Posted on 03/09/2005 9:52:06 AM PST by MamaLucci
The Italian intelligence agent killed by American forces in Iraq had U.S. military authorization for his operation to win the release of a hostage, Premier Silvio Berlusconi (search) said Wednesday.
In his first major address since Friday's shooting strained relations between Washington (search) and one of its biggest allies, Berlusconi told Italy's Senate that the car carrying agent Nicola Calipari and newly freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena (search) stopped immediately when a light was flashed.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
OK, this makes like 15 stories, each conflicting with one another.
Berlusconi told Italy's Senate that the car carrying agent Nicola Calipari and newly freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena stopped immediately when a light was flashed.Was that before or after the 300 bullets?
My mother always told me, to be a good lier, you have to have a good memory.
The Italians have more stories on this shooting than Zarqawi(sp) has captures!
SAY WHAT?!
After the bullets, of course!
Where is the videotape when you need it! You would think a camera would be mounted pointing down the road video taping all activity. A checkpoint, IMHO, should have this. Perhaps there is a recording and it will come out after the investigation is completed.
But but but, the lovely liar, er lady, said there were NO flashing lights.
"Let me say for the record that this time, I agree with the Bush administration. The notion that American soldiers deliberately targeted and shot at a car containing Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena and a senior member of the intelligence services of one of the few allies with troops on the groud in Iraq (Reuters has a good, balanced account of the incident) is, to quote admistration hack Scott McClellan, 'absurd.'"
And they put in this quote from Reuters, which is as good an account as I have heard so far:
Fini on Tuesday gave a long account of Calipari's fatal mission to Baghdad but made no mention of any ransom [don't believe that part for a minute!]. He said Rome had never considered a military swoop to free Sgrena for fear such an operation would endanger her life. He said Calipari arrived in Baghdad on Friday afternoon after establishing contact with the kidnappers. He checked in with U.S. authorities at the airport before driving off with an Italian colleague to meet an Iraqi middleman.Sounds real deliberate, huh? Maybe next they'll blame that garbage truck suicide bombing today on U.S. troops for putting out the trash! Sheesh...The middleman took them to Sgrena, who was seated in the wreckage of a car, dressed in black robes and wearing a mask.
On the drive back to the airport, the Italians left the lights on in the car to help identify them to U.S. checkpoints.
As they neared the airport, the car slowed to about 40-km/h because the road was wet and because the driver had to make a sharp turning. Half way around the curve, a searchlight picked out the car and guns opened fire for 10-15 seconds, Fini said. The intelligence officer who survived the attack was forced to kneel in the road until the soldiers realised who he was.
"Two young Americans approached our officer and, demoralised, repeatedly apologised for what had happened," Fini said.
I think our ally Silvio is also making some double talk
the US likely knew that this guy, the agent/special ops guy whatever was in country trying to secure the release of this woman
doesn't mean the US knew of nor approved of any ransom scheme and common sense would tell you they would have not approved and tried to talk the Italians out of it because ransom money to insurgents means more trouble for Iraqis and Americans....
and it seems quite clear that the Italians in any event did not notify the US military that they had rescued this woman or picked up her up, however one wishes to view it, and would be taking her to the airport in the middle of night along the most dangerous road in Iraq
it seems rather clear to me that Ms Guilly baby wanted to avoid being debriefed nor did she want the Americans to be her means of transport to the airport, why yes she wouldn't in anyway want the Americans to appear as heros in her return, even in a supporting role (as even an Italian newspaper asked, why wasn't she taken to the Italian Embassy first and then on to the airport)
nice backtracking on her part too
Sounds like Berlusconi is taking Sgrena's side on this. Italy can become the next France. We should know better than to trust Europeans anyway.
We can do without their measly 3000 troops. And we can do without their funding terrorists with the millions they paid in ransom for this commie witch.
This is no more interesting than Rather's departure...at least in my opinion.
Notice how the charge of being sexually abused by US soldiers she made has been forgotten about quickly. That one sounded too much like, "then they groped me, yeah, that's the ticket."
Berlusconi ain't a friend, either.
Time for another Italian leader to hang by their heels?
At least Mussolini made the trains run on time......
But they did NOT have the authority to drive through the checkpoint without stopping.
In his first major address since Friday's shooting strained relations between Washington (search) and one of its biggest allies, Berlusconi told Italy's Senate that the car carrying agent Nicola Calipari and newly freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena (search) stopped immediately when a light was flashed.
Oh geez...I wish they'd make up thier minds already. First there was no flash or any warning, now there was a flash. First they were going 40 mph, then 25 mph, now they were stopped. Good grief...
Not passing the smell test. Methinks the Italians know we're not interested in a pissing match at this point, so it's a heckuva lot easier for them to throw us under the bus and not have to deal with the possibility of their intelligence agency crapping the bed at the cost of one of their own...
Whats the frequency, Sgrena?
"why wasn't she taken to the Italian Embassy first and then on to the airport"
Good question. Also, was there a scheduled flight that she could have taken that night? I'm guessing that there are no commercial flights into or out of Baghdad during the hours of darkness.
But Sgrena has already flat out stated that there were no flashing lights, just bullets. Once again, the story changes.
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