there were only two people in that car....the agent who was driving and the reporter. He died, she lived...making her the only other 'factual' witness to the events other than a slew of soldiers at the checkpoint.
I don't think it's a case of the Italians would have to admit fault, Mark.......it's a case of being upset over losing a good man who may have made a bad judgment call about speeding up and not stopping at the checkpoint. Mistakes get made......but it's not Italy's fault that he probably made one. The true mistake is taking the word of the woman in this case because she has been vocal about not liking the USA being in Iraq since the beginning and bragging about how she never had to worry about being kidnapped because she was on 'their' side.
Ironically, knowing how she felt/feels about us being there, WHO were the people she was rushing to for safety from the kidnappers? And then accused us of trying to kill her when they wouldn't slow down or stop? If they had reached the USA safety net, would she still be writing in favor of the terrorists or would she be even a little bit grateful for our protection?
I think Italy is trying to save face because she is an embarrassment to them at this point.....because the woman herself can't tell the difference between her journalistic story and the truth. The truth wouldn't make for good headlines from her knowing her true convictions.
TONI
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investigators have found that American troops who shot dead an Italian agent at a Baghdad checkpoint on March 4 committed no wrongdoing and will not be disciplined, an Army official said on Monday.
But Italy disagrees with key findings in the preliminary report by the U.S. military investigators and has balked at endorsing it, added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
U.S. troops fatally shot the Italian intelligence officer, Nicola Calipari, when they opened fire on a car heading for Baghdad airport in which he was escorting Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, a hostage who had just been released.
The friendly fire incident has caused tension between the United States and Italy, one of America's staunchest allies in Iraq. Calipari was fatally wounded as he threw his body over Sgrena to protect her from a hail of bullets. She was wounded but survived.
The Army official said Italy was disputing two factual issues in the report: the speed of the car as it approached the checkpoint; and the nature of communications between the Italians and U.S. forces in Iraq before the incident.
and of course the italians wont agree they would have to admits fault.
http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050425/2005-04-25T205742Z_01_N25497833_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-ITALY-USA-DC.html
But I saw an interview with a junior officer with much experience overseeing checkpoints. He talked openly about the difficulties in communicating, seeing, etc. at those places and even admitted regretting a couple of decisions in retrospect. He says they have their best shot (USMC) ready to shoot into engine block- and they often miss the block. Sometimes they hit another part of the car, sometimes they miss everything. In that case, of course, you now have a 7.62mm ricochet on its way somewhere!
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