20070427 US Soldiers Indicted In Spanish Court

US Soldiers Indicted In Spanish Court

April 27^th, 2007

The CBS News web site is carrying an AP story about a “Spanish Court (that has passed) Down Homicide Charges Against Three In Deaths Of Two Journalists In Baghdad”

U.S. Soldiers Indicted In Iraq Tank Deaths

MADRID, Spain, April 27, 2007

“Under Spanish law, a crime committed against a Spaniard abroad can be prosecuted here if it is not investigated in the country where it was allegedly committed.”

Although AP was quick to share with readers the “Spanish point of view,” it certainly was not very forthcoming with the American point of view, except for one brief “Following the incident, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell said the troops responded after drawing hostile fire from the hotel. He said a U.S. review of the incident found the use of force was justified.

I’m not sure which I hold in greater contempt, the Spanish Court or AP…

The comments in the comment section run the gamut from howling moonbat to the thoughtful and responsible

One commenter got it right… it has been established that “the tanks were hunting for "scopes" and other lenses which would indicate snipers. Their mission was to clear the city of snipers and other troops wherever possible.”

For those who are not aware, it was reported at the time that enemy snipers were holed in the hotel, using the journalists who stayed behind – in the middle of war theatre - as shields…

Another commenter elaborated, “…The unfortunate Spanish journalists were in a war zone, a place with known risks. If they didn't understand the risks to themselves at the time the tanks began to cross the bridge… I'm sorry to say this, but Spain is a nation of sycophantic quivering idiots.”

I’m not sure I can indict the entire country for the acts of some of their politicians and members of judiciary… Folks in glass houses should not throw stones. The world is well aware of that vocal portion of our country’s political leadership that opposes the war… Folks like Cindy Sheehan and Senator Harry Reid, Representative Nancy Pelosi, et al, are heroes among folks who support al-Qaeda on the world stage.

As much as some folks may dismiss this as moonbat politics on the world stage, for the folks involved, it cannot be treated lightly, “For those that don't know, those soldiers cannot set foot anywhere within the (E)uropean union, they will be arrested…”

Anyway, the AP story reads, in part:

(AP) A judge indicted three U.S. soldiers Friday in the (April 8) 2003 death of a Spanish journalist who was killed when their tank opened fire at a hotel in Baghdad.

Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp were charged with homicide in the death of Jose Couso and "a crime against the international community." This is defined under Spanish law as an indiscriminate or excessive attack against civilians during war.

[…]

DeCamp, who is now an adjunct professor of mathematics at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., did not immediately return a telephone message left at his home. The school said he retired from the Army in July 2005.

[…]

At the time of the incident, all were from the 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Ga. Judge Santiago Pedraz asked U.S. authorities to notify them of the indictment.

Couso, who worked as a cameraman for the Spanish TV network Telecinco, died on April 8, 2003, after a U.S. Army tank crew fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel, where many journalists were staying. Taras Portsyuk, a Ukrainian cameraman for Reuters, was also killed.

Read the rest here – but not on a full stomach: U.S. Soldiers Indicted In Iraq Tank Deaths

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