Posted on 10/01/2004 2:47:43 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Freed Italian Hostage Says Iraq Rebels 'Justified'
ROME (Oct. 1) - An Italian aid worker held hostage last month in Iraq said guerrillas there were right to fight U.S.-led forces and their Iraqi "puppet government."
In comments that were bound to annoy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government, Simona Torretta also called on Rome to withdraw the troops it sent to Iraq to support its U.S. ally.
Former Captive Backs Guerillas
"I said it before the kidnapping and I repeat it today," she told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview published Friday.
"You have to distinguish between terrorism and resistance. The guerrilla war is justified, but I am against the kidnapping of civilians."
Torretta and her Italian colleague Simona Pari, both of them 29, were freed Tuesday, three weeks after being snatched from their Baghdad office. Berlusconi has brushed aside widespread reports that his government paid a ransom of up to $1 million.
Describing the administration of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as "a puppet government in the hands of the Americans," Torretta said elections planned for January would have no legitimacy: "During my days in detention ... I came to the conclusion it will take decades to put Iraq back on its feet."
Torretta, who lived in Iraq before, during and after the U.S.-led invasion, said she wanted to return despite her ordeal -- but would not do so as long as U.S. troops were there: "I've got to wait until the end of the U.S. occupation," she said.
She said she did know whether Italy bought her freedom from the kidnappers: "If a ransom was paid then I am very sorry. But I know nothing about it ... I believe that (the kidnappers) were a very political, religious group and that in the end they were convinced that we were not enemies."
High probability this was a setup.
Is it too late for Italy to send her back for a refund?
Communista Italiana.
It's high probability that these are the new spokespeople for Moveon.org.
Stockholm Syndrome....
History will smile on Bush...I am confident in this.
Hmmm . . .possible that.
"Reistance" she says. "Resistance" to what?
To democracy? To equal rights for women?
What an odd duck she is.
Hmmmmm .. that story about the Korea female hostage sounds almost familiar
You linked to a members-only AOL site.
Whenever my young Italian cousins (usually on my dime, when I call to see how everyone is over there) start their anti-American rants . . . I remind them that the young men of my father's generation (he's 84 and a WW II vet) put their lives and marriages on hold - VOLUNTEERED, WERE NOT DRAFTED - to go over and bail out, among other largely ungrateful nations, Italy. When they talked about protests during Bush's recent visit, I told them, "Make sure you start the protests on the beach at Anzio, where my next door neighbor died liberating your country." And when they told me some protestors had sprayed a swatstika on an American flag, I reminded them, "Italy knows a LOT about swatstikas, having sided with the Nazis first." And when they pull out the trump card, "Even the Pope says . . . " I remind them that the boys in the Vatican were damn glad to see the US soldiers marching up the Via della Conciliazione on that day of liberation (prelude to many green currency bills marching in the same direction).
That's usually the end of the telephone conversation! :-)
Why are you surprised? Remember Il Duce?
If you think about it, there are only a few countries on the PLANET that have not had a dictator at one time or another.
Funny thing, they all seem to be fighting for others freedom.
Wonder why that is?
"Maybe those self righteous ones in Italy ought to think twice about what the future can bring if they piss off the good ole USA too much."
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If you mean by what the future can bring if we do nothing you're absolutely right. As someone who has just returned from many, long journeys to Europe I can assure you the world doesn't appreciate the fact that what little peace they enjoy is courtesy of us, the big US...all we have to do is nothing...then pick up the pieces...but that would be such a mess.
(Glad she is ok though)
I heard Rachael Cory's bulldozer has a vacancy.
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