07
Mar
Why Was Giuliana Targeted — Or Was She?
BAGHDAD KILLING AFTERMATH
US DEBATE BEGINS: WAS IT A HOAX?
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER QUITS NEWSDAY
No sooner was CNN’s Eason Jordan and the issues he raised about the killing of journalists officially buried by the media than a dramatic new incident forced the issue back into public awareness. His ghost had risen even if his voice remains stilled.
Here we are approaching the second anniversary of the war and Bush was getting such a nice media bounce in the glow of the election coverage. Just yesterday, the Iraq parliament announced it will start work March 16 — Freedom was so “on the march,” breathing down the country’s privatized future…..
And then, day after day, and even this morning, more violence by those faceless “insurgents” (that our media never tells us much about) claims more lives. We rarely hear about the daily violence of the occupation in terms of civilians killed or abuses committed.
And now this:
I am sure you have been following it. Journalist Giuliana Srgena, in Iraq for Italy’s il Manifesto newspaper was kidnapped by parties unknown. Her country is mobilized to demand her release. A top intelligence agent finds her and reportedly pays off the kidnappers. She is freed and gets within 600 yards of the airport in Baghdad when her car is shot up–300 bullets according to one account — by US soldiers. The US offers one version; Srgena another.
COVERING IT OR COVERING IT UP?
On Imus this morning, Tony Aspinall of NBC speculates it was a case of “mistaken identity,” You don’t take that road after dark… they were all on cellphones and didn’t see the warning shots ” he says, adding that he expects no investigation. So much for a network probe. The Washington Post today seems to assume it was a “mistake” but says there have been many such incidents:
“The deadly shooting of an Italian intelligence officer by U.S. troops at a checkpoint near Baghdad on Friday was one of many incidents in which civilians have been killed by mistake at checkpoints in Iraq, including local police officers, women and children, according to military records, U.S. officials and human rights groups.
HOW THE STORY IS BEING PLAYED OVERSEAS
Frank Meagher pass this news on from Paris: “France F2 news last night, following a live telephone interview with Giuliana, that US military says the fatal check point was manned by rookies that had been in country for only one week.” The British press seems focused on the implications for US-Italy relations:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=617569
The Turkishpress.com site is reporting:
“… the Italians are not taking the incident lightly. According to a report posted on the Corriere della Sera site [news item in Italian], the Italian government is demanding the Department of Justice turn over the names of the soldiers involved in the attack. “The shooting could rekindle anti-war sentiment in Italy, where public opinion opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq,” writes Christiano Corvino for SwissInfo. “Italy’s center-left, which hopes to unseat Berlusconi next year in elections and to weaken his standing at local government polls next month, is campaigning on a platform of withdrawing.” Italian newspapers “warned the government against a cover-up given Berlusconi’s cozy relationship with Washington,” Media 24 reported yesterday.
“Predictably, the corporate media in the United States is in the process of downplaying the fallout from this incident, viewed by many Italians as an attempt to assassinate Giuliana Sgrena. About 100 demonstrators outside the U.S. Embassy in Rome blocked traffic and one banner read: ‘’USA, war criminals.’”
IN MOURNING
Today, Italy is holding a jammed state funeral for slain intelligence agent Nicola Calipari, the man Giuliana called her “liberator.” Tempers are frayed. Giuliana is operated on to remove shrapnel. She holds a press conference to express her belief that the shooting may have been intentional. Bush phones Berlusconi. The White House dismisses her as a communist. You can’t make this up.
Check the blog I posted yesterday for more details.
ROME ENRAGED
Laura Flanders of Air America was on the air with a special correspondent in Rome last night who said Italy is on fire with concern from moments of silence at football games to thousands flocking into the street. 10,000 people passed by Rome’s Victor Emmanuel monument yesterday to pay respects to Mr Calipari, whose body lay in state. He says that the American military version of what happened is being criticized across the political spectrum.
