The killing of Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari by US troops in Iraq is another twist in the diabolical tactics employed by members of the occupation forces in manipulating the veracity of their adventurism in this immoral crusade.
In a series of truth-twisting means that began when their commander in chief assured the world of the presence of weapons of mass destruction prior to the invasion of Iraq, to the calculated shootings and murder of journalists who contradicted Pentagon press releases, the charade continues today and is fed daily to the folks “back home” that all is well.
Sadly, a few brave journalists who saw otherwise were quickly put away, in incidents quickly explained as “friendly fire”. In the latest incident, the US forces’ version was that the car carrying Mr. Calipari and two others including the just released journalist Ms. Giuliana Sgrena was speeding toward a checkpoint and failed to heed a warning to slow down.
The surviving passengers of that vehicle offer a different version: The driver of the vehicle slowed down and stopped 10 meters away from the checkpoint as he was instructed to do. At that point, the car was peppered with shots, instantly killing Mr. Calipari who had shielded Ms. Sgrena’s body with his own and wounding others.
The Italian leftist newspaper Il Manifesto, a staunch opponent of the war on Iraq, employed Ms. Sgrena, for those who are unaware. She had been reportedly interviewing refugees of the Fallujah onslaught and was preparing a report of war crimes committed by US forces in their assault on the city when she mysteriously disappeared.
The prime minister of Italy, Berlusconi, a staunch ally of the US remarked in an address to the Italian Senate that the US version conflicted with the statements provided by another agent in the vehicle and does not “coincide totally with what has been communicated so far by the US authorities.”
This should come as no surprise to those of us who have previously witnessed the brutal killing of Tareq Ayoub, an Al-Jazeerah journalist who was gunned down by “friendly fire” in Baghdad. Or the arrest of Abdel Kader Al-Saadi, an Al-Arabiya journalist who was picked up by US forces in Fallujah on Nov. 11, and arrested for the duration of their assault on that city. Both TV networks had unembedded reporters and their networks beamed enough footage of mutilated bodies of women and children as a result of US armed forces activity.
Added to the mass tortures and detentions of civilians some of which was graphically displayed across newspapers and televisions the world over, one wonders to what level would those interested in guarding the “truth” stoop to.
The demands for the investigation into this latest killing are clamoring. In a strong rebuttal to the acting US ambassador in London David T. Johnson, Naomi Klein of the UK Guardian provided factual evidence of selective “elimination” by US forces and their surrogates. She cites several instances of such crime against journalists, doctors, and clerics. And not surprisingly, the victims were all outspoken against the horrific actions carried out against civilians all in the name of democracy.
Far from being the heroes to be wreathed in garlands of flowers, this invading force has done just about everything to earn itself the contempt of its few allies and the very people it claimed to have come to free. And now it has reduced itself to eliminating the messengers of truth.
For now, Americans back home may be content to read and hear that all is well. The embedded reporters will report back what the Pentagon deems is suitable fare. But for those who chose to report otherwise, their fate was quickly sealed and with a hail of “friendly” bullets.
