'My Name Is Giuliana Sgrena: I Write for a Newspaper Which Opposed...'

[Cooley Hurd]

'My Name Is Giuliana Sgrena: I Write for a Newspaper Which Opposed the Sanctions and the War Against Iraq'

By Luciana Bohne
Online Journal Contributing Writer

February 12, 2005

<snip>
The abduction Friday, 4 February, of the journalist from Il Manifesto, Giuliana Sgrena, has Iraqi civil society living in anguish about her fate—they have added the burden of her disappearance to the litany of their daily, appalling, ever-mounting woes. In their utterly civilized and almost powerless humanity, they plead for her! I don't think it will be easy for even the brutality of the occupation to crush such a selfless strain of stubborn humanity!

Sheik Hussein al Zobey, Sunni coordinator of the refugee camps inside the University of Baghdad, uttered an impassioned appeal for the journalist's release: "In the name of truth, free her. I appeal in the name of those who come to help us. I ask the kidnappers to free Giuliana, who has promised to help us. She has laughed and played with our children—and has cried with us."

"Truly moving is the involvement of the Iraqi people in Giuliana Sgrena's ordeal," writes Il Manifesto's correspondent from Baghdad, Stefano Chiarini. "Suffering daily abuses and violence from occupation forces or their proxies, the Iraqis themselves are subjected to routine hostage-taking by the occupiers. If the father is not at home, they arrest his son, or brother, or other relative. Under the pretext of looking for arms, American soldiers and their Iraqi trainees look for jewels and money . And, yet, the whole country has mobilised for the liberation of Giuliana."

Sheik Abdel Salam al Qubaisi of the Association of Islamic Scholars (Sunni), in extremely severe terms, denounced the abduction: "This type of kidnapping distorts and defames the resistance of the Iraqi people against the American occupation." Sheik Al Qubaisi reminded Iraqis that on 19 January, the Association of Islamic Scholars pronounced itself explicitly opposed to "such actions, affirming that there must be no kidnapping of journalists."

Indeed, Chiarini reports, Sheik al Qubaisi remains skeptical about the groups claiming responsibility for the abduction (another group, the Brigades of the Mujaheddin in Iraq, claimed that Sgrena had been killed, but evidence to the contrary has been subsequently confirmed). "We still have our doubts. We don't know if what they say is true. We believe that no Iraqi organization would organize a kidnapping of this kind, especially not of a journalist who intended to interview the refugees of Fallujah, victims of the American occupation
</snip>

This article makes a strong case on why Sgrena would be a thorn in the side to the US occupation - and gives rise to possible motive(s) for her shooting.

[joeybee12]

1. Hmmmmmmm...there does seem to be more to this than just a

mistake!

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Here's the real thorn - Napalm Raid on Falluja?

Napalm Raid on Falluja?
73 charred bodies -- women and children -- were found

23 November 2004

«We buried them, but we could not identify them because they were charred from the napalm bombs used by the Americans». People from Saqlawiya village, near Falluja, told al Jazeera television, based in Qatar, that they helped bury 73 bodies of women and children completely charred, all in the same grave. The sad story of common graves, which started at Saddam’s times, is not yet finished. Nobody could confirm if napalm bombs have been used in Falluja, but other bodies found last year after the fierce battle at Baghdad airport were also completely charred and some thought of nuclear bombs. No independent source could verify the facts, since all the news arrived until now are those spread by journalists embedded with the American troops, who would only allow British and American media to enrol with them. But the villagers who fled in the last few days spoke of many bodies which had not been buried: it was too dangerous to collect the corpses during the battle.

Yesterday, for the first time since the beginning of the military campaign, the American Headquarters allowed a convoy of the Red Crescent (the Iraqi Red Cross) to enter the city with 7 ambulances and two trucks filled with food. In the past days the convoys of the humanitarian organizations were stopped on the other side of Eufrathes. Thus maybe we will now be able to obtain some more news on the conditions of the people who are left in the city -- the majority fled -- during 15 days of fierce and uninterrumpted attacks.


http://www.ilmanifesto.it/pag/sgrena/en/420dd721e0ff0.html


Now do you see why the US wanted her dead?

[Cooley Hurd]

3. Do we have any unofficial/official accounting of civilian dead...

...in Fallujah? By all accounts, it must've been high...:(

[anarchy1999]

4. No matter how many 100's of millions you spend you can never

rebuild 100's, even 1,000's of years of history.

The last paragraph from this article:

Yesterday Bill Taylor, responsible for the reconstruction of the Department of state, said that the United States government will spend more than 100 million dollars for the reconstruction of Falluja. The money will be invested in public buildings, private houses, shops, infrastructure. A destruction which could be avoided, if a different solution had been chosen for Falluja, as it was wished by many Iraqis. And what about all the civilians killed, of which the number is not known and probably never will? Will 100 million dollars be enough to gain back the trust of those who live in Falluja? Not likely, in fact, the opposite is more likely. It is in fact easy to foresee, even for the observers, that this “pacification” will not smooth the way for the elections. The anger of those who inhabit the Sunni triangle will more likely be exploited by those who are willing to do anything in order to avoid the vote.

[leftchick]

8. they won't spend a stinkin penny on Fallujah

you just wait and see. Ramadi and Mosul will be next. The US will level them just like Fallujah because they can. No one is holding them accountable for ANY of their daily multiple war crimes.

