Not me, guv
Following the news that an inquiry in the United States into the shooting of Italian secret service agent, Nicola Calipari, in Iraq has cleared the American troops who killed him. The Independent has published a short list of recent cases of the US military letting themselves off the hook.
* In 2003 a US military inquiry concluded that a US tank crew acted in self-defence when it fired at a Baghdad hotel used by journalists and killed a cameraman. The tank was said to have fired because a spotter was thought to be co-ordinating Iraqi fire from it. Journalists had informed the US they were based at the hotel.
* Last week a Pentagon inquiry cleared the senior officer at Abu Ghraib jail of blame for abuses. Claims that Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez was culpable were “unsubstantiated”.
* CBS reported in February that an inquiry into the killing of a wounded and unarmed Iraqi fighter in a Fallujah mosque last year had decided not to charge the US Marine who was filmed shooting the man. The Pentagon said the inquiry was continuing.
Wednesday 27 Apr 2005 | Paul | The Pit
