A verdict of "unlawful killing" was issued this week by a British coroner's jury against two U.S. Air Force pilots who mistakenly fired missiles that killed nine British soldiers in the Persian Gulf war. A prosecutor is investigating possible criminal charges, and a lawyer for families of the victims urges that manslaughter charges be filed.
While the anguish of the families is understandable, any effort to file such charges in connection with the accidents and tragedies of war would be a serious mistake.Combat is almost always a confusing mixture of rapid action, instinctive reflexes, fear, destruction and death. Few things in the midst of fast-paced fighting offer the luxury of careful analysis and calm choice.
The public perception that war is neat and tidy and under control - like the defined shape of a TV screen - is not accurate. In addition to trying to pin blame for friendly fire, the same attitude can be seen in the demand by some American families that every missing-in-action soldier be accounted for in the Vietnam War.
In the confusion, explosions and ebb and flow of battle, some people are lost and never found. That is especially true in jungle warfare, but nearly every battle in any geographic location has its MIAs. Those numbers total into the thousands in any war - thousands for whom no trace is ever found.
Every war also has its tragic tales of artillery hitting the wrong troops, pilots attacking their own forces on the ground, and firefights between soldiers who think they are being shot at by the enemy. Sometimes the resulting casualties were much higher than the Persian Gulf war incident. In every instance, somebody made a mistake, but trying to turn it into a crime serves no useful purpose.
In the case of the British soldiers, there was some confusion about a burning Iraqi tank used as a reference point. Apparently, there was more than one such flaming tank. Thinking there were no friendly forces in the area, the aircraft launched missiles against a column of armored vehicles without first getting the required clearance. The vehicles turned out to be British.
During the gulf war, the British were the staunchest, toughest, most active and most dependable of all allies in the fighting. America owes the British forces considerable thanks for their valiant service and help. Indeed, some U.S. compensation may be due the families of the dead soldiers. But trying to file criminal charges against the pilots would be putting an improper label on a tragic - but not uncommon - error made in the heat of battle.