It can only happen in the USA. Do you think Cat can ever be held liable for this? I think it is fine to have your concerns about Israeli policies, but to go and stand in front of a bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier is just plain stupid, as stupid as then sueing the manufacturer of said bulldozer. The story does say, though, that they are also sueing the Israeli defence force and the State of Israel separately:
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1677029,00.html
Family sues bulldozer company
16/03/2005 08:01 - (SA)
Seattle - The parents of a 23-year-old activist killed while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home is suing Caterpillar Inc, the company that made the bulldozer that ran over her.
The federal lawsuit, which lawyers said would be filed on Tuesday, alleges that Caterpillar violated international and state law by providing specially designed bulldozers to Israeli Defence Forces that it knew would be used to demolish homes and endanger people.
Rachel Corrie, a student at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, was standing in front of a home in a refugee camp in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, on March 16 2003, when a bulldozer plowed over her.
"The brutal death of my daughter should never have happened," Corrie's mother, Cindy Corrie, said in a statement released by the Centre for Constitutional Rights, a law firm handling the case. "We believe Caterpillar and the (Israeli Defence Forces) must be held accountable for their role in the attack."
Caterpillar spokesperson Linda Fairbanks said the company had no comment on the lawsuit.
However, the company released a general, written statement Tuesday that said: "Caterpillar shares the world's concern over unrest in the Middle East and we certainly have compassion for all those affected by political strife.
"However, more than two million Caterpillar machines and engines are at work in virtually every region of the world each day. We have neither the legal right nor the means to police individual use of that equipment."
The statement did not refer to the lawsuit.
The Corries have filed separate claims in Israel against the state of Israel, the Israeli Defence Ministry and the Israeli Defence Forces.
The Israeli military classified Corrie's death as an accident.