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Italian aid workers, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, were held hostage for three weeks in September 2004
The Italian Red Cross treated four Iraqi insurgents to secure the release of two Italian women held hostage last year, a Red Cross official has said.
Maurizio Scelli, the outgoing head of the Italian Red Cross, said the deal had been kept secret from the US.
Mr Scelli – who first revealed the story to the Italian daily La Stampa – said Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s right-man man, Gianni Letta, was aware of the deal. “He acknowledged it and – albeit with a thousand recommendations – he told me to go ahead with it.”
Mr Scelli said Mr Calipari had been consulted about the deal to free Ms Torretta and Ms Pari.
Agent’s advice
Mr Scelli said he did not know the identities of the insurgents his agency had treated. “We collected them in the place we had been told and then took them to hospital with a series of precautions for them to be admitted into hospital as quickly as possible and without any hindrance.”
Mr Scelli added that US checkpoints were among the hindrances he was referring to.
Italy ‘did deal to free hostages’ ◊ by Fran @ EuroTrib
Does this story tie into Nicola Calipari assassination, by providing motive?
The Calipari shooting below the fold »»
The two investigations on Calipari shooting – US and Italian– are not reconcilable and contain false statements, elements of white-wash and contradictions. There were reports that the shooting was intentional and targeted the journalist Giuliana Sgrena from Il Manifesto. “They don’t shoot journalists, do they?”
Yasser Salihee * Reporter Murdered :: Story He Died For
My personal view has been, the US assassin squad of Negroponte in Iraq does not miss their target. I couldn’t determine a motive, this story which seems credible, does provide the motive. Do not fuc* with the US in Iraq, similar to the attack on the convoy to freedom and the Syrian border, when two French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, were traveling with their abductors.
My personal take: Nicola Calipari shooting was an assassination, a single shot to the head, sending a message to the Italian government and all western intelligence forces operating in Iraq.
That is why the Brits – Margaret Hassan and Ken Bigley – and Japan do not undertake rescue missions of hostage nationals with exclusion of the US occupational authorities in the Green Zone of Baghdad.
Does this explain also the hard handed approach of US forces in November, 2004 attack on Fallujah, clearing out all hospitals and Red Crescent aid workers.
After Calipari killing, all love lost between US and Italian intelligence!
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Related diaries and further reading on topic —
with No Consequences ◊ by Oui @BooMan
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“In March, U.S. troops in Iraq shot to death Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent that rescued the kidnapped journalist Giuliana Sgrena. U.S. commission on the incident produced a report which public version was censored for more than one third. Now Italian press is reporting that all confidential information in the report is available to the public, just by copying “hidden” text from the PDF and pasting it in a word processor (Italian). The uncensored report can now be directly downloaded
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When a Time line has become a Death line ::
US Fallen Heroes-Coalition-Iraqi Security
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Our Commander-In-Chief of Coalition forces, is not only responsible to low count of US deaths, also the coalition deaths, contractors, security forces and civilian deaths.
Don’t let Bush get away with a low number under 2,000 US troops killed! The cost of this war is much greater – more than 100,000+ men, women, children killed in a senseless adventure.
Iraqi Police and security forces
Period Police/Mil
Jan-05 109
Feb-05 103
Mar-05 200
Apr-05 199
May-05 259
Jun-05 296
Jul-05 304
Aug-05 207
Total 2005 1,677
Prior to 2005 1,300
Total 2,977
Deaths Since April 28th
(Shiite-led government announced):
Police/Mil: 1,113
Civilians: 1,924
Total: 3,037
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I am suspicious of death by accident and suicide, as well as by lone nut. We are all held captive by a murderous mob that wants to kill us all and take our stuff. We have a weak press because the personal risk is too high.
Hopefully, we can construct a shield of truth-telling to protect us all from the PR assaults. It starts by being less delicate about language – words like ‘lied’ and ‘killed’ need a revival. I much prefer deserter to chickenhawk.
The shadow government of the U.S. has been conducting assassinations for decades now. This is the same old story, different venue. We must fight for a transparent government, and not buy into the need for secrecy for intelligence reasons. This promotes secret violence against anyone perceived as an obstacle or enemy.
as always, I so enjoy this on Thursdays…thanks you guys…
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◊ by paper tigress @dKos
Negroponte. Ledeen. Boykin. North. Kerek. If these figures make you uneasy, they should. An Italian investigation has uncovered an underground, parallel police network with possible links to the CIA which may be involved in the slaying of Niccola Calipari and Il Diario reporter Enzo Baldoni, the extraordiary rendition of Abu Omar and Nigergate.
