U.S. likely to clear GIs in Iraq shooting

U.S. likely to clear GIs in Iraq shooting
4/26/2005, 1:13 p.m. CT
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — American soldiers who shot and killed an Italian intelligence officer in a friendly fire incident in Baghdad generally followed instructions for dealing with potential threats, a U.S. investigation is expected to conclude.

But the probe into the March 4 shooting is also expected to raise concerns about the rules of engagement at a Baghdad checkpoint, a senior U.S. defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been finished.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged Tuesday that Italian officials who participated in the investigation have still not signed off on the report's conclusions. But at a Pentagon briefing, they provided no details about the report.

"My latest information is that they have not come to a final agreement on a joint report," Rumsfeld said of U.S. and Italian investigators.



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http://www.nola.com/newsflash/iraq/index.ssf?/base/politics-7/1114519438141610.xml&storylist=iraq

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I've certainly heard from credible sources that what happens in a shooting like this, officers tell soldiers to shut up, then they work out a story to give investigators and that's the story investigators get. And investigators, for political reasons, accept these stories at face value more often than not, especially in a case like this. However bad a whitewash looks, actually admitting guilt would be catastrophic. So, guilt is not to be admitted, whether ROE was really followed or not.

Either way, the Italians are told to grit their teeth and bear it.

The real question is if the Italians get the car back in a condition where they can at least attempt to evaluate what speed the car was going by the placement of the bullets and other evidence. Otherwise it's the Italians' word against the Americans', and we know who the Americans are going to believe.

How much does the US spend on its "intelligence" agencies, anyway?

Big Surprise! :wow:

......yep. I sure did. Imagine that...!

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An Italian journalist who was held hostage in Iraq has criticised a US military report into the killing of the agent who helped secure her release.

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"The greatest disappointment would be if our authorities were to accept this insult without reacting," Ms Sgrena wrote in a front page editorial in her newspaper, Il Manifesto.

more

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4485429.stm

Hooray!

What leaders firs, little guys next. I love the power of example! With rule of law total history, so it must be then OK to murder anybody, even the president, if the next president says it's OK.