Interview of Giuliana Sgrena in the Guardian & BBC article re: checkpoints

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Freedom at a price

On Friday, the kidnapped Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was released into the care of secret service agent Nicola Calipari. Minutes later, Calipari was shot dead by US troops. Here she recounts the events of that fateful day

Wednesday March 9, 2005
The Guardian

Last Friday was the most dramatic day of my life. I had been in captivity since February 4, and my kidnappers had begun telling me that I was about to be released. But they had also spoken about things I would only understand the significance of later, about problems "relating to the transfers".

I had learned to glean information about what was going on from the behaviour of my two "guards", the people who kept me prisoner day after day. I noticed that one in particular, who had been very attentive to my wishes, was incredibly cheerful. I asked him why. Was he happy because I was going or because I was staying? "I only know that you're going," he said, "but I don't know when." I was astounded.

<snip>


Calipari sat next to me. The driver made two calls, to the Italian embassy and Italy, to let them know that we were heading for the airport, which I knew was heavily patrolled by Americans. The airport was less than a kilometre away when it happened. I can only remember gunfire. A rain of bullets showered down on us, shattering for ever the cheerful voices of a few minutes earlier.

The driver began to shout: "We're Italian, we're Italian ..." Calipari threw himself on top of me to protect me, and immediately - immediately - I felt him breathe his last. I must have felt physical pain, I didn't know why. But then my mind flashed back to things that my kidnappers had said. They said they were fully committed to freeing me, but that I had to be careful "because there are Americans who don't want you to go back". <more>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1433442,00.html



also BBC article:

Checkpoints test US troops' rules

The row over the shooting of Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena by US soldiers has fuelled a debate over the rules of engagement under which they operate.

The journalist was wounded by US gunfire minutes after being released from her month-long ordeal as a hostage in Iraq.

But the incident, in which a senior Italian secret service agent who had negotiated Ms Sgrena's release was killed, was just the latest in a series.

One of the worst such losses of life came in 18 January this year, when a family of seven was travelling in a car which failed to stop at a US checkpoint in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar.

US troops opened fire, killing both parents and injuring their five children sitting in the back seat.

No-one knows how many civilians have died at US checkpoints in Iraq so far.

Most are innocent people who had nothing to do with the anti-US insurgency.
<more>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4328579.stm


"So I don't see why I should rule out that I could have been a target."

That is what Giuliana Sgrena is saying. And I agree.

[sui generis]

1. I just have a problem with the conflicting stories

one of our guys says we're going 100 miles per hour while another guy says we have someone standing there asking them to roll down their window.

I don't think we "targeted" them - that's a little over the top, but I do think we over-reacted, and by not owning up to it as a war-time error we're making the situation worse than it should be.

Dishonesty is really not the best policy.

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2. it is bad when the US version has no credibility

"The Italian government has rejected an initial U.S. account of how its soldiers fired on agent Nicola Calipari's vehicle as it approached Baghdad's airport Friday, killing him and wounding newly freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena.

The U.S. military said it had not been informed that Calipari was heading to the airport and said his car ignored signals to slow down as it sped toward a checkpoint.

But Italy's government has said the Italians had been driving slowly, received no warning and had advised U.S. authorities of their mission to evacuate Sgrena from Iraq."

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7852696

[mimitabby]

3. please read my translation of Corriere article here

on the bottom of this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3239906&mesg_id=3239906

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4. thanks

I thought the interview I posted may have been new since was dated today - but it appears to be the same as the one from Sunday that had run in Il Manifesto.