Was Giuliana Sgrena Targeted?

By Danny Schechter, AlterNet. Posted March 7, 2005.

This piece originally appeared on Danny Schechter's blog, News Dissector.

No sooner was CNN's Eason Jordan and the issues he raised about the killing of journalists officially buried by the media than a dramatic new incident forced the issue back into public awareness. His ghost had risen even if his voice remains stilled.

Here we are approaching the second anniversary of the war and Bush was getting such a nice media bounce in the glow of the election coverage. Just yesterday, the Iraq parliament announced it will start work March 16 – freedom was so 'on the march,' breathing down the country's privatized future ...

And then, day after day, and even this morning, more violence by those faceless 'insurgents' (that our media never tells us much about) claims more lives. We rarely hear about the daily violence of the occupation in terms of civilians killed or abuses committed.

And now this:

I am sure you have been following it. Journalist Giuliana Srgena, in Iraq for Italy's Il Manifesto newspaper was kidnapped by parties unknown. Her country is mobilized to demand her release. A top intelligence agent finds her and reportedly pays off the kidnappers. She is freed and gets within 600 yards of the airport in Baghdad when her car is shot up–300 bullets according to one account – by U.S. soldiers. The U.S. offers one version; Srgena another.

Covering it or covering it up?

On Imus this morning, Tony Aspinall of NBC speculates it was a case of 'mistaken identity,' You don't take that road after dark… they were all on cellphones and didn't see the warning shots' he says, adding that he expects no investigation. So much for a network probe. The Washington Post today seems to assume it was a 'mistake' but says there have been many such incidents:

"The deadly shooting of an Italian intelligence officer by U.S. troops at a checkpoint near Baghdad on Friday was one of many incidents in which civilians have been killed by mistake at checkpoints in Iraq, including local police officers, women and children, according to military records, U.S. officials and human rights groups."

How the story is being played overseas

Frank Meagher passes this news on from Paris: "France F2 news last night, following a live telephone interview with Giuliana, [reports] that U.S. military says the fatal check point was manned by rookies that had been in country for only one week." The British press seems focused on the implications for U.S.-Italy relations: news.independent.co.uk

The TurkishPress.com site is reporting:

"… the Italians are not taking the incident lightly. According to a report posted on the Corriere della Sera site [news item in Italian], the Italian government is demanding the Department of Justice turn over the names of the soldiers involved in the attack. ‘The shooting could rekindle anti-war sentiment in Italy, where public opinion opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq,’ writes Christiano Corvino for SwissInfo. ‘Italy’s center-left, which hopes to unseat Berlusconi next year in elections and to weaken his standing at local government polls next month, is campaigning on a platform of withdrawing.’ Italian newspapers ‘warned the government against a cover-up given Berlusconi’s cozy relationship with Washington,’ Media 24 reported yesterday.

Predictably, the corporate media in the United States is in the process of downplaying the fallout from this incident, viewed by many Italians as an attempt to assassinate Giuliana Sgrena. About 100 demonstrators outside the U.S. Embassy in Rome blocked traffic and one banner read: 'U.S.A., war criminals.'"

In mourning

Today, Italy is holding a jammed state funeral for slain intelligence agent Nicola Calipari, the man Giuliana called her 'liberator.' Tempers are frayed. Giuliana is operated on to remove shrapnel. She holds a press conference to express her belief that the shooting may have been intentional. Bush phones Berlusconi. The White House dismisses her as a communist. You can't make this up.

Check yesterday's blog for more details.

Rome enraged

Laura Flanders of Air America was on the air with a special correspondent in Rome last night who said Italy is on fire with concern from moments of silence at football games to thousands flocking into the street. 10,000 people passed by Rome's Victor Emmanuel monument yesterday to pay respects to Mr. Calipari, whose body lay in state. He says that the American military version of what happened is being criticized across the political spectrum.

Danny Schechter writes a daily blog for MediaChannel.org. He is the author of "Embedded: Weapons of Mass Deception – how the media failed to cover the war on Iraq. (Prometheus)

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