New 'friendly fire' theory in Gitmo case

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - A U.S. soldier who died in a firefight in Afghanistan may have been killed accidentally by his comrades — not by a young Canadian facing a war crimes trial at Guantanamo, a military defense lawyer said Friday.

The accounts of other U.S. troops interviewed by attorneys for Omar Khadr suggest that someone other than prisoner could have thrown the grenade that killed the soldier, said the lawyer, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler.

The U.S. government insists Khadr threw the grenade that killed Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer, who is from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Canadian, who was 15 at the time of the firefight, faces life in prison if convicted of charges that include murder.

Kuebler said he knows of no physical evidence that would confirm that so-called friendly fire killed Speer, but other U.S. soldiers recalled throwing grenades around the time the he was killed in July 2002.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080411/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/guantanamo_child_soldier

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Guantanamo lawyer questions how U.S. soldier died

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in July 2002 could have been thrown by American forces rather than a young Canadian charged in a Guantanamo war crimes court with murder, a military defense lawyer said on Friday.

Prosecutors charge that the Canadian captive, 21-year-old Omar Khadr, threw the grenade that fatally wounded Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer during a firefight at a suspected al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan. Khadr was 15 at the time.

Khadr's lawyer, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said at a hearing on Friday that U.S. troops he questioned in preparation for trial had told him they threw grenades into the compound while other U.S. soldiers were inside.

"It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Sgt. Speer was killed by friendly fire," Kuebler said after the hearing at the controversial detention center for terrorism suspects set up at a U.S. naval base in Cuba.

"There were U.S. personnel employing hand grenades against combatants in the compound."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080411/wl_canada_nm/canada_guantanamo_hearings_col

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. So killing someone on the battlefield is murder?

Such people deserve to be imprisoned for years in harsh conditions, without legal representation and without benefit of habeas corpus and other rights supposedly guaranteed by international treaty? Is that a precedent the United States really wants to set?

[saigon68]

2. History will Judge these boot lickers very harshly

[Bush_MUST_Go]

3. Crazy precedent to set. But that's par for the course w/ bush. CRAZY!

[Supersedeas]

4. no wonder they refuse to provide an attorney, cross-examination and a real jury