[Drew]

Never in the history of the United States of America has any soldier in any armed force been court marshalled for friendly fire in a combat situation.

Remember the facts, which seem to be conveniently ushered to the side and forgotten at this point:

- The Canadians did not identify themselves.
- The Canadians were somewhere they weren't supposed to be.
- The pilots were ordered to engage ground troops if plausible (Check the articles from when this first happened, should be in CNN archives)
- They thought they were being attacked

So, let's review what you'd do in the situation. You're flying around in a loud-as-hell, hear-me-coming-8-miles-away fighter jet. You make a couple passes over an old training camp for recon, to make sure no one is still hiding there. You happen to spot a small group of people in camo and carrying weapons, possibly Stingers left from the CIA's stay in Afghanistan. You know no one is supposed to be there. These people neglect to signal they're friendly.

I don't care what any of you say, I would drop bombs. And anyone who persecutes those two men for doing as they're trained to do is simply wrong. The fault lies in faulty communications, faulty planning, and neglect on the part of the ground troops. Not in the man who pulled the trigger.

The casualties incurred from the incident were a great tragedy, and I would wish no father to have to bury his son. However, this was a war. These things happen in war, and no one has a right to persecute these two men. Period.