First test of Iraqi sovereignty – what happens to American soldiers who allegedly shot and critically wounded an Iraqi woman editor with Beladi Satellite TV?
Bharat Subramanium
Jan. 3, 2009

The U.S. military said it is investigating the incident, which happened just outside the Green Zone, two hours after the United States handed authority of the zone to Iraq.

According to media reports, the Iraqi TV employee who was shot and critically wounded on New Year's Day said the U.S. soldiers who fired at her gave no warning, her supervisor said Saturday.

Hadil Emad, a videotape editor with Beladi Satellite TV, was crossing a bridge over the Tigris River on her way to work when she was shot, the channel's editor-in-chief, Assam Sada, told CNN. He said Emad told him she heard no warning from the soldiers.

According to the new treaty that was signed at the end of 2008, Iraqi court can prosecute American Military personnel. Although that may be the case, America seldom allows foreign courts to even get involved in the prosecution of its militray personnel. It will be interesting to watch and see what the current Iraqi regime will do in this case. What is moe conspicuous is the report from American main stream media that U.S. soldiers left Emad on the ground after they shot her, according to Hadil Emad, but minutes later Iraqi security forces picked her up and took her to a hospital.

According to media reports, Emad was shot on the al-Jadriya Bridge that connects Baghdad's Karrada district, on a peninsula that juts out into the Tigris, within the western part of the city, Beladi TV and the U.S. military said.

The soldiers "followed approved defensive measures after the woman failed to heed repeated warnings by both Iraqi police and [U.S.] soldiers," the U.S. military said.

"The Iraqi police and soldiers observed the woman acting erratically. Concerned by the danger she might present to the security forces and civilians, given her repeated failure to respond to warnings, [U.S.] soldiers fired two rounds, wounding the woman."

The military said the area had been the target of car bombs and suicide bombings. The shooting happened while the U.S. and Iraqi forces were on a joint patrol, Beladi and the military said.

"Hadil Emad walks every day to work using the same road, but all of a sudden there was a U.S. patrol," Hadi said.

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