Italian Courage Meets Italian Competence
Looks like the loop has been closed on the Giuliana Sgrena caper.
Now we learn that her wounding at an American checkpoint, which also resulted in the death of intelligence agent Nicola Calipari, was the result of the Italian general in charge of the operation not informing U.S. command about what Calipari was doing. That's according to one Italian newspaper; another alleges that General Mario Maroli didn't even know about it himself:
U.S. forces in Iraq were only partially informed about last week's Italian intelligence mission to release a hostage, which ended with a shooting on the road to Baghdad airport and the death of secret service agent Nicola Calipari, Italian newspapers said Friday. ...
Both newspapers cited a report by General Mario Marioli, an Italian who is the coalition forces' second-in-command. The report has been given to Rome prosecutors investigating the killing.
According to the newspapers, Marioli informed U.S. officials that Calipari and the other Italian officer were there, but not that the mission was aimed at releasing Sgrena.
The papers had conflicting versions over how much Marioli knew: Corriere said he knew the Calipari was working to have the hostage released, La Repubblica said he didn't.
Now why would the Italians want to conceal who it was that their spook was attempting to rescue? Could it be because part of Calipari's mission was the payment of a multi-million dollar ransom that would provide a desperately needed cash infusion for the "insurgency" with which to fund and launch additional attacks against Iraqi police, civilians, and Coalition troops?
Well does Jonathan Rothenberg ask if it's worth having Italy's 3,000 troops in the Coalition if Rome is going to simultaneously undermine our efforts by financing the enemy. Six to thirteen million smackers can buy an awful lot of AK-47s, land mines, explosives, and jihadi fighters, after all. If they're going to go into "business" for themselves besides, causing us PR headaches, well....
Maybe President Bush and Prime Minister Berlusconi need to "have a little talk."
[Hat tip: Captain's Quarters]
UPDATE: Maybe that talk won't be necessary after all:
Italy's justice minister urged former hostage Giuliana Sgrena on Friday to stop making "careless" accusations after being shot by US forces in Baghdad, saying she had already caused enough grief.
Sgrena has repeatedly suggesting US soldiers shot her on purpose and said on Friday she had little faith in a joint investigation by Italy and the United States into the "friendly fire" incident.
"She has created enormous problems for the government and also caused grief that perhaps was better avoided," Justice Minister Roberto Castelli told reporters in Bologna.
Of course, if Sgrena wasn't such a complete and utter moron, maybe she wouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place:
"'Be careful not to get kidnapped,' I told the female Italian journalist sitting next to me in the small plane that was headed for Baghdad. 'Oh no,' she said. 'That won't happen. We are siding with the oppressed Iraqi people. No Iraqi would kidnap us.'"
As a second-generation American descended from Assyrian immigrants, it never ceases to amaze me how ignorant many people in the West are about who is siding with who in the region, but I digress. Doornbos continues:
"It doesn't sound very nice to be critical of a fellow reporter. But Sgrena's attitude is a disgrace for journalism. Or didn't she tell me back in the plane that 'common journalists such as yourself' simply do not support the Iraqi people? 'The Americans are the biggest enemies of mankind' the three women behind me had told me, for Sgrena traveled to Iraq with two Italian colleagues who hated the Americans as well."
Doornbos then explains that the women ignored his safety concerns, and criticized him for traveling with the US military as an embedded journalist.
"'You don't understand the situation. We are anti-imperialists, anti-capitalists, communists,' they said. The Iraqis only kidnap American sympathizers, the enemies of the Americans have nothing to fear."
So, to sum it all up, the Italian government forked over as much as thirteen million dollars, a large dollop of international credibility, and strained its relationship with the United States, all in exchange for the life of an ignorant left-wing extremist who heedlessly risked her life on the ostensible behalf of the demonspawn that grabbed her.
I guess sometimes you don't get what you pay for.
[Courtesy B4B]
UPDATE II: Now the Italians are pledging to pay no more ransoms to the terrorists.
Wow, this is turning into a nightmare for the pink lady, isn't it?
UPDATE III: Welcome, GOP and the City readers! Make yourselves at home!
