Italy opposition slams U.S. report on Iraq killing

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5722735&cKey=1114520728000

ROME (Reuters) - Italian opposition parties branded a report that cleared U.S. soldiers of blame for the killing of an Italian agent in Iraq an insult on Tuesday and urged the government to press for a fuller investigation.

Nicola Calipari, a military intelligence officer, died in a hail of bullets at a U.S. checkpoint on March 4 as he was driving to Baghdad airport with Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena after winning her release from kidnappers.

A U.S. Army official, briefing reporters in Washington on the preliminary results of the investigation, said on Monday that the soldiers had followed their rules of engagement and should therefore face no charges of dereliction of duty.

The probe was conducted jointly with the Italians but the Army official said Italy, a close ally in Iraq, had balked at endorsing the report. Rome disagreed with its findings on the car's speed and whether the Italians kept U.S. troops informed.

more

[Gyre]

1. Good news for the US imperial (we can do no wrong) war machine...

probably not so good news for the Berlusconi (refuses to die) center-right party. That's a shame.

Gyre

[bemildred]

2. Where's the car? Why can't we have the car? nt

[NNN0LHI]

3. According to the article it will be in Italy today (last paragraph) n/t

[bemildred]

4. Cool. I gotta read more.

I can hardly wait to see pictures.
Do we get odds on whether it's the same car?

[daleo]

13. There might more "Bondo" than car.

For those who aren't' acquainted with the term, it is something you use to patch car's bodies, as far as I can recall from my youth.

[dhinojosa]

5. So, the U.S. is suspect, investigated itself, and found nothing wrong.

....and Italy doesn't trust us? :sarcasm:

[meganmonkey]

6. Yep - there weren't even any 'bad apples' involved this time

:P

[JNelson6563]

7. Good post

and great bumper sticker! :toast:

Julie

[atreides1]

9. The US Military Investigating itself....

....is like Himmler investigating an SS man at a death camp. You already know what the outcome will be.

[othermeans]

8. Here's the political cartoon mentioned in the article

The translation reads "Friendly Fire II"

[othermeans]

14. Here's the original cartoon

http://www.ilmanifesto.it/Quotidiano-archivio/26-Aprile-2005/vauro.htm

[Moderator]

10. kick to combine

[Julius Civitatus]

11. Italian Opposition Slams Iraq Killing Findings

By Paul Holmes

ROME (Reuters) - An angry opposition branded a report that clears U.S. soldiers of blame for killing an Italian agent in Iraq an insult to Italy Tuesday, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rejected a call to discuss it in parliament.

In a brief statement to the Chamber of Deputies, Berlusconi said news stories about the purported findings of the joint probe were leaks and insisted the investigation was not over.

"The government ... will only speak about this when all the results of the enquiry are finalized," Berlusconi said, adding his government was in contact with the U.S. administration.

Military intelligence officer Nicola Calipari died when troops at a U.S. checkpoint opened fire late on March 4 as he was driving to Baghdad airport with Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena after obtaining her release from insurgent kidnappers.

A U.S. Army official, briefing reporters in Washington on the preliminary results of the investigation, said Monday the soldiers had followed their rules of engagement and should therefore face no charges of dereliction of duty.

The official said Italy, a close U.S. ally in Iraq, had balked at endorsing the report. Rome disagreed with its findings on the car's speed and whether the Italians kept U.S. troops informed.

"A unilateral conclusion absolving anyone of blame that the Italian side does not accept is an insult to the truth and to the memory of Nicola Calipari and a serious act of arrogance toward Italy," one opposition lawmaker, Giuseppe Fioroni of the center-left Margherita party, said in a statement.

The report was the latest in a series of U.S. military investigations into the killing of civilians by American forces in Iraq to have found no wrongdoing. (...)


It seems like Italians don't like to shut up and sit pretty when they are told to move along, "nothing to see here."

[mike_c]

12. this is why the U.S. is so afraid of the ICC...

...and precisely why the ICC is necessary.

[ngGale]

15. Sgrena called the findings "a slap in the face"

Sgrena, a veteran war correspondent for the communist newspaper Il Manifesto who was wounded in the shooting, called the findings "a slap in the face" and said the report sought to "lay all the blame on the Italians".
__________________________snip_______________

What made poor Sgrena think we would take the blame for anything?
After all, she knows we LIHOP. She's lucky to still be alive.
We get away with everything, will anyone ever be held accountable?
I don't mean the 'few bad apples' - the big brass need to take some hits. I'm humiliated for my country.:mad: