ROME — An Italian journalist shot by U.S. soldiers in Iraq said Tuesday she was dismayed that a Pentagon report had cleared the troops of any wrongdoing in the incident, branding the investigation a "slap in the face" to her country.
Reporter Giuliana Sgrena was one of many Italians expressing outrage at the conclusion of the still-unreleased report into the shooting, which killed a top Italian security official who had secured Sgrena's release from Iraqi kidnappers.
Details of the report became public Monday, but Italian officials, who had participated in the investigation, have reportedly refused to sign off on the final document.
"My latest information is that they have not come to a final agreement on a joint report," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
The March 4 shooting became a rare sore point between Rome and Washington. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been one of President Bush's most loyal allies, and losing an important security official to U.S. fire created enormous embarrassment for him.
Berlusconi's decision to send Italian troops to Iraq nearly two years ago was never popular, and now controversy over the probe into the shooting seems likely to stir more trouble for his embattled government.
Aides to Berlusconi said he was in contact with U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler to seek clarification. But the prime minister rebuffed demands from Parliament to discuss the matter immediately, insisting instead that the investigation was not yet completed.
"The government ... will only speak about this when all the results of the inquiry are finalized," he said, the Ansa Italian news agency reported.
Pentagon officials speaking on condition of anonymity told The Times on Monday that the report concluded that the U.S. soldiers had acted according to their rules of engagement. Neither Rumsfeld nor Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would comment Tuesday on the results of the investigation because the report had not yet been released.
The shooting occurred on the notoriously treacherous road to Baghdad's international airport. The troops opened fire on the car carrying Sgrena and two Italian intelligence agents, wounding her and the driver. Nicola Calipari, a veteran agent and hostage negotiator, was killed shielding Sgrena.
