Kevin, We already went throught this a few years back with the Canadians in Afghanistan that were killed by friendly fire in the form of a US airstrike. Since Canada is friendly with the USA, various investigations were held, then article 32 hrearings, followed by a court marshall, followed by the whole thing being declared an accident, followed by everybody forgetting about the whole thing and going back to sleep. This process took about two years.
This script worked before so I doubt that they will change it.
Air force drops Canada friendly-fire court-martial
WASHINGTON (AFP)
Jun 24, 2004
spacewar.com
The air force dropped court-martial proceedings Thursday against an air national guard F-16 fighter pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four.
The air force said it acted after Major Harry Schmidt, who had been charged with dereliction of duty, accepted non-judicial punishment in lieu of a court-martial.
Schmidt dropped a 500-pound bomb on Canadian forces engaged in a live-fire exercise at a range in Afghanistan on April 17, 2002, killing four Canadians and wounding eight, after mistaking the ground-fire for hostile action.
Schmidt had refused non-judicial punishment a year ago, insisting on a court-martial, but changed his mind, the air force said.
Lieutenant General Bruce Carlson, the air force commander in charge of the case, "has granted that request and the non-judicial punishment proceedings will commence immediately," the air force said.
"Once non-judicial punishment proceedings are resolved, the pending court-martial charges will be dismissed," it said.
Under the non-judicial proceedings, Carlson will review allegations that Schmidt failed to ensure that the target he attacked was not friendly, ignoring the directions of his flight leader and the crew of an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
If he finds Schmidt guilty, Carlson could order the forfeiture of up to one-half of Schmidt's monthly pay for two months; restrict his movements for no more than 60 days; house arrest for not more than 30 days; and a reprimand.
Initially, Schmidt also was charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault but Carlson dropped those charges a year ago.
Canadians were stunned and angered by the bombing, which marked the first Canadian deaths in combat in half a century and the worst friendly-fire incident of the Afghan war.
"We are aware of that decision and this is a US military matter," said Lieutenant Luc Charron, spokesman for the Department of National Defense.
"All our concerns stay with the families, we have an extensive aid network for them," said Charron. |
