U.S. air force dismisses charges against pilot accused in bombing of Canadians

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U.S. air force dismisses charges against pilot accused in bombing of Canadians

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NEW ORLEANS (CP) - The U.S. air force announced Thursday that it will dismiss all criminal charges against an American fighter pilot who dropped a bomb that killed four Canadians in Afghanistan (news - web sites) in 2002.

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Maj. Harry Schmidt has accepted an offer to face administrative punishment in exchange for dismissal of four counts of dereliction of duty, the air force said.

Schmidt originally was charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault. Military officials recommended the charges be dismissed and that Schmidt face possible administrative punishment instead.

Schmidt turned down the offer, saying he wanted to clear his name in a court martial. He was ordered to be tried on the lesser charge of dereliction of duty.

The air force said the criminal charges would be dismissed after the conclusion of administrative punishment proceedings, which will begin immediately.

Schmidt's lawyer, Charles Gittins, said his client chose the non-judicial forum to speed up the process.

"It's an opportunity to get the case resolved sooner rather than later," Gittins told The Canadian Press in an interview from Middletown, Va.

"The earliest the (court martial) would start was October. It probably would have been delayed again . . . It would probably be another year before the case was resolved."

Gittins stressed that Schmidt's choice does not represent a guilty plea.

"He's always accepted the fact that he caused deaths and injuries . . . The question was simply, 'Was it wrongful, given the circumstances?' He does not accept that it was wrongful. It was clearly an accident."

Agatha Dyer, mother of Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, 25, who was killed in the bombing, said news of the development made her "very sad."

"He should get some penalty because he was at fault. He didn't obey orders. My heart is broken," Dyer said from her home in Montreal.

"I believe so much in the Lord. I know one day he (Schmidt) is going to pay. I know this man cannot sleep at night. He knows what he did was wrong. I am praying for God to give me strength."

Also killed in the bombing near Kandahar were Sgt. Marc Leger, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith. They were the first Canadians to die in combat since the Korean War. Eight other Canadians were wounded.

Gittins confirmed the administrative hearing will be conducted by a general at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., starting July 1. It's expected to last about a day.

"This is just a change in forum, not a change in strategy," Gittins said. "We're going to still present essentially the same evidence we would have presented at trial."

He said it was unclear whether Schmidt would testify. His client is not required to enter a plea.

Schmidt, 37, could receive a letter of reprimand, loss of one month's pay and house arrest.

Schmidt was charged for dropping a laser-guided, 225-kilogram bomb from his fighter jet on April 18, 2002, near Kandahar, killing four and wounding eight Canadian soldiers who were conducting live-fire exercises. Schmidt later said he released the bomb because he mistook the Canadians' gunfire for an attack from Taliban soldiers.

A military investigation found that Schmidt should have flown out of the area.

Schmidt has maintained he did nothing wrong, saying the air force gave him no warning that allies would be performing exercises that night.

The case against the two U.S. pilots has been closely watched in Canada, where many were outraged by the bombing and the two days it took President George W. Bush (news - web sites) to publicly apologize.

Relatives of the dead Canadian soldiers were disappointed last June when Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of the 8th Air Force, first offered to dismiss the manslaughter charges and impose administrative punishment.

In an administrative hearing, Carlson would have considered allegations that Schmidt failed to ensure that the troops he attacked were not allies and did not obey when air controllers told him to "stand by" before he dropped the bomb.

Carlson also recommended that a flying evaluation board determine whether Schmidt should be allowed to fly for the air force again.

Schmidt had transferred to the National Guard in 2000 after a decorated career as a navy pilot and an instructor at the Navy's "Top Gun" fighter pilot school.

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