Every Major US War Crime, in 20 Minutes

Kundus hospital airirst strike. This is

one of the most recent ones in the video as it happened on October 3rd, 2015.

[music] On that day, an American military gunship attacked a hospital in Kundus, Afghanistan. This was not a

Kundus, Afghanistan. This was not a military base. It was a trauma center

military base. It was a trauma center run by the famous aid group Doctors Without Borders. For about 30 minutes,

Without Borders. For about 30 minutes, the aircraft circled overhead, firing repeatedly and precisely at the hospital buildings. The gunship fired 211 shells

buildings. The gunship fired 211 shells in total. Inside, the scene was a

in total. Inside, the scene was a nightmare. Some patients burned alive in

nightmare. Some patients burned alive in their beds because they could not move.

Doctors lost their limbs or were decapitated by shrapnel while trying to operate. As people tried to run from the

operate. As people tried to run from the burning buildings to escape, they were shot from the air. By the time the attack ended, at least 42 people were dead, including doctors, nurses, and patients. The hospital had given its

patients. The hospital had given its exact GPS coordinates to the US military just days before, specifically to prevent something like this from happening. Even while the bombs were

happening. Even while the bombs were falling, hospital staff were frantically calling military officials, begging them to stop. But the strikes [music]

to stop. But the strikes [music] continued. After the attack, the

continued. After the attack, the American explanation changed several times. First, officials said they were

times. First, officials said they were protecting troops on the ground. Then

they claimed the Afghan army had asked for the strike. Finally, [music] the US commander admitted it was a specific decision made by American forces, but called it a tragic mistake caused by human error and broken equipment. Some

officials tried to claim that Taliban fighters were hiding in the hospital, using civilians as human shields.

Doctors Without Borders flatly denied this, explaining that they had a strict no weapons policy and that the compound was full of doctors and patients, not soldiers. In the end, President Obama

soldiers. In the end, President Obama apologized and the military punished 16 people with administrative discipline, but no one was ever charged with a crime. The Pentagon concluded that

crime. The Pentagon concluded that because it was an accident, it was not a war crime. The doctors and the United

war crime. The doctors and the United Nations called for an independent investigation, arguing that a military cannot fairly investigate its own actions. But that investigation never

actions. But that investigation never happened. Mahmoodia killings. On March

happened. Mahmoodia killings. On March

12th 2006 [music] in a small house near the village of Yusfa in Iraq, something truly horrific happened. Five American soldiers from

happened. Five American soldiers from the 5002nd Infantry Regiment left their checkpoint and walked to the home of an Iraqi family. The family included a

Iraqi family. The family included a 14-year-old girl called Air and her six-year-old sister, Hadil, and their parents. Their two younger brothers were

parents. Their two younger brothers were away at school that day. These soldiers

had been watching a beer from their nearby checkpoint for some time. They

often saw her doing chores in the garden, and some had harassed her before, staring at her or making gestures that scared her family. Her

mother had even planned to have a beer sleep at a relative's house to keep her safe. One soldier, Steven Dale Green,

safe. One soldier, Steven Dale Green, had even touched a beer's face during a house search, which terrified her. Green

himself had told a reporter just a month earlier that killing people in Iraq felt like nothing to him, like squashing an ant, and that he had come there wanting to kill. That day, the soldiers were

to kill. That day, the soldiers were drinking alcohol mixed with energy drinks, playing cards, and talking about doing what can't be said here to a beer and killing Iraqis. Green kept pushing the idea. Four of them changed their

the idea. Four of them changed their looks to look less like US soldiers, and they headed to the house in broad daylight. Brian L. Howard stayed at the

daylight. Brian L. Howard stayed at the checkpoint, but knew what was planned.

