[R Mark Davies]

Hi David,

Good point, mate.

Unfortunately, 'Friendly Fire' is a sad fact of war from time immemorial. It only makes the news these days, because casualties caused by enemy action are generally relatively light (there had not been any prior to this incident, so it was BIG news) and in wars such as this (and the last Gulf War), it is generally only our own weapons systems that are capable of doing this kind of damage.

However, the subject of 'Friendly Fire' is perpetually brought up by the anti-US brigade as an example of our ally's disregard for human life and rules of engagement (the case of the two Warriors hit by the A-10 in the last war and the Black Hawk brought down by the F15 in Kurdistan being the best known, as well as the Canadian troops in Afghanistan).

Whereas, if the truth were realised; if we in the UK (and Canada) actually had Close Air Support aircraft and air defence systems worth a damn, then we wouldn't be relying on the US to do our Friendly Fire for us - we would most definitely be doing it ourselves!

Cheers,

Mark