Posted on 05/12/2004 8:02:44 AM PDT by MegaSilver
The four Italian security guards kidnapped in Iraq had their personal protection weapons confiscated by American soldiers just hours before they were seized by suspected rebels, colleagues have revealed.
According to Paolo Simeoni, the former leader of their security team, soldiers manning a checkpoint in one of Baghdad's most dangerous districts confiscated their three high-powered assault rifles and two pistols.
Breaking his silence about the incident, Mr Simeoni said the Americans claimed that the Italians had flouted gun permit rules. The soldiers issued a receipt so that the arms could be collected at a later date.
The men, who had been on their way back to Italy, were forced to return to their hotel and search for substitute weapons. They managed to find just a single machine pistol and two handguns, which friends fear left them vulnerable to their attackers.
One of the hostages, Fabrizio Quattrocchi, was executed by the kidnappers, an Iraqi Islamist group, two days after the men were captured, on April 12. His death was videotaped and the plight of the three remaining captives continues to cause intense public anguish in Italy.
Yesterday, a statement sent to the Arabic television station al-Jazeera, purporting to be from the Islamic group, said that the three men would not be harmed. The kidnappers supposedly said they had been swayed by a 6,000-strong peace march at the Vatican in Rome on Thursday in which the men's families pleaded for their release.
In Rome, an adviser to the Italian government said that the authorities were keen to question Mr Simeoni as he was considered "the key to understanding what really happened".
"This man is not technically being sought, as he would be if in Italian territory,' he said. "But the Italian authorities have not heard from him since the incident. Let's not forget that a man has been killed, and an inquiry has been opened by Italian magistrates in Genoa."
Last night Mr Simeoni, 32, told The Sunday Telegraph that the receipt for the guns from the Americans was in his possession. "My colleagues were driving home from Baghdad to Jordan that morning when they came across a checkpoint manned by US soldiers," he said.
"We do not know exactly why the soldiers confiscated the weapons. The Iraqi interior ministry does not issue weapons permits to Westerners - they say that normally all you need to do is show an ID card, such as a passport. All my men had Italian passports on them, and Fabrizio had a pass for the Coalition Provisional Authority headquarters in Baghdad's Green Zone. Normally that is more than enough proof that they were working in security for the coalition, but in this case the soldiers wouldn't accept it."
The kidnappers pounced as the Italians drove along Highway 10, the main road leading from Baghdad to Jordan which passes through the lawless area around Fallujah.
"Four men with powerful assault rifles in a car might have stood a chance against these guys," said one security consultant who used to employ the men. "Four men with just one MP5 and a couple of pistols between them would probably not have."
Mr Simeoni's revelations come amid growing criticism from the estimated 12,000 private security guards in Iraq that US-led forces are not doing enough to protect them. Many say that coalition troops refuse to come to their aid if they are attacked, yet prevent them carrying heavier weapons to defend themselves.
Technically, foreign security staff must have a weapons permit with a serial number that matches the gun they are carrying. The rules are normally relaxed, however, for Western security guards, who are waved through checkpoints.
"If they had been British or American, I think it would have been fine," Mr Simeoni claimed. "It may be that because they were Italians and their English was not quite perfect, the soldiers did not trust them."
Mr Simeoni believes that his men were the victims of a well-planned ambush, and admits that more powerful weapons may not have saved them. "I think it had something to do with the taxi drivers who took them out, that they led them into a trap," he said. "But I am still angry that the US army just took their weapons away from them like that - these were professional security people and doing that put them in immediate risk."
He said that he had talked to Italian officials in Iraq after the incident. The government adviser said that only one of the kidnapped men, Salvatore Stefio, had adequate experience in foreign security. "If the Italians had acted professionally, they would never have made the journey in the first place," he said. Last night, the Italian foreign ministry refused to comment on the disclosures.
A US Army official said: "We are still investigating this matter and cannot comment further."
Well, just look at who occupies almost half the seats in our government. That should give you a hint.
What's outrageous is they'd have stood a much better chance if there weren't thugs running around kidnapping everyone in sight.
Not just "gun control", but "gun registration".
Coming to a city near you real soon.
"The law must be obeyed!"
They managed to find just a single machine pistol and two handguns, which friends fear left them vulnerable to their attackers.
Huh???
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