Pentagon: Journonalist shooting justified
Pentagon: Shooting of Reuters journalist in Iraq justified
By LOLITA C. BALDOR - 53 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) - The 2005 shooting death of a Reuters journalist in the midst of a firefight in Baghdad was justified because U.S. soldiers believed the camera protruding from an unmarked car was a rocket propelled grenade, the Pentagon's internal watchdog has concluded.
In an 82-page report, the Defense Department's inspector general also said that Reuters safety practices contributed to the death of sound technician Waleed Khaled, and the wounding of cameraman Haider Kadhem.
While the report was critical of how the initial investigation was conducted - saying the military unit's investigating officer did not follow correct procedures - it nevertheless concluded that a "preponderance of evidence establishes that the cameraman and driver took actions during the incident that reasonably led U.S. soldiers to believe they were confronting hostile intent."
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By LOLITA C. BALDOR - 53 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) - The 2005 shooting death of a Reuters journalist in the midst of a firefight in Baghdad was justified because U.S. soldiers believed the camera protruding from an unmarked car was a rocket propelled grenade, the Pentagon's internal watchdog has concluded.
In an 82-page report, the Defense Department's inspector general also said that Reuters safety practices contributed to the death of sound technician Waleed Khaled, and the wounding of cameraman Haider Kadhem.
While the report was critical of how the initial investigation was conducted - saying the military unit's investigating officer did not follow correct procedures - it nevertheless concluded that a "preponderance of evidence establishes that the cameraman and driver took actions during the incident that reasonably led U.S. soldiers to believe they were confronting hostile intent."
--MORE--