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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| British GI Faces Charge in Iraq Shooting | |
| 2004-07-03 | |
A British soldier will face court-martial over the shooting of a 13-year-old Iraqi boy, the government said Friday. Pvt. Alexander Johnston of the King's Own Scottish Borderers will face court-martial for unlawful wounding in a Sept. 15 shooting incident at al-Uzayr, south of Amarah in southern Iraq. He also could face an alternative charge of negligent handling of a weapon, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said. The Ministry of Defense would not give more details about what happened or say how badly the boy was wounded. Military sources said the shooting occurred while the soldier was on guard duty. No date was set for the court-martial, which the government said is likely to be held in Iraq.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 A hefty book should be thrown for that at any rate I think that's fair, but a "court martial for unlawfully wounding" ??? puhleaze that is too severe and reeks of military "solicitor" [ie. UK JAG] PC "B.S." |
| Posted by: rex 2004-07-03 4:27:14 PM |
| #3 From what I've read of this, it seems likely it was a negligent discharge. A hefty book should be thrown for that at any rate, but the fact he appeared to have been pointing the weapon at a kid when it happened makes the offence much worse. Probably an accident, but a direct result of carelessness - and negligent handling of weapons has to be discouraged |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-07-03 12:51:39 PM |
| #2 What pompous PC nonsense. Military lawyers micro managing the battlefield and second guessing soldiers' decisions, where there is no apparent malice just accident, effectively puts handcuffs on the military putting soldiers and their troop at risk. Silly. |
| Posted by: rex 2004-07-03 1:30:44 AM |
| #1 Making a fetish out of avoiding civilian casualties is a sign of moral weakness, not moral superiority, and will ultimately lead to more civilian deaths. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5509 2004-07-03 12:33:12 AM |