Motto: "Before becoming history and even before taking place, a lot of major events are prepared in laboratories" A tragic car crash caused by a drunk driver has led to real scandal. There are two reasons for it. Teo Peter, a much beloved artist fell victim and is not mourned by everybody. The guilty driver is an American soldier who left Romania with the consent of the authorities from both states. In just a few days tension has grown and caused real scandal. On behalf of readers and TV watchers, newspapers and TV channels are asking that the guilty should be brought back to Romania, investigated and judged. Romanian officials are asking for the same things. People have protested in front of the US Embassy to Bucharest. At the end of election campaign, prime - Minister Adrian Nastase himself wrote solicitation to President George W. Bush. Jack Dyer Crouch II, US Ambassador to Romania, stated in the open deep regret for what happened. He honestly and usefully specified that, as far as US soldier Christopher Robert Van Goether was concerned, "his status as Commander of the US Marine Shooter Detachment and member in the US Embassy technical and administrative stuff was no permit for committing crimes". A team of US prosecutors arrived to Bucharest and is investigating the accident. In the same time inquiry is also taking place in the United States and they are to reach decision that would react to the Romanian Justice solicitation. At present it seems to me very interesting and useful to try and analyse such reaction. Depending on the kind of readers they have, various newspapers have been publishing a wide range of opinions, dignified and balanced as well as hysterical. I am going to give one single example, which has made me decide the title above and take up such dramatic issue. "Romania Mare" ("Great Romania"), weekly newspaper belonging to the party of Corneliu Vadim Tudor, published an anonymous article - just like usually under such circumstances - that nailed USA and US officials to the wall, in general and principle terms. It also dared press charges of ill intentions. It came up with the idea that they intended to send another US soldier or common criminal instead of the guilty, so that the former would have to put up with a long time detention over the Ocean. The article claimed he would undergo trial in Romania and get a sentence much milder than he would get in America, in exchange to his taking responsibility for the crime committed by the marine shooter. But unfortunately other newspapers as well have provided us with hysterical accusations against the Americans. What is actually going on? What would some like to see? All those who exaggerate under such circumstances are implicit or explicit adepts of the "law of the Thalion", meaning an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In the past this used to make the rule of primitive societies, before the latter were able to improve law norms to the smallest extent possible. Of course I do not dare accuse the authors of such an exaggerate claims, asking that the US marine shooter give his life for the life he ended. It is just that most of those involved in the case are asking that the guilty should be investigated, judged and sentenced in Romania, since the accident occurred in our country. This looks like common sense. But it is not juridical common sense and law norms that lead to such insistence. Prejudice is the cause of the latter. Such prejudice originates in the fear that US authorities should intend to muffle the case and make the guilty get away with it. I do not know how this scandal will end. But I want to highlight that the US guilty shooter is first of all subject to the US Military Justice Code, according to the US law. This is logical. Washington authorities want to see if the US shooter had broken US military criminal legislation before he caused the car crash. If he did, he might get one more sentence in USA or in Romania. As for me, I dare think America will not miss the opportunity to prove that it is a real right state and also the world's best-consolidated democracy. Sooner or later justice will be done. If not, I shall be back on it and take up a different view.

Sorin ROSCA STANESCU