Ican - we keep getting mixed stories of exactly who paid the 'ransom'. I doubt the Italian government will own up to it, though.
Foxfyre wrote: ...It is the headlines that indicate what these three publications want their readers to believe about the story they are printing. The headlines don't say 'might'. They don't 'suggest'. They say specifically that this woman accuses the U.S. of wanting her dead. A news source with a different intent would write the headline very differently.
Believe it or not Foxfyre, in the olden days there were one or two newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic that would put the word
allege into their headlines. For example in the more blunt contemporary lingo,
X alleges Y is no damn good.
It must be very hard to be faced with that choice. I'm afraid, though, that paying ransom 1) funds weapons to kill more people with and 2) emboldens terrorists to take more hostages.
In the end, it's a very bad idea. IMO.
Ican writes
Quote:Believe it or not Foxfyre, in the olden days there were one or two newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic that would put the word allege into their headlines. For example in the more blunt contemporary lingo,
X alleges Y is no damn good.
Yes, and when I was being trained in journalistic ethics, we were not allowed to state a falsehood, implied or otherwise, in a headline any more than we were allowed to do so in a news story. But times are achangin'.
There were several comments on the ransom issue.
One opinion is, that Berlusconi wouldn't be able to leave Italian troops in Iraq if people in Italy would see a hostage being beheaded by her captors. The mission is basically seen as a 'peacekeeping mission' in Italy, and there would be no support whatsoever if something like that occurred.
On the other hand, news about an Italian shot by US soldiers isn't good news, either.
Basically I have to agree... I don't think that paying ransom is a very good practice.
It is even worse if the shooting is misrepresented as something it was not. But it looks like Italy had a vigorous anti-war protest group beforehand and they were going to be anti-war whether or not reinforced by this incident, misrepresented or not.
People in Italy know what 'Il Manifesto' stands for, I think...
Italy had indeed a vigorous anti-war protest group beforehand, as had many European countries.
Still, I think the fact that an Italian was killed by US soldiers seems to get much more coverage.
A minute ago another headline popped up on the German news:
"Shoot first, ask later?"
It questions the practice of the roadblocks in Iraq... This is getting much more coverage than what Sgrena is saying or not.
I really would be worried about that fact. It's much more troublesome than what "Islam Online" writes in its headlines, I think!
Worrisome how?
My position from the very beginning on this has been that if the soldiers' version of the story is the way it was, they acted properly. No way I'm going to tell those guys not to shoot first and ask questions later in a situation like that.
I haven't heard the soldiers' version of the story.
It is reported here that they say that it was after curfew and that the car was speeding toward them. They say they flashed lights, signaled stop, fired warning shots. The car kept coming. They fired into the engine block to stop it which was standard operating procedure for any car coming at them in that manner.
This is what the Human Rights Watch proposes to avoid incidents like the recent one:
Quote: II. RECOMMENDATIONS
To the United States and Other Coalition Governments
The Use of Force:
At Checkpoints:
* Treat everybody with humanity and respect for cultural sensitivities. In particular, practices like putting feet on civilians heads should be avoided unless strictly necessary to establish control.
* Take further steps to better mark checkpoints with lights and large signs in Arabic.
* Provide soldiers at checkpoints with basic instruction in Arabic commands and hand signals to help them communicate better with civilians.
* Have interpreters available at all checkpoints at all times.
* Deploy female soldiers to search Iraqi women.
* Initiate a public service campaign to inform Iraqi civilians about proper behavior at checkpoints. Although the Rules of Engagement are not public, the civilians should have knowledge of the basic guidelines to avoid danger.
I don't know that those guidelines aren't being followed. But how many Italian spies would understand Arabic commands?
Foxfyre wrote:... standard operating procedure for any car coming at them in that manner.
One point that is criticised is the fact, that 'standard operating procedures' are kept secret...
Is that true, or could we find out what 'standard operating procedures' really are?
Foxfyre wrote:I don't know that those guidelines aren't being followed.
Well, I don't know. The HRW says they aren't. And if the Italians didn't
see the checkpoint before they reached it, that might be another indication. Hope the WH investigation will find out about that.
Foxfyre wrote:But how many Italian spies would understand Arabic commands?
granted!
Insurgent Attacks Kill at Least 18 in Iraq
Last Update: 3/7/2005 8:43:20 PM
Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Suspected insurgents set off a bomb in front of a boys school in the town of Balad, north of Baghdad, killing eight people, three of them children, and wounding dozens of others in an apparent suicide attack on a nearby Iraqi army checkpoint, police and hospital officials said.
The attack topped off a violent day in which at least 18 people died in suicide attacks and bombings targeting Iraqi security forces, whom the insurgents consider traitors for cooperating with the American military forces.
Two of the slain children in Balad were brothers, said Dr. Joan Sabbah, of the Balad General Hospital. Also killed were four adult civilians and one Iraqi soldier, she said.
Another 24 people were seriously wounded, most of them burned by the blast. Iraqi police made several arrests in the case, according to a police official who refused to be identified, fearing that he would become an insurgent target.
Also on Monday, insurgents targeted police and Iraqi soldiers in several attacks in the town of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing 10 people and injuring 25. Two of the dead were civilians, six were Iraqi soldiers and two were Iraqi police, according to Dr. Mohammed al-Mishhedani, director of the Baqouba General Hospital.
Al-Qaida of Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the Baqouba attacks in a statement posted on the Internet. The group claimed to have killed more than a dozen people in various attacks around the country, but the claims couldn't be verified.
Meanwhile, politicians in Iraq continued negotiations aimed at forming a new government. The National Assembly, elected on Jan. 30, is scheduled to hold its first meeting on March 16.
Members of the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of mainly Shiite parties that won a majority in the assembly with 140 seats, met at the home of Ahmad Chalabi, once a key ally of the United States who fell out of favor amid accusations that he sold secrets to Iran.
Chalabi said the group discussed several issues, including where the new assembly would meet. He said some members of the alliance don't want to meet in a building in the Green Zone, which is guarded, and partially occupied, by U.S. forces, calling that building "under foreign arms." The Iraqi government headquarters also is inside the heavily fortified compound.
"Iraqis must see that this assembly is acting differently from the (current) government," Chalabi said. "They must be seen to be elected and representing a sovereign people."
Chalabi and others who attended the meeting downplayed recent defections from the coalition, saying the alliance is still solid.
The 275-member national assembly is tasked with writing a new constitution and forming a government. Because the alliance doesn't have the two-third majority necessary to form a government, it's been forced to negotiate with Kurdish parties, who control 26 seats, over Cabinet positions.
More on checkpoints in Iraq. It's an old article, but still relavant.
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WSWS : News & Analysis : Middle East : Iraq
dyslexia wrote:key word "MIGHT" she didn't say that they "DID"
If I said that she "DID" well, excuse me, she "MIGHT" be sleeping with the enemy too...
