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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Taro who wrote (222908)	3/8/2005 3:49:52 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573782

"I wouldn't give this bitch the time of day." This says it all. You know......its very hard to like you people. Don't shoot me, I am only the messenger. Also don't try to make the impression that you are quoting me because I didn't say that. I would have used different language should the need occur to me to express above opinion. Excuse me but you seem very willing to believe the FreeRepublic's version of what happened. Therefore, one would have to assume that you endorse their reaction to the event as well. What's most infuriating is the whole commie thing. You know damn well that the Italian communists are not anything like what the Soviet communists were and that they are a legitimate voice in Italy. In you own words to Elroy, this is an unmoderated, un censored thread. Where did I censor you? I was stating my opinion. ted

To: Taro who wrote (222908)	3/8/2005 4:12:09 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573782

In fact, the Italian gov't is not buying into some of the claims made by FreeRepublic. The problem with too many right wing rags is they don't seem to have any sense of responsibility when it comes to telling the truth or sticking to the facts. Instead, they are prone to exaggeration, and in some cases, outright lying. ********************************************************** Italy Demands Justice from U.S. Over Iraq Death Tue Mar 8, 2005 09:24 AM ET By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's foreign minister rejected Tuesday a U.S. account of how its forces killed an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq and urged Washington to punish any soldiers found guilty of wrongdoing in the shooting. "It is our duty to demand truth and justice," Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini told parliament. Agent Nicola Calipari has been hailed as a hero in Italy after he died shielding a newly freed hostage from U.S. gunfire as they drove to Baghdad airport last Friday. The killing has strained ties between the United States and Italy, which has been one of President Bush's staunchest allies in Europe over the war in Iraq. Fini dismissed speculation that U.S. forces deliberately fired on the Italians, but he said a U.S. military statement on the incident appeared to be at odds with what actually happened. "It was certainly an accident, an accident caused by a series of circumstances and coincidences," Fini said. "But this doesn't mean, in fact it makes it necessary, to demand that events are clarified ... to identify those responsible, and if people are to blame then to request and ensure that the guilty parties are punished," he added. The U.S. military has said its soldiers fired on the Italians' car after it approached a checkpoint at speed and failed to heed signals to slow down. But in a detailed reconstruction, Fini insisted that the Italians had been driving slowly and had received no warning. APOLOGY Fini said that immediately after the shooting, U.S. soldiers had apologized profusely to freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena and an unnamed Italian intelligence officer who survived the fire. "The government has a duty to point out that the reconstruction of the tragic event that I have set out ... does not coincide totally with what has been said so far by the U.S. authorities," Fini said. President Bush has promised an investigation. In previous "friendly-fire" deaths, the Pentagon has not publicly admitted to any culpability on the part of U.S. forces. Italy deployed 3,000 troops to Iraq following the fall of Baghdad and has made clear that it will not withdraw its troops despite Calipari's death. But it fears any hint of a U.S. whitewash over the incident will fuel anti-American sentiment. Sgrena, an award-winning journalist who was held hostage for a month in Iraq before Calipari masterminded her release, has suggested the Italians were fired at because the United States opposes Rome's practice of negotiating with kidnappers. The White House has rejected that suggestion. FATAL MISSION The Islamic militant group that held Sgrena hostage said in a tape released Tuesday that they had rejected offers of a ransom for her release. Italian newspapers have reported that between $6 million to $8 million was handed over by Italy. Fini Tuesday gave a long account of Calipari's fatal mission to Baghdad but made no mention of any ransom. He said Rome had never considered a military swoop to free Sgrena for fear such an operation would endanger her life. He said Calipari arrived in Baghdad Friday afternoon after establishing contact with the kidnappers. He checked in with U.S. authorities at the airport before driving off with an Italian colleague to meet an Iraqi middleman. The middleman took them to Sgrena, who was seated in the wreckage of a car, dressed in black robes and wearing a mask. On the drive back to the airport, the Italians left the lights on in the car to help identify them to U.S. checkpoints. As they neared the airport, the car slowed to about 40-km/h because the road was wet and because the driver had to make a sharp turning. Half way around the curve, a searchlight picked out the car and guns opened fire for 10-15 seconds, Fini said. The intelligence officer who survived the attack was forced to kneel in the road until the soldiers realized who he was.** "Two young Americans approached our officer and, demoralized, repeatedly apologized for what had happened," Fini said. reuters.com