This was a huge mistake. My take is that the troops didn't have the proper information fired warning shots and when the car didn't stop or slow down they mowed down the occupants. I believe the car didn't think the shots were warning shots, and maybe even some kind of a salute. It probably never imagined that they who were carrying the person of honor at that moment wouldn't be known to any military personel at hand. The idea that they, who had the person who was the honoree of all the fanfare in the car, would have to stop, probably never even entered their minds. What a horrible tragedy. What senseless death. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7089948/ U.S. vows probe into shooting of freed journalist Italian agent killed when troops open fire on car MSNBC News Services Updated: 7:38 a.m. ET March 5, 2005BAGHDAD, Iraq - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has won a U.S. promise of a full investigation into the killing of an Italian security agent and the wounding of freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena by U.S. forces in Iraq. U.S. troops at a checkpoint shot dead the agent and wounded Sgrena on the road to Baghdad airport on Friday after she had been freed and handed over to three Italian security agents. A plane carrying Sgrena back from Iraq landed Saturday at Rome's Ciampino Airport, where Berlusconi was among the dignitaries on hand to welcome her. President Bush expressed regret and promised to investigate the incident. The military said U.S. soldiers, not knowing the car was carrying journalist Giuliana Sgrena, fired after it failed to slow down. Popular anger over war But Bush’s phone call late Friday to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi did little to assuage anger In Italy, which has been holding its breath over Sgrena’s fate for weeks. The shooting was likely to set off fresh protests against Berlusconi for keeping 3,000 troops in Iraq despite strong opposition. • Italy reacts March 4: What started as a day of celebration in Rome ended in sorrow. NBC's Keith Miller talks to Campbell Brown about the shooting of a car carrying a freed Italian journalist in Baghdad. Nightly News “Another victim of an absurd war,” said Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, leader of the Green Party. A communist senator called for a protest Saturday in front of the U.S. Consulate in Milan. It was the most serious diplomatic incident between the two allies since a U.S. Marine jet killed 20 people when it sheared the cables of a ski-lift while on a low-flying exercise in northern Italy in 1998. Sgrena left Iraq after she was discharged from an American military hospital in Baghdad where she had been treated for shrapnel in the shoulder. She was expected in Rome later Saturday. Sgrena, 56, was abducted Feb. 4 by gunmen who blocked her car outside Baghdad University. Last month, she was shown in a video pleading for her life and demanding that all foreign troops — including Italian forces — leave Iraq. U.S. says warning shots fired Friday’s shooting occurred shortly after her release. It was about 9 p.m. in Baghdad at the time. The U.S. military said the car was speeding as it approached a coalition checkpoint in western Baghdad on its way to the airport. It said soldiers shot into the engine block only after trying to warn the driver to stop by “hand and arm signals, flashing white lights, and firing warning shots.” The intelligence agent was killed when he threw himself over Sgrena to protect her from U.S. fire, Apcom quoted Gabriele Polo, the editor of the leftist Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, as saying. Sgrena works for Il Manifesto. Berlusconi identified the dead intelligence officer as Nicola Calipari and said he had been at the forefront of negotiations with the kidnappers. The prime minister said Calipari had been involved in the release of other Italian hostages in Iraq in the past. The Americans said two people were wounded, but Berlusconi said there were three — Sgrena and two intelligence officers. One of the officers was in serious condition, according to the Apcom news agency in Italy. Insurgents have repeatedly attacked checkpoints, and soldiers have often fired on cars that don’t obey commands to stop or slow down. Joy 'turned into tragedy' Berlusconi said he had been celebrating Sgrena’s release with the editor of Il Manifesto and Sgrena’s boyfriend, Pier Scolari, when he took a phone call from an agent who informed them of the shooting. “It’s a shame that the joy we all felt was turned into tragedy,” Berlusconi said. Sgrena’s boyfriend said he could not blame the U.S. soldiers for the shooting, saying they were probably “scared boys,” and that the real blame lay with those who had sent them to Iraq. The shooting came as a blow to Berlusconi, who continues to face huge protests over his support for the Iraq war and his refusal to withdraw Italian troops. Sgrena’s newspaper was a loud opponent of the war. “It’s incredible that a man who was busying himself with the difficult task of saving a life was killed by those who say they are in Iraq to safeguard the life of civilians,” said Piero Fassino, leader of the Democratic Party of the Left. Bush called Berlusconi and expressed regret about the incident, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Friday night. “The president assured Prime Minister Berlusconi it would be fully investigated,” McClellan said. McClellan wouldn’t comment on what the incident might mean for participation by Italy or other countries in the coalition. Another European reporter, Florence Aubenas, a veteran war correspondent for France’s leftist daily Liberation, is still being held in Iraq. Aubenas and her interpreter, Hussein Hanoun al-Saadi, disappeared nearly two months ago. Iraqis have reported numerous incidents where confusion at U.S. checkpoints has led to U.S. soldiers killing innocent civilians. In a 2003 friendly-fire incident involving Italians, American soldiers in northern Iraq shot at a car carrying the Italian official heading up U.S. efforts to recover Iraq’s looted antiquities. Pietro Cordone, the top Italian diplomat in Iraq, was unhurt, but his Iraqi translator was killed. About 200 foreigners have been abducted in Iraq in the past year, and more than 30 of the hostages were killed. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
It must be very tough in a war zone to stop a car when shots are being fired. Instinct has got to be to floor it...
