While I go and wash my car please keep your eyes open

for news this afternoon from Italy concerning an Italian judge refusing to bring charges against a US soldier ref. this issue :

The killing of the intelligence officer, who was with an Italian journalist who had just been released after being held hostage by insurgents, has roiled relations between the United States and Italy. American commanders, including General Casey, have so far declined to clarify what took place that night, citing a continuing investigation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/12/international/middleeast/12iraq.html

news is currently only on tv teletext here in the uk.

They were returning to the Bagdad airport IIRC, and the troops shot the car up.

-Hoot

Italian court confirms dropping U.S. soldier case

ROME (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier who killed an Italian agent in Iraq will not be tried in Italy after its highest court upheld an earlier ruling to drop a murder case against him, the soldier's lawyer said on Thursday.

U.S. soldier Mario Lozano was being tried in absentia in Rome for shooting Italian agent Nicola Calipari at a checkpoint outside Baghdad airport in 2005. Calipari, seen as a hero in Italy, was escorting a newly freed Italian hostage out of Iraq.

A Rome court ruled in October that Italy did not have the jurisdiction to try Lozano -- something it said fell to the United States. Prosecutors appealed, hoping the higher court would overrule the decision and order the trial to continue.

Italy's Court of Cassation, however, confirmed the Rome ruling, leaving no further room for appeal.

That was yesterday's news . dated 19th , it might be that the actual charges were dropped today.