez screaming.
667
00:46:29,203 --> 00:46:31,723
We basically walked into
this guy's muzzle.
668
00:46:33,523 --> 00:46:35,723
I saw a guy's hand laying down,
669
00:46:35,723 --> 00:46:38,563
and he was laying down the stairs
670
00:46:38,563 --> 00:46:42,123
and we basically
walked right into his gun.
671
00:46:42,123 --> 00:46:44,643
He shot Miller in the face...
672
00:46:45,723 --> 00:46:48,963
..and then Miller's body kind of
turned and then he shot.
673
00:46:48,963 --> 00:46:51,923
And at this point
Miller kind of fell down
674
00:46:51,923 --> 00:46:57,003
and I was standing just below Miller
675
00:46:57,003 --> 00:47:00,323
and the shots....
This guy was lighting up the wall,
676
00:47:00,323 --> 00:47:02,443
shooting relentlessly,
677
00:47:02,443 --> 00:47:04,523
and the rocks were exploding
in my face,
678
00:47:04,523 --> 00:47:08,323
and it was so loud because of
how confined the area was.
679
00:47:08,323 --> 00:47:09,923
And then I just remember, like,
680
00:47:09,923 --> 00:47:12,283
all of us starting
to run down these stairs.
681
00:47:13,683 --> 00:47:15,763
And I remember falling
682
00:47:15,763 --> 00:47:17,323
and just rolling.
683
00:47:21,443 --> 00:47:23,083
We rolled out of this minaret...
684
00:47:25,763 --> 00:47:29,123
..and I looked down at my camera
685
00:47:29,123 --> 00:47:30,483
and my hands...
686
00:47:32,323 --> 00:47:34,163
..and it wasn't water.
687
00:47:34,163 --> 00:47:37,523
It was blood, and brain, and...
688
00:47:40,523 --> 00:47:42,163
It was Billy, like, just...
689
00:47:45,003 --> 00:47:46,163
..all over me.
690
00:47:47,643 --> 00:47:50,723
Ashley was just, like,
in a complete state of shock.
691
00:47:50,723 --> 00:47:56,603
He... I just remember him sitting
there kind of mumbling to himself.
692
00:47:56,603 --> 00:48:00,083
His helmet was on crooked
and he was just saying,
693
00:48:00,083 --> 00:48:02,323
"My fault, my fault, my fault,
my fault, my fault..."
694
00:48:06,803 --> 00:48:08,603
I couldn't breathe.
695
00:48:08,603 --> 00:48:11,283
And Sam Williams was down there,
696
00:48:11,283 --> 00:48:14,123
and he said,
"Dominguez, what happened?"
697
00:48:14,123 --> 00:48:17,523
And out of some... I remember
hearing my voice was weird,
698
00:48:17,523 --> 00:48:20,363
and saying, "Miller's dead,"
699
00:48:20,363 --> 00:48:23,723
and the look of confusion
on his face, like, "What?"
700
00:48:23,723 --> 00:48:26,283
SHOUTING
701
00:48:26,283 --> 00:48:28,203
Everybody came running out
of the building.
702
00:48:29,603 --> 00:48:31,123
Except Billy.
703
00:48:32,843 --> 00:48:36,043
So obviously
we were going back in to get him.
704
00:48:36,043 --> 00:48:39,323
I don't care about that picture
or anything at this point -
705
00:48:39,323 --> 00:48:40,843
we've gotta get Billy out of here.
706
00:48:40,843 --> 00:48:42,523
We've gotta get our wounded
out of here.
707
00:48:42,523 --> 00:48:44,003
GUNFIRE
708
00:48:46,323 --> 00:48:48,963
And it was a relentless effort
to go up there
709
00:48:48,963 --> 00:48:52,603
and retrieve Miller's body and take
out the threat that was up there.
710
00:48:54,243 --> 00:48:55,963
SHELL FIRE
711
00:48:57,923 --> 00:49:00,243
They tried to go up there
a couple of times.
712
00:49:01,723 --> 00:49:03,483
And on like the second
or third time
713
00:49:03,483 --> 00:49:06,003
they were able to go up there
and get his body out.
714
00:49:06,003 --> 00:49:07,363
They dragged Billy out.
715
00:49:09,043 --> 00:49:10,563
They put him onto a stretcher.
716
00:49:12,483 --> 00:49:14,363
And I remember thinking...
717
00:49:14,363 --> 00:49:15,763
"Don't look.
718
00:49:17,003 --> 00:49:18,683
"Because what you see will...
719
00:49:20,963 --> 00:49:24,243
"What you see, you did,
and what you see will...
720
00:49:25,523 --> 00:49:27,163
"You can't look."
721
00:49:31,403 --> 00:49:33,083
So I turned around and looked.
722
00:49:40,563 --> 00:49:43,483
He said, you know, "Please tell me
he's not dead, please tell me,
723
00:49:43,483 --> 00:49:45,763
"please tell me,
please tell me he's not dead."