I though the person killed was a person in teh car not the released hostage? Although i feel or the killed person the US soldiers did what they had to do. A car comes speeding at them, the soldiers use hand signals to tell them to slow down (the car didn't), they then fired shots at the engine and the car kept going. Unfortunate incident but I can't fault the US soldiers unless they were told a car with a hostage is comign thru and will not stop let it go.
U.S. Troops Wound freed Hostage The way I understand it the freed hostage was in the car. I see now that it was the agent who was killed. The U.S. troops just wounded the hostage
i really don't see how this happened. this was clearly the agent's fault who was driving. he is in iraq and you would figure in some sort of way he would know how the checkpoints work. you don't speed up faster towards them after they are shooting warning shots. would you speed up towards someone who was firing a warning shot?
The hostage wasn't the one who was killed. It was an Italian security person. They should have known better than to try to run through a checkpoint.
Yea, this was the driver's fault and their going to turn this into an anti-American feast in Italy. Why? Because everything is our fault regardless. It doesn't matter it was the car speeding to a checkpoint ignoring the signals. Our troops should have somehow known it was the hostage's car because we're Americans and we know everything. This must have been some kind of conspiracy by America against Italy. No, this just gives people another reason to hoot and holler about how everything in Iraq is mad and senseless while this tragedy just reinforces that vision. What do they think...there is a picnic going on over there and everyone is invited? The fact is we cannot quit now until the insurgency is put down and/or Iraq's security forces can protect their government. All the whining in the world is not going to change that fact. I'm sorry Italy's agent was killed and how this unfolded. But, you can hardly lay blame on the US for this. If that would have been a car bomber and the troops didn't fire, then it could have crashed into the checkpoint and exploded. Then, we would be talking about multiple American deaths and why didn't they fire to protect themselves? Based on what is known now, the driver of the car was at fault. What did he think he was doing...driving Princess Diana through a tunnel to escape Papparazi? This is Iraq and you sure as hell better not ignore soldiers' signs at checkpoints regardless of the success you just had in freeing the Italian reporter. Are all the ground forces supposed to know not to shoot at this one car at night? If Italy wants to lay blame or put it on those responsible, then look no further than the driver.
I don't support the war, but the blame for this has to be placed on the security agent, not our troops. If you aren't aware of how checkpoints work and where you'll run into them, you have absolutely no business driving important people around in a war zone.
I just heard about this from my brother and he made it sound like it was a rescue and the Italians were booking it after they had freed her. This article makes it seem like they had negotiated her release.
I only read this article. I think this is one of the deals where both sides probably could have done some things differently, from the information I have now. Some fault might also belong to whoever was supposed to make the soldiers aware of either a rescue attempt, or released hostage heading that way. Unless someone did make the soldiers aware. There is really too little info to lay blame anywhere.
I've never understood this 'warning shot' idea. It should never have gotten to the point where warning shots were required. However the notion that someone hearing shots in Iraq of all places will stop is just crazy.
My understanding is that the dead Italian agent, who was very experienced, was killed shielding the freed hostage with his body. The driver of the car may have some culpability here, but the dead agent acted in what can only be described as heroic and unselfish. This is one of those tragedies that can happen during a war and does, all too often. You have a miscommunication, some confusion, some very high-strung nerves on both sides. It's tragic, like so much is in Iraq. President Bush called the Italian Prime Minister personally with his regrets, which is what one would hope he would do. For once, Bush acted the way I wish he always acted and doesn't, with diplomacy. He gets kudos for doing that from me, and for not waiting until doing it was meaningless. Keep D&D Civil!!
