Monday, October 24, 2005

Spanish Judge Issues Warrant for US Soldiers



Of course, this is one of the more ridiculous things I have ever seen.
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish judge issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for three U.S. soldiers, charging them with murder in the death of Spanish TV cameraman Jose Couso in Baghdad, Iraq.

Couso, who worked for Spain's Telecinco network, died at the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003, as U.S. forces advanced to take control of the city in April 2003.

Investigating magistrate Santiago Pedraz of the National Court will seek the extradition of the soldiers to Spain, a 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+.
Yep. I'm suspecting that there isn't much the US could have said about the incident that would have satisfied the Spanish officials involved. I don't know much about the details of the death, but I'm willing to bet that the journalist was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such is the nature and risk of military journalism. This is just further reason why the US is definitely better off staying out of the ICC.

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