Many are saying that there was military antipathy to Giuliana’s stories which reported in the use of napalm and prohibited weapons by US troops in Fallujah last November. At the time, no US outlets even reported on this. Last week, Dr ash-Shaykhli of Iraq’s Health Ministry confirmed that US troops used internationally banned weapons including mustard gas, nerve gas and other burning chemicals. Sounds like the kinds of prohibited weapons that Saddam was accused of having.
THE TRASHING OF GIUILANA HAS BEGIN
In Italy, media outlets of all stripes supported Giuliana. There was solidarity, a concept few American media types seem to understand. Here in the Fox and blog-infested waters of the USA, consensus seems impossible and polarization is the template. In some quarters, torture by Americans is deemed acceptable and any concerns about the less than stellar job done by “our troops” is considered heresy, if not treason. Already the victim is being blamed for the crime. A letter to this blog hints at a plot because Al Jazeera had a picture of the Italian agent.
The right-leaning site, Little Green Footballs predictably tries to discredit Giuliana and anyone who believes her:
“The details of this situation have been described in so many different ways that it’s very difficult to get a clear picture of what happened — and mainstream media has predictably ignored Sgrena’s radical anti-war background… The inmates of Democratic Underground are beside themselves with glee, of course, accusing our soldiers of murder with no evidence. (But don’t forget, they support the troops!)”
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=14947_The_Radical_Lefts_Cause_du_Jour&only=yes
Michelle Malkin takes the side of “word of US troops than an Italian anti-war journalist”.
Even worse, a web site called My Pet Jawa is, without evidence, blaming Giuliana for being a terrorist collaborator: “Suspicion continues to mount (WHERE? DS) that Giuliana Sgrena, the journalist for the Italian Communist (WRONG) paper Il Manifesto, either faked her own abduction or became an accomplice after the fact with her jihadi captors.”
WHAT WOULD JORDAN HAVE SAID?
The debate is on and according to my sources Eason Jordan will not be part of it giving accepted a gag rule as part of his buy out. But the blogger who broke the off the record Chatham House rules at the World Economic Forum and outed Jordan’s comment is back with a comment that includes — what chutzpah — wondering what Jordan would have said. Thanks to him, he’s been silenced. Here’s Rony Abovitz:
“Liberals will now paint the American troops as bloodthirsty devils, while harder right Conservatives will say it is all an Italian communist plot and that the U.S. can never do wrong. I wonder what Eason Jordan would say about all of this.
“Here is a thought: take some American kids in their teens and twenties, and arm them to the teeth. Drop them into a hell where at best their Iraqi “friends” on the ground likely only hate them and wish them death and a speedy trip out of their land (bodybag or otherwise). You are vastly outnumbered, and you have no real idea who is the enemy, because there is no clear front line - in theory you already “won” the war. You don’t understand the language, the customs, and wish every minute you were back home. At any moment you can be blown up by a car bomb, suicide bomber, or be captured and beheaded on a global webcast. You are shot at from all directions. Your own government has not made it clear when all of this mess will end, and simply staying alive, keeping your buddies and platoon brothers alive, matters most. Maybe you believe in the mission, maybe you don’t. You do know that being alive matters, and that getting home, if home can ever be returned to after being in that hell, is a high priority.
“Put me in that position and I would open fire on anything that came within a few hundred yards of me. I would take no risk on my safety, or that of my friends. Eat lead and die you scumbags would be my motto. Fear would practically replace any philosophy that drives me now. Raw fear could make me do almost anything, right or wrong. I never want to take that test. To have restraint in Iraq is to almost be superhuman, to put one’s own life beneath that of an unknown, unseen enemy. Who among us is that saintly? For a soldier on the ground I can not believe that it ever really is about politics — it is about what is happening at that moment, who is coming at me now, and what I must do next. There is You, and there is the Other. If the Other is no Friend, shoot. “
UNDERSTANDABLE BUT NOT EXCUSABLE
So that’s the ‘let us understand and explain the incident away’ rationalization. Any military professional would dismiss it because they believe in honor, discipline, oversight, and command. If the troops are acting like cowboys with a license to kill, then that’s a war crime, and inexcusable and yes it is the military that is to blame for not upholding its own standards and not training these soldiers to uphold the rules of war. Yes, there are rules of war. So, the “gee they didn’t mean it because you would do the same thing in their situation” excuse is not on.