:grr:

[anarchy1999]

10. leftchick, you've been around here for forever. I know they are going to,

but do you have any hope left of stopping it? I need some help here, seriously.

[leftchick]

13. anarchy honey, I wish I could make you feel better...

I wish I could make us feel better. Think about what has happened in Fallujah . It is fucking GONE! Is the world holding the US accountable? No and they won't. At not for a very long time. My only ope is to one day before I day see the whole lot of those e=war profiteers and criminals frog marched to a trial like Nuremberg and PAY for their crimes.

:cry:

[anarchy1999]

16. I've been thinking about and following events in Fallujah every day

since April of 2003 when our troops rolled in, occupied the school and then a couple of days later fired into the protestors (all peaceful) that just wanted our soldiers to leave the school.

I told my husband that day that there would never be peace in Fallujah, that they (our soldiers) would annihilate it before it was over. I just put myself in their place, it was pretty simple. Sad but true.

I also spent most of the day crying when I learned of the destruction and looting of the museum and that happened far long and before the first incident in Fallujah.

[Swamp Rat]

17. You and I both!

:cry:

A few moths later, I found photos of Napalm victims from Falluja, then I made this pic (I'm pretty sure you've seen it):



It was VERY difficult making that pic, as I had to stare at that poor, burned child for hours. :cry:

I HOPE there is a Hell! :grr:

[anarchy1999]

18. Thanks for the pic, I'd like to use it, can you help me.

And yes, there is a hell, we are living in it now.

[dbt]

5. British paper reported napalm use in Baghdad

It's in this thread.

10 August 2003

American pilots dropped the controversial incendiary agent napalm on Iraqi troops during the advance on Baghdad. The attacks caused massive fireballs that obliterated several Iraqi positions.

So, yeah, "we" have napalm there! And Fallujah was becoming a bit of a nuisance...

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Using Napalm on a civilian population is a War Crime

Especially when you are the occupying force, running the country. Remember how many times Bush cried about Saddam gassing his own people? This is worse.

[leftchick]

9. that must have been all of those pretty fireballs ameriKans were cheering

on TV during shock and awe. :puke:

[riverwalker]

7. 6000 dead according to this report

I read somewhere that the chemical composition of the "new" napalm differs from the old by just a little. This way, when commanders say "we did not use napalm" they will not be lying. It's basically the same thing, but they don't call it "napalm" anymore because they know how the public would react. We also use white phosphorus, also called WP or "willie pete".


This article has a good compilation of Fallujah witnesses.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0412/S00002.htm

snip <”They used these weird bombs that put up smoke like a mushroom cloud,” Abu Sabah, another Fallujah refugee from the Julan area told IPS. ”Then small pieces fall from the air with long tails of smoke behind them.”
He said pieces of these bombs exploded into large fires that burnt the skin even when water was thrown on the burns. Phosphorous weapons as well as napalm are known to cause such effects.> snip

[RBHam]

11. Put 2 and 2 together...the answer is Rummy's SSB...

The Special Security Branch, Rummy's own Special Forces and Blackwater-affiliated hit squad.

[SpiralHawk]

12. Shit yes, there's a profit to be made here assasinating journalists

so why shouldn't one of BushCo's Mercenary Profit Centers rake in the "quiet cash." What's good for Mercenaries is good for BushCo.

[anarchy1999]

19. You left out Negroponte and the new "Salvadoran Option".

RB, you are falling down. Running out of tin foil?

[burythehatchet]

14. I've planted the flag of freedom, said the cowboy

I am very hopeful that she will be able to tell her story with the world listening now.

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. Excellent commentary on the Sgena scandal at Orcinus

here:
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com

There needs to be a full-fledged investigation of the attack on Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, and not just an in-house job by the White House.
That's the only conclusion I can reach after reading this:

"I remember only fire," she wrote in Il Manifesto, which fiercely opposed the war in Iraq. "At that point a rain of fire and bullets came at us, forever silencing the happy voices from a few minutes earlier."

Sgrena said the driver began shouting that they were Italian, then "Nicola Calipari dove on top of me to protect me and immediately, and I mean immediately, I felt his last breath as he died on me."

Suddenly, she said, she remembered her captors' words, when they warned her "to be careful because the Americans don’t want you to return."

Sgrena wrote that her captors warned her as she was about to be released not to signal her presence to anyone, because "the Americans might intervene." She said her captors blindfolded her and drove her to a location where she was turned over to agents and they set off for the airport.

(snip - more at link)

[lostnfound]

20. My truth by Giuliana Sgrena herself

My truth (La mia verità)

By Giuliana Sgrena
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Media/030605Sgrena/030605sgrena.html
The driver started shouting we were Italians, "We are Italians! We are Italians . . ." Nicola Calipari dove on top of me to protect me and immediately, and I mean immediately, I felt his last breath as he died on me. I must have felt physical pain, I didn't know why. But I had a sudden thought: I recalled my abductors' words. They said they were deeply committed to releasing me, but that I had to be careful because "the Americans don't want you to return." Back then, as soon as they had said that, I had judged their words to be meaningless and ideological. In that moment such words risked to take the taste of the most bitter truth away. I can't tell the rest yet.

This was the most dramatic moment. But the month I spent as a kidnap victim has probably changed my life forever. One month alone with myself, prisoner of my deepest belief. Each hour was a pitiless test of my work. Sometimes they kidded me. They even asked me why I would leave and asked me to stay. I pointed out that I had personal relationships. They led me to think to such priorities that too often we put aside.