Now we learn that her wounding at an American checkpoint, which also resulted in the death of intelligence agent Nicola Calipari, was the result of the Italian general in charge of the operation not informing U.S. command about what Calipari was doing. That's according to one Italian newspaper; another alleges that General Mario Maroli didn't even know about it himself:
U.S. forces in Iraq were only partially informed about last week's Italian intelligence mission to release a hostage, which ended with a shooting on the road to Baghdad airport and the death of secret service agent Nicola Calipari, Italian newspapers said Friday. ...
Both newspapers cited a report by General Mario Marioli, an Italian who is the coalition forces' second-in-command. The report has been given to Rome prosecutors investigating the killing.
According to the newspapers, Marioli informed U.S. officials that Calipari and the other Italian officer were there, but not that the mission was aimed at releasing Sgrena.
The papers had conflicting versions over how much Marioli knew: Corriere said he knew the Calipari was working to have the hostage released, La Repubblica said he didn't.
Now why would the Italians want to conceal who it was that their spook was attempting to rescue? Could it be because part of Calipari's mission was the payment of a multi-million dollar ransom that would provide a desperately needed cash infusion for the "insurgency" with which to fund and launch additional attacks against Iraqi police, civilians, and Coalition troops?
Well does Jonathan Rothenberg ask if it's worth having Italy's 3,000 troops in the Coalition if Rome is going to simultaneously undermine our efforts by financing the enemy. Six to thirteen million smackers can buy an awful lot of AK-47s, land mines, explosives, and jihadi fighters, after all. If they're going to go into "business" for themselves besides, causing us PR headaches, well....
Maybe President Bush and Prime Minister Berlusconi need to "have a little talk."
[Hat tip: Captain's Quarters]
UPDATE: Maybe that talk won't be necessary after all:
Italy's justice minister urged former hostage Giuliana Sgrena on Friday to stop making "careless" accusations after being shot by US forces in Baghdad, saying she had already caused enough grief.
Sgrena has repeatedly suggesting US soldiers shot her on purpose and said on Friday she had little faith in a joint investigation by Italy and the United States into the "friendly fire" incident.
"She has created enormous problems for the government and also caused grief that perhaps was better avoided," Justice Minister Roberto Castelli told reporters in Bologna.
Of course, if Sgrena wasn't such a complete and utter moron, maybe she wouldn't have been kidnapped in the first place:
"'Be careful not to get kidnapped,' I told the female Italian journalist sitting next to me in the small plane that was headed for Baghdad. 'Oh no,' she said. 'That won't happen. We are siding with the oppressed Iraqi people. No Iraqi would kidnap us.'"
As a second-generation American descended from Assyrian immigrants, it never ceases to amaze me how ignorant many people in the West are about who is siding with who in the region, but I digress. Doornbos continues:
"It doesn't sound very nice to be critical of a fellow reporter. But Sgrena's attitude is a disgrace for journalism. Or didn't she tell me back in the plane that 'common journalists such as yourself' simply do not support the Iraqi people? 'The Americans are the biggest enemies of mankind' the three women behind me had told me, for Sgrena traveled to Iraq with two Italian colleagues who hated the Americans as well."
Doornbos then explains that the women ignored his safety concerns, and criticized him for traveling with the US military as an embedded journalist.
"'You don't understand the situation. We are anti-imperialists, anti-capitalists, communists,' they said. The Iraqis only kidnap American sympathizers, the enemies of the Americans have nothing to fear."
So, to sum it all up, the Italian government forked over as much as thirteen million dollars, a large dollop of international credibility, and strained its relationship with the United States, all in exchange for the life of an ignorant left-wing extremist who heedlessly risked her life on the ostensible behalf of the demonspawn that grabbed her.
I guess sometimes you don't get what you pay for.
[Courtesy B4B]
UPDATE II: Now the Italians are pledging to pay no more ransoms to the terrorists.
Wow, this is turning into a nightmare for the pink lady, isn't it?
UPDATE III: Welcome, GOP and the City readers! Make yourselves at home!
posted by JASmius at 10:53 AM
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