We Have Become “The Other,” brother.
JOURNALISTS AT RISK
Tom Fenton, the retired CBS correspondent now criticizing the networks for abandoning international news in the book “Bad News,” was on CNN yesterday with Howard Kurtz discussing the media situation in Iraq:
“FENTON: Well, U.S. troops are the ones who have the big guns. Journalists have always had the risk of being caught in a crossfire. I think there are a couple of things we can say about this story. Two things — one, it’s extremely hard to report from Iraq. Most of the reporters, most of the journalists don’t go out of the hotel. It’s worth their life. Even going to a press conference in the green zone is dangerous.
“Two, there is a back story also to this Italian journalist. It’s pretty widely known that both Italy and France are paying ransoms. That means that every Italian journalist, every French journalist there is a walking target. The going price for a Western — say, for an American journalist, particularly a TV correspondent, they’re big guns, in Iraq is something like $4 million right now. People get picked up and they get shopped to somebody else who will pay that kind of money…
WHAT PRESS FREEDOM GROUPS ARE SAYING
Tom Regan notes in the Christian Science Monitor:
The Guardian reports that Friday the International Federation of Journalists accused the US government of hiding behind a “culture of denial” over the deaths of journalists in Iraq, and said the US had to take “responsibility for its actions.”
Joel Campagna of the Committee to Protect Journalists writes that while there is no evidence the US military is targeting journalists, too many journalists are dying “at the hands of the hands of US soldiers because of negligence or indifference … And when journalists are killed, the military often seems … unwilling to launch an adequate investigation
or take steps to mitigate risk.”Mr. Campagna notes that while insurgent violence is the leading cause of death for journalists in Iraq (34 out of 54), “US military fire is the second-leading cause of death. At least nine journalists and two media support staff have died as a result of US fire in Iraq in the last 23 months.”
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2005/0218/dailyUpdate.html
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING?
Sorry, I have to keep going here because no one in the mainstream seemed to consider Jordan’s points worth of investigation. (And by the way I am critical of Jordan and CNN for not investigating the killing of journalists if they knew about them. In that thery were not alone. L JeSurgisLac writes:
“A few people have pointed out (Jeanne at Body and Soul for one) that the real scandal is that US soldiers have been killing journalists in Iraq - and no one in the American MSM seems to care very much. I found an In Memoriam page that lists 24 journalists, translators, and cameramen who have died in Iraq:
“To all war correspondents out there, to all those who cover the horror of mankinds cruelty to mankind, maybe one day the horror which you captured may persuade us that war is a barbaric way to solve our differences. An independent journalist who covers war is a peacemaker. The pursuit of truth can bring grim consequences to those who pursue it. Thanks to those who have been killed in their duty of reporting on the truth and to those imprisoned and tortured.
“The 24 names are: Terry Lloyd, Paul Moran, Gaby Rado, Kaveh Golestan, Michael Kelly, Kamaran Abd al-Razaq Muhammad, David Bloom, Julio Anguita Parrado, Christian Liebig, Tariq Ayoub, Taras Protsyuk, Jose Couso, Mario Podesta, Veronica Cabrera, Elizabeth Neuffer, Walid Khalifa Hassan Al-Dulami, Richard Wild, Jeremy Little, Mazin Dana, Mark Fineman, Ahmad Shawkat, Duraid Isa Muhammad, and Ali Abdul Aziz.”
SOLDIER SPEAKS
Someone named pecunium then writes: “I am going on inside knowledge, I was an NCO in the human intelligence company of V Corps during the war. As such I was privy to information which was not public, and is not readily available to people now.
“I do my best to keep my comments to public sources, but can’t always keep my secondary opinions from being colored enough by what I know to come to my conclusions without information most people can’t get.”