They separated the family into different rooms. One of them grabbed the little sister who was outside while another one shot and killed the parents and the sister. The mother struggled [music] and

sister. The mother struggled [music] and her arms were broken. Then two soldiers took turns doing what they had planned to a beer. The soldier who shot the family came in after killing the others said he had just killed them all and called it awesome. He then did the same

thing as the other two soldiers to a beer and then killed her. To cover it up, they poured petrol on her body and set fire to the lower part. The fire

spread and they burned their bloody clothes too, throwing the murder weapon into a canal. Afterwards, [music]

they went back and ate chicken wings to celebrate. Neighbors saw the smoke and

celebrate. Neighbors saw the smoke and rushed over. One described seeing the

rushed over. One described seeing the poor girl's body. They told Air's uncle who put out some flames to get inside and saw the terrible scene. The

surviving brothers, 9-year-old Ahmed and 11-year-old Muhammad, came home from school to find their house burning and their family gone. They were left orphans raised by their uncle. The

soldiers tried to blame Sunni insurgents at first, and for a while, no one investigated deeply, but the crime led to revenge attacks. Militant groups

claimed they kidnapped and killed American soldiers from the same unit to avenge a beer, releasing videos of the bodies. The truth came out months later

bodies. The truth came out months later when another soldier in the unit, Justin Watt, heard about it from others and decided to report it, even though he feared his comrades might hurt him for speaking up. Investigation started and

speaking up. Investigation started and the soldiers were arrested. Green had

already left the army for mental issues, so he was tried in a civilian court. He

was found guilty of rape and murder, but got life in prison instead of [music] death because the jury could not agree on the death penalty. He later died in prison byside. The others faced military

prison byside. The others faced military trials. Barker pleaded guilty, admitted

trials. Barker pleaded guilty, admitted hating Iraqis, and got 90 years with possible parole after 10. Cortez also

pleaded guilty, apologized in tears for the pain he caused, and got 100 years with possible parole after 10. Spielman

was convicted and sentenced to 110 years with possible parole after 10. Howard,

who helped cover it up, got 27 months.

Another soldier who knew but did not report, was discharged. Canakati

massacre. American troops had just entered the town of Kanekati in Sicily.

The German army had retreated, leaving behind a lot of destruction. So

desperate and hungry, local people gathered at a bombed out factory to take whatever supplies they could find. They

were filling buckets with food and liquid soap just to survive the chaos.

An American commander named Colonel McAffrey arrived at the scene. He was

supposed to be in charge of keeping order. Instead, when he saw the crowd,

order. Instead, when he saw the crowd, he demanded they leave immediately. When

the people didn't move fast enough, the colonel ordered his own soldiers to fire into the crowd of unarmed families. But

the soldiers refused to shoot as they saw that these were just [music] civilians. Furious, Colonel McAffrey

civilians. Furious, Colonel McAffrey pulled out his own handgun and started shooting people himself. He killed at least eight innocent people, including an 11-year-old girl. The most shocking part is that the colonel got away with

it. He was never punished and lived for

it. He was never punished and lived for another decade before dying of natural causes. For years, [music] this massacre

causes. For years, [music] this massacre was completely forgotten. And the truth only came out because the son of a witness finally decided to tell the world what he had seen. Tiger Force

atrocities. The Tiger Force started as a small group of elite soldiers in Vietnam trained to be fast and deadly. But by

May 1967, this unit had turned into something monstrous. The mission was

something monstrous. The mission was supposed to be about finding guerilla fighters, but it became something totally different. The commanders wanted

totally different. The commanders wanted high numbers of enemy kills, and one colonel even ordered the troops to reach a specific number of kills to match [music] the unit's name. This created an environment where soldiers felt like

they had a license to kill anyone they saw. For seven months, they went on a

saw. For seven months, they went on a rampage where unarmed people were hunted down and killed, even if they weren't guerilla fighters. The reports from that

guerilla fighters. The reports from that time describe a nightmare. Soldiers were

executing elderly people and women in the rice fields as they begged for their lives. They threw grenades into

lives. They threw grenades into underground shelters where families were hiding, turning those bunkers into mass graves. Prisoners were tortured and

graves. Prisoners were tortured and executed routinely. Some soldiers began

executed routinely. Some soldiers began cutting off the ears of the dead and wearing them on necklaces as trophies.

