THE US, THE UN AND THE IRAQIS THEMSELVES, V. 7.0

Did you hear the recent news about al Qaida infiltrating the CIA? That's almost comical, but it's true.

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Maybe now we will get some viable information.

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Well, do you mean this:

Quote:

"We think terrorist organizations have tried to insinuate people into our hiring pools," said Barry Royden, a CIA counterintelligence instructor. Royden spoke at a weekend conference on counterintelligence at Texas A&M University.

Last paragraph here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/08/terror/main678811.shtml

Better word that as: They think terrorists MAY have TRIED to get applicants in to the pool. Not exactly an emergency.

Cycloptichorn

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Violence Continues to Ripple Through Iraq
By ROBERT F. WORTH

Published: March 9, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 9 - Twenty corpses, including those of civilians and women, were found in a remote valley near the Syrian border today, a day after 15 headless bodies were discovered south of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.

The bodies were discovered by a sheperd near Qaim, 250 miles northwest of Baghdad near the Syrian border, a hospital official said. Some had been shot in the head, but it was not immediately clear whether any of the bodies had been decapitated, or whether any belonged to Iraqi Army and police officers, who have often been targets of large-scale killings by insurgents.

Insurgents launched a series of attacks today that left at least 10 people dead, including two suicide car bombings in central Iraq and an assault on a police patrol in the southern city of Basra, where violence has been rare in recent weeks.

At 6:30 a.m., a suicide bomber drove a garbage truck full of explosives into a parking lot next to the Sadeer Hotel in central Baghdad. Gunmen exchanged fire with the hotel's guards for several minutes before the truck blew up about 40 yards from the eight-story hotel, which is next to the Agriculture Ministry building.

The explosion destroyed dozens of cars in the parking lot, leaving a huge crater in the concrete and sending a massive plume of black smoke in the area around Firdous Square, where the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down by American soldiers two year ago. All the hotel's windows were knocked out, but the building did not appear to have been damaged structurally, witnesses said.

One person was killed and at least 22 were wounded in the blast, which took place so early that few people were in the streets, Interior Ministry officials said.

Within hours, Islamist Web sites posted several statements from the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most wanted militant, claiming credit for the attack. The statements said they had chosen the hotel as a target because it had a "Jewish staff" and Israeli intelligence agents were staying there.

An American soldier was killed in Baghdad when his patrol struck a roadside bomb at about 3:30 p.m., American military officials said.

Elsewhere in the capital, gunmen fired at a minibus carrying employees of a Kuwaiti company as it traveled through central Baghdad, killing one of the passengers and injuring three.

Later in the day, Interim Planning Minister Mahdi al-Hafidh narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when gunmen fired on his car in western Baghdad, Interior Ministry officials said. Two of the minister's guards were killed and a third was seriously wounded in the attack, the officials said.

In Habbaniya, 50 miles west of the capital, a suicide bomber drove an Oldsmobile sedan into an Army base this morning, killing two officers and a civilian, and wounding at least 15 people, Army officials said. The attacker is believed to have been a Sudanese citizen, the officials said.

Habbaniya is in the volatile Sunni Triangle, long a stronghold of the insurgency, where voters largely boycotted the national elections in January.

Also today, two police officers were killed and five were wounded in Basra, including a police chief from the nearby town of Zubair, when a roadside bomb exploded near their convoy.

Attacks have been rare in southern Iraq in recent weeks. But several attacks took place around the January elections in Zubair, about 20 miles west of Basra. Unlike most of southern Iraq, which is dominated by Shiite Muslims, Zubair is known as a haven for extremist Sunnis.

The circumstances surrounding the bodies found in Qaim remained mysterious today. One of the bodies was identified as that of Riyadh Aziz al-Sanad, a civilian who lives near Qaim and had been shot in the head, the hospital official said. All of the bodies were returned to their families for burial, he added.

The 15 bodies found Tuesday included women and children, and were in an old military base between Karbala and Latifiya.

Late last year, over 100 bodies were found in the northern city of Mosul, many of them wearing Iraqi police and Army uniforms, and many had been beheaded.

Mona Mahmoud and Ali Adeeb contributed reporting for this article.

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Jesus, how many Iraqis have been killed this year so far?

Cycloptichorn

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McTag wrote:

Suggested correction to above: "Due to American soldiers shooting him, a security officer is now dead."

Quote:

Italy calls on US to accept Iraq killing

Wed Mar 9, 2005 09:28 PM GMT

By Phil Stewart
ROME (Reuters) - The United States must assume responsibility for the "friendly fire" killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq in order to put the incident behind the two allies, the Italian prime minister says.

Aiming to set the record straight, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi contradicted U.S. military reports suggesting Italy may have been to blame for last week's ill-fated attempt to evacuate a newly freed hostage from Iraq.

