More Collaboration From A Former Partner
Normally on a subject like this, I’d let let Marcie handle this one. But, as she’s busy, and I’m guessing she hasn’t seen it yet, I’m going to take a whack at it. The Italian Red Cross treated four terrorists in Iraq. This news was broken by CNN. Below is the report. (Hat-Tip: Cox and Forkum.)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/08/25/italy.iraq/index.html
http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000653.html
(CNN) -- The Italian Red Cross has said it treated four "presumed Iraqi terrorists" at its Baghdad hospital to secure the release of two kidnapped Italian aid workers, according to a media report.
Maurizio Scelli, the outgoing commissioner of the aid organization, is reported to have said the deal to free the two women -- Simona Pari and Simona Torretta -- was kept secret from U.S. officials.
"The mediators asked us to treat and save the lives of four presumed terrorists sought by the Americans, wounded in combat. We hid them and brought them to the doctors with the Red Cross, who operated on them," Scelli told La Stampa daily in an interview published Thursday.
"We also treated four of their children, sick with leukemia."
Red Cross spokesman Fabrizio Centofanti later confirmed to CNN that the organization had treated the Iraqis.
"The Red Cross is an impartial organization and it does not depend on the Italian government," Centofanti said.
"It did help presumed Iraqi terrorists, but it did so in the spirit of the Red Cross to help out everyone in need."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office, which has denied accusations it paid a ransom to win the aid workers' release, said the Red Cross was independent and did not answer to the government.
"As it is known, it (Red Cross) is not under the operative control, even less directives, of the national authorities precisely so that they can be recognized as neutral, which is indispensable for them to carry out their humanitarian mandate towards the international community," it said in a statement.
"Without entering into what has been said by its commissioner (Scelli), who is recognized for his high merits in the work carried out in favor of the injured in Iraq and other parts of the world, we underline how the government authorities never directed or conditioned his actions."
Cooperation between Italy and the United States had always been "reciprocal" in Iraq, it added.
Scelli, who was present at the handover of the two aid workers on September 28, said he helped to secure the women's release.
He told La Stampa the decision to hide details about the operation from U.S. officials was approved by Gianni Letta, Berlusconi's right-hand man.
"Keeping the Americans in the dark about our efforts to free the hostages was a non-negotiable condition to guarantee the safety of the hostages and ourselves," he said, according to Reuters.
Scelli said he held talks with Italian agent Nicola Calipari, who was shot dead in March this year by U.S. troops at a Baghdad checkpoint during a subsequent rescue operation for another Italian hostage.
OK. Don’t get me wrong here. I do believe that all chapters of the Red Cross do the best work they can in war-torn nations and warzones. However, these people are terrorists that are going to go right back into the field to go up against our troops. Yes, the treated them. I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is the fact they hisd them from US troops. Added to this is the fact that Berlusconi’s right hand man–this is admitted in the piece above–ordered that US officials in Iraq were to be kept in the dark. And don't you just love how CNN takes the talking points of the Italian Red Cross that these four were "presumed" terrorists?
That’s twice. They didn’t want to tell us about the Sgrena operation in March. Calipari’s fault on that because had he revealed his mission there, US officials probably would have helped him secure Sgrena’s release. He died. It wasn’t our fault. He and his driver tried to run a checkpoint. What were our troops supposed to do, sit on their triggers? They had no clue what the intention of Calipari’s car was. For all they knew, with the speed it maintained approaching the checkpoint, it could have been a terrorist with a car bomb. They reacted correctly, of which the investigation into the incident proved that. I’m sorry the Italians disagreed.
Now, we see this again. I think something needs to be done with the Italians over there in Iraq. There’s nothing that says we would have killed those terrorists they treated. To even think that, someone has to be brain-dead. Earlier today, Marcie put up a piece written by Michael Yon. Yon is a retired spec-ops guy who has gone to Iraq to be an imbedded freelance journalist. The firefight that he witnessed, photographed, and wrote about included a wounded terrorist. When it was all over, and the terrorist was in custody, they transported him back to their base where he was treated for his wounds.
See, here’s the problem with the Left. They think that our troops are monsters in the field, and that they’re killing anything that moves. No, that’s not true. Our troops abide by the Geneva Convention, and the overall rules of war. We don’t kill unarmed, surrendering combatants, or a combatant that has been captured. We’re not barbarians.
But this action by the Italian Red Cross is unacceptable. They just contributed to the problem because they treated them, hid them, and allowed them to leave. I don’t care if the Italian Red Cross isn’t connected to the Italian government. Letta, Berlusconi’s right-hand man, ordered that this be kept quiet. If I were the president, I’d be gnawing on Berlusconi’s butt right now because chances are, those terrorists are going right back into the field, and they’re going to wound or kill more of our troops.