From the CFLCC ROE (RULES OF ENGANGEMENT)
1c. Do not target or strike any of the following except in self-defense to protect yourself, your unit, friendly forces and designated persons or property under your control:
Civilians
d. Do not fire into civilian populated areas or buildings unless the enemy is using them for military purposes or if neccesary for your self-defense. Minimize collateral damage.
2. The use of force, including deadly force, is authorized to protect the following:
Yourself, your unit and friendly forces
Enemy Prisoners of War
Civilians from crimes that are likely to cause death or serious bodily harm, such as murder or rape
Designated civilians and/or property, such as personnel of the Red Cross/Crescent, UN and US/UN supported organizations.
Remember
Attack enemy forces and military targets.
Spare civilians and civilian property, if possible.
Conduct yourself with dignity and honor.
Comply with the Law of War. If you see a violation, report it.“That’s extracted from the ROE Card, handed to everyone who was in theater. It has a lot of wiggle room, and that wiggle room is why what was, in effect a bush shot, was deemed legit”
AN ANTI-REPORTER MENTALITY
And what did this mean for that shell that hit the Palestine Hotel?”
This soldier writes: “Someone told them the hotel was being used to spot, and they shot it. A tad heavy handed, (and not really useful, without some real intel, there are a number of high points which could have been used to spot for arty, this was no Monte Cassino), but not outside the rules.
“But it does break some of the spirit of the rules, and given the nature of the ROE, and what CentCom, CFLCC and V Corps knew about the hotel, it should have been off limits, without approval from at least brigade, and probably Division….”
“There is a decided opinion, among both the rank and file, and the command structure, that reporters are out to get troops.
“Look at the reactions to reportage of war crimes… the reporters are lambasted, the troops are said to have been reacting to circumstance.”
(It should be noted that a number of Giuliana’s reports deal with war crimes like reported uses of napalm in Fallujah.)
http://www.livejournal.com/users/jesurgislac/31793.html
Excellent coverage of the event. I went to the lying in state yesterday in Rome.
March 7th, 2005 at 10:54 am“Napalm in Fallujah”!!!! How come no photos? Makes great art, all that fire and stuff.I,m sure if it was used we would have seen photos. The only way to deliver it is from aircraft and low, sometimes very low.Three hundred rounds or so fired at car carry the hostage to the airport and only one dead and three wounded. Not very good shooting at the range they claim.
March 7th, 2005 at 2:54 pmI think we all need to take a step back and truly review this tragic event with as much objectivity as possible so that we can discern the reality of what happened. There are, for me, several red flags concerning the recounting of this tragedy. First, Ms. Sgrena has been a vocal opponent to Italy’s involvement in the Iraqi invasion as well as to the invasion/occupation itself. Can we really trust her account as being factual or has it been colored by her political stance? Second, besides security concerns for the US troops at checkpoints, what would be the reason for them to fire on the vehicle? I must admit to being automatically suspicious of anyone who immediately touts conspiracies theories without credible evidence — in this case, Ms. Sgrena is the only person providing evidence, yet there were other people in the car from whom we have not yet heard. It will be interesting to hear if their account of this event corroborates or contradicts Ms. Sgrena’s account. Third, why would the US target Ms. Sgrena specifically? Per her claims, she believes that she has been “marked” because of her anti-war stance. Yet, other journalist, both foreign and domestic, both embedded and unembedded, have also taken similar stances, but have not been harmed by the troops. And finally, why would her kidnappers, as she claims, warn her about being targeted by the US? If they were that concerned about her safety, why did they kidnap her in the first place, and why would they release her? For me, the question now arises, was she really kidnapped or was this a political ploy, on her par, to funnel money to the insurgents whose cause she supports?
If the Media Channel is to remain the lone voice of objectivity and factual reporting, I suggest that you might wish to consider presenting all sides of this story, rather than just Ms. Sgrena’s point of view. To do anything else would be to make a mockery of Agt. Nicola Calipari’s death.
