Coroner: U.S. killed British TV reporter

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Tr0n

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061013/ap_on_re_eu/britain_reporter_inquest

A little snip from the article:

OXFORD, England - A coroner ruled Friday that U.S. forces unlawfully killed a British television journalist in the opening days of the Iraq war.

Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker said he would ask the attorney general to take steps to bring to justice those responsible for the death of Terry Lloyd, 50, a veteran reporter for the British television network ITN.

Witnesses testified during the weeklong inquest that Lloyd — who was driving with fellow ITN reporters from Kuwait toward Basra, Iraq — was shot in the back by Iraqi troops who overtook his car, then died after U.S. fire hit a civilian minivan being used as an ambulance and struck him in the head.
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I really did not know about this untill today.
 
I read this an hour ago and was going to post it but I was going to be late for work ..even had same title

I think we can all lay to rest the notion that troops are discriminate in their fire ..as many here seem to claim ..there's just too many incidents that prove otherwise
 
Ick. What would surprise me is if we got some good news coming out of Iraq...ever.
 
CptStern said:
I read this an hour ago and was going to post it but I was going to be late for work ..even had same title

I think we can all lay to rest the notion that troops are discriminate in their fire ..as many here seem to claim ..there's just too many incidents that prove otherwise
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Beat you bitch.
 
That's right boy. Better git back in dem' cotton fields and keep'a pickin'.
 
That really is awful :( , on bbc news it described the soldiers as being trained to be trigger happy.
 
Poor bugger, talk about getting caught in the crossfire.
 
I think we can all lay to rest the notion that troops are discriminate in their fire ..as many here seem to claim ..there's just too many incidents that prove otherwise
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I'm a little confused about this incident specifically where a Iraqi Soldiers overtook one of the cars the journalist was in and I can't rule out what happened exactly.

A Forensic Analyzer said they're was approximately 15 minutes of extra footage missing from the recording that was taken from inside one of the Abrams Tanks present at that engagement. I wonder what that was of, when the shooting was recorded without the 15?

I'll just keep an ear out to this one.
 
I remember that article...

The "ambulance" was an unmarked van speeding towards the green zone, which houses western diplomats and reporters.

Soldiers ordered the van to stop, the driver didnt, so they opened fire. For all they know, the van could have been packed with tnt and was going to try to blow the green zone to hell...

I support the soldier's actions. The driver should have stopped, the van should have been marked as an ambulance, etc...
 
as much as I'd like to believe random people on the internet something tells me not to ..probably common sense but who knows ..in any event, the coroner's investigation concludes that the journalist in question was killed unlawfully ... I'll take their word over yours ....no offense
 
K e r b e r o s said:
I'm a little confused about this incident specifically where a Iraqi Soldiers overtook one of the cars the journalist was in and I can't rule out what happened exactly.

A Forensic Analyzer said they're was approximately 15 minutes of extra footage missing from the recording that was taken from inside one of the Abrams Tanks present at that engagement. I wonder what that was of, when the shooting was recorded without the 15?

I'll just keep an ear out to this one.
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Yea, it's probably gone after the DoD investigated this and said the soldiers were justified. It's akin to the 7 (or is it 21) minutes of tape lost when Nixon was supposed to hand over recordings he had made of political opponents.

The DoD has already said the soldiers were justified. Like they were going to say anything else. Probably spent 10 minutes cleaning up evidence and making their judgement. Just in time for the 2'o'clock circle jerk too.
 
Ridge said:
I remember that article...

The "ambulance" was an unmarked van speeding towards the green zone, which houses western diplomats and reporters.

Soldiers ordered the van to stop, the driver didnt, so they opened fire. For all they know, the van could have been packed with tnt and was going to try to blow the green zone to hell...

I support the soldier's actions. The driver should have stopped, the van should have been marked as an ambulance, etc...
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Well your "memory" of this incident is clearly limited, allow me to help you....

Witnesses testified during the inquest that Lloyd — who was driving toward the southern Iraqi city of Basra with fellow ITN reporters — was shot by Iraqi troops who overtook his car, then died after U.S. fire hit a civilian minivan being used as an ambulance and struck him in the head.

"Terry Lloyd died following a gunshot wound to the head. The evidence this bullet was fired by the Americans is overwhelming," Walker said. "There is no doubt that the minibus presented no threat to the American forces. There is no doubt it was an unlawful act of fire."

ITN cameraman Daniel Demoustier, the sole survivor of the incident, told the inquest ITN's two four-wheel drive vehicles were overtaken by a truck carrying Iraqi forces and that gunfire erupted.

Demoustier, a Belgian, said he jumped from the flaming car and lay in the sand, waiting for the shooting to stop. Demoustier said he tried to stand to signal U.S. tanks in the area but they resumed firing at the clearly marked ITN vehicles.

Demoustier said he saw a makeshift ambulance arrive and pick up people. He was later taken to safety in the car of a British newspaper reporter.

The coroner said Friday that an Iraqi civilian drove up in a minivan and picked up four wounded Iraqi soldiers, then saw Lloyd with a press card around his neck and helped him into the van. Lloyd was shot in the head as the van drove toward a hospital, the coroner said.
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The van was no where near Baghdad, in fact as witnesses have attested it was heading towards Basrah(the other way from Baghdad infact). There is no mention of any warnings given to the van before troops opened fire(on clearly marked vehicles), but we wont know the soldiers viewpoint of this incident because....
U.S. authorities didn't allow servicemen to testify at the inquest. Several submitted anonymous statements that the coroner ruled inadmissible.

"I should have heard all evidence from the American personnel," Walker said. "It was not satisfactory or appropriate to read these statements in place of that evidence."
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So the van was not going towards the green zone (as if that is some kind of justification) and there were no warnings.
Need any more help with your memory?
 
Ridge said:
I support the soldier's actions. The driver should have stopped, the van should have been marked as an ambulance, etc...
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Ah yes, I'm sure make shift ambulances pulled together in a hellish warzone have all the time in the world to stick on a big "AMBULANCE" sign on.
 
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