IRAQ/ITALY: FM FINI SPEAKS TO PARLIAMENT ON

UNCLAS ROME 000799

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR PREL PGOV MOPS EAID MCAP IZ IT IRAQI FREEDOM
SUBJECT: IRAQ/ITALY: FM FINI SPEAKS TO PARLIAMENT ON
NICOLA CALIPARI INCIDENT

REFTEL: ROME 781


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified, please protect accordingly.


2. (U) Summary: DPM/FM Gianfranco Fini told the Chamber of
Deputies March 8 that the March 4 killing by a U.S.patrol
of Italian SISMI official Nicola Calipari near Camp Victory
in Baghdad was "certainly an accident" but that there were
discrepancies between the U.S. and Italy's reconstruction
of events. Fini underscored the need to shed full light on
the incident, said U.S. Ambassador in Rome Mel Sembler is
of the same opinion, and remarked that the U.S. is willing
to cooperate. Fini also said the incident should not be
linked to Italy's military presence in Iraq. End summary.


3. (U) FM Fini appeared before the Italian Lower House of
Parliament the morning of March 8 to provide the Italian
Government's reconstruction of the events on the evening of
March 4 which led to the death of Italian military
intelligence (SISMI) official Nicola Calipari as he was
approaching Baghdad airport with just-released Italian
hostage Giuliana Sgrena. Fini gave a detailed account of
Calipari's movements and those of his SISMI colleague since
the moment of their arrival at Baghdad airport the
afternoon of March 4. Fini reported that in Baghdad "SISMI
complied with the Government's instructions and according
to procedures used in previous circumstances and acted in
synergy with the allied forces and with the U.S. Embassy's
hostage center." He described the retrieval of hostage
Giuliana Sgrena in an unidentified and dark part of
Baghdad. He then gave a meticulous account of their return
trip to the airport, saying Calipari had decided to fly
back to Italy immediately with the former hostage "because
they assessed that it would have been more dangerous to go
to the Italian Embassy instead, as they would have had to
drive for at least thirty minutes at night in one of the
most dangerous sectors of Baghdad." Calipari sat on the
back seat of the car with the ex-hostage. The other SISMI
official was in front, driving. Both were Iraq experts,
had been there numerous times before, and knew the roads.
They had decided to travel in an unmarked car with Iraq
plates -- a Toyota Corolla -- to be as undetectable as
possible, for the safety of the ex-hostage.


4. (U) According to Fini, the Toyota was traveling at a
speed of about 70 km/hr when it first entered the road to
Camp Victory. The headlights were on, as was the light
inside the car "to make it easier for possible controls at
checkpoints -- but there were no checkpoints -- and to
allow Calipari to make several telephone calls." Calipari
called Italian Government Under Secretary Gianni Letta and
SISMI Chief Nicolo' Pollari and "informed the American
authorities of their proximate return to the airport area,
in order to obtain all possible assistance for a smooth and
direct entry."


5. (U) The car reduced its speed to go through a flooded
underpass and further reduced it "in view of a road
junction with a practically 90 degree turn." At that
point, it was on the left lane of the road, because the
right lane was flooded and because it "was obstructed by
two cement blocs that the driver knew were there from
before." By then, the car was going "not more than 40
km/hr." "About half way through the bend a very strong
light, like a spotlight, was lit, higher than the car and
about 10 meters away, probably on the right side of the
road. Shooting from more than one automatic weapon started
practically immediately when the car braked and stopped,
and lasted 10-15 seconds," Fini said.


6. (U) Describing those "hectic and tragic" moments, Fini
said the driver saw tracing bullets pass in front of his
chest and over his legs, before he was ordered to get out
of the car and kneel on the ground about 10 meters away.
When the driver, who spoke English, was finally able to
identify himself and Calipari "as belonging to the Italian
Embassy" and to say that the woman they were transporting
was ex-hostage Sgrena "two young American soldiers
approached him and dejectedly and repeatedly apologized for
what happened." "It is still not ascertained" whether the


soldiers who opened fire "were truly operating within a
complex mechanism of control" or whether they were
operating alone. Nevertheless, the hypothesis circulating
in Italian leftist circles that it was an ambush to
deliberately kill either Calipari or Sgrena is "absolutely
unfounded." It was, instead, "certainly an accident...
determined by a series of circumstances... but this does
not impede that clarity be made."


7. (U) Recognizing that the Italian Government's
reconstruction "does not completely coincide with what the
American authorities have communicated," and on the
strength of Italy's "ancient and reiterated friendship with
the U.S.," Fini underscored the Italian Government's
absolute determination to "claim truth and justice." He
indicated that the U.S. has shown an "immediate and real
willingness to cooperate," which was transmitted during
President Bush's telcon with Italian PM Berlusconi,
Secretary Rice's telcon with Fini himself, and Secretary

SIPDIS
Rumsfeld's telcon with Italian MOD Antonio Martino, as well
as during Ambassador Sembler's meeting with Berlusconi,
where Sembler "underscored the need to shed light on Nicola
Calipari's death and on the fact that there must be no
shadows." Fini also said there is no connection between
the presence of Italian troops in Iraq and Sgrena's
kidnapping. He suggested that the Government's position on
maintaining its troops in Iraq as long as the Iraqi
government requests that they remain will not change.


8. (U) Fini was applauded only by the center-right majority
parties, who espoused his statements in full. He was
criticized by the left, but not too vehemently: they
insisted on the need to investigate whether the incident
was deliberate and was meant to kill. Italian Communist
(PdCI) and former Justice Minister Oliviero Diliberto asked
for the withdrawal of the Italian troops from Iraq and
noted that Fini "belied" the U.S. version of events. Paolo
Cento, for the Greens, characterized Fini's reconstruction
as "insufficient and inadequate." Ramon Mantovani, for
Communist Renewal (RC),appreciated the Government's
decision to negotiate with the kidnappers to save a human
life, but said that the events happened "in a context of
war" and RC is against war and against maintaining troops
in Iraq. But Luciano Violante, of the opposition's leading
party, the Democrats of the Left (DS),gave the
opposition's leading line, remarking that Fini's speech
"merits respect," but that Fini did not address one key
point -- on whether there is unity of intent between Italy
and the U.S. in how to deal with hostage situations. He
also said he would wait for PM Berlusconi's speech at the
Senate the afternoon of March 9 to know more, including on
the U.S. Embassy Baghdad's Hostage Task Force, which Fini
had briefly mentioned in his speech.


9. (SBU) Comment: Fini presented in detail perhaps more
complete than we would have liked the differences between
the accounts of U.S. and Italian witnesses to the events,
but did not attribute more veracity to either version. He
made clear that Italy would participate in an investigation
into the causes of the tragedy, an important factor in
answering the call from the Italian public for
transparency. While Italian and U.S. press (including CNN)
may have focused on a "dispute" between U.S. and Italian
explanations, in our view Fini simply noted the obvious:
that discrepancies exist among the various versions of the
events. Fini underlined that Italy agreed with the U.S.
that the accident was "a tragic mistake", and that the
circumstances must be clarified.


10. (SBU) Comment continued. We believe there was also an
element of political theater in Fini's address. His
iteration of the Italian witness' account preempted any
opposition thoughts of accusing the government of a cover-
up, and set the stage for Berlusconi to underline that he
has received from the U.S. assurances of full transparency
and Italian participation in the investigation, and that
Italy's promise to remain in Iraq as long as Baghdad
requires remains firm.


11. (U) Embassy Baghdad minimize considered.


Sembler


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2005ROME00799 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED