
U.S., Italy Spar Over Iraq Shoot
(Page 1 of 2)
WASHINGTON and ROME, April 26, 2005
Freed Italian Hostage's Story
The car in which Calipari and Sgrena were riding (Photo: AP)
Italian Primer Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologized for what he called "an unfortunate leak" suggesting that the investigation into the shooting of an Italian agent by U.S. soldiers was completed.
Nicola Calipari's casket at his hero's funeral in Italy (Photo: AP)
Giuliana Sgrena (Photo: 60 Minutes/CBS)
(CBS/AP) American soldiers who shot and killed an Italian intelligence officer in a friendly fire incident in Baghdad generally followed instructions for dealing with potential threats, a U.S. investigation is expected to conclude.
But the probe into the March 4 shooting is also expected to raise concerns about the rules of engagement at a Baghdad checkpoint, a senior U.S. defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been finished.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged Tuesday that Italian officials who participated in the investigation have still not signed off on the report's conclusions. But at a Pentagon briefing, they provided no details about the report.
"My latest information is that they have not come to a final agreement on a joint report," Rumsfeld said of U.S. and Italian investigators.
"It's an investigation, it was done together, intimately, and I think that we'll just have to wait and see what they come out with," he added.
Myers said the final report will be issued in Baghdad.
According to Italian news reports, Italian officials disagreed with the U.S. findings and were refusing to sign it. Ben Duffy, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Rome, said the United States was still hoping for a combined report.
In Italy, members of the opposition party said they were disgusted with what appear to be the results of the probe allegedly concluding that American soldiers bore no responsibility, reports CBS News Correspondent Sabina Castelfranco. Some said its conclusions were expected and are a slap in the face by the U.S. to the Italian government. They said Rome must demand the truth. Others said the outcome is totally unacceptable and insulting. They said it's offensive to the memory of the killed intelligence officer and an act of arrogance by the Americans.
One opposition leader, Giuseppe Fioroni, denounced any absolution of the blame as an "unacceptable act of arrogance toward Italy."
In response to the public outcry in Italy over the reports, Italian Primer Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologized for what he called "an unfortunate leak" suggesting that the investigation into the shooting of an Italian agent by U.S. soldiers was completed.
Berlusconi assured Parliament on Tuesday that the U.S.-led probe into the killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq is not over.
He spoke shortly after the U.S. ambassador to Italy met with the premier's top aide to see if crucial differences over the investigation could be worked out. The government "will speak at the opportune moment," briefing Parliament when the U.S.-Italian probe is done, Berlusconi said.
Fifty opposition senators wrote to U.S. senators to urge American authorities to cooperate with Italian investigators and not "spoil" U.S.-Italian friendship.
The rules of engagement direct soldiers to use warnings, then deadly force, against potential threats as they approach, and are designed to avoid mistaken shootings while also protecting soldiers from suicide bombers.
The U.S. official, who spoke Monday, left open whether soldiers at the temporary checkpoint during the shooting could face criticism for their performance. However, a conclusion that they followed orders would make it less likely they would be accused of making significant mistakes.
Continued 1 | 2
©MMV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Both Parties Grab The Third Rail
Rallies Planned In D.C. As Senate Holds Hearings On Social Security



 Iraqi Draft Cabinet List Submitted
Shiites, Kurds, Sunnis And Christians Included Among 32 Ministers




 
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
     
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