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Australia clears soldiers over US death in Iraq
CANBERRA (AFP) - Australian soldiers who shot and killed a US civilian truck driver at a checkpoint in Iraq have been cleared of any wrongdoing, the army said Thursday. An Australian Defence Force (ADF) investigation found they had acted within the law and the rules of engagement when they opened fire after the contractor failed to stop, Brigadier Gus Gilmore told reporters.The driver, Hector Patino, 58, was a decorated Vietnam war veteran working for the US company Kellogg Brown and Root. His family has rejected the Australian military's findings and called for an independent inquiry. Gilmore said that despite clear signs and repeated requests for Patino to stop at the checkpoint near the Australian embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone on January 13, he drove on. Soldiers, concerned that he could be a car bomber, opened fire, he said. "The key findings of the ADF investigation found that the soldiers involved acted lawfully, entirely in accordance with their orders ... and their rules of engagement," Gilmore said. "The approach of the truck and the actions of the driver were interpreted by the military personnel involved as an imminent threat to life. In these circumstances their actions were appropriate." An independent investigation conducted by the US Diplomatic Security Service concluded Patino's actions contributed to the shooting, Gilmore said. The contractor's family had written to Prime Minister John Howard in March, asking for information about the shooting and would be informed of the findings. "On behalf of the chief of the defence force I would again like to extend our condolences to the Patino family," he said. But Patino's brother David called for an independent inquiry, saying the family was "upset and angry." "The report really doesn't answer any questions," Patino told the Australian Associated Press from his home in Texas. "Why didn't Hector stop? That's what we'd like to know." Patino had worked inside the Green Zone for two years and had passed through the Australian checkpoint countless times before, his brother said. "It doesn't make sense he would ignore the checkpoint," David Patino said. "He knew the soldiers had guns." Posted by: Steve White 2007-06-09 |
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