U.S. forces fire on Canadian vehicle in Iraq

[Newsjock]

http://globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060131.ambassador01/BNStory/International

A vehicle carrying four members of a Canadian diplomatic mission in Iraq was fired on by U.S. forces inside Baghdad's Green Zone on Tuesday. No one was injured in the incident.

The vehicle was reportedly carrying Stewart Henderson, the Canadian chargé d'affaires in Iraq.

... A spokesman for the U.S. military in Baghdad said the incident was caused by the intermingling of two convoys.

“There was a U.S. military convoy and then the ambassador's convoy,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Johnson of the combined forces press centre.

[pinniped]

1. The better be careful, they already bombed the Canadians a few years ago.

.

[daleo]

2. Another "watch your step" for Stephen Harper?

Not necessarily, but you have to wonder if Harper's brave talk the other day about Canadian sovereignty hasn't attracted attention.

[LynnTheDem]

3. "inside the Green Zone..."

"INSIDE THE GREEN ZONE"

...gee so even INSIDE THE GREEN ZONE ain't safe. That ain't the bullshit spewed by bush.

[tsuki]

4. "Blame Canada! Blame C"anada!" Great song.

[Hyernel]

5. We have no allies left.

[HuffleClaw]

6. nobody was hurt

thank goodness. you'd think they'd recognise a diplomatic convoy.

[Straight Shooter]

7. Caused by the intermingling of two convoys?

That's why they were fired upon? :wtf:

[Theduckno2]

8. Road rage has made it to Iraq?

I hope the Canadians didn't "cut off" the other convoy.

I don't get why intermingling of two convoys would lead to an attack either.

[davepc]

9. When car bombs are one the 'bad' guys favorite ways to attack

you don't take a strange vehicle cutting in front of yours lightly.

One car cuts in front of you, and another pulls along side as you stop/slow down and explodes.

Or one car cuts in front of you and hits the breaks causing you to jam on the breaks and rear-end it...then as soon as you make contact *boom*.

There should of been better communication.

[oioioi]

10. Wearing the wrong tee shirts...?

[lumpy]

13. Everythings up to date in Baghdad City...

sing along.

[havocmom]

31. So, they meant to hit the American convoy?

me too: :wtf:

[Army]

11. In the Green Zone?

That's odd, you are supposed to clear your weapons when you enter the Green Zone. I'd be interested to know exactly where that happened, if it was "outside the wire" or not, because some bombings I've heard referred to as in the Green Zone were actually right outside it, downtown.

If it was outside the wire and they didn't get permission to pass and they ignored the gunners, I'd have fired into the engine block too. Understand, in the city there is no ground to fire into and you are specifically told not to fire into pavement because the round will ricochet and could hit a bystander.

The problem with this is there is no top-down directive. Literally every convoy team has a different method when rolling out. Some convoys let people roll by them. Some roll with traffic, some behind it. The locals are thoroughly confused so our unit tries to have some understanding. The infantry though, especially 4ID, will be firing shots all over the place because they are scared because they just got here.

Hate to blame everything on this administration, but the leadership should have a set of rules that all convoys rolling out follow. These Canadians may have been allowed to pass a convoy two miles before this and thought it was okay again. Just glad noone was hurt.

[lumpy]

12. Reminds me of Road Warrior

or Mad Max crap. Everyone gone crazy SNAFU.

[MrSlayer]

14. Sounds reasonable to me.

If that is in fact what happened. I'm positive they have very strict rules on travel convoys and distance kept. Hell, with the amount of carbombs and shit out there you can't take any chances. What's strange to me is the "tried to run them off the road" line. If you were worried about it being a carbomb wouldn't you shoot first before letting it get near you?

This shooting might sound like an extreme measure by some but they are in a war zone. You pretty much have to have a "shoot first and ask questions later" mentality or you end up dead.

[Mika]

15. Just getting the Canadians up to speed on who's boss.

Don't mess with TexUS.

[Spazito]

16. It seems there is a difference between what American officials

say and what those in the Canadian vehicle say. Hmmmmm, gosh, who should I believe? The bush officials who have a propensity for lying as a matter of course or the people that were actually in the vehicle. Tough decision, NOT.

snip

A spokesman for the U.S. forces in Iraq said warning shots were fired at the Canadian envoy's car when it apparently attempted to pass an American military convoy.

Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said the U.S. troops were driving within the heavily fortified Green Zone when they signalled to a convoy of cars approaching them to stop.

snip

Cameron told CTV News that the Canadian convoy was keeping a good distance and that no one in her vehicle saw any hand signals from the Americans to indicate they were too close.

She also said the three shots fired were not a warning. Cameron said one of the bullets went right through the windshield and narrowly missed a passenger. None of the four passengers or the driver were injured.

more

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060201/canada_iraq_060201/20060201?hub=TopStories

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. U.S. Troops Fire at Canada Convoy in Iraq

February 1, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. troops fired on a Canadian diplomatic convoy that failed to obey signals to stop in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, but there were no injuries, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

A spokeswoman at the Canadian Embassy in neighboring Jordan said four Canadian diplomats, including the charge d'affairs, were traveling in one of the vehicles.

"We are aware of this incident and the American and Canadian authorities are looking into it," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named in keeping with embassy policy.

The shooting occurred when the troops tried to stop a convoy of cars approaching them in the Green Zone, the base of numerous foreign missions and the Iraqi government, said U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-us-canada,0,7949869.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

Oops.

[xchrom]

18. them commie canadians!

we don't know our ass from a hole in the ground over there.

[cornermouse]

19. Accidents happen.

You gotta break eggs to scramble 'em.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the north.
Kalamazoo and me too.

(Bush's talking points)

[greekspeak]

26. From my RW dad: Accidents don't happen; they are caused."

!

[malaise]

20. Here we go again

This is some special version of Iraqi sovereignty.

[Demeter]

21. So Much for A Coalition of the Willing

Not much willingness to be shot up in a diplomatic vehicle.

Canada, do the US, the world and yourself a favor--cut Bush off at the knees.

The irony of this happening a day after the Conservatives win is just poignant.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. So the 'Green Zone' is now just as much of a war zone

as the rest of Iraq - the US troops have to assume all traffic is hostile until proven otherwise. That Iraqi progress just keeps on coming, doesn't it?

[0007]

23. Could this have been an up-staged account to show Italy

these types of incidents are regular occurrences?

[izzie]

24. 'stuff happens'

:nopity:

[BikeWriter]

25. Democracy is on the move.

[tanyev]

27. Just a little practice for the future liberation of the Alberta oil sands.

[SidDithers]

28. More from CTV...

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060201/canada_iraq_060201/20060201?hub=TopStories

However, Canadian consular official Michelle Cameron, who was travelling in the vehicle at the time of the incident, told a different story.


Cameron told CTV News that no one in her vehicle saw any hand signals from the Americans.

She also said the three shots fired were not a warning. Cameron said one of the bullets went right through the windshield and narrowly missed a passenger. None of the four passengers or the driver were injured.



Sid

[Benhurst]

29. Let this be a lesson to Canada's new right-wing government.

When you lie down with dogs, you're likely to get fleas.

[UpInArms]

30. U.S. troops fire at Canadian envoy's car

http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.html?id=e7d860b0-c492-4bde-a593-4773ed37a288&k=73536

U.S. troops opened fire on a vehicle carrying four Canadians, including a diplomat, in Baghdad yesterday hitting the vehicle's engine block.

None of the passengers in the car or its driver were injured.

The diplomat in the vehicle was John Holmes, the Canadian charge d'affaires in Iraq.

Mr. Holmes is also Canada's ambassador to Jordan, where he is based. He assumed responsibility for Iraq last September.

Pamela Greenwell, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Canada, confirmed last night that the incident occurred and said it is being investigated by U.S. and Canadian authorities.

<snip>

Mr. Holmes has also been dealing with the hostage-taking of two Canadian aid workers. James Loney, 41, a mediation expert from Toronto, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a former Montreal man who is a student in New Zealand, were kidnapped Nov. 26 by a shadowy group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade.

...more...

U.S. State Dept says friendly fire incident in Baghdad is 'regrettable'

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/02/01/1420502-cp.html

WASHINGTON (CP) - The U.S. State Department is calling it regrettable that a vehicle carrying four Canadian diplomats in Baghdad came under friendly fire from U.S. soldiers.

The incident, which happened Tuesday in a heavily guarded area of the city known as the Green Zone, is under review by the U.S. military, a department spokesman says.

<snip>

The vehicle was carrying Canada's charge d'affaires to Iraq, Stewart Henderson, and three others.

...more..