Journalist calls shots unjustified
Wounded Italian’s account differs from that of U.S.
“We weren’t going very fast, given the circumstances. It was not a checkpoint, but a patrol that started firing right after lighting up a spotlight. The firing was not justified by the movement of our automobile,” Sgrena, a reporter for the Communist newspaper Il Manifesto, told Italian investigators.
Italy: “Rome, Italy, March 5 – Justice minister Roberto Castelli has signed the rogatory letter requested by the public prosecutor’s office in Rome to examine exactly what happened when Nicola Calipari was killed. The investigators want to know how the accident happened, the identity of the US soldiers, members of the patrol and the reason for which they opened fire.”
(emphasis added)
Ireland: Berlusconi criticises US over shooting of Italian agent in Iraq.
BBC: Italian press shocked by shooting.
Australia: Italians rally over ‘friendly fire’ incident in Iraq.
South Africa: Angry Italy demands answers.
That loud silence you hear is the continued refusal of the U.S. to apologize in any meaningful way or to take responsibility for this atrocity. “Expressed regrets” does not count as an apology, and the only response thus far from the Pentagon has been stonewalling. Italy was about their closest European ally and now they’ve managed to screw that up too. Arrogance and stupidity have always been a bad mix.
Yet another reason to get in the streets on March 19 for the Global Day of Protest against the Iraq war.