Italy also denied ever bowing to "political blackmail" in Iraq or paying a ransom to Islamic militants for the freedom of kidnapped war reporter Giuliana Sgrena, after local media reported that up to $8 million (4.15 millon pounds) changed hands.

"Only a frank and reciprocal recognition of eventual responsibility is the condition for closure of the incident which was so irrational to us and that caused us so much sorrow," Berlusconi told the Senate on Wednesday.

U.S. soldiers opened fire on intelligence agent Nicola Calipari's vehicle for 10 to 15 seconds as he was taking Sgrena to Baghdad airport, he said. Calipari was killed as he threw his body over Sgrena to shield her from the gunfire.

Sgrena is still undergoing medical treatment in a Rome hospital for a shrapnel wound.

Berlusconi said Italy had made necessary contacts with U.S. authorities for safe passage, advising military at the airport that Sgrena was en route -- contrary to a preliminary U.S. military account that it had no knowledge of the mission.

Still one of the strongest supporters of U.S. foreign policy in Europe, Berlusconi said he was pleased the United States had accepted his request to participate in an investigation of last Friday's shooting.

"Our friendship with the United States is strong and loyal, and we have the duty to demand from them the utmost truth," Berlusconi said, winning a standing ovation from all political parties at the end of his speech.

A senior Italian military official and a diplomat will join the probe, which the U.S. military says should be concluded in a month.

AGENT WAS TRUE HERO, BUSH SAYS

Even in the divisive world of Italian politics, Berlusconi has won universal praise, including from adversaries, for his tough approach to the incident, including summoning the U.S. ambassador.

U.S. President George W. Bush sent his Italian counterpart a letter, distributed by Italy on Wednesday, promising a fast and thorough investigation into the killing of Calipari, who Bush called "a hero in the true sense of the word".

Berlusconi defended Italy's record defending the lives of hostages, saying just two kidnap victims -- journalist Enzo Baldoni and security guard Fabrizio Quattrocchi -- were killed in the past year.

The others were freed, Berlusconi said, without bowing to demands to withdraw the country's 3,000 troops, deployed after the fall of Baghdad despite strong domestic opposition.

"(Italy) has always rejected political blackmail (and) despite the brutality of the kidnappers it has not allowed itself to be intimidated," he said.

Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini went further, saying Italy also did not negotiate a ransom, after Italian newspapers reported that between $6 million and $8 million was handed to the Islamic militant group that took Sgrena hostage.

"I deny that the Italian government has authorised a cash payment," Fini said on a television talk show.

"The Italian government has never had any negotiations about an exchange of money. I want that to be clear."

Reconstructing the killing, Berlusconi insisted the U.S. version of events in Iraq did "not coincide" with what really happened.

Beyond controversy over whether authorities were advised of the rescue mission, the U.S. military has said its soldiers fired on the Italians' car after it approached a checkpoint at high speed and failed to heed signals to slow down.

Berlusconi said the Italians had been driving slowly and had received no warning.

Sgrena stoked controversy by suggesting U.S. forces targeted them on purpose, but Berlusconi insisted it was an accident.

"The case of friendly fire is certainly the hardest to endure. There is a sense of injustice," he said.

Source

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Had they told the Americans at the first checkpoint who they were and where they were going, they probably could have gottena military escort. I wonder why they didn't do that?

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Brand X wrote:

A war reporters opinion of Sgrena, her associates and her actions in Iraq.

Quote:
About Giuliana Sgrena

... Sgrena did not only jeopardize herself, but due to her behavior a security officer is now dead, and the Italian government (prime minister Berlusconi included) has had to spend millions of euros to save her life.

I bet that the alleged 6 million is only part of the price of Sgrena's behavior. Other Italians will be kidnapped and similar ransoms will be charged and paid. Also, the money collected by the kidnappers will finance the killing of more Iraqis, more US soldiers and more US civilians.

But what the hey, some might say, the kidnappers are merely insurgents and not terrorist subverters of democracy attempting to drive out the Americans. Others might say the Americans would otherwise willingly leave Iraq when the Iraqi government asks them to leave. Some might say, the insurgents don't believe that! Others might say, what the hell, stop the murder and see; murder hasn't worked in driving out anyone since Vietnam; why believe the Americans are going to emulate their 30 year old cowardice this time? Some might say, once a coward, always a coward; most Americans want the US to leave now! Twisted Evil

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Walter Hinteler wrote:

U.S. President George W. Bush sent his Italian counterpart a letter, distributed by Italy on Wednesday, promising a fast and thorough investigation into the killing of Calipari, who Bush called "a hero in the true sense of the word".

