Censored parts of US report on Italian agent’s death deepen dispute
ROME, May 2: Censored parts of a US military report on the shooting of an Italian intelligence officer in Baghdad have disclosed that US forces had communication problems at the time, an Italian newspaper said on Monday. If confirmed, the report would deepen a dispute between Rome and Washington as Italy prepares to produce its own account of the circumstances behind the fatal shooting. The censored 42-page report by the US military cleared troops who shot and killed Nicola Calipari, 51, as he shepherded a freed Italian hostage to Baghdad airport on March 4.
Italy and the US conducted a joint investigation into the affair but could not reach agreement on its conclusions. The US version, published on Saturday, exonerated US forces over the incident, which occurred shortly after Nicola Calipari had helped free journalist Guiliana Sgrena, and has caused a deep rift between Washington and Rome.
Italian authorities have rejected the conclusions of the US report, which suggested the car was travelling too fast when it approached the US roadblock at night, without warning.
“The main points on which it was not possible to identify shared views regarded particularly the sequence of events, the rules of engagement and the coordination with the competent authorities in Iraq,” the Italian foreign ministry said.
“That will emerge with clarity in the Italian report, which is currently being drafted,” the statement added. The controversy deepened on Monday when the Italian newspaper La Repubblica put on its Internet site parts of the US report that had been blacked out. Using computer cut and paste facilities, it managed to restore the deleted sections.
These give the names and ranks of those involved in the incident and disclose that the US officer in charge of liaison had problems of communication with “VOIP” (voice over Internet protocol — a type of telephone contact via the Internet).
The officer concerned did not use an alternative form of communication and as a result information was not passed on between units. The US report found: “There were a number of unrelated events that had a role in the incident. These were: (1) bad weather forcing a VIP to convoy on Route Irish (the airport road) that evening vice (instead of) the preferred method of travelling by helicopter; (2) communication problems involving a unit.. that caused the soldiers to be left in position longer than expected; (3) the recovery of Ms Sgrena being pushed back daily, for several days, to March 4; (4) the Italians did not know the soldiers were at the on-ramp, and were not expecting any such roadblocks; and (5) the soldiers did not know the Italians were travelling to BIAP (airport).”
Another deleted paragraph suggests that “the use of additional non-lethal measures (eg spike strips, temporary speed bumps, and wire) be emplaced to slow down or stop vehicles before the use of disabling shots.
“The intent is to provide as many non-lethal options as possible before asking a soldier to focus on firing the weapon.” It suggests that existing rules of engagement are not completely suited to the situation on the ground.
The US report stated that “it can be positively stated that the US military was totally unaware of the recovery and transport of Ms Sgrena on March 4 until after the shooting incident had occurred.
“Not coordinating with US personnel was a conscious decision on the part of the Italians as they considered the hostage recovery an intelligence mission and a national issue,” it added.
“Iraq is still a hostile environment, ie a combat zone, and the more coordination that can be done to increase situational awareness of those operating within the battlespace, the better it is for all involved.” —AFP