I just saw a report on CNN. It definitely looks like the Italian agent was a hero, and died while shielding the freed hostage. They had also already passed through a number of check points, so it seems like the soldiers that opened fire should have been notified. I would say whoever didn't communicate what was going on made a huge mistake.
So did they go through the prior check points without stopping? if so why did they decide not to stop at this one?
Who knows what happened. According the freed hostage, there were no signals to stop, and the car was driving at regular speed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7089948/ Wounded Italian reporter recalls ordeal Sgrena sharply disputes U.S. version of eventsMSNBC News Services Updated: 10:33 a.m. ET March 6, 2005ROME - The freed Italian hostage wounded by American troops at a checkpoint in Baghdad shortly after her release said in an article Sunday that her Iraqi captors had warned her U.S. forces “might intervene.” Giuliana Sgrena, who writes for the communist newspaper Il Manifesto, described how she was wounded and Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari was killed as she was celebrating her freedom on the way to the airport. The shooting Friday has fueled anti-American sentiment in a country where people are deeply opposed to U.S. policy in Iraq. “I remember only fire,” she said in her article. “At that point a rain of fire and bullets came at us, forever silencing the happy voices from a few minutes earlier.” Sgrena also said U.S. forces may have deliberately targeted her because Washington opposed Italy’s policy of dealing with kidnappers. Sgrena offered no evidence for her claim. 'I felt his last breath' Sgrena said the driver began shouting that they were Italian, then “Nicola Calipari dove on top of me to protect me and immediately, and I mean immediately, I felt his last breath as he died on me.” Suddenly, she said, she remembered her captors’ warning her “to be careful because the Americans don’t want you to return.” March 5: The agent who freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, died protecting her from a barrage of bullets from U.S. troops. NBC's Keith Miller reports. Nightly News The U.S. military said the Americans used hand and arm signals, flashing white lights and fired warning shots to get the car to stop. But in an interview Saturday with Italian La 7 TV, Sgrena said “there was no bright light, no signal.” She said the car was traveling at “regular speed.” Italian military officials said two other agents were wounded, but U.S. officials said it was only one. The agent who was killed, Calipari, had led negotiations for the journalist’s release. In a separate interview Sunday, Sgrena said it was possible the soldiers had targeted her because Washington opposes Italy’s dealings with kidnappers that may include ransom payments. “The United States doesn’t approve of this (ransom) policy and so they try to stop it in any way possible," she said. A bittersweet return Sgrena returned to Rome on Saturday morning, looking haggard and with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She walked unsteadily and was hooked up to an intravenous drip following surgery to remove shrapnel from her shoulder. She was taken to a Rome military hospital, where she later met with Calipari’s wife, the Italian news agency Apcom said. In her article, Sgrena wrote that her captors warned her as she was about to be released not to signal her presence to anyone, because “the Americans might intervene.” "It was the happiest and also the most dangerous moment,” Sgrena wrote. “If we had run into someone, meaning American troops, there would have been an exchange of fire, and my captors were ready and they would have responded.” 'Don't worry, you're free' Sgrena said her captors then blindfolded her and drove her to a location, where they made her get out of the car. That’s when she first heard Calipari’s voice, she said. “Don’t worry, you’re free,” he told her. Neither Italian nor U.S. officials gave details about how Sgrena managed to gain her freedom after a month in the hands of Iraqi insurgents. Although Italy has denied paying kidnappers in past hostage releases, Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno told Italy’s leading daily Corriere della Sera that “very probably” a large ransom had been paid in this case. Italian newspapers have speculated that anything up to $10 million may have been paid. “We need to get the guilty punished and an apology from the Americans,” Alemanno said. “We are trustworthy allies but we must not give the impression of being subordinates.” Italy’s minister for parliamentary relations, Carlo Giovanardi, has also said he did not believe the American version of events. New blow to Berlusconi The shooting came as a new blow to the center-right government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a strong ally of President Bush, who has assured him the shooting would be investigated. Tens of thousands of Italians regularly demonstrated against the Iraq war, and the Italian left — including Sgrena’s newspaper — vigorously opposed the conflict. March 5: The U.S. is promising a full investigation of why a vehicle carrying a newly freed Italian hostage was shot by U.S. troops. NBC's Peter Alexander reports. Nightly News Berlusconi, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Il Manifesto director Gabriele Polo joined Calipari’s family at Rome’s Ciampino Airport late Saturday before the agent’s body was flown in shortly before midnight. The coffin with Calipari’s body was carried out of the