Giuliana Sgrena Talks About Shooting
by TChris
Giuliana Sgrena, wounded by American troops shortly after her release by Iraqi captors, believes she may have been targeted because the United States opposes the kind of negotiation with terrorists that secured her release.
In an interview with RAI, Italian state television, Sgrena recounted her final moments before freedom: "When they let me go, it was a difficult moment for me because they told me, `The Americans don't want you to return alive to Italy.'"
The United States says the shooting was "a horrific accident." Horrific it was. An Italian intelligence officer was killed, and one or two others were wounded.
Sgrena's editor at the daily Il Manifesto, Gabriele Polo, said Italian officials told him 300-400 rounds were fired at the car.
Accounts of the shooting are in conflict.
The U.S. military has said the car Sgrena was riding in was speeding and Americans used hand and arm signals, flashing white lights and warning shots to get it to stop at the roadblock. But in an interview with Italian La 7 TV, Sgrena said, "There was no bright light, no signal." She also said the car was traveling at "regular speed."
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