Posted on 03/08/2005 6:41:18 AM PST by finnman69
Italian security forces failed to make arrangements for safe passage out of Iraq for a freed Italian reporter, whose car was fired on by U.S. troops, killing intelligence agent Nicola Calipari who brokered the reporter's release, according to an internal Pentagon memo.
The memo says checkpoint soldiers are trained to deal with erratic speeding vehicles whose drivers ignored warnings -- a profile that matches the Army's version of events in Friday night's shooting.
The memo says more than 500 American troops have been killed on the streets and at checkpoints in Iraq. Mistaken shootings of civilians resulted in "few deadly incidents" since the U.S. started checkpoints in March 2003, according to the memo.
Meanwhile, the White House dismissed as "absurd" the stated suspicion of the reporter, Giuliana Sgrena, who said the United States tried to kill her because it opposes negotiations with terrorists to free hostages. Miss Sgrena, a reporter for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto, provided no evidence.
"It's absurd to make any such suggestion that our men and women in uniform would deliberately target innocent civilians," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan adding: "We regret this incident. We are going to fully investigate what exactly occurred."
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
You just cannot trust a car these days. According to the MSM it was all the soldiers fault for what happened.
The Italians blew it by not coordinating with the US forces in Baghdad.
An internal Pentagon information memo states, "This is war. About 500 American service members have been killed by hostile fire while operating on Iraqi streets and highways. The journalist was driving in pitch-dark and at a high speed and failed, according to the first reports, to respond to numerous warnings. Besides, there is no indication that the Italian security forces made prior arrangements to facilitate the transition to the airport."
The left-leaning Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported yesterday that Mr. Calipari decided not to use available escort protection from the elite commandos who protect Italy's Baghdad embassy.
Instead, he rented an inconspicuous pickup trick to recover Miss Sgrena, wrote La Repubblica's top investigative reporter, Giuseppe D'Avanzo.
MSM does not trust anything that the Pentagon say's.
sounds like the idiot was not and italian hero
why go through all that secrecy to pick up a girl they were GIVING YOU (after paying the ransom, so they have more moeny to build bombs to kill innocent Iraqi's and Americans)
Italy planned this operation with the thoroughness typical of all Italian military operations of the past century or so.
That is to say - none.
OK, here's my theory:
Giuliana Sgrena of "Il Manifesto" gets herself captured by terrorists, with whose struggle against the capitalist oppressor she obviously sympathizes.
As a result of her capture, the Italian government finances these terrorists to the tune of $7.5 million.
Then she takes one last opportunity to maximize her plight, by using her escape to turn the sympathies of all Italians against the U.S.
Was this accidental, or was everything pre-planned, beginning with her capture?
Check the bullet that killed him, powder burns on his temple area, gunshot residue on her hands and you see that it wasn't a US round that killed him.
Her whole life has been dedicated to attacking the US. An Italian security agent is a small price to pay for this story. He paid the ransom to guys who were really not her kidnappers, but co-workers against America.
The really lucky part is that the Muslim terrorists never learned from her that she has been selling information about them to the Mossad, IDF and CIA for years. Some of the dead Hamas in Gaza are hers!
From the same article:
"According to the division, the patrol attempted to warn the driver to stop by hand and arm signals, flashing white lights, and firing warning shots in front of the car."
According to the division it wasn't a checkpoint. It was a patrol.
It's just an absurd scenario. Like lying in an ambulance that got an accident. So that's why the MSM like it.
That sounds a little too pre-planned for a culture who lives on Italian time. I would like to know why they were trying to scoot her through incognito. Maybe someone was a little too prone to conspiracy theories and hatred of the US? I really don't know, but I'm sure there's more of a story here.
"In Iraq, the United States makes the rules and the Italian ally also must respect them. If it wants to break them, it must do so with a double game and some crafty tricks," Mr. D'Avanzo wrote."
The truth from a LEFT wing Italian newspaper!
Pardon me:
When I wrote "her escape," I should have put the words in, what's it called? - 'Sarcasm quotes?'
You ARE being sarcastic, aren't you?
Hmmm, I wonder. I think I'll take pre-planned.
First time she opened her mouth, prolly.
It was probably one of those evil SUVs.
"Meanwhile, the White House dismissed as 'absurd' the stated suspicion of the reporter, Giuliana Sgrena, who said the United States tried to kill her because it opposes negotiations with terrorists to free hostages. Miss Sgrena, a reporter for the Italian communist newspaper Il Manifesto, provided no evidence."
The clincher here is that Signorina Sgrena writes for a Communist (and, therefore, anti-American) newspaper. Can anyone, then, vouch for her objectivity and deny that she is throwing wild, ideologically-motivated accusations?
I certainly regret Signor Calipari's tragic death, but I wonder if his government would have orchestrated such a high-profile state funeral if the circumstances behind his death had been different?
I still maintain that is the most likely scenario, that she collaborate with the terrorists to give them PR and a cash infusion.
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