An Italian journalist rescued from hostage-takers in Iraq last month has reacted angrily to a US military investigation absolving American soldiers of responsibility for killing the man who rescued her.
Nicola Calipari, a senior Italian intelligence agent, was shot dead on March 4 when US soldiers fired at his car as he took the reporter, Guiliana Sgrena, to Baghdad airport.
A report leaked by an American army official in Washington last night was said to have cleared US troops of any culpability for his death. The official said the soldiers had followed their rules of engagement and should not therefore face charges of dereliction of duty.
The probe was conducted in co-operation with the Italians, but the official conceded that Italy, a close US ally in Iraq, disagreed with its findings.
In a front page editorial in her left-wing daily Il Manifesto, Sgrena called on Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, to respond what she called a "slap in the face for the Italian Government".
Sgrena, a veteran war correspondent who was held hostage for a month in Iraq, wrote: "After the apologies comes the slap in the face."
She said that the Americans had not listened to either her testimony or that of another Italian agent, even though, she said, both had given the same evidence without discussing what had happened.
"Obviously, our two testimonies given to the American commission were useless. Or will I be charged with perjury?" questioned the journalist.
"The greatest disappointment would be if our authorities were to accept this insult without reacting."
The US army official said that the US investigation concluded that "the soldiers were all complying with the standard operating procedures for those checkpoints and therefore were not culpable of dereliction of duty in following their procedures".
He added: "There is deep remorse over what happened. Everybody feels terrible about it. But given the climate and the security atmosphere, the security procedures in checkpoint operations have to be run by the letter."
Immediately after the March 4 incident, the US military said that the vehicle was approaching at a high rate of speed and failed to respond to hand signals, flashing white lights and warning shots. That version of events was disputed by Sgrena, who said the vehicle was travelling at a normal speed.
"I think there are problems determining what the rate of speed was. The reporter said they werent speeding. The US soldiers said it was. So there is disparity over the speed of the car," the official said.
Another key issue was whether the Italians had notified the Americans that Calipari would be traveling to the airport with Sgrena, and if so why the soldiers manning the checkpoint had not been alerted.
An ongoing US military investigation into the death of the Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari cleared the US soldiers charged. A US official speaking anonymously stated, "The soldiers were all complying with the standard operating procedures for those checkpoints and therefore were not culpable of dereliction of duty in following their procedures," according to the Australian Special Broadcasting Service.

The Italian government has rejected the investigation's findings. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi later apologised for "an unfortunate leak" that suggested the investigation was completed, and assured paliament that the investigation was not yet over.

Giuliana Sgrena, the journalist of Italian newspaper ''il Manifesto'' who was injured in the shooting, replied, "Unbelievable. They say soldiers followed only their rules of engagement. But if shooting on a machine that is moving, while USA were informed about it, is following rules of engagement, we must ask ourself what kind of rules they are." For Sgrena now "it's important that Italian Magistracy goes on. But all may suppose that its job will not be so easy".

The report was delayed so that disputes might be solved between the two governments. These disputes included disagreements on how fast the car was going as it approached the checkpoint and if US soldiers knew that the car and passengers would be passing through on that day. Italian officials who participated in the investigation are said to have disagreed with its findings.

US soldiers insisted that the car carrying Sgrena and Calipari to the Baghdad airport was traveling at a high speed and failed to heed warnings to stop. The Italian driver of the car denies he was speeding or that soldiers gave a warning. "It's enough to see the car," Sgrena wrote in ''il Manifesto''. "The front windshield is intact, while the side windows and the one behind are shattered."

=== See also ===
* Kidnapped Italian journalist refutes American government claims ''Wikinews'' March 25, 2005