Mission Accomplished
Remember this little speech?
And the photos? And the video that the Bush administration got caught doctoring?
From the Financial Times:
Military police win accident case
By Michael Peel, Legal Correspondent
Published: October 26 2007 02:00 | Last updated: October 26 2007 02:00
Three British military police have won compensation from the US army in the first legal claim made by allied troops injured in a non-combat situation, the soldiers’ American lawyer said on Thursday.
Mike Doyle, who is acting for the three and their Kuwaiti-born interpreter, said the US military had agreed to pay the four a total of $650,000 (£318,000) over severe injuries they suffered when their Land Rover was struck by a US lorry.
The settlement potentially opens the way to other similar claims, although it will not help allied soldiers accidentally killed by US forces during combat.
Mr Doyle said that although the payout was less than a third of the £1.25m the four had claimed, they were glad the US army had finally recognised the fact of the accident and its impact.
“They are happy to try to get on as best they can with the rest of their lives, having had what happened to them acknowledged by the US army,” he said.
Mr Doyle said he expected the settlement – which covers pain and suffering caused, but not medical bills or loss of earnings – to be formally approved within weeks.
The four claimants – Jane McLauchlan, James Rogerson, Stephen Smith and Khalid Allahou, the interpreter – suffered the accident less than a week after President George W. Bush’s May 2003 announcement of the end of the main combat operations in Iraq.
The president’s statement – made from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, next to a banner reading “Mission accomplished” – had proved very helpful in supporting the claimants’ contention that they were injured in a non-combat situation, Mr Doyle said.
He added that, despite his clients’ success, there was still no legal basis for claims over injuries and deaths suffered during combat.
Both the US army and the Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
FT.com / World - Military police win accident case
Indexed under: Follow Up
Greetings;
Just came across your article and thought to let you know that to date nothing has been received from the US army. Almost five years on and we are no further forward.
I would like to thank Mr. Doyle of Doyle Raizner and ms M. Nicolaou for the support and professionalism in dealing with this (long winded) case.
Sincerely yours;
Khalid Allahou
01 Feb., 2008