Posted on 04/30/2005 4:04:18 PM PDT by Deetes
BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 30 - The car carrying the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena that was struck with a deadly hail of gunfire as it sped toward Baghdad International Airport on March 4 ignored warnings from American soldiers who used a spotlight, a green laser pointer and warning shots to try to stop it as it approached a checkpoint, the American military said in a report released Saturday evening.
The gunfire killed Nicola Calipari, an Italian intelligence agent who was in the back seat with Ms. Sgrena. The driver and Ms. Sgrena were wounded. Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, the ground commander in Iraq, has approved a recommendation that soldiers involved in the shooting not be disciplined, the military said.
The report's exoneration of the soldiers, which was made public last week, angered Italian officials and threatened to further inflame relations between the United States and Italy, one of its staunchest allies in the war in Iraq. The findings have created a political problem for the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who faces a public upset by the incident at a time when his own fortunes are sagging.
Italy has kept 3,000 troops in Iraq, but Mr. Berlusconi has suggested that Italy might begin withdrawing them by September.
Italian officials have disputed preliminary accounts of the shooting, provided last month by the United States, and Italy is pressing its own investigation. Ms. Sgrena has also challenged the United States' account, saying the car approached the checkpoint at a moderate speed and was not given any warnings.
Ms. Sgrena, a reporter for the left-wing daily newspaper Il Manifesto, was abducted Feb. 4 in Baghdad and released March 4, less than one hour before she and her rescuers made their trip to the airport. American officials have said the checkpoint was established temporarily to help provide security for the United States ambassador, John D. Negroponte, who was meeting with the top military commander in Iraq. Mr. Negroponte has since been appointed director of national intelligence.
The incident helped focus attention on the risks that Iraqis face at American checkpoints, where human rights groups say many Iraqis have been accidentally wounded or killed.
The report, which had many blacked-out parts, is the American military's first detailed account of the events. It asserts that the Italians ignored repeated warnings from American soldiers as they sped onto a part of the Baghdad airport road where soldiers are on a constant state of high alert because of the extraordinary risk of suicide car bombs and other insurgent attacks.
According to the report, 11 bullets fired by one American soldier hit the Italians' car, killing Mr. Calipari, after the car failed to heed the warnings. The car was traveling about 50 miles per hour - faster than other cars that night - as it approached the checkpoint and did not slow until struck by the bullets, the report said.
The driver "was dealing with multiple distractions including talking on the phone while driving, the conversation in the back seat, trying to listen for threats, driving on a wet road, focusing on tasks to be accomplished, the need to get to the airport, and the excited and tense atmosphere in the car," the report found. He shouted, "They are attacking us" into his phone when the firing began, the report said, adding that it was "highly unlikely" that any shots were fired after the car stopped. The fusillade lasted four seconds, it said.
The soldier who fired the shots complied with the military's rules of engagement, the report concluded. "After operating the spotlight, and perceiving the oncoming vehicle as a threat, he fired to disable it and did not intend to harm anyone," it said.
The report also asserted that the United States military "was totally unaware of the recovery and transport of Ms. Sgrena" until after the shooting. It said the troops stationed at the checkpoint were on their first full day on shift there and "lacked experience in issuing operational orders and in battle tracking security forces" at checkpoints.
The report also found that a senior commander in the American-led alliance who was at a military base near the site of the shooting, identified only as a major general, was aware something was under way involving the journalist. Just 20 minutes before the shooting, the commander confirmed to his aide, an unidentified captain, that an operation was under way. But the general said, "It is best if no one knows."
While finding that the soldiers were not culpable, the report recommended taking steps to better inform Iraqis and other drivers about how to approach checkpoints, echoing calls made by critics since the incident. The report also recommended that the military use more signs and enhanced lighting to warn drivers that they are approaching a checkpoint.
I believe our guys.
This and they were going 50 MPH faster than everybody else ...
Makes me wonder whether they tried to martyr themselves.
That conforms with the picture we all saw of the relatively unscathed car and doesn't conform with Ms. Sgrena's account of the car being "destroyed" by "hundreds of bullets"; so many that she was scooping up handfuls of bullets from the backseat. Her credibility, already low, is now approaching zero.
As do I, and the evidence is piling up that they are telling the complete truth.
http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2005/04/another-sgrena-lie.html
Ms. Sgrena, a reporter for the left-wing daily newspaper Il Manifesto
Sgrena is a Commie....and by default..a Liar.
It is most likely She ordered the driver to not stop, because Arrogant Socialists think they are Gods.
It is too bad the driver was the one to Die.
Italy is sinking into the stench filled crap-hole of Communism.
they should have gave Her the welcome that they gave musolini's Girlfriend.
2 bullet holes = hail of gunfire?
Thanks NYT for not disapointing.
They didn't slow down until hit,the driver was distracted,they were traveling at 50mph.....Troops could of turned that vehicle into swiss cheese.If i didn't know better,i'd think they wanted to get shot.
Italian driver + Gen. Officer not letting anyone know WTF was going on + leftist journalista + newbies on roadblock = FUBAR.
"The incident helped focus attention on the risks that Iraqis face at American checkpoints"
And, of course, the American media ignore the danger *solidiers* face manning the checkpoints.
What should they do, allow speeding cars into the checkpoints?
Let's put this reporter on a checkpoint for a day and then see what he thinks.
The driver didn't die - the intelligence agent died.
This article did.
What should they do, allow speeding cars into the checkpoints?
Nope.
Let's put this reporter on a checkpoint for a day and then see what he thinks.
He might welcome the opportunity. Write him and challenge him!
The reporter might agree with the US military's report:
The report also recommended that the military use more signs and enhanced lighting to warn drivers that they are approaching a checkpoint.
"the American media ignore the danger soldiers face manning the check points."Exactly.If i were a soldier manning a ck point,and a speeding vehicle was comming at me that refused to stop,i'd start shooting.What if that had been a carbomb?
"Italian driver + Gen. Officer not letting anyone know WTF was going on + leftist journalista + newbies on roadblock = FUBAR."
That's how I see it.... one soldier, probably a newbie, emptied his M16 at a fast-moving car that didn't respond as planned. Probably the Iraqis knew to approach at 10 mph w/ hands up. The Italian, though, probably thought that his Mercedes didn't look like a terrorist vehicle, and he was driving to safe ground as fast as he could.
Even though there was a death Sgrena will attack and attack and attack with this incident as her fuel.She is probably glad it happened in spite of her "grief".
That isn't what the story says. Here is the quote, followed by an explanation if you really don't understand it.
"The car was traveling about 50 miles per hour - faster than other cars that night - as it approached the checkpoint and did not slow until struck by the bullets, the report said."
To restructure the sentence for you to make it easier to read:
'The car was traveling about 50 miles per hour as it approached the checkpoint - - faster than other cars that night'.
One thing missing from the story. Was the general an American, an Italian, or something else?
To elaborate on that further. This was before the Italian incident and there was a news story that the car transferring the French hostages to freedom had to turn back and return to their captors because of US roadblock.
Think about that for a second. Why not just let the hostages out of the car and they can walk up to the Americans with their hands in the air? The media was trying to put across the idea that it was because of Americans that these French hostages were still captive.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.