What do the American people think about the "Friendly Fire tragedy"?

Question

I know this is a very sensitive issue but has it received much Press exposure over there.? I know there will be a tendancy to protect your own folks but there does seem to have been other less tragic occurances that have been hushed up.Perhaps its time to be less secretive about military matters with the Allies so it can be sorted out forever.

Answer 1

I had to reply to Mike M's answer (above)... he may have been a soldier, etc, but he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
the isssue is not whether friendly fire accidents Happen (they always will) or whether someone is to blame (in this case it seems not, it was a tragic accident)
The issue is whether a country should co-operate with its allies, and give informations that will determine the cause of death to an english coroners court. basically the government _lied_ (they said no record of the circumstances existed , when a tape subsequently came to light).]

The public can accept that tragedies occur... we cannot accept that our _allies_ will lie to us.

{edit} to m1a1mike.... no one is seeking blame... people are seeking _cause_ ... that is the purpose of a coroners court.. that is how this issue came to public attention... because the american government refused to respect our (different) legal procedures.

and there is dispute as to whether the british were in the wrong area, or the american planes were in the wrong area... either way, the british units were marked with 'allied' markings, which the airmen saw, but disregarded.

Answer 2

that's the brilliant portion of conflict ...we ignore as we bicker backward and forward , that those that die from "pleasant ordinance" were there to do thier duty , and stay alive . You cant bypass judgement on situational information , until eventually you've been by it . i have self assurance that the infantrymen that are scuffling with in Afghanistan are in the most threatening position next to Iraq , i'd re-enlist , yet I actually have a "million dollar wound " . My acquaintances in the 10th mountain div. are there now , i'd be too. i'd desire it to be myself to serve back , instead of someone that has relatives right here or in Canada . Fathers , uncles, brothers , aunts , sisters , moms and different dedicated , are there to dedicate thier project . you discover out after "making contact with the human beings" , that your job will develop into staying alive . I weep for those courageous human beings . I question your motivation in this question ; it style of feels that once you've had experienced "suspicious awarenes" from wrestle , you wouldnt even dare ask.

Answer 3

I agree - It was a tragedy.

Even some of your UK pilots have said that they didn't think the more stringent UK Rules Of Engagement would've prevented that tragedy.

It's horrible - You can hear how horrified the pilots were in the tapes.

That being said, I think our government could have handled this better. MUCH better. My personal belief is that they've been disrespectful in how it's been handled.

And we need to do even more to try to keep it from happening again.

EDIT: The event being discussed was an action where two USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attacked a British column of Warrior APCs wounding and killing several Tommies. The heroic action of one saved his mates from even more damage. - Link attached, including video for the ghouls.

To those referring to it as a crime - No, it's not. It's a horrid, horrid accident. The US investigated and determined no crime had occured - The issue at hand is that the US Government has pretty well stonewalled the UK government's own investigation and has behaved quite shabbily towards the UK throughout this incident.

Orion

Answer 4

It was a terrible thing. But if you think about it, it could have been a lot worse. In any war, there will be times when things go wrong. When you sign up to be a soldier, YOU take the risk that you may be killed. These pilots did not fire on those poor boys knowing that they were our family. It is tragic, but it is part of war. Millions of rounds were fired in this war. The only surprise is that more family did get killed by family. And I for one, still regard the UK as family. Although, there are those in the UK that want desperately to make us enemies. And you know that if you needed the US help, you could count on it. But can the US still count your people?

Answer 5

Regret for the blunders and slip-ups with human errors.
At the same time exposing the blunders and slip-ups with human errors with communication problems with misinterpretation, miscommunication, communication failures with communication break-down at high altitude at high speed in planet of apes.
Regret for the accidental mess created out there in planet of apes.

Answer 6

i think this whole sorry episode was very sad. but as a Brit, i think deep down we know it was not a criminal act whatever some may say. I'm sure those pilots must have lived through hell within themselves im sure their family men. it did hurt more i think that things were or appeared to be hidden. lets hope we can learn some lessons from this so if ever it happens again people can know the truth so the anti Americans or anti war brigade don't have more fuel for their arguments,

Answer 7

There's no "sensitive issue" about it. I happens. It sucks but it happens. It has happened in every war and it will happen in every war to come. It hasn't gotten much press #1 because the liberal media doesn't see it as a notre worthy event and #2 we all know it happens. You have to accept it. It's like someone getting killed on the job. It's an accident and defication occures (shite happens).

Answer 8

Well I think with friends like those , we don't need enemies. And the way some of the Americans are answering this question shows how unfeeling and stupid they are. They gloat about being 'the superpower' ,well we were not so long ago . Everything ends, and the chickens come home to roost. You will be sorry when you want an ally to stand with you, we, at least, will remember your gung- ho attitude to our country and our soldiers. The only way we can avoid this in future is to refuse to go anywhere near our so-called friends. And as for air support. Who were they supporting ? Certainly not the soldiers they attacked.

Answer 9

I think that after the British have dealt with their own people who have killed their own troops with friendly fire then they can criticise the US,The Brits have only killed one less of their troops than the US.No one has been brought to task over this and most Brits are too busy slagging the yanks to even notice.

Answer 10

I think that this whole incident illustrates the difference in mindset between Americans and Europeans.

When an incident such as this occurs the American reaction is to leave the emotions out; analyze the events that occurred; and determine how to prevent repeats of that in the future.

The European reaction is to blame somebody else.

From my analysis of this and the time this occurred previously (and my observations of British troops in Iraq) - I see a common issue in either British doctrine or in the enforcement of that doctrine.

To put it simply the British do an absolutely horrible job of: 1) communicating with their allies, 2) obeying graphical control measures and 3) tracking the locations of their units.

These problems were the root cause of the US airstrike that killed British troops in the first Gulf War - and since the British were too busy making sure the Americans took the blame to correct their problems - the exact same thing happened again.

IMO - the fact that the British have refused to correct their procedures, the only way that the US can avoid another incident in the future is to refuse to provide air support to British forces.