Something else...
<< An official said they had not given any news of Sgrena’s release to the American embassy in Baghdad, or to US military commanders >>
...makes me think the Italians were trying to do this all secretly, to spirit her back to Italy to cover up the ransom payment; she would just magically reappear back home.
No wonder they didn't want to stop at a checkpoint.
My relatives in Italy are saying people think it was an inside job. The journalist works for a far left communist newspaper, sympathizers with the insurgents. They were looking to extort money from the Italian government and the journalist was in on it. Unfortunately, it looks like they got their money.
Yep, they didn't wast the Americans to know that the left-wing Italians were funding the terrorists.