Two friends from Arizona, Sammy Bar and Ken Green, became the symbols of all of this. After Green was killed in battle,

this. After Green was killed in battle, Ibara went over the edge and started mutilating bodies. Instead of being

mutilating bodies. Instead of being punished, Ibara was actually congratulated in a military newspaper for getting the unit's 1,000th kill. Not

everyone went along with what was happening, though. A soldier named

happening, though. A soldier named Gerald Bruner actually pointed his rifle at a fellow soldier to stop a killing, but his commanders treated him like he was the problem. Others who tried to report the crimes were told to keep quiet. One military journalist was

quiet. One military journalist was threatened with death by his own commander if he spoke up. Even the

medical staff suspected what was happening but were too afraid to investigate. Years later though, the

investigate. Years later though, the army actually did investigate. From 1971

to 1975, they gathered sworn statements from soldiers who admitted to the crimes. They found proof of routine

crimes. They found proof of routine murder, including the killing of two blind brothers and many [music] civilians. However, in the end, nobody

civilians. However, in the end, nobody was punished. Some think it was because

was punished. Some think it was because by 1975, the war was ending and the government wanted to move on. Likely

afraid of a massive scandal, the files were buried. It took decades for

were buried. It took decades for reporters to uncover the truth. They

went back to Vietnam, found the old grave sites, and spoke to witnesses. Al

Hamdania murder. On April 26th, 2006, a group of US Marines went into a small village in Iraq called Alhamdania, not to fight, but to look for an insurgent.

However, when they couldn't find him, they made a decision to just get someone else. There was someone called by the

else. There was someone called by the locals as Hashim Lam, a disabled man who walked with a metal bar in his leg and had poor eyesight. The Marines broke into his house while he was asleep and dragged him away from his family. Before

they grabbed him, they stole a shovel and an AK-47 from a neighbor's yard to use as props. [music] They tied the disabled man's hands, forced him to walk to a hole in the road, and shot him to death. To cover their tracks, they fired

death. To cover their tracks, they fired the stolen gun into the air to make it sound like a battle was happening. Then

they untied his hands, planted the shovel and the rifle next to his body, and filed a false report claiming they had shot a terrorist who was digging a roadside bomb. When his family found him

roadside bomb. When his family found him the next morning, he had been shot in the mouth and his face was so swollen and beaten that he was almost unrecognizable. The truth eventually

unrecognizable. The truth eventually came out and seven Marines and one Navy medic were charged with murder and kidnapping. However, the justice system

kidnapping. However, the justice system struggled to hold them accountable. Most

of the men made deals to testify against each other in exchange for lighter punishments. The leader of the group was

punishments. The leader of the group was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years, but that conviction was later overturned due to legal errors. He was

retrieded and convicted again, but in the end, the jury decided he didn't need to serve any more prison time. Gorla

massacre. On October 20th, 1944, children at an elementary school in Milan were running down the stairs toward the air raid shelter while bombs were being dropped on the city when a sudden explosion caused a tragedy. At

the time, Milan was heavily bombed because it was one of Italy's most important industrial cities [music] and its factories were useful for supporting the war. The 451st bombing group of the

the war. The 451st bombing group of the 15th Air Force was assigned to bomb Milan, even though it was known to have a poor record since earlier in the war, planes from the same group had accidentally bombed the town of Venafro,

killing 40 Italian civilians and 17 Allied soldiers. Although they were

Allied soldiers. Although they were investigated and criticized, no officers were punished because commanders feared it would hurt morale and future operations. Nonetheless, on the morning

operations. Nonetheless, on the morning of October 20th, 1944, 111 American bombers took off from southern Italy.