Publius II
Normally on a subject like this, I’d let let Marcie handle this one. But, as she’s busy, and I’m guessing she hasn’t seen it yet, I’m going to take a whack at it. The Italian Red Cross treated four terrorists in Iraq. This news was broken by CNN. Below is the report. (Hat-Tip: Cox and Forkum.)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/08/25/italy.iraq/index.html
http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/000653.html
(CNN) -- The Italian Red Cross has said it treated four "presumed Iraqi terrorists" at its Baghdad hospital to secure the release of two kidnapped Italian aid workers, according to a media report.
Maurizio Scelli, the outgoing commissioner of the aid organization, is reported to have said the deal to free the two women -- Simona Pari and Simona Torretta -- was kept secret from U.S. officials.
"The mediators asked us to treat and save the lives of four presumed terrorists sought by the Americans, wounded in combat. We hid them and brought them to the doctors with the Red Cross, who operated on them," Scelli told La Stampa daily in an interview published Thursday.
"We also treated four of their children, sick with leukemia."
Red Cross spokesman Fabrizio Centofanti later confirmed to CNN that the organization had treated the Iraqis.
"The Red Cross is an impartial organization and it does not depend on the Italian government," Centofanti said.
"It did help presumed Iraqi terrorists, but it did so in the spirit of the Red Cross to help out everyone in need."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office, which has denied accusations it paid a ransom to win the aid workers' release, said the Red Cross was independent and did not answer to the government.
"As it is known, it (Red Cross) is not under the operative control, even less directives, of the national authorities precisely so that they can be recognized as neutral, which is indispensable for them to carry out their humanitarian mandate towards the international community," it said in a statement.
"Without entering into what has been said by its commissioner (Scelli), who is recognized for his high merits in the work carried out in favor of the injured in Iraq and other parts of the world, we underline how the government authorities never directed or conditioned his actions."
Cooperation between Italy and the United States had always been "reciprocal" in Iraq, it added.
Scelli, who was present at the handover of the two aid workers on September 28, said he helped to secure the women's release.
He told La Stampa the decision to hide details about the operation from U.S. officials was approved by Gianni Letta, Berlusconi's right-hand man.
"Keeping the Americans in the dark about our efforts to free the hostages was a non-negotiable condition to guarantee the safety of the hostages and ourselves," he said, according to Reuters.
Scelli said he held talks with Italian agent Nicola Calipari, who was shot dead in March this year by U.S. troops at a Baghdad checkpoint during a subsequent rescue operation for another Italian hostage.
OK. Don’t get me wrong here. I do believe that all chapters of the Red Cross do the best work they can in war-torn nations and warzones. However, these people are terrorists that are going to go right back into the field to go up against our troops. Yes, the treated them. I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is the fact they hisd them from US troops. Added to this is the fact that Berlusconi’s right hand man–this is admitted in the piece above–ordered that US officials in Iraq were to be kept in the dark. And don't you just love how CNN takes the talking points of the Italian Red Cross that these four were "presumed" terrorists?
That’s twice. They didn’t want to tell us about the Sgrena operation in March. Calipari’s fault on that because had he revealed his mission there, US officials probably would have helped him secure Sgrena’s release. He died. It wasn’t our fault. He and his driver tried to run a checkpoint. What were our troops supposed to do, sit on their triggers? They had no clue what the intention of Calipari’s car was. For all they knew, with the speed it maintained approaching the checkpoint, it could have been a terrorist with a car bomb. They reacted correctly, of which the investigation into the incident proved that. I’m sorry the Italians disagreed.
Now, we see this again. I think something needs to be done with the Italians over there in Iraq. There’s nothing that says we would have killed those terrorists they treated. To even think that, someone has to be brain-dead. Earlier today, Marcie put up a piece written by Michael Yon. Yon is a retired spec-ops guy who has gone to Iraq to be an imbedded freelance journalist. The firefight that he witnessed, photographed, and wrote about included a wounded terrorist. When it was all over, and the terrorist was in custody, they transported him back to their base where he was treated for his wounds.
See, here’s the problem with the Left. They think that our troops are monsters in the field, and that they’re killing anything that moves. No, that’s not true. Our troops abide by the Geneva Convention, and the overall rules of war. We don’t kill unarmed, surrendering combatants, or a combatant that has been captured. We’re not barbarians.
But this action by the Italian Red Cross is unacceptable. They just contributed to the problem because they treated them, hid them, and allowed them to leave. I don’t care if the Italian Red Cross isn’t connected to the Italian government. Letta, Berlusconi’s right-hand man, ordered that this be kept quiet. If I were the president, I’d be gnawing on Berlusconi’s butt right now because chances are, those terrorists are going right back into the field, and they’re going to wound or kill more of our troops.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 2:41 PM
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