WikiLeaks: US-Romania Relations Threatened By Musician's Death

Peter, bass player for Romanian rock band Compact, was killed in a 2004 car accident involving a former Marine detcommander with the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest.

The cable, made public by WikiLeaks, was sent on November 16, 2007 by the Bucharest Embassy to the U.S. State Department.

"In the likely event that the family of Peter will go public with the news that the U.S. government has met their multi-million dollar settlement claim with an offer of only $80,000, Romanian leaders and opinion makers will react loudly and emotionally, calling into question some of the most important features of our bilateral partnership," says the embassy note.

President Basescu, PM Tariceanu and other prominent politicians will almost certainly rally to the family's side, even if some normally pro-American officials will still try behind the scenes to calm the anticipated public outrage. In particular, the popular outcry over what will be seen by most Romanians as an insultingly small offer to Peter's survivors will prompt renewed calls, with much more potential popular support, for the rapid withdrawal of Romanian troops from Iraq. Likewise, backing in the Romanian parliament and among members of the public for the new U.S. troop presence at joint U.S.-Romanian military facilities on the Black Sea will plummet, at least temporarily," reads the cable, signed by then U.S. Ambassador Nicholas F. Taubman.

Teo Peter, one of Romania's best known and most beloved rock musicians, was killed on December 4, 2004, in a Bucharest car accident involving the taxi he was riding in and the official Embassy vehicle being driven in the early morning hours by former Bucharest Marine detachment commander Staff Sgt. Christopher Van Goethem.

Van Goethem departed Romania within a few hours after the accident, under the terms of his diplomatic immunity, but many Romanians viewed his abrupt departure before local investigators had the opportunity to question him and conduct tests on his blood alcohol level as a slap in the face and an effort to shield the Marine from justice, the cable reads.

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