Sincerely,
Beverly McCartt
Winter Park, FL
P.S.: Another question: if ransom was indeed paid, as has been suggested, who paid? The Italian government or her newspaper? Not that it really matters — but it’s just a matter of curiosity.
March 7th, 2005 at 3:33 pmTwo points which I think are important but haven’t read at all in media, blogs or otherwise is the question of the soldiers and the driver of the car.
These soldiers were supposedly less experienced and were nervous as hell-understandable of course.People have defended them because of the very dangerous job at hand and that in the same situation anybody else would have done the same thing. What I’m concerned about is what orders were given to these soldiers at this checkpoint at the airport? They must have been told that a car with this recently freed reporter was coming. Did someone specifically give an order to open fire?
As far as the car is concerned, what has the driver said?. There was talk that people were on there cellphones and were not paying attention to the “warnings” that were given. Was the driver on a cellphone? Regardless, why wouldn’t he have stopped had he seen warnings? Why would he have been speeding? Did he start to speed after the car was been fired upon in an attemp to get the hell out of there?
Something is not right?
March 7th, 2005 at 3:43 pmNow you are being vilfied by the hate-site little green footballs and the vile Charles Johnson, a dishonest lackey of the far right. Just so you know, Johnson, a failed musican and failed ‘web designer’ has found profit in hatred. Many people have said that his hate-site is funded by Likudniks and NeoCons. Certainly, Johnson is giving the Chimp a non-stop blow job as he whips his ‘lizards’ into endless Muslim bashing. Please note this site: www.lgfwatch.blogspot.com and be prepared for some of Johnson’s goon-like lackeys to spam you and otherwise harrass you. Johnson is one of the worst. Be warned.
March 7th, 2005 at 4:50 pmGeorge Bush had David Bloom killed. I just know it.
What say you, Danny?
March 7th, 2005 at 4:57 pmThe Driver said he wasn’t speeding. He’s an experienced SS agent.
Of course, this will mean nothing to the ‘lizards’ and Charles ‘Ponytail boy’ Johnson.
And they’re not ‘right leaning’ they are ‘far right extremists’. Have no doubt about this. Frequent comments praising torture and first use of nuclear weapons.
They are disgusting.
March 7th, 2005 at 4:58 pmGreat advice there, Lizard Observer. Dishonest reporters should look out for Charles, because he’s not going to take partisan or hack coverage sitting down. In fact, I’d say the entire blogosphere is going to have fun ripping this story apart. She’s already managed to change her story 3 or 4 times so far.
Was she at the checkpoint, or was she out on the road in the open? 300-400 bullets, or 1-2? That’s a large enough hole to sail the U.S.S. Nimitz through.
You know you’ve hit it big time when all the internet-asylum inmates consider you a “threat.”
As for your post prose, I see you’ve studied your MoveOn.org hand book. You managed to fit in all the necessary blustering and name calling while simultaneously excluding any relevancy and warping all the facts. Capital ‘A’ work there, Observer.
March 7th, 2005 at 5:06 pmOh, and let’s not forget. First it was soldiers, then it was an armored vehicle.
Now, it’s TANKS!
Because obviously foreign cars are impervious to armor piercing bullets. I can see how only one person would die. The car must’ve reflected 99% of the 400!
American cars are sub-par.
March 7th, 2005 at 5:09 pmA matter of physics here: 300-400 rounds must have come from a belt fed machine gun, probably an M60 in .308 caliber. There would have been nothing left of that car or the people in it. The Americans were not shooting to kill or they would have vaporized the car.
The Italians didn’t tell the US military of the escape or their plan because the plan involved ransom money paid to terrorists, who would have use the money to kidnap others. The arrogance of this Communist ‘journalist’ is staggering.