Two bomber groups hit their assigned targets, and then it [music] was the 451st bombing group's turn. They were

supposed to strike the Brea factory, the lead aircraft made a fatal navigation mistake. Instead of turning left toward

mistake. Instead of turning left toward the target, it turned right, sending the bombers directly over the densely populated neighborhoods of Gora and Picotto. Realizing they could no longer

Picotto. Realizing they could no longer reach the factory, the lead plane still dropped its bombs and ordered the others to do the same. All the bombs from the second wave fell on civilian areas. This

attack, later known as the Gorla massacre, killed about 614 civilians.

[music] Among the dead were 184 children who were inside the Franchesco Krispy Primary School when the bombs [music] hit. Air raid sirens had sounded

hit. Air raid sirens had sounded earlier, but many people didn't have enough time to reach shelters. After the

bombing, there was internal criticism of the 451st bombing group, but there were no real consequences. No one was punished, and Milan was devastated. The

children came to be known as the little martyrs of Gora. Fascist authorities

used the bombing for propaganda, calling the allies murderers of children. Thubo

killings. On January 31st, company H of the second battalion first marines approached the small village of Twibo at midday. Suddenly, they came under heavy

midday. Suddenly, they came under heavy fire, including from a 050 caliber machine gun. Pinned down, their captain,

machine gun. Pinned down, their captain, Edward Banks, called in air strikes and artillery and asked for reinforcements.

Even with help, though, they could not advance and stayed under fire until nightfall. At first light the next

nightfall. At first light the next morning, the company pushed into the village. What happened next is where the

village. What happened next is where the story split apart. Vietnamese communist

sources say it was a massacre, and a village memorial lists 145 civilians killed, mostly women, children, and elderly men. US sources, on the other

elderly men. US sources, on the other hand, say 22 civilians died during 2 days of combat. The Marines reported five dead and 26 wounded in their own ranks, an estimated 101 Vietkong killed.

Captain Banks said it was impossible to tell who was enemy and who was friend.

He claimed villagers sometimes watched booby traps go off without warning Marines. Overall, he described the

Marines. Overall, he described the mission as a search and destroy operation and denied a massacre. He

insisted the Vietkong used human shields and argued that at most 10 to 15 civilians may have been killed during the assault. He said he shouted for his

the assault. He said he shouted for his men to stop firing when the enemy's fire ended. Some of his men though remembered

ended. Some of his men though remembered things differently. Marine Jack Hill

things differently. Marine Jack Hill said the number of dead was ridiculous for a village they had thought was friendly. He said that the next day

friendly. He said that the next day their orders were to sweep the village.

Hill described forcing people from hiding by throwing grenades into bunkers. He explained that the language

bunkers. He explained that the language barrier and the pressure of war had a role in those choices. Villagers told

yet other versions. A 14-year-old

[music] said jets and artillery struck first, then troops came, asked if people were Vietkong, and shot them. Others said

only women, children, and old men were present, and that short bursts of gunfire cut them down while they ate or pressed sugarcane. One woman said a

pressed sugarcane. One woman said a grenade thrown into her house killed 10 family members, and that soldiers fired again into the corpses. Another said

that a neighbor who had just given birth was killed and her baby too in a brutal way. One villager said babies clung to

way. One villager said babies clung to dead mother's bodies when the shooting stopped and that the living carried corpses to nearby posts to demand the killing end. Some said Marines later

killing end. Some said Marines later ordered them to dig up buried bodies to look for Vietkong. When asked about claims that women and children were forced into a shelter and a grenade thrown inside, Hill said he could not

confirm it. He described mass confusion

confirm it. He described mass confusion and crying. The Marines battalion

and crying. The Marines battalion reviewed the 22 corpses and 18 wounded people brought to their command post and called [music] these deaths an unfortunate side effect of the battle.

