ROME — Italy on Monday sharply challenged a U.S. Army report exonerating its soldiers in the shooting death of an Italian intelligence officer near Baghdad, directing blame at poor coordination among military authorities and the stressed, inexperienced American soldiers in charge of dangerous checkpoints in Iraq.
In a 52-page report released Monday night, Italian officials disputed U.S. findings about key details of the shooting and said the Americans had failed to provide adequate warning as to the presence of the after-dark checkpoint.
The intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, was killed March 4 when U.S. soldiers manning an impromptu roadblock fired on his car as he attempted to escort an Italian journalist to freedom shortly after securing her release from Iraqi kidnappers. The Italians, including another agent driving the car, were making their way to the Baghdad airport along a notoriously perilous road. The journalist, Giuliana Sgrena, was wounded by the gunfire.
Italian and U.S. officials have differed from the beginning about whether the soldiers adequately warned the car's occupants and whether the vehicle was speeding. The two governments launched a joint investigation but failed to agree on key details of the shooting.
The U.S. military, in a report formally released over the weekend, exonerated its soldiers and said the American troops had acted according to the rules of engagement for checkpoints. That report also blamed the Italians for failing to coordinate their movements in Iraq with U.S. authorities, saying Italian officers had decided to keep the hostage-rescue secret.
Italians were outraged by the findings, and the government of Silvio Berlusconi announced it would release its own report. A copy was presented Monday to U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler and to Italian officials.
The Italian report concurred that the shooting of Calipari was not deliberate, but it criticized U.S. forces for failing to establish "the most elementary precautions" for vehicles approaching checkpoints.
The report said it was likely that "some degree of inexperience and stress might have led some of the U.S. troops to react instinctively and with little control" to the approaching Italians' car.
Washington and Rome also have clashed over whether the U.S. military chain of command was aware of the rescue mission. The Italian report indicated that the Americans had to have been aware of the presence of Calipari and other Italian intelligence agents, even if they did not know the precise nature of their mission.
