Mike
February 13th 04, 04:00 PM
from http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/inring.htm
Air National Guard Maj. Harry Schmidt steadfastly has remained silent
ever since the Air Force began investigating him in the "friendly
fire" deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Now, Maj. Schmidt is
speaking for the first time via a declaration to a military appeals
court. Maj. Schmidt was flying his F-16 over Afghanistan when he
mistook flashes of Canadian gunfire for enemy antiaircraft rounds. He
dropped a bomb on what he later learned was a training range. As the
Air Force's prosecution slowly moves toward a court-martial, the
military judge so far has refused to give Maj. Schmidt's attorney,
Charles Gittins, the security clearance he needs to review all the
evidence. This means the prosecution team has tremendous control over
what Mr. Gittins can and cannot learn. And, if the pilot wishes to
discuss something of a classified nature with his attorney, the
prosecutors get to monitor the information. "In fact, lack of security
clearance has rendered my civilian defense counsel, obtained at my own
expense, ineffective by allowing the government to limit and control
his access to pertinent classified information," Maj. Schmidt wrote in
a statement to the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.
"Importantly, much of what I need to discuss with my civilian counsel
in order to prepare him to represent me on the issues relevant to my
trial are classified." Maj. Schmidt wants the court to delay the trial
start in April so it can rule on Mr. Gittins' petition to win a
security clearance. "The Air Force," the pilot states, "has ignored
both the request and the regulations on the issue in order to create
an atmosphere of control with regards to trial preparation, strategy
and discovery of classified materials utilized by the defense and
thereby violating the established attorney-client privilege of
confidential communications." The Air Force is making the major's life
difficult on still another front. His military counsel, Maj. James
Key, is committed in March with a Guantanamo spy case hearing and
cannot participate in preparing for Maj. Schmidt's April trial. And
then, there's this: Maj. Schmidt was playing night soccer in January
when he suffered painful injuries: He broke his leg, and ruptured his
Achilles and plantaris tendons. "The soccer was meant as a stress
reliever," Mr. Gittins told us. Maj. Schmidt played varsity soccer at
the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the only person the military has moved
to court-martial in any of the war on terror's "friendly fire" deaths.
Air National Guard Maj. Harry Schmidt steadfastly has remained silent
ever since the Air Force began investigating him in the "friendly
fire" deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Now, Maj. Schmidt is
speaking for the first time via a declaration to a military appeals
court. Maj. Schmidt was flying his F-16 over Afghanistan when he
mistook flashes of Canadian gunfire for enemy antiaircraft rounds. He
dropped a bomb on what he later learned was a training range. As the
Air Force's prosecution slowly moves toward a court-martial, the
military judge so far has refused to give Maj. Schmidt's attorney,
Charles Gittins, the security clearance he needs to review all the
evidence. This means the prosecution team has tremendous control over
what Mr. Gittins can and cannot learn. And, if the pilot wishes to
discuss something of a classified nature with his attorney, the
prosecutors get to monitor the information. "In fact, lack of security
clearance has rendered my civilian defense counsel, obtained at my own
expense, ineffective by allowing the government to limit and control
his access to pertinent classified information," Maj. Schmidt wrote in
a statement to the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.
"Importantly, much of what I need to discuss with my civilian counsel
in order to prepare him to represent me on the issues relevant to my
trial are classified." Maj. Schmidt wants the court to delay the trial
start in April so it can rule on Mr. Gittins' petition to win a
security clearance. "The Air Force," the pilot states, "has ignored
both the request and the regulations on the issue in order to create
an atmosphere of control with regards to trial preparation, strategy
and discovery of classified materials utilized by the defense and
thereby violating the established attorney-client privilege of
confidential communications." The Air Force is making the major's life
difficult on still another front. His military counsel, Maj. James
Key, is committed in March with a Guantanamo spy case hearing and
cannot participate in preparing for Maj. Schmidt's April trial. And
then, there's this: Maj. Schmidt was playing night soccer in January
when he suffered painful injuries: He broke his leg, and ruptured his
Achilles and plantaris tendons. "The soccer was meant as a stress
reliever," Mr. Gittins told us. Maj. Schmidt played varsity soccer at
the U.S. Naval Academy. He is the only person the military has moved
to court-martial in any of the war on terror's "friendly fire" deaths.