Spain issues warrant for 3 U.S. soldiers

[MIKE BURN]

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http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/19/spain.us.soldiers/index.html



By CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman



Wednesday, October 19, 2005 Posted: 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)



MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish judge has issued an international arrest warrant for three U.S. soldiers for alleged participation in the death of Spanish TV cameraman Jose Couso in Baghdad as U.S. forces advanced to take control of the city in April 2003.



National Court investigating magistrate Santiago Pedraz issued the warrant Wednesday for the arrests of the soldiers and will seek their extradition to Spain, a National Court spokeswoman told CNN.



They are wanted for "murder" and "a crime against the international community," according to the warrant, a copy of which was viewed by CNN partner network CNN+.



Couso, who worked for Spain's Telecinco network, died at the Hotel Palestine on April 8, 2003, where he was on duty as a TV cameraman to shoot images of war-torn Baghdad.



The arrest warrant named the three soldiers as Sgt. Thomas Gibson, commander of the tank that allegedly fired a projectile at the hotel where Couso was filming; Capt. Philip Wolford, Gibson's superior, and Lt. Colonel Philip D. Camp, the captain's superior, CNN+ reported.



The arrest warrant said they were assigned to the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division.



The arrest warrant says the U.S. provided "no judicial cooperation" in trying to resolve the death of the cameraman. The judge previously had sought to question the three soldiers but received no response from U.S. authorities.

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Looks like Spain has finally enough.

[DreamTone7]

Death in a war zone is one of the risks war-time reporters (and camera-men) take. Me smells political baloney. Thank you for sharing the smell with us once again, Mike.

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

[NRKofOver]

DT, what about the contractors who were ambushed, killed, burned and strung up? They were just casualties of war? Tough break? Wrong place, wrong time? The people who did it weren't doing anything inappropriate, they were just fighting a war? Is it a two-way street?

My music for the disenchanted masses

[DreamTone7]

War is war...it's what makes it something to be avoided when possible. Perhaps we need to post a sign on every war that comes along "Enter at your own risk"? I don't think it would change anything, though.



Death is always a bad thing...in war or out of it. But if one expects to wander into a battle-field, be it in a wheat-field or a town, and expect everybody to stop firing so they can take their pictures, broadcast to CNN, or whatever, methinks they are the ones who are not being realistic and have made a mistake. Again, it's taking responsibility for your own actions. Unfortunately, they paid the ultimate price this time for their mistake. Nobody forced them to be a war-time camera-man.

[NRKofOver]

You avoided the question.



I'm guessing in a round about way you're saying that the contractors and their families should've expected that potential outcome?

My music for the disenchanted masses

[DreamTone7]

While tragic, yes, they should have expected the possibility. In war, all bets are off when it comes to what we can expect. A quick glance at history confirms this. What is supposed to make us think that anything has changed?



I'm not saying that it should have happened...but that it's something that any reasonable person should have expected the possibility of happening. When people make mistakes, are we supposed to collectively pay for them somehow? How are we supposed to do this? It reminds me of the lady who sued McDonalds when SHE spilled hot coffee in her lap.

[Rev9Volts]

you are wrong mike spain is just trying more to appease terrorist by poking usa in the eye. he went in a battle zone he knew he could get killed. feck him in his grave and the sissy politicians in spain.

[HKRockChick]

tum tum tum tum tum tum tee

[Galmin]

If you say once more that spain (or any other country involved in the "war on terror"©) is just trying to appease terrorist, I'm going to verbally kick you in your virtual nuts.



Have a nice day.

Edited by: Galmin  at: 10/22/05 7:27

[Rev9Volts]

they are they did... they elected an appeaser to terrorists and it is just another step in appeasement like chamberlin in ww2....

[Rev9Volts]

and the camera dude is not the same ase the contractors who were strung up.

[Rev9Volts]

and another point if i was in a tank shooting at enemy and i see someone with a camera that i do not know for all i know is he might be sending my location to the enemy to shoot me, so i would send a cannon round right into that lens just to make sure he is not telling my location.







. KER-PLOO-WEEE!

[Galmin]

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and another point if i was in a tank shooting at enemy and i see someone with a camera that i do not know for all i know is he might be sending my location to the enemy to shoot me, so i would send a cannon round right into that lens just to make sure he is not telling my location.

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Daum, what about all those live embedded journalists, they got to live on to capture the troops movement the next day?



The spanish people got rid of it's old government because it lied to them. Some countries are pickier then others about that, it seems.

[NRKofOver]

Rev, I brought up the contractors to see if there was a level of hypocrisy, that's all. If a cameraman can be killed in a war zone and it's just all part of war, then three private military guys who get killed, burned and strung up is just part of war.

My music for the disenchanted masses

[Rev9Volts]

galmin they all lie and always have always will... (they dio it for our own good )



i agree nrk... i am just saying one thing to take a cannon shell in the lens another to get chopped up burned etc.... however you are right... that is why they get the big dollars to go.



if the camera guy was embedded he would have been IN the tank....