OVERLY BIG-HEARTED UP NORTH :

Families don't want pilot punished (ALISON AULD, 6/19/02, The Canadian Press)

"He didn't do this on purpose," Maureen Decaire, whose son Cpl. Brian Decaire was injured in the attack, said from Winnipeg.

"He may have not followed procedure and quite possibility deserves to be punished for that. But do I want to see him

There are noble sentiments expressed here by genuine friends of the United States, but their compassion and understanding for the pilot don't absolve him of guilt for what looks to have been willful error. Collateral damage is a fact of war, but failure to follow the prodeures that seek to minimize that damage has to be punished. War's a serious business and there's fairly little room for sentiment.

UPDATE :
US pilots will face friendly fire tribunal (Nicholas M. Horrock, 6/19/2002, UPI)

A joint military investigation has recommended that two members of the Illinois Air National Guard face a formal military hearing in connection with the deaths of four Canadian soldiers killed by a U.S. bomb while training in Afghanistan, government officials said Wednesday.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 19, 2002 5:28 PM