Villagers insisted many were executed at close range after the Vietkong had already left. The numbers remain

already left. The numbers remain disputed. Biscari massacre. On July

disputed. Biscari massacre. On July

14th, 1943, during the invasion of Sicily, American soldiers in two separate incidents on the same day executed 73 prisoners of war. In the

first incident, a sergeant named Horus West was ordered to take a group of prisoners to the rear. Instead, he

marched them about a mile away and stopped. [music] He borrowed a Tommy gun

stopped. [music] He borrowed a Tommy gun and told his fellow American guards to turn away if they did not want to watch what he was about to do. He then opened fire on the unarmed men. Investigators

later found that he had shot them through the heart. The most chilling detail is that after his gun ran empty, West reloaded it and walked among the bodies, shooting the wounded men who were still moving to make sure they were

dead. 37 bodies were left lying on the

dead. 37 bodies were left lying on the ground. Later that same day, a captain

ground. Later that same day, a captain named John Compton was angry because snipers had been shooting at his men.

When his troops captured a group of 36 Italians who were hiding in a ditch, they brought them to the captain. The

prisoners begged for their lives, but the captain gave a direct order to a firing squad. He told his men he did not

firing squad. He told his men he did not want anyone left standing. When the

prisoners tried to run, the Americans opened fire and killed all of them. When

the news reached the top commanders at first, the famous general George Patton tried to cover it up. He wrote in his diary that they should just lie and say the men were snipers killed in combat to avoid a scandal. However, other officers

refused [music] to stay silent and Patton himself. Once he learned the

Patton himself. Once he learned the details that the prisoners had offered no provocation and were essentially being slaughtered, said, "Try those bastards." Both the sergeant and the

bastards." Both the sergeant and the captain were put on trial. The sergeant

was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, while the captain was found not guilty, claiming he was just following orders. Soldiers claimed that

following orders. Soldiers claimed that those orders came from Patton himself, who according to their versions said not to take prisoners if enemy combatants continued to resist within 200 yd of

their position. The story has a shocking

their position. The story has a shocking ending. The sergeant never actually

ending. The sergeant never actually served his life sentence. After the

noise died down, the army quietly released him a year later. He was

allowed to return to duty and was eventually given an honorable discharge.

[music] Torture in Operation Tearrop. It

was the final weeks of World War II and a terrifying rumor was spreading through the US military. Leaders believed that German submarines were crossing the Atlantic carrying flying bombs or rockets aimed directly at New York City.

The mayor of New York had even warned the public that attacks were coming. In

response, the US Navy launched a massive mission called Operation Tear Drop to hunt down these boats before they could reach the coast. The fighting in the North Atlantic was brutal. During the

battle, a German submarine named U546 managed to sink an American destroyer, killing most of the crew. The Americans

responded with fury, hunting the German boat for 10 hours until they forced it to the surface and sank it. They pulled

33 German survivors from the water, including the captain, Paul Just.

However, instead of treating them like normal prisoners of war, the Americans were driven by panic. They needed to know if more submarines were coming with missiles. They separated eight specific

missiles. They separated eight specific crew members, labeled them as specialists, and took them to a base in Newfoundland. There, the interrogators

Newfoundland. There, the interrogators used what they called shock interrogation. They threw the men into

interrogation. They threw the men into solitary confinement, beat them, [music] and forced them to do exhausting physical exercises until they broke. The

treatment was so harsh that the German captain eventually collapsed unconscious. This torture continued even

unconscious. This torture continued even after the war in Europe had officially ended. Historians later describe this as

ended. Historians later describe this as a singular atrocity. [music] The tragedy is that it was all for nothing. After

the war, investigators confirmed that the submarines never carried any missiles. The weapons that the Americans

missiles. The weapons that the Americans were so afraid of did not exist on those boats. Kandahar [music]

boats. Kandahar [music] massacre. During the war in Afghanistan,

massacre. During the war in Afghanistan, on an ordinary night, families went to sleep as usual, but they were suddenly woken by flashlights and gunfire. What

happened is that on March 11th, 2012, US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales walked into Afghan villages before dawn. US

investigators concluded that he didn't leave the base just once, but twice that night. first going to AlkaZai where he

night. first going to AlkaZai where he killed four and wounded six and then to Najiban where he killed 12, including most of one family. Witnesses said some victims were pulled from sleep and shot in the head. They also described a woman

dragged and beaten and [music] more graphic stuff, which we won't go into detail for obvious reasons. In one home, bodies were gathered into a room and set on fire. By the end, Bales had murdered

on fire. By the end, Bales had murdered 16 civilians, nine of which were children and 11 came from the same family. Bales returned to his base later

family. Bales returned to his base later that morning and said, "I did it."

