Army probe of Reuters death flawed: U.S. inspector

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers who shot dead a Reuters journalist in Iraq three years ago acted appropriately, but the Army's probe of the incident was flawed because evidence went missing, a Pentagon investigation said.

Reuters said it was disappointed the Defense Department's inspector general, the Pentagon's watchdog agency, concluded the killing of soundman Waleed Khaled was justified. But it welcomed the inspector general's recommendation the U.S. military work with the media in Iraq to improve safety for journalists.

Khaled was killed and Reuters cameraman Haider Kadhem was wounded on August 28, 2005 when U.S. troops opened fire on their car in western Baghdad as they covered the aftermath of an insurgent attack on Iraqi police.

In a report released on Monday, the inspector general found that U.S. soldiers who fired on the car, which was driven by Khaled, reasonably responded to what they thought was a threat.

The inspector general criticized the Army investigator for losing a critical piece of evidence -- video Kadhem shot from inside the car that captured events leading up to and including the shooting.

That Army investigator's actions rightfully led Reuters to believe the investigation was not thorough or independent, the inspector general's report said.

"We found that although the (investigating officer) who conducted the Army investigation did not pursue some logical investigative actions, he properly concluded that during an ongoing enemy attack the soldiers thought a video camera and external microphone held out of an indigenous, unmarked vehicle was a rocket propelled grenade," the inspector general said.

SAFETY MEASURES

The inspector general faulted Reuters and its safety practices. The car carrying Khaled and Kadhem was not marked "press", for example, and Kadhem wrongly stuck his camera out of the car window, according to the military.

Kadhem insists he never put the camera out of the window but filmed through the car's windscreen.

The military confiscated his camera after the shooting. Footage shown to Reuters staff before the tape disappeared showed no frames shot from outside the car.

Reuters said it disagreed with the Pentagon agency's findings but welcomed its recommendation that the U.S. military work with news organizations on safety procedures to avoid similar incidents.

"I am never satisfied when a journalist is killed in the course of covering a story," said Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger. "I am satisfied that the inspector general took this case seriously and came up with useful and positive recommendations."

Kadhem was in the front passenger seat when he filmed the aftermath of the ambush on Iraqi police. The car was not marked "press" due to worries that Iraqi insurgents were targeting reporters, Schlesinger said.

Soldiers positioned more than 200 yards (meters) away -- the length of two American football fields -- thought they saw someone leaning out of the car with a rocket propelled grenade, according to the U.S. military.