The U.S. State Department and the Italian Foreign Ministry released a statement April 29 declaring that a joint commission had failed to agree on a report into the March 4 killing of an Italian agent by American soldiers in Iraq. No joint report would be issued, it said.
A preliminary report, leaked three days earlier, had cleared soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, who opened fire on a Toyota carrying freed Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena, the prominent intelligence agent who negotiated her rescue, and a bodyguard at a U.S. military checkpoint.
While U.S. military investigators concluded the fleeing Italians ignored soldiers’ warnings and refused to slow down at the checkpoint, the two Italian investigators did not agree with these findings. Both governments have since issued final reports on their separate conclusions.
A U.S. 40-page report, released the following day, concluded American soldiers gave adequate warning, beaming light and firing warning shots as the car traveled toward the checkpoint. However, the report was heavily censored, with large blocks of text blacked out for public viewing.
Italy published its findings on Monday in a 52-page report, blaming U.S. military authorities for failing to signal there was a checkpoint and denied the U.S. assertion that their military command was not notified of the mission.
"It is likely that the state of tension stemming from the conditions of time, circumstances and place, as well as possibly some degree of inexperience and stress might have led some soldiers to instinctive and little-controlled reactions," the report said.
Insurgents kidnapped Sgrena, a war correspondent with Il Manifesto, in Fallujah Feb. 4. She was held captive for one month at an undisclosed location before her government secured her release.
When soldiers opened fire on her car, Sgrena was wounded in the shoulder and agent Nicola Calipari was fatally shot in the head, while shielding her from gunfire. They had been headed to Baghdad International Airport where a plane was waiting to transport them to Italy.
The leaked report sparked outrage across Italy, prompting officials there to openly criticize the U.S. government. Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper described the report as “the latest slap in the face by the United States.”
Last week in Rome, Sgrena answered questions regarding the commission’s preliminary findings.
“They say that they respected all the engagement rules and that is not true,” Sgrena said, “because I was there and I can testify that they just shot us without any advertising, any intention, any attempt to stop us.”
According to the former hostage, an Italian general had notified a U.S. Army captain prior to the attack that the rescue effort was underway and their vehicle was traveling toward the checkpoint.
“I was there when they called,” said Sgrena. “They called the Italian, because there is an official that is linked to the Americans. And this Italian general spoke to Captain Green, the American one, telling him that we were on this road and that they were aware that we were on that road. And this happened at least 20 to 25 minutes before the shooting.”
Sgrena denied they were warned by soldiers to stop or that their car was traveling at high speed. She also maintained that troops were positioned off the road and the shots came from behind the car.
“They were beside the road — they were not on the street,” she said. “They were away 10 meters and they didn’t give us any sign that they were there. I am proof that they were shooting on the back and not in front of the car. We can see by my injuries where I was shot.”
According to Sgrena, their route was cleared for Americans, contractors and embassy officials and Calipari had been given “a badge” from American commanders to travel on it.
Many Italians believe the shooting was a deliberate attempt by the U.S. to abolish ransom for hostages. It is U.S. policy not to negotiate the release of hostages. Sgrena’s alleged ransom has been estimated by Italian news reports as between $6 million and $13 million.
“I want only the truth,” Sgrena said. “But they don’t seem to be interested to find the truth about what happened in Baghdad that night.”
People’s Weekly World: C.F. Niles May, 2005