The (Botched) Italian Job

I don't particularly like placing blame on what was most likely a tragic accident, but I'm not going to let a terrorist-sympathizing communist nor her weak-willed supporters in the Italian government get the only digs in, either.

Guiliana Sgrena was the Italian communist journalist who went to Iraq with the sole apparent goal of making the war look bad as possible, in hopes of pressuring her government to pull out of Iraq. She was conveniently taken hostage, and appeared in a tearful video the very day the Italian senate was to vote on continued involvement in Iraq, pleading for her life and an Italian withdrawal.

On March 4, Sgrena was released by her captors when the Italian government paid them off with a ransom of millions of dollars, thus supplying the terrorists funds to by more weapons to kill more coalition soldiers and Iraqi policemen, judges, women, and children.

Because they were supplying money to the terrorists, the Italians apparently kept American forces in the dark. The Italian government felt we wouldn't appreciate them financing terrorism.

I wonder where they might get that idea.

In any event, SISMI (Italian intelligence) did not bother to let their American counterparts know all the details of this bribery, err, rescue mission. As a result, American military forces at the checkpoint did not expect the Italians, and responded within their rules of engagement when the car carrying Sgrena refused to stop.

Becuase of their willingness to capitulate to terrorism and conceal the truth, an Italian security officer, Nicola Calipari, is dead.

There should be a full investigation not only of this event, but of Sgrena's alleged kidnapping and full month of so-called captivity. If she is found to have willingly helped the terrorists as her own words seem to imply, then Guilian Sgrena should face manslaughter charges for helping to create a situation that led to Mr. Calipari's death.

For more information about Sgrena's "abduction," check out The Jawa Report which has covered this story extensively.

Cox & Forkum show what could have happened if U.S. forces did not handle the situation the way they did.

Update: So, Matt Drudge, what did you really think of Sgrena's claims?

Thanks, Matt.