A group of American soldiers shot and killed an Italian agent escorting hostages in Iraq in 2005, becoming a serious diplomatic incident between the two countries.
Giuliana Sgrena, born in 1948, is a reporter for the Italian left-wing daily Il Manifesto. Sgrena was kidnapped in February 2005 while being interviewed near Baghdad University, Iraq. The kidnappers then released a video of Ms. Sgrena asking for help from the Italian government and calling on foreign forces to stop “occupying” Iraq.
The US-led coalition force sent troops to Iraq in March 2003, waging war against the Saddam Hussein government. Less than a month later, President Hussein’s regime collapsed. US President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003 declared “combat mission completed”, moving to the phase of “building a democratic regime” in Iraq. Baghdad conducted its first election since the US campaign in January 2005. US forces then maintained a presence in Iraq until withdrawing from here in 2011.
Sgrena was released after more than a month. Italy’s Agriculture Minister at that time, Giovanni Alemanno, hinted that the country was “willing to suffer financial losses rather than human lives or a political price if it withdrew its troops according to the threat”. An Iraqi parliamentarian said Italy paid a ransom of $1 million, while Italian media put the figure at $8 million.
To escort hostages back home, Italian military intelligence sent agents Nicola Calipari and Andrea Carpani to Iraq. On the way to Baghdad International Airport on March 4, 2005, the car carrying Sgrena was opened fire by US soldiers at a checkpoint. Calipari shielded Sgrena and was killed, the female reporter and driver Carpani were injured. Ms. Sgrena and Calipari’s body were brought back to Rome the next day.
The shooting escalated tensions between the US and Italy, making the incident one of the most serious diplomatic incidents between the two countries since 1998. At that time, a US Marine Corps plane flew low. abnormality and severed the cable car in the Cavalese region, northern Italy, causing 20 deaths.
Agent Nicola Calipari. Image: Times of Malta
“The incident could have serious political consequences,” said the Italian daily The print comments on the front page. “The Italian government informed the US side in detail when the campaign was about to begin. The presence of a US colonel and Italian officers waiting for Sgrena at Baghdad airport showed that the campaign was coordinated.”
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi summoned US ambassador Mel Sembler to his office, a move considered rare, and asked the US to “not miss any corners when investigating the incident”. US President George W. Bush immediately called Mr. Berlusconi and pledged a comprehensive investigation.
However, Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on March 5, 2005 that “the strong alliance with the US will not be affected”.
The US military said the shooting at the car carrying Sgrena was an accident. This vehicle sped toward the checkpoint, despite them firing warning shots. “Investigation results show that the soldiers did nothing wrong. They followed the rules of engagement,” a senior Pentagon official said.
According to the US investigation report, the soldiers were trained on rules of engagement, which dictate how they respond to threats, before being deployed to Iraq. Among these is “active identification”, which requires soldiers to have “strong reason” that the target they attack is a “legitimate military target”.
The report stated that American soldiers were then in charge of the blocking point, not the traffic control point. Unlike control points, blocking points are set up to ensure that no vehicle passes through this location, in the above case blocking the road to Baghdad airport. The speeding of the vehicle carrying Sgrena made American soldiers worried about a rebel attack.
Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi touches the coffin of intelligence agent Nicola Calipari at Ciampino airport, Rome on March 6, 2005. Image: Reuters
Meanwhile, Italian investigators accused US officials of not reporting a stop on the way to Baghdad airport. They concluded that pressure, fatigue and inexperience were the factors that led to the incident, and found no evidence that US soldiers intentionally killed Calipari.
Italy’s report shows that the US side did not maintain the scene and did not mark the location before towing the vehicles involved elsewhere. “This makes it technically impossible to determine specific contexts, such as vehicle speed and blocking distance,” the Italian investigation team concluded.
Italy denied that the vehicle carrying Sgrena was traveling at a speed of more than 80 km/h, saying that the vehicle’s speed at that time was only about 40 km/h. Italian investigators did not sign the US report stating that the country’s soldiers were not responsible. But they also did not object to most of the information given by the US.
Sgrena confirmed that the car carrying them did not accelerate when it reached the American blocking point. “I immediately remembered what the kidnappers told me, that they were committed to freeing me, but I needed to be cautious ‘because the Americans don’t want her back,'” Sgrena recounted. “At that time, I thought these were redundant words, but at the moment of being shot, to me, it was the bitter truth.”
Italian media broadcast a recording believed to be from the kidnapping group, accusing the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of wanting to take down Sgrena because the US opposes Italy’s policy of negotiating with kidnappers. The kidnapping group said they did not accept a ransom, even though they were offered to pay a sum.
The White House denied accusations that the US side wanted to kill Sgrena. “It is ridiculous to release such information, that American soldiers would deliberately target innocent civilians,” then-White House spokesman Scott McClellan responded to the press.
The US and Italian Departments of Defense later concluded that the incident was an accident in a war zone. Calipari was hailed a hero in Italy for sacrificing himself to protect Sgrena. Italian officials buried Calipari in a state ceremony in Rome on May 7, 2005, with about 20,000 people attending, and posthumously awarded him a medal of bravery.