Friendly fire!

A catalogue of errors were responsible for the “friendly fire” death of a British soldier in Iraq, it has been reported.

The Sun claims to have obtained a cockpit videotape recording showing the moment that a US jet launched two devastating attacks on a British armoured convoy, killing Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull.

In the recording, the pilot of the second American plane involved in the attacks says after their mistake is realised: “We’re in jail dude”, the paper reports. The other pilot then weeps, saying: “God dammit”, it adds.

The Ministry of Defence initially told L/Cpl Hull’s family the recording did not exist but it found its way into the hands of Oxford coroner Andrew Walker, who is hearing the inquest into the soldier’s death.

The MoD refused to comment on the alleged contents of the videotape.

Last week Mr Walker adjourned the inquest in frustration at what he said was the MoD’s failure to get the permission of the American authorities, who are said to own the tape, for him to show the recording.

The Sun claims six errors led to the attack near Basra in southern Iraq on March 28 2003. Four other British soldiers were injured.

These included that on several occasions the pilots either questioned or appeared to question the orange panels on top of the armoured vehicles which were being used to identify them as coalition, rather than Iraqi, forces.

However, the conclusion is reached that the orange panels are rocket launchers.

L/Cpl Hull, 25, from Windsor, Berkshire, died in the incident and four other members of the Household Cavalry Regiment were injured.

The above is from www.yahoo.co.uk .

In this day and age of massive military expenditure especially by the USA just how is it that their armed forces make such high level of fatal errors? Not withstanding the enormous tragedy of each individual case it has such a damaging effect on the reputation of the west’s largest military force to such an extent that due to the number of UK personnel having been killed by US forces, in Britain the term ‘friendly fire’ is used in a semi-ironic way to imply perceived US military incompetence, and is a frequent source of satirical humour. Examples of the latter include the third (2005) series of Monkey Dust, in which a British military vehicle in Afghanistan is targeted by an American pilot, despite a large Union Flag on its roof (the sole surviving soldier then runs through a series of British stereotypes, such as pouring a cup of Tea and donning a Bowler hat, but is bombed again, anyway), while in the 19 October 2006 edition of “Mock the Week”, host Dara Ó Briain noted that British soldiers in Iraq were being, “shot at on a daily basis, although obviously it’ll get much safer when the Americans leave and it’s only the Iraqis firing at them.” There is even a “joke” in the dialogue of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas developed by Rockstar North, based in Scotland about an American aircraft deliberately engaging a supposedly friendly target with an excuse that it can be claimed afterwards that it was thought to be “a British tank.”
 2001 – American FA-18 dropped 3 Mk-82 bombs on a friendly observation post killing six and wounding 11 at Al Udairi Range, Kuwait.
2002 – American F-16 pilot Harry Schmidt killed four Canadian soldiers in the “Tarnak Farm incident”
2003 American aircraft attacked a friendly Kurdish camp; US special forces convoy killing 15. BBC translator Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed was killed and BBC reporter Tom Giles and World Affairs Editor ohn Simpson were injured. The incident was filmed.
2003 American Patriot missile shot down in error F/A-18C Block 46 Hornet 164974 of VFA-195 50 miles from Karbala, Iraq, killing the pilot.
2003 American Patriot missile shot down a British Tornado of 13 Squadron killing the pilot and navigator, Flight Lieutenant David Rhys Williams and Flight Lieutenant Kevin Barry Main, both from 9 Squadron.
2003 Two British Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles of the Blues and Royals attacked by a pair of American A-10 Thunderbolts, killing Lance-Corporal of Horse, Matty Hull, during the invasion of Iraq. Trooper Christopher Finney was awarded the George Cross for bravery under fire during the attack, rather than the Victoria Cross, which can only be awarded for valour under “enemy fire.
2004 Pat Tillman, a famous American football player and friendly fire victim in Afghanistan.
2005 American soldier Mario Lozano is suspected of killing Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari and wounding Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena in Baghdad. Sgrena had been kidnapped and subsequently rescued by Calipari. However it is claimed that the car they were escaping in failed to stop at an American checkpoint, and US soldiers opened fire.
2005 American troops opened fire on a Bulgarian convoy. Junior Sergeant Gardi Gardev was killed.
2006 – Two U. A-10 Thunderbolts accidentally strafed their own NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, killing Canadian Private Mark Anthony Graham, and seriously wounding five others when soldiers were trying to seize a Taliban stronghold along the Arghandab River. Graham was a former Canadian Olympic athlete who competed on the Canadian 4×400 Men’s Relay Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.