military plane wrapped in an Italian flag and blessed by a military priest and the agent’s brother, a priest who serves on a Vatican advisory body. Calipari’s wife, mother and two children were also present. The coffin was loaded onto a hearse and taken to the coroner’s office in Rome. An autopsy began on Sunday, according to news reports. The body was expected to lie in state at Rome’s Vittoriano monument, and a state funeral was planned for Monday. Ciampi said he would award Calipari with the gold medal of valor for his heroism. “What happened yesterday in Baghdad was a homicide,” Polo told Apcom. “The Americans must be firmly reminded to respect human and civil rules,” the ANSA news agency quoted Mirko Tremaglia, minister for Italians abroad, as saying. Sgrena was abducted Feb. 4 by gunmen who blocked her car outside Baghdad University. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
There is a story on MSN's front page which includes this: Italian magistrate Franco Ionta, however, said Sgrena, interviewed in her hospital room Saturday, gave a different version of events. "It wasn't a checkpoint, but a patrol that shot as soon as they lit us up with a spotlight," she told him. "We didn't know where the bullets were coming from. We had not met other checkpoints before. Our car was absolutely not traveling at high speed." So again we'll have to wait on the details. She says there wasn't a warning light, then (before or after) she said there was a warning light (spotlight). She was against the war and the Americans so she does have a motive to make the US look bad. Maybe the US had a motive for what they did, but if they wanted her dead why didn't they do it? What motive could the US have for killing her friend and not her? I suppose it could be because the Italinas supposedly paid her captors $6-8M to release her. I do believe in some conspiracies but I don't see why the US would go after her and then not kill her. Doesn't make sense to me. But don't you think if the Americans wanted her dead (she was supposedly told that) that they would have prepared a little differently? I mean if the US wanted her dead why drive up a patrolled road on one of the most dangerous roads where there would be no civialian witnesses.
With all the conflicting information coming out in the press, I am not clear what happened. But, the Italian reporter's claims she was targeted by the US because the US has a policy of not making deals or paying ransoms for hostages is total and utter bullcrap. I'm finding all these accusations ridiculous as hell that US forces would intentionally murder the Italian reporter for any reason. I can't believe the Italians are even considering that explanation. What occured was a tragedy that will boil down to likely some mistakes either on the the Italians side or the US side but to sit there and claim that this was intentional is beyond reason and belief. There was obviously some kind of mix-up, soldiers with itchy trigger fingers, etc. . I find what most of Italy is trying to do with this incident by claiming this was intentional murder by the US appalling as hell. I know their upset but this type of behavior is uncalled for. The idea that this was some sort of American conspiracy against the Italians because they made some sort of deal to free their hostage...oh my freaking God. What kind of ally is Italy to make such claims? I see this as nothing more than a bunch of people who don't care for the war using this incident as some sort of release for that anger. Our investigation will find out what happened which will be explained by some unfortunate circumstances that come to the conclusion that this was not intentional and, if the Italians want to reject that in lieu of some ridiculous conpiracy theory, then they can continue to do that. Maybe they can even withdraw from the war over this...which seems to be the goal of the anger anyway. It is one thing to look for and want answers. It's another for the hostage and those in the car to be trumping these wild accusations and theories before the facts are known. I dunno...to hell with this. Let the investigation play out and let the Italians vent their crazed, angry accusations. I think they are venting and, due to the public's opposition against the war, are looking for a way to attack the US over the war. Well...here it is. A tragic mistake has given you the excuse. Please do everything you can to blast the US into a pile of cow dung.
I agree at this point it is impossible to get a clear idea of what happened. I tend to agree with you that it sounds like BS to claim that she was intentionally targeted. But with the U.S. past history of bombing media outlets and killing reporters they don't agree with in this and the AFghanistan conflict, it isn't totally incoveivable. Had those other "accidents" not happened I would have no doubt in my mind. I still tend to lead toward not believing that as what happened, but sadly it can't be ruled out at this point. I would think it wasn't the fact that Italy made a deal with the terrorists as much as it was that she wrote for a communist newspaper which was opposed to the war in Iraq.
Here's some more information from the hostage Giuliana Sgrena who disputes the official US account: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7089948/ My own feeling is that its going to be awhile, if ever, that we learn what exactly happened out there and I take all descriptions of this event with a grain of salt.
I feel very sorry for the family of the agent that was killed. He lost his life to rescue someone else, that is very admirable.
