US minder cuts off General at press conference about shot Italian reporter

[NNN0LHI]

No link. Live on CNN and MSNBC now. I will provide a link to the transcript when CNN puts it up. The General will not answer any questions about the shooting from reporters stressing the "sensitivity". He would not say the US did not know the car with the Italian agents and the reporter were coming to the airport where there was a plane waiting for them. The only news is that there will be no results from the US "investigation" into the shooting for 3 or 4 weeks.

Don

[daleo]

1. Keep us informed, sounds interesting. n/t

[Lerkfish]

2. can you provide a little more than that for cube dwellers?

cut him off, how? disagreeing with him? what US minder?
we crave details.

[NNN0LHI]

4. A minder is a guy in a suit who makes sure the General does not...

...say something he is not supposed to. Saddam used minders too.

Don

[atreides1]

7. The Soviets had Minders

They called them Commissars, and I do believe that every German general in WWII had a few Gestapo men on their staff to make sure that they said the right things also.

Amazing isn't it, now someone tell me again how the US is different.

[wtmusic]

3. Heh

Must have been telling the truth

[Roland99]

5. Slain agent had informed US contacts in Baghdad: minister

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=3142

[grasswire]

6. remember Emily?

Colin Powell's minder? She shoved the camera away from him toward a potted palm when she wanted his live interview to end. Thus, my sig line.

[cliss]

8. "Sensitivity" Well for once, they're telling the truth.

It's sensitive to the Pentagon.

They need 3 or 4 weeks in order to:

a) let the dust settle a little on this story. They're waiting for the furor to die down, for Europe to settle back into normal. They know this is a stick of dynamite, and the fuse is burning. Italy is a critical partner. They're not in a good position to alienate their few remaining "allies". = how much will it cost?

b) They need to identify a scape goat. They have most probably located 1 or 2, without doubt the US troops who were patrolling at that check point. There will be 1 or 2 young Americans who will be used as Sacrificial Offerings in this event. They will be sentenced and will go to jail for an unspecified number of years.

Just watch. I'm willing to bet money on this one $$:smoke:

[Blue_Tires]

10. what they are really hoping for

is that people (americans) simply forget...they are hoping some other issue or manufactured scandal will bump this to the back pages...maybe a celebrity will die, or one of the american idol contestants will cuss out a judge, etc etc

[IndianaGreen]

24. They can't get away with the usual bullshit story

Here is Steve Bell's cartoon "The One that Got Reported":



http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoons/stevebell/0,7371,1432862,00.html

[progressivebydesign]

9. Wonder if they found the car yet.. they "couldn't locate it"..

when asked about the damage to the car that might prove the italians were telling the truth.. the car disappeared, and our military couldn't locate it to show the damage, and where the shots actually came from. The Italians say they were ambushed from the side.. the military says they shot the engine block from the front..

[librechik]

11. I read on another thread that the car is being shipped to Italy

by the Italians for their own investigation--I hope so!

[Roland99]

12. Link?

[bemildred]

13. It was in the Guardian, Indiana Green put it up, in one of the LBN threads

[Roland99]

14. Thanks...found it

http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1432655,00.html

Prosecutors in Rome, who have opened an inquiry into Calipari's death, announced last night that Italian officials in Iraq had taken possession of the car in which he was travelling with Ms Sgrena when he was killed.

They said that it would be flown back to Italy for a forensic examination. Their investigation continues to be classified as a murder inquiry.

[chookie]

15. Did anyone catch that Brownshirt's name?

Isn't that the goon who has risen to his present status, from being an assistant to Tom Delay, who was part of the "Bourgeoise Riot" in 2000, who was then promoted to spokesman during military press conferences in Qatar, and is now in the Pentagon?

The name escapes me (it begins with W)....

Isn't he a good little Nazi? And George W takes care of good little Nazis.

[NNN0LHI]

16. Here is a link to the transcript. CNN refers to the minder as STAFF

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/08/lt.02.html

<snip>
QUESTION: The U.S. military, the embassy, anybody in Iraq, anybody within the diplomatic circles, anybody in the U.S. government, did they have any information that the Italians were in fact negotiating and/or talking to those holding the Italian journalist? And is there any evidence whatsoever that the Italians paid a ransom for her release?

CASEY: On the first part, as I said to earlier questions, I don't have any information about the Italians coming in here to do something with respect to the hostage. And I have no concrete information about whether there was a ransom paid or not.

QUESTION: If I could -- you said you had no concrete information, but you are hearing reports...

CASEY: I have no information that I would...

STAFF: Let me help out here. He's not going to talk about it. If there's confusion about that, let me say it again. It's a sensitive matter. It's a matter in which we all want to get to the facts. General Casey has his portion of what he understands happened and other people will have their portion.

I truly understand the desire to know more. There's an investigating officer. That investigating officer has been charged under statute and regulation to find out what happened. And we can spend all day with General Casey saying, "I don't know -- I, General Casey, don't know."

STAFF: And you will spend all day trying to say, "Does the United States know?" And then you'll say, "The United States, in the person of General Casey, knows." And it's just -- it's an exercise...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: General, have you not asked specific questions? Have you pretty much said, "I'm removing myself from this. I want the investigative officer to look into this. And I'm just not asking specific questions." Is that basically where we are here?

CASEY: I made some preliminary inquiries, right before I left Baghdad.

QUESTION: Which you can't specify?

CASEY: Which I'm not going to talk about, because they were preliminary inquiries. And right now we've appointed a brigadier general to take this on, and he's going to do it, and he'll get back with us, and we'll let you know when we find it out.

more

[daleo]

18. They don't even trust the generals, now.

"STAFF: Let me help out here. He's not going to talk about it."

I wonder how the general felt at that moment.

[anakie]

20. didn't they do away with the generals who could think for themselves

and replace them with people like Myers? Other notorious regimes throughout history have done this.

[maddezmom]

19. thanks for posting the transcript

I watched it, but thought I must've been hearing things.

[leesa]

17. There is no point whatsoever to having a US "investigation"

I'm sure with a highly publicized release, they didn't KNOW they were going to the airport. This is such disingenuous BS.

[ahimsa]

21. By the same leap of logic, they didn't know..

..why that plane was sitting on the runway (can't wait to hear them BS that one)

[DoYouEverWonder]

22. Nor did they know that Calipari' had arrived in the country that AM

I would assume he had to go through customs/security to get out of the airport. Went and rented a car at the airport, so they would know exactly what make and model he was driving, but supposedly the US doesn't know shit and can't talk about it? Give me a break.

[jazzjunkysue]

23. This will finish off the last remaining * supporters in Europe

They have absolutely no reason not to spread the truth of this all over europe. It will be word of mouth and the monkey's hitmen won't be able to stop it.

He can't live this down. There are too many italians in america. This is going to leave a stain.

[IndianaGreen]

25. If this tragedy brings about a withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq and

weakens Berlusconi enough so that his Fascist coalition is defeated at the next election, then the blood shed by Nicola Capilari will not have been spilled in vain.