ITN reporter "unlawfully killed" by US troops

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US forces killed ITN man in Iraq

A coroner has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on ITN reporter Terry Lloyd, who was shot dead by US forces in southern Iraq in March 2003. An inquest heard Mr Lloyd was killed by a US bullet near Basra. His interpreter died and his cameraman is missing. The inquest also heard that Mr Lloyd, 50 and originally from Derby, was hit while in a makeshift ambulance, having already been hurt in American-Iraqi crossfire. Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker said he would also be writing to the director of public prosecutions asking for him to investigate the possibility of bringing charges.

'War crime'

Mr Lloyd's Lebanese interpreter, Hussein Osman, was also killed and French cameraman Fred Nerac is still officially classed as missing, presumed dead. Belgian cameraman Daniel Demoustier was the ITN crew's only survivor. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said Mr Lloyd's killing was a "war crime" and this was echoed by Mr Lloyd's widow, Lyn.

In a statement she said: "This was a very serious war crime, how else can firing on a vehicle in these circumstances be interpreted? This was not a friendly fire incident or a crossfire incident, it was a despicable, deliberate, vengeful act, particularly as it came many minutes after the initial exchange. US forces appear to have allowed their soldiers to behave like trigger happy cowboys in an area where civilians were moving around."

His daughter Chelsey said: "The killing of my father would seem to amount to murder, which is deeply shocking."

click here for the edited video

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I remember this incident well and when I heard that american forces had only given an edited video of the incident to the public it seemed obvious that they were covering something up.

The questions are, of course, how far up the ladder the responsibility goes, and exactly how many other people have been murdered (as opposed to being killed in a "legitimate" battle) by soldiers.

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WE MUST GET OUR BOYS OUT OF IRAQ
General's amazing outburst
By Emily Nash & Allison Martin

THE head of the Army last night called for a quick pullout of troops from Iraq. General Sir Richard Dannatt, who took over as Chief of the General Staff in August, said British forces should "get ourselves out some time soon".

In an astonishingly frank interview, Gen Dannatt, 55, said: "I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them. We are in a Muslim country and Muslims' views of foreigners in their country are quite clear. As a foreigner, you can be welcomed by being invited in a country but we weren't invited, certainly by those in Iraq at the time. The military campaign we fought in 2003 kicked the door in. Whatever consent we may have had in the first place may have turned to tolerance and has largely turned to intolerance."

Last night Downing Street said: "It's important people remember that we are in Iraq at the express wish of the democratically elected Iraqi government."

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Let's hope that a comment like this from the head of the UK armed forces starts to hit home with the voters. Though, considering the complete lack of response to the original anti-war demonstrations nothing is certain.

[Skylace]

I heard about the General this morning on the news. He already seems to be causing quite a stir over here. I am glad.

[janbo1960]

I wouldn't be surprised if he was 'retired' early!!

[Kezza]

With the mid-term elections in the U.S. fast approaching (Tuesday, 7 November), it will be interesting to see how many anti-war candidates are elected. Although many criticise the current administration's policies, it will be even more interesting if the majority of voters elect anti-war candidates and if so, will a "majority opinion" really matter?

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