Friendly fire death was a criminal act

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
Date: March 17, 2007 6:25:09 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Friendly fire death was a criminal act

Dave:

I don't know how much prominent coverage there has been in the States  
of yesterday's ruling at the Coroner's Inquest here in the UK into  
the death of a British soldier in yet another "friendly fire"  
incident. However, it is a top news item here - not least because  
according to the BBC this morning it is almost a carbon copy repeat  
of a similar incident in the first Gulf War (though that one took  
nine British lives!), both in terms of how the incident occurred, and  
how the US military and government responded to it. You might  
therefore think this suitable for IP.

Here's a typical news story, in fact from today's (UK) Guardian:

> Friendly fire death was a criminal act, coroner rules
>
> · British soldier's death in Iraq 'entirely avoidable'
> · Widow speaks of feeling badly let down by US
>
> Audrey Gillan
> Saturday March 17, 2007
> The Guardian
>
> The killing of a British soldier in Iraq by an American pilot was a  
> "criminal, unlawful act" that was tantamount to manslaughter, a  
> coroner ruled yesterday.
>
> The family of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, who died in March  
> 2003, wept as they were told at the inquest in Oxford that it was  
> "an entirely avoidable tragedy".
>
> His widow, Susan Hull, welcomed the verdict, saying it was what the  
> family had been waiting four years for. Mrs Hull said she did not  
> want to see the pilot prosecuted, but felt she been "badly let  
> down" by the United States government, which consistently refused  
> to cooperate with the court.
>
> The Ministry of Defence issued an apology over its handling of the  
> cockpit video, which had caused so much controversy when the  
> refusal to release it to the inquest was exposed by the Sun newspaper.
>
> The coroner, Andrew Walker, was damning in his appraisal of the way  
> the Hull family had been treated. "They, despite request after  
> request, have been, as this court has been, denied access to  
> evidence that would provide the fullest explanation to help  
> understand the sequence of events that led to and caused the tragic  
> loss of LCoH Hull's life."
>
> He added: "I have no doubt of how much pain and suffering they have  
> been put through during this inquisition process and to my mind  
> that is inexcusable."
>
> No American witness gave evidence at the inquest, and defence  
> chiefs refused to allow the coroner access to their forces' rules  
> of engagement. The family believes that withholding of key  
> documents and evidence was a bid to cover up mistakes.
>
> Yesterday a US Department of Defense spokesman denied there had  
> been a cover-up and was adamant that the killing was an accident.  
> "The US military investigation into this tragedy was thorough and  
> conducted according to the same processes and standards as would be  
> used in investigation of a friendly fire incident involving the  
> death of an American military member. The investigation determined  
> that the incident took place in a complex combat environment, the  
> pilots followed applicable procedures for engaging targets, and  
> that this was a tragic accident."

. . .

Full story at:

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2036080,00.html

Cheers

Brian

--
School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/



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