Route Irish Racing and Baghdad Roadblocks: The Sgrena Incident
This week’s column provides some background and –I hope– a useful perspective on the Baghdad roadblock incident where Italian security agent Nicola Calpari was shot to death. Calpari helped gain the release of Italian communist writer and terrorist hostage Guiliana Sgrena.
Route Irish is the military code name for highway linking Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) with the Green Zone.
The gist:
War in a sprawling, complex megacity isn’t a movie that ends in two hours — it’s a relentless experience where training, courage and discipline are constantly challenged by fear and adrenaline.
In Baghdad, commuting is a combat operation, for both soldiers and civilians. Blame Saddam’s henchmen and Al Qaeda fascists. These beasts have made the suicide car bomb their primary murder weapon.
Baghdad, like Houston and Los Angeles, is built for wheels. Narrow side streets feed boulevards, which feed expressways. Traffic moves day and night. This road net with a million vehicles is ideal terrain for an auto kamikaze. Roll up to a street corner and detonate — instant atrocity, instant headlines, with media coverage being the murderer’s strategic goal.
Note that the lack of damage to her car raise serious questions Sgrena’s dramatic descriptions of the incident.
LGF also has this telling quote by Dutch journalist Harald Doombos. (LGF has a link to Doombos’ entire article.)
?Be careful not to get kidnapped,? I told the female Italian journalist sitting next to me in the small plane that was headed for Baghdad. ?Oh no,? she said. ?That won?t happen. We are siding with the oppressed Iraqi people. No Iraqi would kidnap us.?
It doesn?t sound very nice to be critical of a fellow reporter. But Sgrena?s attitude is a disgrace for journalism. Or didn?t she tell me back in the plane that ?common journalists such as yourself? simply do not support the Iraqi people? ?The Americans are the biggest enemies of mankind,? the three women behind me had told me, for Sgrena travelled to Iraq with two Italian colleagues who hated the Americans as well.
…?You don?t understand the situation. We are anti-imperialists, anti-capitalists, communists,? they said. The Iraqis only kidnap American sympathizers, the enemies of the Americans have nothing to fear.
Sgrena is a chronic America-hater of the old Communist school. Her blundering stupidity led to her kidnapping.
The Washington Post reports that Italian officials believe the friendly-fire incident was accident.
Here’s a link to my previous post on this sad friendly fire incident. That post has links to Sgrena’s “My Truth” article (her description of the incident) as well as other opinions and background data.
loved this on your BLOG and in RCP…hope all is well.
Comment by Mike Lancaster — 3/9/2005 @ 9:44 am
“Biggest enemies of mankind.” Does that mean we are finally ahead of the Israelis? I feel like we are finally getting somewhere!
Comment by y81 — 3/9/2005 @ 1:04 pm
Her stupidity and blind hatred caused 2 children to lose their father and a wifeto lose her husband. The italians would have been better off leaving that dried up old bag in a place where iraqis would have offed her instead of getting an italian secret service agent , husband, and father killed. Now they are giving her media time to boot.
Comment by ken — 3/9/2005 @ 2:15 pm
All this is nice and fun, but even if she is a really bad lady; we’ve got a lot of Italians pissed. My concern is the potential loss of those 3,000 troops.
Comment by H Lee — 3/9/2005 @ 4:31 pm
An aspect of this incident I have not seen editorilized on is how Ms. Giuliana Sgrena shares in the responsibility for Nicola Calpari’s death. Her cavalier attitude about her personal safety “That won’t happen. We are siding with the oppressed Iraqi people. No Iraqi would kidnap us”, most likey contributed to putting herself in a situation more prudent persons would not. Her blind ignorance that the insurgents would side with her because of her communist bona fides is pathetic. Iraq is a country at war and those causing the choas have no allies. Typical of those who blame others for there poor choices; Ms. Sgrena blames the American soliders and America.