March 7th, 2005 at 5:40 pmLet me see if I’ve got this straight. Tom Fenton said yesterday that criminals, not terrorists per se, are hunting westerners for ransom, just as in Denzel Washington’s ‘Man on Fire.’ The Italians and French (and apparently other countries as well, according to Fenton and other news sources.) They’re all keeping this from the US and GB, for good reason, yet somehow our soldiers got wind of this VIP reporter’s release and fired 400 shots at her car–missing her and killing only one. She now issues her fifteenth different statement if I’m counting right, each one more contradictory than the last. If indeed, as she claims, she’s very important, a prime target of the US, then why did they take her to a military hospital, along with her driver, get her treated and then drive her in a military escort to the waiting plane? Was everyone on the US side so dumb they didn’t think a reporter for the major communist newspaper, one that (ironically, given that she was kidnapped) has constantly supported the insurgency? Where’s the logic in that? Why didn’t they shoot her? Claim it was an accident? Who lets big mouthed journalists, especially someone so far left survive to kvetch? (She was a Stalinist, then a Maoist, then a supporter of the Red Brigade, the Ayatollah, Mugabe, the Taliban, Al Qaeda…google her, a real piece of work and a reminder of why Berlusconi gets so easily elected.) This is Karl
March 7th, 2005 at 6:05 pmRove at work again! Could we have a less credible story or messenger?
Oh yes…. pace Beverly McCartt, red flags are certainly raised over a nauseatingly unrepentant communist and alleged “reporter”.
(Can you imagine that: admitting you’re a commie and supporting an ideology that’s tormented, tortured and murdered millions since 1919. That’s about the same as being a proud Nazi.)
Anyone out there seriously believe that this woman was “kidnapped?”
She went to Iraq with her commie agenda to tell the world how much better Iraqis would be with her soul mates: the beheaders, the terrorists, the killers, the haters, the jihadists, the Jew haters, the anti-Semites, the American loathers.
Evidence - well how about the fact that the so-called video of her “torment” was a total fake. The dummy even admits it. Guess you can blame the US troops for shooting the wrong person. Apart from that - go Marines. And let’s get Tony Soprano to finish the job.
March 7th, 2005 at 6:38 pmSgrena’s “side” of the story, as Ms. McCartt would have it, has a certain amount of weight, as does Pier Scolari’s, because they were there, in the car when it happened.
March 7th, 2005 at 7:49 pmThe car, the evidence of the car with the bullet holes in it, has disappeared. After the event the Italians were held for over an hour with no communication to the outside. Why?
An argument based on the “inexperience” and fear of the shooters is an obvious lie, or the acceptance of an obvious lie. Those soldiers were guarding the main exit from Iraq. It’s beyond idiocy to accept that inexperienced soldiers would be stationed in such an important position. Unless you accept with it the staggering incompetence of their superiors. At a time when security everywhere is intensifying to dysfunctional levels, we’re expected to believe that the soldiers guarding the main road out of Baghdad were unable to do their jobs without killing innocent people. I think not.
The only real question is whether or not Ms Sgrena was the intended target, or whether it was a message in blood and human life, for others - a warning, a threat.
Allowing the issue to be framed as one of sympathy, for the “terrorists” or for the “soldiers”, is an act of cowardice.
The real issue is whether there is any moral integrity remaining in the minds and hearts of the men who’ve done this, to Nicola Calipari, to Giuliana Sgrena, and to the world.
This is why we are losing elections…people like Ajax. Moral equivalency of criminals with soldiers. That’s why Clinton moved so right and forced the Welfare Reform Act on us, arguably worse than any piece of legislation authored by Bush. We’re a party of nuts, crazies. Has Ajax ever driven a car up Ambush Alley? Innocent people? Have you read Ward Churchill? There are no innocents in the west–get your self-loathing together.
March 7th, 2005 at 8:41 pm“Sgrena’s “side” of the story, as Ms. McCartt would have it, has a certain amount of weight, as does Pier Scolari’s, because they were there, in the car when it happened.”
Fine. She has a story, and she was there, amazingly enough. Hard to determine, since she’s shifted the position of where the event took place at least two times so far. We’ll say that the event happened, in some form or fashion.
