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O Canada, we won't let you down

September 14, 2002 ~ 1:33 a.m.

In war, there will be casualties. This is a brutal fact. And sometimes, in warfare�s cruelest joke, fellow allies will be killed. This was the case when American fighter pilots Harry Schmidt and William Umbach contributed to the deaths of four Canadian soldiers on duty in Afghanistan. The April �friendly fire� incident helped fuel the fire against the War on Terror in Canada and elsewhere.

The charges against Schmidt and Umbach, who face charges of manslaughter, are the first such criminal charges of the current war, conducted by the Air Force, based on orders by President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. In April, Major Schmidt dropped a 500-pound bomb on Canadian troops who were engaged in night-time live-fire exercises at their base. Apparently, the two American fighter pilots assumed that they were being fired upon by Al-Qaeda rebels. In bombing the Canadians, they were charged with �failing to exercise flight discipline and not complying with the military "rules of engagement" in the area,� according to a Reuters report.

Now both Americans face four counts of manslaughter and eight counts of assault (on account of injured Canadian soldiers).

�The fact that the Americans have laid such serious charges against the two pilots has proven that they have taken the deaths of our four soldiers and the injuries of eight very seriously,� Defense Minister John McCallum said. �It's unusually severe, McCallum said adding that, �from a Canadian standpoint this is very positive news.�

Both Schmidt and Umbach claim self-defense for their actions. Their case is currently pending validity of the manslaughter charges against them.

To me, it is clear that they ignored protocol in dropping the bomb and therefore failed to exercise proper procedure and thoroughly ignored rules of engagement.

I understand that the U.S. military now operates on a volunteer basis, and I have the highest respect for those that join the military of their own volition. Never, never again shall we disrespect the troops as American citizens did during the turbulent Vietnam War era. That was despicable and must never happen again. Our boys face serious obstacles and opposition, foreign and domestic, and need all the support they can get. I will never jeer our boys. They have no choice. They signed up and they follow orders. Even if you disagree with the war � which I most assuredly do not � you must grant the lads fighting for your country all due respect.

However, when rules determining appropriate conduct in warfare are broken and fellow ally troops get killed as a result, that is a serious matter. Soldiers have a duty to act responsible in all circumstances � that is the first priority. The actions of these fighter pilots were irresponsible. I felt great shame when I first heard the news about the Canadian deaths and shuddered. What would this spell for the War on Terror and the legitimacy of the U.S.-led attacks on the Taliban? Once again, we�d have to hear about how careless and gung-ho our military was and how unfit we Americans were to conduct any war.

But now, all things considered, this War on Terror has been a nominal success, with better things to come (especially when we oust the Hitler of the Middle East, Saddam Hussein, from power). And with the serious charges brought against Schmidt and Umbach as justice to our faithful ally and neighbor to the north, we can get on with the business of making the world safer for democracy and freedom and not only establish safety in the Western world again, but hopefully the Middle East as well.

That, of course, is the larger picture. But in the meantime, we owed it to our trustworthy Canadian friends to take the deaths of their soldiers seriously. Accident or not, it was a scandalous incident. The U.S. and Canada stood side-by-side in investigating the incident. And the Americans responsible will, barring a mistrial, be brought to full justice.

When asked what other nationality I would choose to be if not American, I have always answered �Canadian,� and not without reason. They are true friends, our staunchest allies. I have the greatest of respect for them. Let Schmidt and Umbach hang from the gallows for their dreadful irresponsibility; we owe Canada for their unwavering co-operation and support.

� M.E.M.

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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.

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