S A D

U.S. Forces Wound Freed Italian Hostage in Iraq
By Andrew Marshall

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was freed by
her captors on Friday but U.S. forces in Iraq mistakenly opened fire
on the convoy taking her to safety, wounding her and killing an
Italian secret service agent.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of President Bush's
staunchest supporters in Iraq, immediately summoned the American
ambassador, demanding explanations and declaring someone had to take
responsibility.

U.S. forces at a checkpoint shot dead the agent and wounded Sgrena in
the shoulder while she was being driven to Baghdad airport after being
freed and handed over to three Italian secret service officers,
Berlusconi told a news conference.

"We were turned to stone when the officials told us about it on the
telephone," Berlusconi said.

"The agent, Nicola Calipari covered Sgrena with his body, he was hit
by a bullet which unfortunately was fatal," he said. All three other
passengers were wounded. Sgrena was treated for a shrapnel wound in
her shoulder at a U.S. military hospital.

The 57-year-old Sgrena was kidnapped on Feb. 4. Insurgents later
released a video of her sobbing and wringing her hands as she pleaded
for Italian troops to leave Iraq.

In Washington, the White House said it regretted the shooting. The
U.S. military said American soldiers tried to warn occupants of the
vehicle -- flashing lights and firing warning shots -- as it sped
toward a checkpoint, then fired into its engine block when it did not
stop.

"This news which should have been a moment of celebration, has been
ruined by this firefight," said Gabriele Polo, editor of Sgrena's Il
Manifesto paper, a Rome-based Communist daily. He deplored "completely
senseless and mad" events in Iraq.

Berlusconi said he personally knew Calipari who had worked on previous
hostage release cases in Iraq and that the agent's wife worked in his
Palazzo Chigi office.

The man, a former policeman, was also known to Sgrena's partner Pier
Scolari who he met in the days running up to her release.

"He was an extraordinary man, a man who gave me the certainty that
Giuliana would come home. When I learned he had been killed by
American soldiers ... I felt a pain which for a moment overshadowed
the joy of (Giuliana's) liberation."

NEW VIDEO

In new video aired on Al Jazeera on Friday, Sgrena was shown wearing a
black dress and sitting in front of a table with a plate of fruit.
Jazeera said that on the tape, Sgrena thanked her captors for treating
her well.

Sgrena was one of two female Western journalists abducted in Baghdad
this year. Florence Aubenas of France's Liberation was seized along
with her Iraqi driver on Jan. 5.

Aubenas appeared in a videotape distributed by her captors this week,
looking distraught and exhausted.

More than 150 foreigners, including several Western journalists, have
been seized by insurgents over the past year. Most have been freed but
many have been killed -- sometimes in beheadings that were filmed and
posted on the Internet.

The kidnappings have highlighted the lawlessness gripping large areas
of Iraq where insurgents mount frequent attacks, crime is rife and
Iraqi forces have little control.

Last year, Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni was seized south of Baghdad
and later killed by his captors.

Six other Italians have been kidnapped in Iraq. Four private security
guards were kidnapped in April and one was later killed, and in
September two female Italian aid workers were snatched in Baghdad
before being released three weeks later.

Italy's mixed feelings over the botched release of Sgrena were in
stark contrast to the joy which greeted the return of those two aid
workers, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta.

Like the "two Simonas," Sgrena was always against the presence of
foreign troops in Iraq.

Italy has some 3,000 troops in Iraq, the fourth largest foreign
contingent after U.S., British and South Korean forces.

FRESH ATTACKS

The hostage crises have fueled criticism in Italy of the government's
backing for the war in Iraq -- criticism likely to be further stoked
by Friday's incident.

Insurgents trying to overthrow Iraq's U.S.-backed government mounted
fresh attacks on Friday. In southern Iraq, guerrillas shot dead a
Bulgarian soldier, officials in Sofia said.

In Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, a car bomb killed one civilian, and
in the mainly Shi'ite southern Iraq town of Budair, the local police
chief was assassinated.