Gladio and P-2 ◊ Posted by venice ca @dKos
For background on Gladio and P2:
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA%20Hits/Gladio_CIAHits.html
and
http://users.westnet.gr/~cgian/gladio.htm
What has not been conclusively shown is what direct links there might have been between the CIA and right-wing terrorism.” (Charles Richards & Simon Jones, Independent, 16/11/90)
jail sentence overturned on appeal. Mr Gelli, as it happens, was a contact for CIA agents responsible for controlling communist influence in Italy.”
(Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian, 16/11/90)
(Ed Vulliamy, Guardian, 5/12/90)
La dedica di Licio Gelli a Saya tratta da una foto.
Gelli scrive: “A Gaetano Saia. La verità ha un solo volto, quello dell’onestà verso gli altri e verso se stesso. Con stima e molta simpatia, Licio Gelli”. La data è quella del 5/6/91
“To Gaetano Saia.
The truth has only one face, that of honesty towards others and to itself.
With fond regards, Licio Gelli” Dated June 5, 1991
Posted by venice ca on Fri Jul 1st, 2005 at 11:53:28 PDT
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this is as credible an explanation as any. As to the love lost: that could explain the charges against the CIA kidnapping squad in Italy …
Quid (rescue missions) leads to Pro (assassination) leads to Quo (charges against CIA operatives).
Thanks Oui. Outstanding, as usual.
I remember that during the negotiations for the release of three Italian mercenaries Gino Strada of Emergency was making accusations that Scelli (and the CRI) were not independent, but Berlusconi’s vassals. Still not exactly sure what in particular he was criticizing – such are the problems of not having access to Italian TV, radio and full editions of the newspapers.
One of the Simone was interviewed in Manifesto after the shooting of Calipari, and she recalled his participation in her release. She described the trip to Baghdad IA as being one of hiding their identities (of the two Simone) from the US soldiers at the checkpoints, and taking off with an unauthorized flight out of BIA. My posting on this is no longer at dkos – evidently lost in the new upgrades – and Manifesto doesn’t keep more than one week of on-line archives for non-subscribers.
I agree that it looks as if it were an assassination; whether Calipari in particular, or everyone and anyone in the vehicle, the shooters didn’t seem to care.
IIRC I read that there was the possibility that the US didn’t even do ballistic tests on the Toyota in which Calipari, Sgrena, and Carpani were shot. And why would they want to? The results would obviously contradict the narrative of a lone gunman (sound familiar?) that the US inquest members had constructed. And the fiction of a lone gunman, with super human powers to handle a large flood light and a machine gun, was a big F*Y* to the two Italians who were allowed in the investigation commission – but then the “joint” US-Italian investigation was a fiction as well. The US military said F*Y* to Italy, to SISMI, to Berlusconi, and especially to Sgrena and Carpani. Then Secretary of State Rice had to step out to say that the military F*Y* really wasn’t a definite, and final F*Y*… but it was.
In Italy there is acknowledgment of a parallel government and intelligence/security agencies – P2, Gladio, and now DSSA. For a brief period, the US was starting to acknowledge our parallel structures, only to have the discussion fade from view. Now we have the neo-cons with their parallel intelligence – something that absolutely stuns me.
Parts of the CIA have been willing to carry out American Foreign policy – in one way or another – in Central and South America for example, and now they are not to be trusted? Just how far out there are these neo-con people? We are seeing the disastrous results in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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by venice ca Wed Apr 13th, 2005 at 12:31:40 PDT
Tonight April 13, 2005, Sixty Minutes Wednesday will broadcast an interview with Giuliana Sgrena.
Most interestingly, the report does not include the claims of Sgrena and the surviving agent that the car was not speeding. Although the U.S. Army declined requests for an interview, citing its ongoing investigation, the report presents an excuse for the shootings. A former U.S. Marine captain, who was not present at the incident, attempts to make a reconstruction of events.
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Did US Military Errors Kill Nicola Calipari? ◊ diary by gilgamesh
I did read that the road block was left up long after Negroponte arrived at Camp Victory at Baghdad airport. Also in the report, road blocks are supposed to be set up and then dismantled within 15-20 minutes otherwise they risk becoming targets of the insurgents. This road block was up for well over an hour.
[Road block up from 19:30 till 20:50 shooting incident – Oui –
Post: Collapse TCP/BP 541 plus MAP of Baghdad]
Communications difficulties put the telephones used to contact the patrols out of order, but they also had FM/radio communications, which no one used to contact the road block and tell them to move on.
Two different means of communicating available. One not working and the other not used. Why???
Why did they expose the soldiers to additional danger by the long posting? Or was the “oversight” intentional?
The US claims a single gunman, while reports from around March 23 (TG3, Il Manifesto) say that two different caliber bullets were found in the interior of the car; one from an M16, and another from machine guns used on Humvees.