“The car, the evidence of the car with the bullet holes in it, has disappeared. After the event the Italians were held for over an hour with no communication to the outside. Why?”
Yes, the car disappeared. Rather convenient for her, isn’t it? Especially considering if that many bullets were pumped into the car, she would now be ground beef. Holding them for questioning is proper procedure. They could’ve claimed to be a vatican envoy. Doesn’t matter. They still need to be checked out after an incident like this.
“An argument based on the “inexperience” and fear of the shooters is an obvious lie, or the acceptance of an obvious lie. Those soldiers were guarding the main exit from Iraq. It’s beyond idiocy to accept that inexperienced soldiers would be stationed in such an important position. Unless you accept with it the staggering incompetence of their superiors.”
Which lends credence to the idea that this story is not what it appears to be. They were no doubt experienced soldiers. Doesn’t it seem odd for experienced soldiers to unload on a car that is no threat? Yes? And if it was a hit (and how could they know, considering the Italians didn’t even let the military know that their transfer for the hostage and escape had even occured), then why did they let her live? And treat her companions? There were no cameras around. They would’ve merely annihilated the car and destroyed the bodies in the explosion.
No witnesses that weren’t already a part of the hit, right? Or maybe this whol “hit” theory is a bunch of BS.
“he only real question is whether or not Ms Sgrena was the intended target, or whether it was a message in blood and human life, for others - a warning, a threat.
Allowing the issue to be framed as one of sympathy, for the “terrorists” or for the “soldiers”, is an act of cowardice.”
A “message.” Yes. Okay. What’s the message? We shoot up random cars at checkpoints? We might let you through, we might obliterate your ride, or we might pick on the guy behind you? What the Hell kind of message is that, and why would they be sending it?
A “message” would be a village being torched to the ground, or 50 terrorists being staked on pikes with their heads on top.
Who’s talking about sympathy? We’re talking about what happened here.
“The real issue is whether there is any moral integrity remaining in the minds and hearts of the men who’ve done this, to Nicola Calipari, to Giuliana Sgrena, and to the world.”
Sure. There’s two sides to every story. Except this time.
The communist knows the truth! Obviously, since she has changed her story for the seventh time, and the newspapers have reprinted the last busted truth for the second time, and the car has not been found, and there has been no inquiry into this event…
Wait, what’s so obvious about this?
Oh, it’s an obvious anti-American slant.
RUN IT! FRONT PAGE! 16 MINUTES AGO, MOVE IT!
March 7th, 2005 at 8:45 pmGod will you folks give it a break! This morning you had Giuliana getting shot at with 2-300 rounds of M-16 ammo and what ever else they capped off, short of a one-kilo ton nuclear weapon, and only killing one. Now you have Uncle Karl ordering a hit. Come on guys dont you all think there are more pressing matters for the folks at 1600 to work on then some dingie-commie chick writer being ransomed and then putting a contract on her???? Some people out here have a lot of time on their hands.
March 7th, 2005 at 11:17 pmNow we find that the car she was in has disapeared. That scene reeks of an organized hit. Cui Bono?
March 8th, 2005 at 4:15 amThe scene might reek of an organized hit…except that Sgrena is still alive.
If she was supposed to be killed, she’d be dead. Instead, she’s magically dodged hundreds of rounds, and was then given medical treatment by the US forces who apparently forgot they were supposed to be murdering her.
Brilliant.