Afghan officials called it intentional murder and the US and NATO issued apologies. Protests erupted and the

apologies. Protests erupted and the Afghan parliament demanded a public trial in Kbble, but US officials said he would be tried under American military law. He [music] was sentenced to life in

law. He [music] was sentenced to life in prison without parole and he was also reduced to the lowest rank, dishonorably discharged, and stripped of all pay and

benefits. DACA liberation reprisals. On

benefits. DACA liberation reprisals. On

April 29th, 1945, American soldiers reached the Dhau concentration camp and they walked into a nightmare. This was

not just a normal military target. They

found train cars packed with thousands of skeletons, bodies piled from the floor to the ceiling, and survivors who were starving and barely alive. Just

days before, the guards had forced thousands of prisoners on a death march.

The American soldiers were shocked and furious, [music] and in that atmosphere, discipline completely collapsed. What

happened next is known as the Docko reprisals. Enraged American soldiers and

reprisals. Enraged American soldiers and the liberated prisoners themselves began killing the German SS guards. Historians

estimate that between 35 and 50 guards were killed that day. The killings

happened in chaos. One American

commander, Colonel Felix Sparks, later described a moment in a coalyard where a machine gunner opened fire on surrendered prisoners. Sparks ran over

surrendered prisoners. Sparks ran over and physically stopped the gunner, but about a dozen men were already dead. In

other parts of the camp, guards were shot near walls and guard towers without any trial. At the same time, the

any trial. At the same time, the prisoners took their own revenge.

[music] They swarmed the guards, beating them with shovels, sticks, and their bare fists or stomping them to death. In

many cases, the American soldiers stood by and watched, deliberately looking the other way. The US Army actually

other way. The US Army actually investigated these killings immediately.

A report confirmed that surrendered guards had been shot and that wounded men were left without medical care.

Serious charges were considered even against officers. However, General

against officers. However, General George Patton, the same general we talked about in the Biscari massacre, dismissed the case. The legal review argued that because the horrors discovered at Dhau were so extreme, it

was unjust to punish the soldiers for snapping. In [music] the end, no one was

snapping. In [music] the end, no one was ever punished. Lipatch massacre. On

ever punished. Lipatch massacre. On

April 22nd, 1945, near the German village of Lipach, American soldiers committed a brutal war crime that is rarely discussed. The day began with a

rarely discussed. The day began with a harsh battle. American tanks attacked a

harsh battle. American tanks attacked a group of German SS troops [music] who held them off for hours with rockets and artillery. The Americans eventually

artillery. The Americans eventually broke through, but the real horror began after the main battle was over. While

the rest of the army moved on, a smaller unit of American soldiers stayed behind in the village. They discovered a warehouse full of alcohol and many of them got drunk. According to accounts, about 25 of these intoxicated soldiers

then turned their rage on the prisoners they had captured. In total, 36 German soldiers died and historians believe about 16 of them were executed after they had already surrendered. The

details of the killings are gruesome. 10

prisoners were marched out to a meadow and shot in the back of the head. Six

others had their skulls crushed. What

makes this even more shocking is who these victims were. The German soldiers were incredibly young with an average age of just 16. They were essentially teenagers. The violence did not stop

teenagers. The violence did not stop with the executions. [music] The same group of American soldiers is accused of raping around 20 women in the village that same night. [music] These crimes happened during the chaotic final rush

to win the war, and there was no real accountability at the time. If you want to discuss this video or suggest an idea for the next one, join my Discord link in the description.