Bush Offers Condolences to Kin of Britons Killed in Gulf

President Bush expressed condolences Tuesday to the families of British soldiers killed in the Persian Gulf War, including nine felled by “friendly fire” from U.S. helicopters that mistakenly attacked two British armored personnel carriers.

A British inquiry found no one to blame in the incident. But some family members had protested that the United States ought to accept responsibility for the deaths and pay compensation.

Although Bush did not pledge any compensation Tuesday, the families expressed gratitude after meeting with the President, First Lady Barbara Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle in the White House East Room.

Asked if Bush’s expression of regret was adequate, Vivian Kingman, one of the Britons, replied: “More than adequate.”

“It was an honor,” John Fogerty of Stockport, England, said of the session. “I thanked him for the way he minimized the loss of life. The American government spent a lot of money to do that.”

In addition to the nine Britons killed, Army records released this week revealed that six U.S. soldiers were killed and 25 injured when U.S. tank crews fired on their own forces after mistaking the flash of enemy grenades for fire from Iraqi tanks.

The incident, before dawn Feb. 27 in a battle against Iraq’s Republican Guard units, was the costliest case of U.S. friendly fire during the four-day ground campaign that routed the Iraqi army. The error also resulted in the destruction of five M1-A1 tanks and five Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

Army documents said U.S. tank gunners using thermal sights in the dark saw images caused by flashes of Iraqi rocket-propelled grenades exploding harmlessly against the armored shells of U.S. tanks 2 or 3 miles away. Mistaking the explosions for cannon bursts from enemy tanks, U.S. crews opened fire.

The incident illustrates the most serious problem encountered during the war: the difficulty in distinguishing friend from foe on a highly fluid battlefield.

The Pentagon has acknowledged 28 incidents of friendly fire during the Persian Gulf War. Those incidents left 35 U.S. servicemen dead, out of a total of 148 combat deaths.

The account of the Feb. 27 incident was contained in records released to the Associated Press in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.