Posted on 03/07/2005 11:31:41 PM PST by familyop
THE Italian intelligence officer killed by United States forces after helping to free a hostage in Iraq was given a full state funeral yesterday with tens of thousands turning out on the streets of Rome to pay tribute.
Nicola Calipari has been hailed a hero and a martyr after he died while shielding the journalist Giuliana Sgrena from US gunfire outside Baghdad airport following her release.
Among the mourners at his funeral were the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who sent Mr Calipari on the fatal mission to Baghdad and is trying to reconcile his pro-US policies with growing demands for an explanation from Washington over the shooting.
As many as 20,000 people lined the streets of Rome as Mr Calipari’s body was driven to the basilica of St Mary of the Angels and Martyrs for the funeral, which was televised.
Soldiers provided a guard of honour and crowds broke into applause as the coffin, draped in the Italian flag, was carried aloft into the packed church.
"It is time to honour the heroic sacrifice of Nicola Calipari, without divisions, all together, without controversy. Let’s leave the controversy outside," senior government official Gianni Letta said in an address, fighting back his tears.
The basilica in downtown Rome - originally designed by Michelangelo on the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian - and the surrounding piazza were packed with mourners.
Chief among them were Mr Calipari’s wife, Rosa Maria, comforted by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, and her two children Filippo, 13 and Silvia, 19.
Monsignor Angelo Bagnasco told the congregation: "The generosity of Nicola Calipari was the ultimate, the highest; he gave his life to save another. His sacrifice will not be in vain."
After the ceremony the coffin was taken from the packed basilica to the military section of the Verano cemetery in east Rome, and again the congregation burst into applause as a bugler sounded Last Post.
Ms Sgrena, who was recovering in a Rome hospital from a shrapnel wound to the shoulder, did not attend the funeral.
Later, her brother, Ivan, who was at the funeral said: "I am so upset by this, we are all so upset by this. We will always be thankful to Nicola Calipari and we feel almost responsible for what happened."
Mr Calipari masterminded the release of Ms Sgrena, who had been held hostage for a month, and protected her from US fire when their car came under attack as they tried to reach the airport.
Ms Sgrena, who writes for the communist daily newspaper Il Manifesto, has suggested they were fired at because the US opposes Italy’s practice of negotiating with hostage-takers.
A White House spokesman yesterday rejected the accusation as "absurd".
The White House said yesterday it would carry out a full investigation into Friday’s shooting, but stressed the road to Baghdad airport was notoriously dangerous.
"It is a dangerous road and it is a combat zone that our coalition forces are in, and oftentimes they have to make split-second decisions to protect their own security and we regret this incident," said a spokesman, Scott McClellan.
Romano Prodi, Mr Berlusconi’s opposition candidate, said: "Today we can say nothing, but tomorrow we shall be looking for answers."
I am 100% behind our boys who shot them . In a war zone if you speed and don't stop when ordered WHAT THE HELL do you expect will happen . The Italians need to cut this anti-american crap . Remember WW2 . GOD BLESS OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS IN IRAQ.
Want to stay alive in a war zone?
One of the easiest ways to do so (that is totally within the control of the individual) is to STOP at the frickin' CHECKPOINTS!!!!!
This dumbazz would still be alive if he had done so.
I do not understand why people aren't more outraged that Italy gave terrorists 6 million dollars in this affair. 6 million dollars can buy an awful lot of car and roadside bombs. Who knows how many families will soon be crying because of what Italy did here.
I've been shot at by ROK(South Korean) soldiers when coming up to a roadblock at night too fast in my jeep, because the ROKs knew that there could be north Korean infiltrators trying to take them out(happens all the time, more so back then). You learn that roadblocks in a country at war or with determined enemies are 'for real' and do what the soldiers at the roadblocks tell you to do. Iraq is much more dangerous than South Korea in 1979, so I don't blame the GIs a bit. Sounds like the mistakes were made on the Italian end of this, just hope no soldiers get punished for doing their job(I'd worry more if Clinton, Gore or Kerry were president, rather than W).
The Italians and Europeans in general can't even stomach a single death. And as said in a war situation deaths happen..
Wait until the muslim extremists fully go after Europe, which is coming sooner or later. Spain surrendered after 200 dead..Italy I doubt could even handle that.
Yes.
I knew a great old woman who was moved to the USA from Italy when she was a little girl. One of her sons fought fascism in WWII and was killed in action. She mourned him until the day she died. She would not have taken his service back if she could have, being as patriotic and loyal as she was. But she mourned him nonetheless.
The woman did not see herself as an Italian and took offense if someone called her an Italian. She was an American, and she was proud of our country. She was a good example for us all, IMO.
Why did the driver not stop after being told to do so, even after warning shots were fired?
It's funny how this "jouranlist" who happens to be anti war, ended up getting herself shot and the other guy killed. It plays nicely into the left's claim that journalists are being targeted. It stirs up rage in the Italian people. Or maybe the "journalist" has ties to Al Queda. Maybe it was a fake kidnapping, for the purpose of propaganda, but it went wrong when the driver tried to blow the check point? Or maybe the driver has ties to Terrorists and was trying to get them shot?