724
00:49:45,763 --> 00:49:48,403
And so it fell to me to tell him
that he was.
725
00:49:51,643 --> 00:49:54,683
I had stashed Dexter and Ashley
in the mosque
726
00:49:54,683 --> 00:49:56,643
because it was the most
secure building.
727
00:49:56,643 --> 00:49:59,323
I tell the Lieutenant,
"OK, we're getting out of here.
728
00:49:59,323 --> 00:50:02,683
"The mission's over.
We're going home."
729
00:50:02,683 --> 00:50:06,443
I've got Billy's weapon in my hand
and my weapon is slung,
730
00:50:06,443 --> 00:50:08,723
so I come around the corner
into the mosque,
731
00:50:08,723 --> 00:50:12,443
and I was like, "You're gonna
take this and hold it,"
732
00:50:12,443 --> 00:50:14,083
I said, "And when I count to three
733
00:50:14,083 --> 00:50:17,443
"you and you are gonna run out
this door and stay right behind me."
734
00:50:20,483 --> 00:50:22,403
GUNFIRE
735
00:50:22,403 --> 00:50:26,763
And we ran down the street
back to the firm base.
736
00:50:26,763 --> 00:50:28,323
The second we started running,
737
00:50:28,323 --> 00:50:32,043
a machine-gun opened fire
from insurgents behind us.
738
00:50:32,043 --> 00:50:34,003
MACHINE-GUN FIRE
739
00:50:37,483 --> 00:50:41,083
And at that point
I felt like we were surrounded.
740
00:50:41,083 --> 00:50:43,043
There were shots
coming from everywhere.
741
00:50:43,043 --> 00:50:45,403
We had been there
for a little bit too long.
742
00:50:45,403 --> 00:50:48,723
And...I remember our tactics
743
00:50:48,723 --> 00:50:51,123
not living up to what they should
have been at that moment
744
00:50:51,123 --> 00:50:53,963
and we kind of lost
a little bit of discipline.
745
00:50:53,963 --> 00:50:57,283
MACHINE-GUN FIRE
746
00:50:59,003 --> 00:51:01,283
We made it back to the base.
Nobody else was shot.
747
00:51:02,443 --> 00:51:03,603
Sam...
748
00:51:05,243 --> 00:51:06,723
..told us....
749
00:51:09,603 --> 00:51:11,763
..that this is what happens in war.
750
00:51:16,123 --> 00:51:18,283
That it wasn't our fault.
751
00:51:18,283 --> 00:51:19,763
We went to the Lieutenant.
752
00:51:19,763 --> 00:51:21,883
I said, "I'm sorry,
it's my fault, I know."
753
00:51:21,883 --> 00:51:23,443
He said, "Yeah, it's your fault."
754
00:51:30,083 --> 00:51:32,003
CRYING: And then I called my editor
and said,
755
00:51:32,003 --> 00:51:33,403
"I have to get out of here."
756
00:51:47,083 --> 00:51:48,763
TRANSLATION:
757
00:52:04,483 --> 00:52:08,283
According to the UN,
around 600 civilians
758
00:52:08,283 --> 00:52:10,803
died in the attack on Fallujah.
759
00:52:10,803 --> 00:52:12,923
Mustafa was one of the lucky ones.
760
00:52:16,923 --> 00:52:20,963
He was among ten children
identified by a US NGO
761
00:52:20,963 --> 00:52:24,603
who paid for them to come
and live in America for a few months
762
00:52:24,603 --> 00:52:29,003
so that they could receive treatment
for their injuries.
763
00:52:29,003 --> 00:52:31,003
Get ready! You better get ready!
764
00:52:31,003 --> 00:52:32,643
Get ready, here it comes.
765
00:52:34,443 --> 00:52:36,323
Whoa!
766
00:52:36,323 --> 00:52:37,963
TRANSLATION:
767
00:52:47,443 --> 00:52:51,043
OK, so can you ask Mustafa
to watch me?
768
00:52:51,043 --> 00:52:53,323
NIDHAL TRANSLATES
769
00:53:08,683 --> 00:53:10,323
MUSTAFA LAUGHS
770
00:53:45,563 --> 00:53:48,683
NEWSREADER: A private graveside
service happening now
771
00:53:48,683 --> 00:53:50,803
with the closest of family
772
00:53:50,803 --> 00:53:54,683
as they bid their final farewell
to their patriarch,
773
00:53:54,683 --> 00:53:56,843
President George HW Bush.
774
00:53:58,323 --> 00:54:01,203
"Let future generations understand
775
00:54:01,203 --> 00:54:04,443
"the burden and the blessings
of freedom."
776
00:54:04,443 --> 00:54:09,963
It means that all the people in
this country that don't understand
777
00:54:09,963 --> 00:54:15,043
what the men and women are dying
for - they need to understand it.
778
00:54:15,043 --> 00:54:19,403
My son was one of the ones
that didn't come back.