Comment by Peter V — 3/9/2005 @ 5:38 pm
From Yahoo News Mar. 9/05: “On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini dismissed Washington’s view that a lack of communication was responsible for Calipari’s death, and demanded that the United States “identify and punish” those responsible for the shooting. “Calipari had made “all the necessary contacts” with US authorities in Baghdad, the foreign minister said. “However, Fini told state television Wednesday that Calipari had not told the Americans why he was in Iraq.” Note the last paragraph. “…Calipari DID NOT TELL THE AMERICANS WHY HE WAS IN IRAQ….”[emphasis mine. If that is true, they could not be blamed for not knowing it was Sgrena’s car. To the patrol it was just a speeding car that wouldn’t stop in an area where suicide bombers are commonplace.
Comment by foreign devil — 3/9/2005 @ 8:22 pm
Even if our troops knew about Calipari’s mission, how in the world are they supposed to know it’s a “friendly” car when it’s dark and the car isn’t stopping for the road block? Even if they knew it was the car supposedly carrying Sgrena - it could’ve been carjacked before they ever got near the road block - and a suicide bomber could’ve taken over to try and kill more American soldiers. It’s all a matter of common sense, which none of the three in the car seemed to want to use at all. It’s not as if road block etiquette isn’t known to everyone over there. It’s not as if it isn’t known that this is one of the most dangerous roads in Baghdad. But hey, it’s easy to blame Americans for everything - I’m getting tired of it.
Comment by Teresa — 3/9/2005 @ 9:48 pm
Did Sgrena get herself kidnapped by blunder or design? After reading the Doombos article I begin to wonder… is it so far fetched to think she might have faked the kidnapping in order to get funding for the insurgents?
Comment by Doug — 3/9/2005 @ 10:09 pm
Okay, if you’re in a war-torn area and lots of trigger-happy American soldiers are manning roadblocks, it is common sense to have coordinated with them first as how to best approach, be recognized and allowed to pass without incident.. right?? Right? Actually it’s well-established military doctrine called “Departure and Reentry into Friendly Lines” that allows patrols to go out and come back into the tactical wire without getting stitched by an M-60 machine gun. Dumb gets you killed in wartime. Duh
Comment by Kopfjaeger — 3/10/2005 @ 12:49 am
Concur the Analysis re: stupidly kidnapped. There is MUCH to suggest that she was a willing party to the ‘kidnap’, and she bears moral responsibility for the death of Calipari! Dis-gusting!
Comment by Carridine — 3/10/2005 @ 2:50 am
How come we are not hearing about her treatment at the hands of her kidnappers? Don’t they usually treat women horribly by raping them? It would seem to me she would be talking about her experience of being humiliated by them. Perhaps, she was not treated like a normal kidnap victim if this was a setup.
Comment by Joe Jackson — 3/10/2005 @ 3:46 am
Suspicious indicators, from the Jawa Report: As if on cue, Sgrena then goes on to say what we at The Jawa Report had been predicting she would say all along: “I was never treated badly,” Sgrena told her colleagues at Manifesto upon her arrival in Rome, according to Ansa. … Sgrena was kidnapped by her admitted friends in Iraq. She was kidnapped while on the phone with another journalist. A tape was released of her begging Italy to cave to the terrorists demands of pulling Italian troops out of Iraq the day before the Italian Senate was to vote on that very issue. On the tape Sgrena appears to tell the ‘terrorist’ holding the camera to stop. He follows her order as if she is directing. The tape came exactly two-weeks after she was captured. One month to the day after her abduction she is released.
Comment by RD — 3/10/2005 @ 6:20 am
It is clear the Italians did not inform the US that they were heading to the airport at that time. And yet they were speeding along the highway in the dark, swerving to avoid puddles, and laughing (by Sgrena’s own account) Why the big hurry to the airport at night? Why not stay the night in a hotel in the Green Zone like all the other journalists? Sgrena claimed to pick up “handfuls and handfuls” of bullets, from the back seat. If these imaginary bullets had just been fired at the car by the US soldiers, the lead would be hto hot to touch, never mind the improbability of them coming to land on the seat anyway. Her story is just so full of holes, unlike the car she was riding in. By her own declarations she was fervently against the war, she used the videos released by her presumptive kidnappers to argue for the withdrawal of Italian soldiers from Iraq, she obtained a large ransom for the terrorists from the Italian gov’t, and used her exit, with the tragedy of Capilari’s death to make false claims against the US. Am I the only one who sees a pattern here?