In the restive northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded near a U.S.
military convoy. Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq issued an Internet statement
claiming responsibility for the blast.

In another Internet statement on Friday, the al Qaeda group in Iraq
led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said a string of
suicide attacks in recent days disproved assertions by the Iraqi
government that the network was crumbling.

On Monday, a suicide bomb for which the group claimed responsibility
killed 125 people south of Baghdad -- the deadliest single insurgent
attack since Saddam Hussein fell. (Additional reporting by Firouz
Sedarat in Dubai, Michael Winfrey in Sofia and Roberto Landucci and
Robin Pomeroy in Rome)

compton75

s a d wrote:
    > U.S. Forces Wound Freed Italian Hostage in Iraq
    > By Andrew Marshall
    > BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was freed by
    > her captors on Friday but U.S. forces in Iraq mistakenly opened fire
    > on the convoy taking her to safety, wounding her and killing an
    > Italian secret service agent.
    > Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of President Bush's
    > staunchest supporters in Iraq, immediately summoned the American
    > ambassador, demanding explanations and declaring someone had to take
    > responsibility.

This was no mistake. And don't waste your time contacting
our ambassador. We don't give a shit.
We, U.S. Soldiers, shoot and bomb our own journalists. We have
have no qualms about killing your journalists as well.
So, listen Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, if you have a problem,
keep it to yourself, or we will shoot up and bomb your country.
You insignificant little piece of shit. Kiss our ass and shut up.

John Starrett

wrote:
    > s a d wrote:
    >
    >>U.S. Forces Wound Freed Italian Hostage in Iraq
    >>By Andrew Marshall
    >>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was freed by
    >>her captors on Friday but U.S. forces in Iraq mistakenly opened fire
    >>on the convoy taking her to safety, wounding her and killing an
    >>Italian secret service agent.
    >>Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of President Bush's
    >>staunchest supporters in Iraq, immediately summoned the American
    >>ambassador, demanding explanations and declaring someone had to take
    >>responsibility.
    >
    >
    > This was no mistake. And don't waste your time contacting
    > our ambassador. We don't give a shit.
    > We, U.S. Soldiers, shoot and bomb our own journalists. We have
    > have no qualms about killing your journalists as well.
    > So, listen Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, if you have a problem,
    > keep it to yourself, or we will shoot up and bomb your country.
    > You insignificant little piece of shit. Kiss our ass and shut up.
    >

All real patriots will agree.

James

In article <teph21ld2uokbainrrkiqvoidgbqg9qjam@news>,
s a d <> wrote:


The story is pretty consistently reported as the wounding of the
journalist being the bigger story than the death of the Italian
Secret Service Agent.

Imagine if an Italian MP shot and killed an American Secret Service
Agent.

obbzerver

Were these dagos drunk or stupid? What the **** did they think was
going to happen if they didn't obey commands at a checkpoint? Did they
think the soldiers were waving at them to say "howdy"? You wops ARE
aware there's a military action going on in Iraq, yes? Oh wait, she was
a recently release *hostage*, so one would think they'd have a goddam
clue.

Idiots...

The Rev Gaston

On 2005-03-05 11:17:09 +0100, said:

    > Were these dagos drunk or stupid? What the **** did they think was
    > going to happen if they didn't obey commands at a checkpoint? Did they
    > think the soldiers were waving at them to say "howdy"? You wops ARE
    > aware there's a military action going on in Iraq, yes? Oh wait, she was
    > a recently release *hostage*, so one would think they'd have a goddam
    > clue.
    >
    > Idiots...

Where the US military is involved it's hard to know what to ascribe to
malice and what to stupidity. I'm personally in no doubt that they
target journalists, but I find it hard to believe that they target UK
troops deliberately, though they've killed a good many. In the present
case it remains to be seen whether the shooting of the Italians amounts
to sheer incompetence or something more sinister.

