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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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 Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:05 am Italian PM: U.S. 'knew agent going to airport' |
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| Quote: | ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says the intelligence agent shot dead by the U.S. military told them he would be escorting a newly released hostage to the airport -- contrary to U.S. claims.
Another Italian attache, who was at the Baghdad airport, also told U.S. military personnel the car carrying agent Nicola Calipari and journalist Giuliana Sgrena was on its way to the airport March 4 before the shooting occurred, Berlusconi told the Italian senate on Wednesday.
Differing accounts have emerged about Friday's shooting at a checkpoint on the road to the Baghdad airport, in which Calipari was shot and killed and Sgrena was wounded in the shoulder.
The U.S. military has said the car the two were in rapidly approached a checkpoint and ignored repeated warnings to stop.
On Tuesday, the top U.S. general in Iraq, Army Gen. George Casey, said he had no indication that Italian officials gave advance notice of the route the car was traveling.
Troops used arm signals and flashing white lights, fired warning shots in front of the car, and shot into the engine block when the driver did not stop, a U.S. military news release said.
Berlusconi said that according to information from the person driving the car, the vehicle was traveling at a low speed and braked very swiftly when a light shone on it.
In an article published Sunday in her communist newspaper, Il Manifesto, Sgrena wrote, "Our car was driving slowly," and "the Americans fired without motive."
In a letter received by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Wednesday, U.S. President George Bush promised a "fast and exhaustive" investigation into the shooting.
Berlusconi, who has taken heat in his country for his staunch support of Bush and the war in Iraq, said Italian officials would take part in the probe.
"The death of Calipari is so difficult for us to accept because it comes from an ally," he told the senate.
But the investigation and the letter from Bush "demonstrates that our allies want to find out the truth," he added.
On Tuesday, U.S. forces in Iraq announced the establishment of a team to investigate the incident.
Brig. Gen. Peter Vangjel was named to head the follow-up probe, expected to take three to four weeks. The investigators plan to "work closely with the U.S. Embassy and Italian officials have been invited to participate."
'Rain of fire'
Sgrena, an anti-war journalist, had just been freed by kidnappers after a month in captivity and was being escorted by Italian security agents to safety.
Calipari threw his body across Sgrena when U.S. troops opened fire, she said.
In her article published Sunday Sgrena described a "rain of fire and bullets" in the incident. (Ex-hostage disputes U.S. account)
CNN's Rome Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci said Sgrena was not ruling out the possibility that the Americans may have targeted her on purpose because the U.S. opposed negotiating with kidnappers.
The White House on Monday rejected the suggestion, as did Italy's foreign minister.
"I think it's absurd to make any such suggestion that our men and women in uniform deliberately targeted innocent civilians. That's just absurd," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday. (Full story)
Italian media suggest a ransom was paid for her release, but government officials are not commenting on the reports. The Italian government has paid ransoms to free other hostages in the past.
An autopsy found Calipari was killed by a single shot to the head and died instantly. A state funeral was held for him on Monday. (Profile)
Berlusconi reminded members of the senate the shooting never would have happened if there had been no kidnapping, and said there had been more than 195 kidnappings in Iraq of people from several countries.
"The logic of the kidnappers is to sow fear amongst the people with the illusion that these feelings will ensure that the international community will abandon Iraq to the hands of the kidnappers," the prime minister said.
Berlusconi said Italy has rejected the political blackmail of the kidnappers, who have demanded that all Italian troops leave the country, and warned Italians not with the military to leave Iraq because of the dangers.
There are close to 3,000 Italian troops in Iraq.
Several other Italians have been abducted in Iraq, including two women who worked for a humanitarian organization in Baghdad -- an abduction that gripped the nation until their safe release in late September.
In addition, an Iraqi man who had lived in Italy since 1980, but had returned to Iraq to work, was killed in early October by his captives.
CNN's Alessio Vinci and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/03/09/italy.sgrena/index.html
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:55 am |
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Please continue this subject here.
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Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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