Executive

…30

Stephanie Wainwright's perfectly arranged hair filled the TV screen.

"April 20th marked a day of tragedy for our allied forces, as friendly fire from a drone took the lives of four Canadian Combat Logistics Patrol servicemen and wounded two more. Official findings are yet to be released on this case, but, despite the dust of time settling, there are many Canadian and American families who are still waiting for answers to their questions."

The image zoomed out, making room for a view that showed an elderly man, seated on an armchair in his living room.

"With us today, we have Salvatore Romero, the father of Leonard Romero, who was killed on April 20 in Kandahar. Good morning, Mr. Romero, and thank you for speaking with us today."

"Good morning." The man's voice was frail and faint.

"We are sorry for your loss; please accept our heartfelt sympathies," Stephanie said warmly.

"Thank you," the man answered.

"Could you please tell us how you feel about this tragedy?"

"Umm… how can I feel? I feel dead inside… I'm finished. A man should never live to bury his child. That should never happen. And why? Because of some… some flying machine!" His eyes were filling with tears of anger and pain. "A machine! We don't even have people to fly the damn things anymore! A pilot might have seen the Canadian flag on their transport, might have thought about it… before firing, before firing…"

"Have you been told what happened? Has anyone brought forth an explanation for this tragedy to you?"

"No, nobody spoke to us. Not to me, not to any of the other…" His voice was drowned in tears. He made an effort to continue, "the other parents, and wives, and children. Maybe they'll never tell us anything. Maybe there's nothing to tell, just a machine, a damn robot, a flying piece of junk that made a mistake. Is that what took my Lennie away? How am I supposed to go on living with that? Who knows if they're ever gonna tell us anything?"

"We will press for answers, that I personally promise you," Stephanie said dramatically. "We will relentlessly pursue the answers to this tragedy, so that we can foster the hope that such senseless loss never happens again."

She turned to face the camera. "This is Stephanie Wainwright, with News of the Hour."