Meet Italian Intelligence Agent Nicola Calipari...
In Italy, a U.S. soldier has been ordered to stand trial for the deadly shooting of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari in Iraq nearly two years ago. Calipari was escorting the Italian reporter Giuliana Sgrena out of Iraq following her release from a month-long abduction. The soldier -- Mario Lozano of the 69th Infantry Regiment in New York -- is likely to be tried in absentia.
On Thursday, the Italian Foreign Ministry urged the United States to cooperate on the case. U.S. authorities have so far refused to give more details about the soldier and have refused to share documents concerning the shooting.
The Pentagon maintains Calipari’s killing was an accident and it considers the case closed. In a statement Mario Lozano said “My side of the story was accurately portrayed in the Army’s report. I simply thought it was the enemy.” Giuliana Sgrena joins us on the phone from Finland. She was in the car with Nicola Calipari and wrote about her experience in the book “Friendly Fire: The Remarkable Story of a Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq.”
AMY GOODMAN: Your response to this latest development?
The Pentagon maintains Calipari’s killing was an accident and it considers the case closed. In a statement Mario Lozano said “My side of the story was accurately portrayed in the Army’s report. I simply thought it was the enemy.” Giuliana Sgrena joins us on the phone from Finland. She was in the car with Nicola Calipari and wrote about her experience in the book “Friendly Fire: The Remarkable Story of a Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq.”
AMY GOODMAN: Your response to this latest development?
GIULIANA SGRENA: The latest development for us, for me and for the family of Calipari are satisfying, of course, because the Italian justice showed the independence of their inquiry. And deciding to go to a trial for -- with the indictment of Mario Lozano shows that Italy wanted to remove the impunity of the United States soldier for what they do in other countries like Iraq. So we are satisfied, because we think that maybe through this trial we can get, if not all the truth, at least a part of the truth. Of course, we know that there will be no collaboration of the US authorities and Mario Lozano will not come to Italy, but we think, anyway, that it will be useful for going on and clarify some aspects of what --
AMY GOODMAN: Giuliana Sgrena, we'll have to leave it there, and I thank you very much being with us, veteran foreign correspondent for the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto. Her book is called Friendly Fire.
More on the story.
4 comments:
It is so seriously out of control over there, soldiers without sleep, with so many new militant groups popping up, or coming in from who knows where, it is really hard for them to know who is who, amoung all the chaos. I really feel for these soldiers, it is a mess over there and it is getting worse each day. People who would normally be peaceful are tired of being in a war zone, not having a safe place, not having water and electricity most of the time, they get tired and start fighting back.
And that is the news that WE ARE NOT getting in the U.S. It is sad for our soldiers.
And I keep hearing over and over, again today, Guiliani is the Republican front runner, that is good because all the Democrats in the race could easily chew him up and spit him out. It also goes to show you what a sad, sad state the Republican Party is in. Guiliani has none of the Right Wing morals or values, I think even the right wingers will turn on him.
Oh please... The GOP is just trying to boost Guiliani. McCain is a lost cause right now as the front runner for Prez. He might win somehearts of the public on the East Coast but Guiliani is not well known on the West Coast.. But, he will have to deal with his scandals in his marriages and mob connection.
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