Don't like these statements? Think they're outrageous? They are no more outrageous than her statement that she was targeted by our military. The truth is that this was a terrible accident , the driver should have stopped. It regretfully cost someone their life, and she got hurt. Too bad she can't see this.
There has to be some form of accountability here! Both sides are at fault. The Italians for paying ransom and the US forces for being negligient.
Blame the commie newsie for his death. This sham hostage has blood on her hands.
According to the rule of engagement, the guards should have fired at the tires and the engine block before opening fire to kill. If they opened fire to kill, the car should be basically destroyed with bullet holes and everyone should have been killed. If a bullet aimed at the tires or engine block ricochet and killed the agent, thats unfortunate. The troops were not negligent and there doesn't always have to be two sides to a story.
.....Italian intelligence officer .......
The current evidence indicates this phrase is an oxymoron
Much as one can sympathize that he was killed, I wouldn't call him a "mastermind" in arranging the Communist witch's release. He was the bagman, secretly carrying millions of dollars to terrorists who will use that money to kill dozens of our soldiers. Shame on the Italian government for their cowardice! No wonder they didn't want us to know what they were up to. A friend doesn't go behind your back to betray you. And for what? To "rescue" a hateful leftist who should get an Oscar for performing in a video that prompted Berlasconi to cave. What a disappointment!
I am getting mighty suspicious about this whole Sgrena episode. It looks to me like a pre-arranged set-up.
Sgrena, a communist activist and writer for a communist newspaper, is "kidnapped," and puts on a very dramatic act for the cameras. Her act was too good: too dramatic, and yet very wordy. It looked like a lengthy, prearranged speech: not what one would have expected from a genuinely distraught captive. Great acting, in the Italian style.
Then she is released after the Italian government pays an untold ransom.
Her car speeds toward a US checkpoint, refusing to stop, until the engine-block is smashed by gunfire from the guards. Then the only person dead in the car is the Itaiian officer, with a single bullet in the side of his head. He may have been the only one not in on the deal, and so he had to be eliminated. Very neat. This explains why they drove at a checkpoint and failed to stop. They needed some way to cover his murder, and what better way than to blame the Americans.
Sgrena claims that she brushed bullets off the back seat. Is that credible?
Now she carries on propaganda against the US, truly psychological warfare. She is in the hospital with minor scratches. Her friends (co-conspirators?) have the money.
It is certainly true that with the time she spent on the loose in Iraq, and her past record, she had the means, motive and opportunity to carry out a bogus kidnapping and to collect some money for her friends, and attack the US.
We need some good forensic evidence, and testimony of the guards at the checkpoint. We also should have detained the driver and everyone else in the car. We should learn where they were when the supposed exchange took place.
It is very interesting that the kidnappers do not seem to be any known group. Just kidnappers. They could be anyone, including anyone Sgrena made contact with during her long months in Iraqi.
It looks to me like a great, and effective hoax. There may also be a cold-blooded murder involved. That makes it worth investigating.
I am getting mighty suspicious about this whole Sgrena episode. It looks to me like a pre-arranged set-up.
Sgrena, a communist activist and writer for a communist newspaper, is "kidnapped," and puts on a very dramatic act for the cameras. Her act was too good: too dramatic, and yet very wordy. It looked like a lengthy, prearranged speech: not what one would have expected from a genuinely distraught captive. Great acting, in the Italian style.
Then she is released after the Italian government pays an untold ransom.
Her car speeds toward a US checkpoint, refusing to stop, until the engine-block is smashed by gunfire from the guards. Then the only person dead in the car is the Itaiian officer, with a single bullet in the side of his head. He may have been the only one not in on the deal, and so he had to be eliminated. Very neat. This explains why they drove at a checkpoint and failed to stop. They needed some way to cover his murder, and what better way than to blame the Americans.
Sgrena claims that she brushed bullets off the back seat. Is that credible?
Now she carries on propaganda against the US, truly psychological warfare. She is in the hospital with minor scratches. Her friends (co-conspirators?) have the money.
It is certainly true that with the time she spent on the loose in Iraq, and her past record, she had the means, motive and opportunity to carry out a bogus kidnapping and to collect some money for her friends, and attack the US.
We need some good forensic evidence, and testimony of the guards at the checkpoint. We also should have detained the driver and everyone else in the car. We should learn where they were when the supposed exchange took place.
It is very interesting that the kidnappers do not seem to be any known group. Just kidnappers. They could be anyone, including anyone Sgrena made contact with during her long months in Iraqi.
It looks to me like a great, and effective hoax. There may also be a cold-blooded murder involved. That makes it worth investigating.
Like you, this whole hostage/ransom/rescue plot seems like a made for televison movie. A communist reporter, sympathetic to cause of terrorist group stages her own kidnapping. The reason: to financially bless her latest social cause (terrorist cell) and to bring political and social cache to herself. The Italian agent sent to rescue her was merely collateral damage. This would make a good pot for 24, Alias,or CSI / Miami too.
Same line of thought I'm having after looking at the pictures of the bullet holes. Has Sgrena mentioned whether she and Calipari were allegedly sitting in the front or back seat? I'm trying to figure out why there are bullet holes in the front seat including on the driver side but the driver is alive and Calipari--who Sgrena says was sitting next to her--is dead.
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