March 8th, 2005 at 8:48 amRegarding the war in Iraq, Americans receive news slanted in favor of the US Government. Aside from possible ransom paid for Sgrene’s release, some of us Americans would like to know what information Sgrena (and possibly Calipari) had that the US would risk alienation of ally support from Italy when she was fired upon by US troops. American sentiment towards what happened to Sgrena is Calipari seems to be “ambivilance” and “disinterest” because average American citizens feel they are powerless to do anything about it anyhow. Many take a narrow view that Sgrena had no business being in Iraq and that she took the risk of such an incident occurring by going to Iraq in the first place. But if that reasoning is taken to its logical end, then all journalists in Iraq face that risk. Whether we agree with any media’s “slant” on the Iraq war, media are the eyes and ears of the masses, without whose courage the elite would go completely unchecked at the expense of the masses. Perhaps this incident involving Sgrena and Calipari was designed to set an example to all journalists, a warning of what happens to journalist and those whom support them when their reports do not support US and coalition forces in Iraq. Such a policy is totally consistent with the US current policy to destroy terrorists and those who support them. Who is a terrorist and who supports terrorists? The message is clear: anyone the US claims is a terrorist and anyone the US claims is a terrorist supporter by any means the US claims terrorism is being supported. One can logically argue that Sgrena’s claim that she was deliberately targeted is consistent with US policy. Where the US has responded that such claim is “absurd” then the US has admitted its policy is “absurd”, but of course we all know that. Just like under Hitler’s tyranny, Americans do nothing to address this absurd policy because since 9-11-2001 the American people are afraid. US citizenry depend upon the US government to address those fears even many of those fears beyond 9-11-2001 have been manufactured and provoked by the US government and incidentally benefit the elite few. The US is a “result oriented” republic. It does not care about means taken or costs expended, whether it cuts off its nose despite its face to address American fear. It prefers cutting of the nose of the republic face over the cutting off of heads made available for all to see via the internet. It cares only that the end is accomplished and it kills and destroys any one or anything that blocks its view of the end.
March 8th, 2005 at 9:13 amBTW, the car has not disappeared. It’s in the possesion of Italian investigators and is being taken to Rome. According to La Republica, the vehicle was hit by 8 rounds. That would be 2-3% of the 300-400 rounds that Sgrena claims were fired. It also amkes it unlikely that she “picked up handfuls of bullets” from the seat beside her.
Sgrena is lying.
March 8th, 2005 at 9:14 amIt also doesn’t identify where the bullets struck. Most likely, they were aimed for the engine block, in an effort to kill the car, rather than its occupants.
However, going as fast as they appear to have been going (at least by Ms. Communist’s own account), it’s likely some of the bullets missed the engine block and went through the windows/side into the interior of the car.
Lisa’s post isn’t even worth responding to. Marxist class struggle went out in the 80’s, Lisa. Also, your logic is fundamentally screwed up. This incident was a hit, so when they fail to kill her at the start, they decide to spare her and treat injuries instead?
ERROR. DOES NOT COMPUTE.
And yes, we Americans are so afraid of reading news with an anti-government slant. That’s why Fox news is the only one that doesn’t regularly attempt to put a negative spin on anything that comes out the Iraq. Because AP, CNN, and Reuters weren’t already biased enough.
Will no one be happy until we allow Al-Jazeera to broadcast “death to America!” chants 24/7?
March 8th, 2005 at 9:45 amLa Republica has photos of the car.
Click on “IMMAGINI: l’auto colpita dai soldati Usa” just below the top left headline.
Sgrena is lying.
March 8th, 2005 at 3:30 pmThe photos do indeed make the figure of 300-400 rounds difficult to believe. However, details from the Italians reveal inconsistencies in the first report from the American troops, e.g. that the American forces had been informed of the car’s arrival (by the ‘mystery’ fourth occupant of the car who was in fact liaising with the US troops at the airport) and that the driver had in fact stopped when flagged down. See live feed from Italian parliament in La Repubblica.
March 9th, 2005 at 2:48 pmMark Manning was in Faluja making a film about the war. He came back to the US and within 10 hours his hotel room and car were simultaneously broken into. The only items stolen were his film He had evidence the US was using weapons of mass destruction in the Battle of Faluja. A report on this is available at http://www.flashpoints.net/archive/archive-2005-Feb-all.html#2005-02-16
Guiliana Sgrena also had damning information.
Why is the US trying to kill the journalists and their information? The stories are getting out and we are intelligent enough to see through the numerous Bush administration lies.
March 13th, 2005 at 2:52 pmIt is about time that Bush abd the US be held accountable for their illegal war crimes.