Quote:

Data: 09-03-2005
Descrizione: Lettera del Presidente degli Stati Uniti Bush al Presidente Ciampi sulla vicenda di Giuliana Sgrena

C o m u n i c a t o

Il Presidente degli Stati Uniti George W. Bush ha indirizzato al Presidente Ciampi una lettera di solidarietà per il tragico incidente che ha provocato la morte di Nicola Calipari, il ferimento di Giuliana Sgrena e di un altro cittadino italiano in Iraq.

Nella lettera, il Presidente Bush assicura il Presidente Ciampi che gli Stati Uniti procederanno ad una rapida ed esauriente indagine congiunta fra Italia e Stati Uniti per far luce su questa terribile tragedia.

Roma, 9 marzo 2005

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Cycloptichorn wrote:

Jesus, how many Iraqis have been killed this year so far?

Cycloptichorn

It's the insurgents who are doing it so it makes it all better. Sad

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It's unlikely that Giuliana Sgrena was deliberately targeted by U.S. troops.

But here's the real issue (bold emphasis added):

Quote:

The journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, 56, ran into fierce American gunfire that left her with a shrapnel wound to her shoulder and killed the Italian intelligence agent sitting beside her in the rear seat. She had been released only 35 minutes earlier by Iraqi kidnappers who had held her hostage for a month, and the car carrying them to the airport was driving in pitch dark.

But the conditions for the journey, up a road that is considered the most dangerous in Iraq, were broadly the same as those facing all civilian drivers approaching American checkpoints or convoys. American soldiers operate under rules of engagement that give them authority to open fire whenever they have reason to believe that they or others in their unit may be at risk of suicide bombings or other insurgent attacks.

Next to the scandal of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, no other aspect of the American military presence in Iraq has caused such widespread dismay and anger among Iraqis, judging by their frequent outbursts on the subject. Daily reports compiled by Western security companies chronicle many incidents in which Iraqis with no apparent connection to the insurgency are killed or wounded by American troops who have opened fire on suspicion that the Iraqis were engaged in a terrorist attack.

Conspiracy? No.

SOP? Yes.

This happens practically every day.

Supporters of this war scoff at parallels with Vietnam--but as was the case in Vietnam, our troops often cannot tell friend from foe, which puts them in an untenable situation and gets a lot of innocent people killed.

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revel wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
Jesus, how many Iraqis have been killed this year so far?

Cycloptichorn

It's the insurgents who are doing it so it makes it all better.

It's the BAQT (i.e., Baathist-al-Qaeda Terrorists) who are doing it, and that makes it all worse.

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McGentrix wrote:

McTag wrote:
Suggested correction to above: "Due to American soldiers mistakingly shooting him, a security officer is now dead."

Mistakenly, who could disagree with that. A horrible episode among many.

But my point, surely not lost on you, was the willingness of the military to shoot at anything, without warning. Only a few, very few, incidents get international recognition or acknowledgement

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McTag wrote:

But my point, surely not lost on you, was the willingness of the military to shoot at anything, without warning. Only a few, very few, incidents get international recognition or acknowledgement

A rather broad assertion. Do you have specific knowledge to back it up or is this merely more hyperbole?

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georgeob1 wrote:

McTag wrote:

But my point, surely not lost on you, was the willingness of the military to shoot at anything, without warning. Only a few, very few, incidents get international recognition or acknowledgement

A rather broad assertion. Do you have specific knowledge to back it up or is this merely more hyperbole?

Reading back a few pages on this thread alone will give evidence for that.
It's hard to hyperbolise a high-calibre round in the skull.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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Eason Jordan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Eason Jordan was Chief News Executive for CNN, and had been with the news network from 1982 until his resignation in 2005. He studied Journalism at Georgia State University.

Jordan played a key role in planning CNN coverage of world events and conflicts.

He is the recipient of two Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards and the DuPont-Columbia Award.

[edit]
Controversy
On August 16, 1997, Eason Jordan gave gifts to Secretary Kim Jong-il of North Korea to nurture a relationship with CNN.[1] (http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1997/9708/news8/16.htm) (Jordan had been credited in 1996 with gaining exclusive access to North Korea for CNN reporters.[2] (http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/world.report.conference/speakers.biographies.html#jordan))

On March 10, 1999, while speaking at Harvard, Eason Jordan thanked Fidel Castro for inspiring the creation of CNN International.[3] (http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/events/honors/morris/EASON-Morris.html)

On April 11, 2003, Eason Jordan admitted that CNN knew about atrocities commited in Iraq by Saddam Hussein since 1990, but the company refused to tell the public so that it could gain better access to the government.[4] (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html?ex=1050638400&en=ec21e8cd8fea181c&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND) This situation is similar to Walter Duranty's cover up of the Ukraine famine and other atrocities that he saw in the USSR but never reported.

