Apparently, the Americans didn't wish Giuliana Sgrena well, writes Samia Nkrumah from Rome Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena wrote from her hospital bed in Rome in her first article since her release that her captors had warned her: "The Americans didn't want you to return." Last Friday, the day of her release, Sgrena was told by her abductors, "we'll escort you, but don't give signals of your presence, otherwise the Americans might intervene." Those fateful words came back to Sgrena as the body of Nicole Calipari suddenly slumped on her as the car taking them to Baghdad airport was hit by bullets fired by American patrol soldiers less than a kilometre away from the airport. Calipari, who was the highest Italian intelligence officer in Iraq, was killed instantly by a bullet to the head. The kidnappers had handed Sgrena to Calipari who was escorting her to an Italian military plane on route to Rome. It is little wonder then that in her first interviews since her return, Sgrena repeated that she might have been deliberately targeted by American troops, probably because Washington was opposed to the practice of dealing with Iraqi kidnappers and the payment of ransoms in exchange of freeing hostages. The journalist herself was less seriously injured by a bullet to her shoulder. Was Sgrena's claim a consequence of the stress of 30 days in captivity followed by a particularly dramatic and tragic release, or cold and rational conviction? It is too early to say. But some media reports here have speculated that up to $6 million was paid, quoting Agriculture Minister Giovani Alemanno as saying it was "very probable" that a ransom was indeed paid. So far, there has been no official confirmation of this. In other cases, like that of the recently-released Jordanian businessman, his relatives have admitted they paid a ransom of $100,000 to his abductors who have not been identified. Whether Calipari's death was an accident or ambush is not the issue at this point. Many political forces in the country and the public at large have reacted with anger mixed with incredulity to the incident which has raised many questions, bolstered the anti-war sentiment and emboldened calls for the withdrawal of the 3,000 Italian contingent in Iraq. This latest Italian death in Iraq, raising the number of Italian victims in Iraq to over 20, has provoked public outrage. This time the victim sacrificed his life to save an unembedded journalist and was killed by "friendly fire". Only a few months ago, Calipari was involved in the successful release and return of the two Italian women working for the Italian NGO, "A Bridge for Baghdad". Calipari, who was granted posthumously the highest honour of bravery, had a state funeral befitting a national hero. His body was laid in state in the Unknown Soldiers monument at Piazza Venezia in central Rome and up to 100,000 Italian mourners from a cross- section of the population paid their respects to him. The incident also raised endless questions. Is it possible that such a high-ranking, experienced intelligence officer would not have informed his contacts of his whereabouts, especially on such a delicate and dangerous mission? Pro-Washington Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini told Italian deputies in parliament Tuesday that while he accepted that Calipari's death was a tragic accident, he had information which did not correspond with the American military's explanation that the car carrying Sgrena and Calipari was speeding and had failed to slow down when ordered to do so by American soldiers. According to the Italian version, the car in question was going slowly and slowed down further at checkpoint. In addition, the other Italian agent, the driver of the car, was shot in the knee after he had got out of the car. The Italian version also insists that the US authorities were informed of developments, contrary to reports that say there was lack of communication on the part of Italian military officials in Iraq. Both Sgrena and the surviving Italian intelligence agent had said that the car was going at normal speed and did not ignore instructions to stop. Left-wing commentator and one of the founders of Il Manifesto Luciana Castellina contends in an interview with Sky Italia that, accident or ambush, Calipari's death has stunned the nation because it has revealed that it is not a mere casualty but the norm in Iraq today. "It means in Iraq today soldiers shoot everybody with arrogance not taking account of human lives. It is the violence that comes with war. How many Iraqis have been killed by mistake, hundreds, thousands?" she wonders. "It's quite understandable that young American soldiers are terrified of everything that moves given that they were sent to a country and told they will liberate it only to find out such great hostility against them. But it is the occupation that is costing young American soldiers their lives just as it is taking thousands of Iraqi lives, and it is the same occupation that is an ambush against humanity as a whole." "[Calipari's murder] was a tragic incident which we never wanted. Everything that is happening in Iraq is utterly senseless and mad," commented Il Manifesto 's editor-in-chief, Gabrielle Polo. With the approach of regional elections in Italy next month, this incident has certainly embarrassed the government, which maintains its support for Washington. The government has called for a full inquiry into the incident and demanded that the culprits be punished. But there is not much hope that an inquiry will reveal more information. Many in Italy recall the Cermis ski resort incident in 1998. Then a US military plane crashed into a cable car's wires killing 20 people in northeastern Italy. A subsequent inquiry did not result in any convictions.