G;

Michele Dall'Agata

In news:,
<> typed:
    > Were these dagos drunk or stupid? What the **** did they think was
    > going to happen if they didn't obey commands at a checkpoint? Did they
    > think the soldiers were waving at them to say "howdy"? You wops ARE
    > aware there's a military action going on in Iraq, yes? Oh wait, she was
    > a recently release *hostage*, so one would think they'd have a goddam
    > clue.

It is hard to admit that your army resemble more an highly armed circus of
lobotomized cretins than anything else, uh?

    > Idiots...

Right. You are talking about the United Stoopids of America, aren't you?

B Vaughan

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 01:53:20 GMT, (james)
wrote:

    >In article <teph21ld2uokbainrrkiqvoidgbqg9qjam@news>,
    >s a d <> wrote:
    >The story is pretty consistently reported as the wounding of the
    >journalist being the bigger story than the death of the Italian
    >Secret Service Agent.

Not in Italy. The death of the agent completely shut down all the
impromptu celebrations that erupted when the release of the journalist
was reported. Even the journalist's parents were shown weeping at the
news.

Luca Logi

B Vaughan <> wrote:

    > Not in Italy. The death of the agent completely shut down all the
    > impromptu celebrations that erupted when the release of the journalist
    > was reported. Even the journalist's parents were shown weeping at the
    > news.

It looks like this case is going to trigger a good (and probably
deserved) dose of antiamericanism in Italy, exactly like the Cermis
gondola case. This case is even more difficult to manage by the Italian
government, as the agent was a very respected policeman, and policemen
are usually an area where some parties in the governing coalition are
always looking for votes. I hope the US government moves quickly in a
very sensible manner, as there is a potential for very large political
damages to be done. Probably most US contributors will not realize that
Italy has the fourth largest military presence in Iraq, and if US hope
to ever get out of the difficult job of policing Iraq, they really
cannot afford to make this mishaps - and it doesn't matter whose fault
really is.

Michele Dall'Agata

In news:1gsygvk.12byccx7lntfqN%,
Luca Logi <> typed:
    > B Vaughan <> wrote:
    >> Not in Italy. The death of the agent completely shut down all the
    >> impromptu celebrations that erupted when the release of the journalist
    >> was reported. Even the journalist's parents were shown weeping at the
    >> news.
    > It looks like this case is going to trigger a good (and probably
    > deserved) dose of antiamericanism in Italy, exactly like the Cermis
    > gondola case.

You bet.

    > This case is even more difficult to manage by the Italian
    > government, as the agent was a very respected policeman, and policemen
    > are usually an area where some parties in the governing coalition are
    > always looking for votes. I hope the US government moves quickly in a
    > very sensible manner, as there is a potential for very large political
    > damages to be done.

I am afraid the damage has been done already.

    > Probably most US contributors will not realize that
    > Italy has the fourth largest military presence in Iraq, and if US hope
    > to ever get out of the difficult job of policing Iraq, they really
    > cannot afford to make this mishaps - and it doesn't matter whose fault
    > really is.

Ok, now. Anyone does it consider a job of policing Iraq what the Americans
are doing? I mean, those watch dogs have not been informed that a car with a
journalist freed from kidnapping, a case that has been hitting the worldwide
news, was going to pass through the checkpoint. Since that car was
"speeding" (journalist Sgrena already claimed that is complitely false) they
shoot itkilling 2 people, as if it was a speed limit ticket. Is THAT the way
they are policing Iraq?? How many civilians have been killed by the
Americans in the same way, then? Are we kidding? I don't give a flying s...,
if that is the way they are doing things in Irak, we can all leave now and
for good. But first, who killed the Italian secret services agent, must go
to jail with all the people involved in such a mess. They murder with the
death penalty people for much less, in USA. Just wait and see, this mess is
just started. Ah, for your information I was against the invasion of Irak
(were are the WMD, guys??), but I was not against sending the Italian troops
there, when the damage was already done. But this is far too much. US
forces. What a bunch of incompetent twats.

Ciao,
Michele