Let's Have Some Fun with It!
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When It's O.K. to Kill
C. L. Cook
pej news
April 14, 2005
Korea 1950-'52
Baghdad, March 6th, 2005- They were singing and laughing in the car, happy to be heading home to Italy. Giuliana Sgrena, corrospondent for Italy's 'Il Manifesto' newspaper had endured weeks of mortal fear, not knowing who her kidnappers really worked for, or what they might do to her. She was an old Iraq hand, having covered the invasion and occupation from a uniquely feminine perspective, living with and documenting the effects of the conflict on Iraqi women and children. And her reports were uncompromisingly critical of America and it's so-called coalition.
It was Sgrena's unflagging sympathy with the Iraqi people that finally led to her release. That, and the negotiating skill of Nicola Calipari. Calipari had negotiated the release of two Italian humanitarian aid workers and three other Italians kidnapped in Iraq. Calipari, Sgrena, and their driver were now homefree, past the last military roadblocks with the airport in sight less than half a mile away. Then the shooting started.
An American tank, purportedly put along the route as "extra security' for the expected visit of U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, swung it's turret around and opened fire on the car carrying the Italians. When the shooting stopped, Calipari was dead, Sgrena wounded, and the driver left, miraculously, only slightly wounded in the bullet riddled car. In Italy, the reaction was outrage.
The press in Italy had followed the drama of one of the country's best-known journalists, as it had the case of the "two Simona's," Simona Pari and Simona Torreta. And the story the U.S. military tried to sell on the incident, contradicted by the surviving Sgrena, made matters worse.
Today, a "joint Italian-U.S. investigation" found no fault on the part of the soldiers. In a released statement, the crack investigative team merely reiterated the military's original, already discredited story. End of story.
And in Israel today, nearly two years afer her husband, British filmmaker, James Miller was gunned down by an Israeli officer, the Israeli Defense Force ruled no fault was to be found. End of story.
But the story doesn't end here. There will be more journalists targeted and killed in this way. Today's double homicide rulings merely make it O.K.
Chris Cook is an editor with PEJ News and hosts Gorilla Radio, broad/webcast from the University of Victoria, Canada. Check out his blog at http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com
Annotations
US SOLDIERS CLEARED IN ITALIAN'S DEATH
U.S. soldiers reportedly have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of an Italian journalist and an intelligence agent last month in Baghdad. http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/23237.htm
ITALIAN PRESS: ITALY "UNHAPPY" WITH RULING
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4397936
ITALIAN JOURNALIST: U.S. LIED
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/12/60II/main687555.shtml
ISRAELI SOLDIER CLEARED IN BRITISH JOURNALIST'S DEATH
An Israeli soldier accused of shooting a British cameraman dead has been cleared by a judge of any wrongdoing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4444781.stm
ANGER AS ISRAELI SOLDIER CLEARED OVER JOURNALIST'S SHOOTING
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4399268
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