779
00:54:19,403 --> 00:54:22,083
But in some ways...
780
00:54:22,083 --> 00:54:24,443
..he's better off,
781
00:54:24,443 --> 00:54:27,163
because he doesn't have
to live with the guilt
782
00:54:27,163 --> 00:54:29,403
that so many of them
are living with,
783
00:54:29,403 --> 00:54:33,243
because they did come back
and their buddies didn't.
784
00:54:33,243 --> 00:54:37,243
I know that Ashley
has a lot of guilt.
785
00:54:38,683 --> 00:54:43,083
But...he was doing
what he was supposed to do,
786
00:54:43,083 --> 00:54:45,163
and Billy was doing his job.
787
00:54:45,163 --> 00:54:48,043
He loved being a Marine.
He really, really did.
788
00:54:50,243 --> 00:54:53,243
ASHLEY: I waited so long. I was
so scared to call the Miller family.
789
00:54:54,803 --> 00:54:57,163
I thought that they would be,
understandably,
790
00:54:57,163 --> 00:54:58,843
really angry with me.
791
00:55:02,003 --> 00:55:04,523
So eventually I called and saw them.
792
00:55:06,403 --> 00:55:09,083
Lewis...
793
00:55:06,403 --> 00:55:09,083
SWALLOWS
794
00:55:09,083 --> 00:55:10,483
and Susie...
795
00:55:11,763 --> 00:55:13,683
...were absolutely beautiful.
Like...
796
00:55:14,643 --> 00:55:15,883
..amazing people.
797
00:55:18,283 --> 00:55:20,243
I mean, I still love
talking to Susie.
798
00:55:22,643 --> 00:55:24,923
E-mailing with her, calling her.
799
00:55:27,923 --> 00:55:31,443
And I wish it was easier than it is,
but I feel like...
800
00:55:33,083 --> 00:55:34,323
..I owe her...
801
00:55:37,443 --> 00:55:38,683
..her son.
802
00:55:48,363 --> 00:55:51,603
Fallujah was the deadliest battle
the Marines had fought
803
00:55:51,603 --> 00:55:54,043
since the Vietnam war.
804
00:55:54,043 --> 00:55:56,643
Billy was one of 71 servicemen
805
00:55:56,643 --> 00:56:00,403
who died in clearing the city
of Al-Qaeda.
806
00:56:00,403 --> 00:56:02,323
At the time we took over the city
807
00:56:02,323 --> 00:56:05,523
and we did what our mission
told us to do.
808
00:56:08,603 --> 00:56:10,443
On paper, it's a success.
809
00:56:11,723 --> 00:56:13,123
For me?
810
00:56:13,123 --> 00:56:14,443
It's difficult.
811
00:56:14,443 --> 00:56:17,763
Looking back, you know,
14, 15 years now,
812
00:56:17,763 --> 00:56:21,443
it's difficult for me
to define that,
813
00:56:21,443 --> 00:56:24,563
because I hold on to my friends
814
00:56:24,563 --> 00:56:27,683
and the ones that were killed
in our memories.
815
00:56:28,763 --> 00:56:30,403
And you look back at the instability
816
00:56:30,403 --> 00:56:32,283
of what's going on
in Fallujah now...
817
00:56:33,403 --> 00:56:34,963
I'll take my friends back.
818
00:56:38,443 --> 00:56:39,803
Ten years after the Americans
819
00:56:39,803 --> 00:56:42,803
had declared the city
free of insurgents,
820
00:56:42,803 --> 00:56:47,243
Fallujah would once again fall into
the hands of Islamic extremists,
821
00:56:47,243 --> 00:56:50,923
when ISIS took over
huge areas of Northern Iraq.
822
00:56:52,723 --> 00:56:54,723
For the next 18 months,
823
00:56:54,723 --> 00:56:58,323
Mustafa and his family
lived through another occupation.
824
00:56:59,763 --> 00:57:01,523
TRANSLATION:
825
00:57:23,483 --> 00:57:25,403
MUSTAFA:
826
00:58:22,483 --> 00:58:25,283
Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.
827
00:58:25,283 --> 00:58:26,363
CHEERING
828
00:58:26,363 --> 00:58:29,043
The door opens. The first thought
that came to my mind
829
00:58:29,043 --> 00:58:32,763
was, "Holy shit, it's Saddam.
It's actually him."
830
00:58:32,763 --> 00:58:34,203
TRANSLATION:
831
00:58:39,243 --> 00:58:42,803
There was rumours that
the Americans asked Saddam,
832
00:58:42,803 --> 00:58:47,163
"How much time do you need to make
the situation in Iraq better?"
833
00:58:47,163 --> 00:58:48,963
He said, "I will need one hour.
834
00:58:48,963 --> 00:58:50,643
"45 minutes to shave,
835
00:58:50,643 --> 00:58:54,083
"and 15 minutes
to say my speech on TV."
836
00:58:54,083 --> 00:58:55,563
He could do it.