By Matt for the TIB Network:
As surmised on
Friday, it appears the
Washington Times also thinks the Italians went off on their own for their rescue mission.
Italian agents likely withheld information from U.S. counterparts about a cash-for-freedom deal with gunmen holding an Italian hostage for fear that Americans might block the trade, Italian news reports said yesterday.
The decision by operatives of Italy's SISMI military intelligence service to keep the CIA in the dark about the deal for the release of reporter Giuliana Sgrena, might have "short-circuited" communications with U.S. forces controlling the road from Baghdad to the city's airport, the newspaper La Stampa said.
That would help explain why American troops opened fire on a car whisking the released hostage to a waiting airplane, wounding Miss Sgrena and killing the Italian intelligence operative who had just negotiated her release.
While peace and democracy may be breaking out all over, Iraq is still a dangerous place. The Italians should have known better than to thumb their nose at the coalition, they are better operators than this.
Islamofascism Delenda Est!