In November 2004 at the News Xchange conference in Portugal, Jordan claimed that United States armed forces arresting and torturing journalists in Iraq. He also claimed that American troops were intentionally killing journalists.[5] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1355027,00.html)

On January 27, 2005, Jordan claimed that American troops are targeting journalists in Iraq. The charges were said to have been made during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He has since backtracked from the statement. Tapes of the event are being withheld from the public.

On February 11, 2005, Eason Jordan resigned to "prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished by the controversy over conflicting accounts of my recent remarks regarding the alarming number of journalists killed in Iraq." The right wing of the blogosphere played a crucial part in achieving his resignation, keeping the story going despite the mainstream media's refusal to run the story at the outset of the scandal

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http://secureliberty.org/index.php/2005/03/07/sgrena_car_shooting

Sgrena Car Shooting
I've been waiting for more information to filter in on this whole situation, and believe that now is the time to comment. Here's the basic background summary (H/T Rusty):

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. soldiers attempted to warn the occupants of a car carrying a freed Italian journalist before troops opened fire, killing a bodyguard and wounding the reporter, multinational officials said Friday night.

Giuliana Sgrena, a 56-year-old reporter for the leftist Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, and three Italian security officers were in a car headed to Baghdad International Airport when they approached a checkpoint, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said. Look at what she has to say about the ordeal. (H/T Jawa Report)

***

U.S. troops "attempted to warn the driver to stop by hand and arm signals, flashing white lights, and firing warning shots in front of the car," the statement said. "When the driver didn't stop, the soldiers shot into the engine block, which stopped the vehicle."

***

The car approached a checkpoint, at night, and refused to stop. Soldiers shot at the engine block. Seems quite reasonable to me. Given Sgrena's sympathy for the terrorists, and hatred of the U.S., some see her captivity as a hoax. Look at what she has to say about her ordeal.

What did your captors tell you when you were hostage?

***

That I needed to help them to ask [Silvio] Berlusconi to withdraw the troops. They saw all what happens in Italy, demonstrations against the occupation, demonstrations for my liberation. And so they [became] aware that I was really working against the occupation and people were supporting me and so they told me: "We have seen that you are very appreciated in Italy". And that helped me to be freed.

***

She's awfully friendly to her captors, don't you think? She goes on to say she can't be sure that the attack was deliberate. But she also said this:

"Everyone knows that the Americans do not like negotiations to free hostages, and because of this I don't see why I should exclude the possibility of me having been the target," she said.

***

And writing in her left-wing Il Manifesto newspaper, she said upon her release her kidnappers warned her to be careful 'because there are Americans who don't want you to go back'."

***

Give me a break. This is a left wing fantasy. They drove too fast through Baghdad and tried to run through a security checkpoint without stopping. Given the threat of car bombs, the U.S. military had no choice but to fire on the car.

Sgrena recounts her story again as translated by CNN (H/T Captain Ed).

***

The car kept on the road, going under an underpass full of puddles and almost losing control to avoid them. We all incredibly laughed. It was liberating. Losing control of the car in a street full of water in Baghdad and maybe wind up in a bad car accident after all I had been through would really be a tale I would not be able to tell. Nicola Calipari sat next to me. The driver twice called the embassy and in Italy that we were heading towards the airport that I knew was heavily patrolled by U.S. troops. They told me that we were less than a kilometer away...when...I only remember fire. At that point, a rain of fire and bullets hit us, shutting up forever the cheerful voices of a few minutes earlier.

***

Sounds like the U.S. version of events with some spin. Car going very fast, at night, on a dangerous, heavily patrolled road, and it refuses to stop. She assumes that the military had been advised that they would be travelling that road, if so, why would they be going so fast and why wouldn't they stop? They knew U.S. troops patrolled the road, wouldn't they anticipate a need to stop? Even if the Italians did notify the U.S. military, there's no way that car is going to just cruise through a checkpoint. It just doesn't add up.

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So let me get this straight.

Sgrena, who is against the Italian troops in Iraq, goes to Iraq like some kind of Jane Fonda. She then gets kidnapped and a ransom paid to free her. Her captors send her back to Italy with a surprising revelation... that they are tired of the Italian troops in Iraq and could you please send them home?

Did she go into Iraq looking for these terrorists?

She deserves an emmy for her admittedly faking her torture by her captors on the video sent back to Italy. Couldn't she have winked for the camera once?

This is treasonous.

Doesn't she know that this is a war? If she wants to do the fundraising and blackmail for the enemy than she should be considered and enemy of the US? I think she needs to be brought up on charges by the Italian government for conspiring with the enemy.

We have bus loads of dead Iraqis showing up and she is directly responsible for more of their deaths by her recent actions.

Segrena has brought more death to Iraq and needs to pay them back restitution.

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Fox News 3/09/05 6:39pm eastern
Italy still denies any ransom paid...

I guess they liked Segrena so much they just set her free...

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THE US, THE UN AND THE IRAQIS THEMSELVES, V. 7.0

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