Comment by Kenneth — 3/10/2005 @ 8:59 am
the italians incl berlusconi are merely trying to cover their asses. they bungled the whole mission up. the second agent denies they were speeding because he wants to exonerate himself from calipari’s death. so in order to save himself from prison, he lies about the incident. i mean what other reason would the americans have had to shoot if not speeding and ignoring the warning lights? and berlusconi doesn’t tell the whole truth either. it’s as simple as that. if the americans had targeted sgrena she’d be dead now. the more important question is: why aren’t the media asking these simple questions? why isn’t this load of porkies already debunked? they are still refusing to learn from rathergate.
Comment by xyu — 3/10/2005 @ 10:03 am
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Trackback by propecia — 3/30/2005 @ 12:36 pm
TARNISHING OF THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL I am a recent returning combat veteran from Iraq and am concerned about the issuance of some awards within the military. My main concern is the awarding of Bronze Star Medals (BSMs) to some individuals who might not be entitled. Units serving in Iraq are informed by the command elements that only 10 percent of the personnel from their unit will be awarded the Bronze Star Medal, if deemed. This limit is understandable since during Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 (OIF 1), numerous awards were presented to so many people that a limit had to be placed on awards. However, is the limiting of awards ensuring that these awards are going to the proper personnel? During OIF 2, Corps informed us that only one award would be given to a soldier for a one year tour. Some units have put a rank limit on the types of awards given, for example, I heard that a Bronze Star Medal would only be awarded to senior enlisted or officers, which defeats the purpose of the award system. Many a good soldier has given their life in support of this operation, yet the recognition is less then forthcoming. I read an article in an Air Force periodical that explained how an airman in Kuwait, during OIF 1, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. His accomplishments included pumping an extra 100 thousand gallons of fuel during his rotation and numerous times his base was under a “code red”. While his effort lead to the success of the mission, did it really justify the awarding of such a distinguished award? Another example of abuse of the system is a recent officer returning was awarded a Bronze Star Medal after it was discovered that he was manufacturing alcohol, a direct violation of the Commanding General’s standing order, and provided the alcohol to his subordinates. The commander that put the officer in for the award was aware of the incident but still processed the award and ensured that his own award was processed. The indirect fire and direct fire incidents in Kuwait appear to be extensively less than those in Iraq. Isn’t it bad enough that these soldiers receive combat pay, a combat patch and tax-free pay without providing them such high awards as Bonze Star Medals while not having to endure the true experience of combat? Give the award to the private and other junior enlisted or NCOs, walking the patrols in down town Baghdad or some other “red (hot) zone” in Iraq, where a shot might ring out and kill them at any second. Let’s stop the political game and stop having those of us that remained inside a semi-safe forward operating base (FOB), rarely having to mingle with the local inhabitants (victims and terrorists) of Iraq. I was fortunate in receiving a Joint Commendation Medal, basically equivalent to an Army Commendation (in peace time), but again I witnessed numerous officers and senior enlisted receive Bronze Star Medals for merely doing their job and nothing above or beyond that call. I believe my award was justified. During the last Presidential election there were various questions about military service and awards; as well, personnel from this conflict should be questioned. This tarnishing of the Bronze Star Medal needs to stop and a complete re-evaluation of the awards process needs to be conducted by all branches of the military immediately. If I were awarded a Bronze Star Medal, I don’t believe that I would wear it, having witnessed the injustice that has occurred to so many fine soldiers that were put in greater harms way than I and obviously more deserving. The demeaning belittling methodology of issuing awards during the recent conflict is an insult to the fine soldier, past and present, who perform their hazardous duties in a devoted and honorable manner. So the next time you see someone with a Bronze Star Medal, ask them what they did to be awarded the medal and you judge if their accomplishments merited the award or were they just the 10 percent that fell into the criteria set forth by the command. A concerned military field grade officer
Comment by Andrew T. Liebeknecht — 4/7/2005 @ 8:56 am