Previously posted at dKos.
The inside of the car was hit by a dozen bullets, almost all directed towards the head and chest of the passengers. In fact, at least four were embedded in back of the rear passenger seats, exactly in the places where Giuliana and Calipari were sitting.
A single shooter can hit the left front tire, the front windshield, shoot tracer bullets that pass in front of the chest of the driver, blow out the windows on the passenger side, hit both Calipari and Sgrena, seated in the rear passenger seats, from behind, and blow out the rear window.
This report is truly an insult to the Italians.
I don’t know if Sgrena and/or Calipari were targeted, or if the military command wanted to teach Italy a lesson and didn’t care who in the car was hurt.
by venice ca on Mon May 2nd, 2005 at 08:16:07 AM PST
[Minor editing and some bold emphasis is mine – Oui]
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if the US military say it was an accident, it wasn’t.
Let’s not forget teh targeting of doctors and ambulance drivers in Fallujah. If you can shoot a doctor, for god’s sake, you can shoot a journo!
Thanks for this Oui.
sorry
Should have read “shoot at a journo” – didnt forget the agent actually took the bullets
Thanks Oui, as said above outstanding as usual. This whole story -as reported here in the US-was extremely fishy from the start and didn’t seem to hang together or make sense. I really try to be objective and not automatically assume every story relating to Iraq/Afghanistan is some sort of coverup/disinformation by the Pentagon here but that’s pretty hard to do.
I’m sure this will get zero coverage here however all these stories that continue to be reported in their own countries makes the question-‘why do ‘they’ hate us’ pretty easy to understand at times and I certainly wish the American public were being given real news instead of the crap we get daily from our MSM shills.
This so clearly had John Negroponte written all over it……………….
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that I recall ever seeing of the route and timeframe of the shooting incident were in the Italian press. Here
Can you or your buddy in Iraq point to any graphics released by US officials to illustrate US Mil’s side of the story?
by shumard on Fri Apr 1st, 2005 at 12:06:59 PDT
Saddam’s private highway, built especially as an escape route to the airport from the Republican Palace
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by gilgamesh ◊ Tue Apr 26th, 2005
cross-posted at New European Times and BoomanTribune
The joint US/Italian commision investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Nicola Calipari – the SISMI agent awarded a Gold Medal by the Italian governement for saving the life of journalist Giuiliana Sgrena – has completely absolved US troops, and a shifted the responsibility for the incident onto Nicola Calipari himself.
Guiliana Sgrena’s reaction is sharp and unambiguous:
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Ever since reading this I’ve been wondering…
How have the deaths of the Iraqi/Afghanistan war jounralists/photographers rank with other wars? Is there any stats about this? Would be interesting to compare the numbers. And how many may have been killed/murdered by our own troops.
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Iraq is the world’s most dangerous country for journalists and the place where the most are kidnapped. 56 journalists and media assistants have been killed there since the fighting began on 22 March 2003 and 29 kidnapped.
The Iraq conflict is the deadliest inter-state war for journalists since the one in Vietnam, when 63 were killed, but over a period of 20 years (1955-75). During the fighting in the former Yugoslavia (1991-95), 49 journalists were killed doing their job.
57 journalists and 20 media assistants were killed in Algeria between 1993 and 1996 but this was during an internal (civil) war.
JOURNALISTS KILLED ON DUTY: 52
CPJ considers a journalist to be killed on duty if the person died as a result of a hostile action–such as reprisal for his or her work, or crossfire while carrying out a dangerous assignment. CPJ does not include journalists killed in accidents, such as car or plane crashes, unless the crash was caused by aggressive human action (for example, if a plane were shot down or a car crashed trying to avoid gunfire). Nor does CPJ include journalists who died of health ailments.
EARLIER CONFLICTS
Some 274 journalists have been killed in war zones around the globe since 1990, according to the International Federation of Journalists. It is less common for foreign journalists to be killed in war zones. Most media casualties over the past 13 years were working in their country of origin.
Many of the 62 journalists killed during the Bosnian conflict came from the former Yugoslav republic, while all of the 49 journalists killed in the war in Rwanda were Rwandan. Of 23 journalists killed in the Kosovan conflict in 1999, 16 were Serbian, three Chinese, two German and two others were of unidentified nationality.
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Oui, thank you so much. Found this little bit
CNN: “More journalists have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003 than during the 20 years of conflict in Vietnam, media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Sunday.”
Unbelievable. No wonder the world hates this country. Can’t even say My Country anymore…
There’s hockey where you live right?? 🙂
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8/29/05 Media News Monday ◊ by Newsie8200
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Thank you Oui!