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Four Canadian soldiers died because U.S. pilot Harry Schmidt was desperate to "score a win" for his unit after another pilot failed to destroy his target, according to documents obtained by the National Post.
The newspaper reported that U.S. government documents say Schmidt invoked his right of self-defence and dropped a bomb on members of the Princess Patricia‘s Canadian Light Infantry without ever actually feeling threatened.
"The self-defence call was pretextual," the lawyers allege. "He simply saw a target of opportunity and was not going to be denied."
The Canadian soldiers were conducted a live-fire nighttime training exercise near Kandahar last April when Schmidt invoked his right to self defence and dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on the group.
Killed were Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Nathan Smith and Pte. Richard Green. Eight others were wounded.
Two days before the incident, Major John Milton failed to hit a target during a fly-over mission in Iraq.
The U.S. government now says Schmidt launched an "ill-conceived, unauthorized and unnecessary attack" and that he never stopped to consider what might be happening on the ground.
Schmidt and his flight lead, Major Bill Umbach, have both been charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter, eight counts of aggravated assault and one court of dereliction of duty. The charges come with a maximum of 64 years in jail.
The two faced an Article 32 hearing in January to determine if there is enough evidence to go forward with a trial, which will ultimately be determined by military judge Colonel Patrick Rosenow. Lawyers for both sides had until Friday to submit their final arguments Rosenow.
The U.S. government has not released its two submissions, but the National Post obtained segments of its first one in rebuttals filed by Schmidt‘s defence team.
In it, Schmidt‘s lawyer, Charles Gittens, argues that Milton‘s error did nothing to tarnish the morale of the 170th Fighter Squadron.
The government‘s submissions says Schmidt "reacted aggressively to a perceived target of opportunity" and criticizes him for invoking self-defence. "The self-defence ‘trump‘ card in the (rules of engagement) is there as a last resort."
Both Canadian and American inquires into the incident found that the pilots acted too quickly and did not wait to properly assess the situation.
Previous reports have suggested that Schmidt and Umbach were on speed at the time of the bombing as part of procedure for all U.S. Air Force pilots, to combat fatigue on long missions.
Lawyers for the two say the pills might have had some influence in the outcome of the event, but the U.S. Air Force dismissed such suggestions.
Four Canadian soldiers died because U.S. pilot Harry Schmidt was desperate to "score a win" for his unit after another pilot failed to destroy his target, according to documents obtained by the National Post.
The newspaper reported that U.S. government documents say Schmidt invoked his right of self-defence and dropped a bomb on members of the Princess Patricia‘s Canadian Light Infantry without ever actually feeling threatened.
"The self-defence call was pretextual," the lawyers allege. "He simply saw a target of opportunity and was not going to be denied."
The Canadian soldiers were conducted a live-fire nighttime training exercise near Kandahar last April when Schmidt invoked his right to self defence and dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on the group.
Killed were Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pte. Nathan Smith and Pte. Richard Green. Eight others were wounded.
Two days before the incident, Major John Milton failed to hit a target during a fly-over mission in Iraq.
The U.S. government now says Schmidt launched an "ill-conceived, unauthorized and unnecessary attack" and that he never stopped to consider what might be happening on the ground.
Schmidt and his flight lead, Major Bill Umbach, have both been charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter, eight counts of aggravated assault and one court of dereliction of duty. The charges come with a maximum of 64 years in jail.
The two faced an Article 32 hearing in January to determine if there is enough evidence to go forward with a trial, which will ultimately be determined by military judge Colonel Patrick Rosenow. Lawyers for both sides had until Friday to submit their final arguments Rosenow.
The U.S. government has not released its two submissions, but the National Post obtained segments of its first one in rebuttals filed by Schmidt‘s defence team.
In it, Schmidt‘s lawyer, Charles Gittens, argues that Milton‘s error did nothing to tarnish the morale of the 170th Fighter Squadron.
The government‘s submissions says Schmidt "reacted aggressively to a perceived target of opportunity" and criticizes him for invoking self-defence. "The self-defence ‘trump‘ card in the (rules of engagement) is there as a last resort."
Both Canadian and American inquires into the incident found that the pilots acted too quickly and did not wait to properly assess the situation.
Previous reports have suggested that Schmidt and Umbach were on speed at the time of the bombing as part of procedure for all U.S. Air Force pilots, to combat fatigue on long missions.
Lawyers for the two say the pills might have had some influence in the outcome of the event, but the U.S. Air Force dismissed such suggestions.
