If Richard Ashby isn’t responsible for killing 20 Europeans on an Italian ski lift, who is? For the sake of its honor and its global reputation, the United States needs to answer that question or find an appropriate way to make reparations.

The acquittal of the pilot whose jet hit the ski-lift cable and gondola Feb. 3, 1998, in the Italian Alps during a training flight now results in the unanimous anti-American reaction in Italy and throughout Europe.

In a country where over 15 major parties are represented in parliament, dissenting opinions and quarreling are a staple of daily life. Yet when reports of Ashby’s acquittal on all charges of involuntary homicide and manslaughter cannonballed the media, the Italian chants filtered into one: “Go home!”

The New York Times quoted Italian politicians who felt the Americans had “insulted,” “slapped,” “baffled,” “stepped on” and “mistreated” the victims, the people of Italy, and our legal and political systems just to save the Marine Corps’ honor.

Reviewing the presented case, it is easy to understand how many observers found it difficult that the pilot was found innocent on all charges.

All manner of extenuating circumstances were offered at the court-martial. For example, the gondola rig did not appear on the flight maps that Ashby and his three-man crew were using.

But the plane would not have hit the cable if it had not been flying at about 360 feet, well below the minimum 1,000-foot floor set by operational regulations. There was testimony that an optical illusion induced by the valley topography misled Ashby into thinking he was climbing. This is not the point: he was climbing from an altitude where, altimeter or not, his own eyes should have told him he was far too low.

Another obvious sign of reckless behavior was the reported jet speed at the time of the tragedy. The aircraft was not supposed to be flying faster than 518 m.p.h., but crewmembers said they were unaware of that order. They said they never heard of the speed limit they were exceeding by 25 percent.

And, upon landing, Ashby and his navigator, Capt. Joseph Schweitzer of Westbury, Long Island, hastily got rid of a videotape of the flight. Presumably, this tape was bragging evidence of Ashby’s hot-dogging technique. After all, who gets rid of exculpatory evidence?

If he believed he had nothing to answer for, Captain Ashby would have guarded that tape with his life. Instead, he is accused of aiding in that tape’s destruction.

He could go to jail for a year if he’s found guilty. But following the verdict of his fellow Marines on the first jury, can we again assume his fellow Marines will be equally understanding?

While I feel the verdict was obviously unjust, all emotion aside, the problem in this case is simple: Instead of being judged by impartial citizens chosen at random, Capt. Ashby was judged by other people within his organization.

True, these jurors had the advantage of understanding an issue that common citizens may not be able to comprehend. But they also were jurors who might be inclined to cut a colleague a little slack, particularly knowing rumors that some others within their band of brothers would not look favorably on punishing one of their own.

It is one thing for the military to judge its own when the offense is committed within the military. It is quite another when the alleged offense affects civilian society and the good name and worldwide reputation of the United States.

Tourists from Italy, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Austria and The Netherlands were killed by Captain Ashby’s plane. Right or wrong, many see his acquittal as yet another sign of the arrogance of the United States.

We are only making the perception worse by dragging our feet on the adequate compensation that should be made to the survivors. I hope that Clinton will decide not to wait for a decade’s worth of paperwork to be issued by the Italian court system.

In times of crisis we come up with larger sums to aid even our enemies on humanitarian grounds. Some more fair and forthcoming compensation to our friends seems well in order now.

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Ellyn Peterson is a senior in journalism and international studies from Algona.