1 But... but... how could a Communist lie? Is anything sacred to them?!?! Nevermind, I remembered that entire, "nothing is sacred, and we support a morally bankrupt, meaningless, and ineffective belief structure" argument that Communists make without actually saying. Tricksy little hobbits...

2 The leaked report is propaganda, pure and simple. The Americans screwed up and devulged information that was supposed to be redacted and will now blame the Italians for releasing the information.

3 greg, way to stick up for our GIs.

4 Grazie Anna.

5 I am so sorry that this commie harpy did not take a shot to the head.

6 The Pentagon has admitted that there was an error in the way that the report was released, but maintains that it does not change the conclusions. For specifics on the mistake in posting, they told reporters to contact the Multi-National Force in Iraq, with some not-too-subtle finger-pointing. The two Italians who refused to sign the report, Ambassador Ragaglini and General Campregher, have delivered their dissenting report to Berlusconi. Vice Premier Gianfranco Fini has given a copy to the US Ambassador Mel Sembler. The dissenting report is expected to be posted and available online shortly.

7 Anna, Please let us know when the dissenting report is available. Mille Grazie, Greg

8 greg, so can we now put to rest the myth that you're only opposed our government's "policies"? And also the myth that you "support our troops"? The fact is, when you have two sets of disputed facts, you automatically go with the facts that tarnish our troops. It's an knee-jerk response. You showed not even the slightest skepticism of Sgrena, while your indictment of our troops was automatic and reflexive. Hardly the views of a patriot. Why keep faking it? You're among friends here, no need to pretend.

9 Carlos, Not so fast Carlos. One generally leaks information for propaganda purposes. I will withold final judgement until I read the Italian's report. I recommend you do the same.

10 greg, there isn't a report vindicating our troops that you would ever accept as true.

11 I accept that Sgrena was not correct when she stated that nukes were used in Fallujah. I also accept that the troops did not intentionally try to kill Sgrena or Calipari. The troops can't be faulted. This is no longer about the troops, it's about command and communication. What did command know about the rescue efforts? I want to hear the Italian side of the story.

12 The Italian gov't has pubblished its version on the Sgrena case. Well,there's nothing that really proves that the U.S. soldiers are to blame. Far from it, it shows that we Italians have something to hide.

13 Greg, Right now only excerpts (in Italian) are available. Some are on La Repubblica - La Diretta: No warning signal at the road block. The scene of the shooting was not preserved even though two members of the patrol are members of the police force in civilian life. All the vehicles were removed so there is no way to reconstruct the scene of the shooting. The soldiers [plural - not singular as the US maintains] shot because of stress and inexperience. Reactions instinctive, with little control. Lack of formal, clear rules [for road blocks] that should be observed. The driver was not speeding; he had no rush to reach the airport, the pavement was wet, he knew that the curve of the ramp was partially obstructed by three barricades, and that soon he would have to negotiate a 90 degree turn with only one hand on the steering wheel as he was on the telephone [with SISMI]. US knew that Calipari and other agent were in Baghdad even if they did not know the exact nature of their mission. They had requested, and were granted permission to stay at Camp Victory if the operation took more than one day. [Both agents had permission to travel in Baghdad, and to carry arms - both issued by the US upon their arrival at Baghdad airport earlier in the day.] Regarding the speed of the car, the accounts of the soldiers were contradictory, and ambiguous. The weapons case (?) [la cassetta di munizioni del mitragliere ] of the machine gunner was not seized and stamped. Neither Calipari nor the driver were aware of the road block. There are no satellite photos of the event. In the first American report on the shooting, an officer of the patrol confirmed the absence of signage [written warnings] of the road block, but said it didn’t matter since they were written in English and Arabic, inferring that the SISMI agents could not understand written English. The US members did an autonomous experiment to confirm the average speed of the vehicles that passed the “alert line” [the point at which the patrol alerts the vehicle] between 19:45 and 20:15. They learned that the civilian vehicles crossed the “alert line” at a speed of 45 kilometers an hour. All the soldiers at the road block were reservists, called to duty from civilian life, and not professional military. The training for check points/road blocks is less effective for reservists than for career military. http://www.repubblica.it/2005/e/dirette/sezioni/esteri/casocalipari/casocalipari1/index.html Full report now available (in Italian) online at http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/rapportoitaliacalipari.pdf

14 The Pentagon has succeeded in making the Italian neo-fascists (Alleanza Nazionale) and the Greens (Verdi) allies. Spokesmen for both parties have independently declared that the American report of the investigation of the shooting of Nicola Calipari is an insult to the dignity of the Italy. Alleanza Nazionale is a member of the Italian ruling coalition. A member of another right-wing coalition member, Reform Minister Roberto Calderoli of the Lega Nord, suggested that this may be the time to review the continued presence of Italian troops in Iraq.

15 Grazie very much! But you forgot to mention the part about: "15-30 vehicles were turned around without incident with none getting more than a few meters beyond the Alert Line". I guess that slipped you mind..

16 "15-30 vehicles were turned around without incident with none getting more than a few meters beyond the Alert Line". IM, On pages 26-27 of the Italian report, it states that the only way a driver would know of the road block were if warning lights were activated by members of the patrol. The soldiers had to pay constant attention to the on-ramp, for an hour and fifteen minutes, in order to warn oncoming cars. The Toyota Corolla was not warned - in fact only two of the soldiers in the patrol were positioned to see the car at the time of the shooting. Mario Lozano lit his spotlight and then immediately fired upon the vehicle. This road block was kept in place for nearly an hour after Negroponte had passed through the Irish Route. You can find the report at: http://download.repubblica.it/pdf/rapportoitaliacalipari.pdf

17 Weeeeeell anyways, they did kill the Italian agent, and the Italian agent wasn't an enemy, so killing the Italian agent should be a thing to punish people for. Jail 'em for a year at least, even if it was somewhat an accident. They killed him, they shall not get away with it if there is such a thing as justice.

18 Man, all the other blogs look bad compared to this one. Must be the excellent background color here.