[Excerpt: "Our friendship with the United States is strong and loyal, and we have the duty to demand from them the utmost truth," Berlusconi said, winning a standing ovation from all political parties at the end of his speech.....A senior Italian military officials and diplomats will join the probe, which the U.S. military says should be concluded in one month.]
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=I3WOIGABARC0WCRBAEKSFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=686971 Italy calls on US to accept Iraq killing Wed Mar 9, 2005 06:14 PM GMT By Phil Stewart ROME (Reuters) - The United States must assume responsibility for the "friendly fire" killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq in order to put the incident behind the two allies, the Italian prime minister says. "Only a frank and reciprocal recognition of eventual responsibility is the condition for closure of the incident which was so irrational to us and that caused us so much sorrow," Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told the Senate on Wednesday. U.S. soldiers opened fire on agent Nicola Calipari's vehicle for 10 seconds to 15 seconds as he was taking newly freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena to Baghdad airport, Berlusconi said, immediately killing Calipari and wounding the kidnap victim. Italy had made all necessary contacts with U.S. authorities for safe passage, advising military at the airport as Sgrena was en route, Berlusconi said. He contradicted preliminary accounts from the U.S. military that it had no knowledge of the rescue mission. Still one of the strongest supporters of U.S. foreign policy in Europe, Berlusconi said he was pleased the United States had accepted his request to participate in an investigation of last Friday's shooting. "Our friendship with the United States is strong and loyal, and we have the duty to demand from them the utmost truth," Berlusconi said, winning a standing ovation from all political parties at the end of his speech. A senior Italian military officials and diplomats will join the probe, which the U.S. military says should be concluded in one month. TWO VICTIMS Even in the divisive world of Italian politics, Berlusconi has won universal praise, including from adversaries, for his tough approach to the incident -- summoning the U.S. ambassador to government offices. Berlusconi defended Italy's record defending the lives of hostages, saying just two kidnap victims -- journalist Enzo Baldoni and security guard Fabrizio Quattrocchi -- were killed in the past year. The others were freed, Berlusconi said, without bowing to political blackmail to withdraw the country's 3,000 troops, which Berlusconi deployed after the fall of Baghdad despite strong domestic opposition. "(Italy) has always rejected political blackmail (and) despite the brutality of the kidnappers it has not allowed itself to be intimidated," he said. He made no mention of whether Italy paid a ransom, after Italian newspapers reported that between $6 million (3.11 British pounds) and $8 million was handed to the Islamic militant group that held Sgrena hostage. Reconstructing the killing, Berlusconi insisted that the U.S. version of events in Iraq did "not coincide" with what really happened. Beyond controversy over whether authorities were advised of the rescue mission, the U.S. military has said its soldiers fired on the Italians' car after it approached a checkpoint at high speed and failed to heed signals to slow down. Berlusconi said the Italians had been driving slowly and had received no warning. Sgrena stoked controversy by suggesting U.S. forces targeted them on purpose due to Italy's policy of negotiating with terrorists, but Berlusconi insisted the shooting was an accident. "The case of friendly fire is certainly the hardest to endure. There is a sense of injustice," he said. In a letter to his Italian counterpart, U.S. President George W. Bush has promised Italy a "fast and thorough" joint investigation into the killing of Calipari. � Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved. enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! 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