Bush Calls Berlusconi Over Agent Shooting

[emad]

Bush Calls Berlusconi Over Agent Shooting

Wednesday May 4, 2005 3:16 PM
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO

Associated Press Writer

ROME (AP) - President Bush called Premier Silvio Berlusconi Wednesday to reiterate his condolences for the killing of an Italian agent by U.S. troops in Iraq. The call came days after Washington and Rome issued rival reports about the shooting death.

Berlusconi's office described the conversation as ``long and cordial'' and said the two countries reaffirmed their commitment in Iraq. Berlusconi, a staunch ally of the United States, sent about 3,000 troops in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

But the March 4 death of Nicola Calipari, hailed as a hero in Italy, has caused friction between Washington and Rome, and Berlusconi's government has come under pressure to reevaluate the Italian troop deployment in Iraq.

``The two countries remain united in their commitment in favor of the Iraqi people and government for the reconstruction of an Iraq that is stable, free and democratic,'' said a statement from Berlusconi's office.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4981885,00.html

IS THE WORD "asshole" missing in this caption after 'berlusconi' and before 'over'???

[LynnTheDem]

1. WRONG. The two countries' GOVERNMENTS remain committed to Iraq

AGAINST the will of the MAJORITY of the two countries' CITIZENS.

[Miss Chybil]

2. The three countries' citizens...

You forgot Iraqis.

[LynnTheDem]

4. We could do the same with EVERY country.

Because NO NATION in bush's little "coalition" had a majority of citizens that supported invading Iraq.

NONE.

[Miss Chybil]

8. You are exactly right.

How is it so few control so many?

[shadowknows69]

11. guns and fear

[Amonester]

14. And... nu-klu-ar$

About what, 12,000 nukes? (Not sure if it's the true "count.")

:nuke:

:scared:

[Amonester]

15. ARRRG!

http://www.brook.edu/FP/PROJECTS/NUCWCOST/50.HTM

:scared:

[Barrett808]

3. "Way to cook that report" n/t

[gratuitous]

5. Subtext: Now tell everyone else to shut up

There's a report somewhere today that an Italian official (the prime minister?) called the official line out of the Bush administration a pack of lies. I strongly suspect that the "long and cordial" phone call was taken up with a lot of "tell your guy to shut up or else" cordialities on this side of the Atlantic.

[bennywhale]

6. US Rules of Engagement

Does anyone know the US rules of engagement? Seriously. I can think of an easy reply but they do seem so lax compared with other countries. Even those like the UK who are in Iraq

[daleo]

17. Here they are:

1 - Shoot whoever you like.
2 - Say it is self defense.
3 - Don't rat out on the BFEE.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. My thoughts exactly

Bush probably was making threats to make the journalist shut up. Did they ever "find" that car?

[ooglymoogly]

7. lest we forget italy was on the side of hitler during the 2nd w.war,

again against the wishes of its people. france, for example, a country the pukes love to hate was not.

[MisterP]

16. and Japan, Thailand, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Korea, Philippines

[cliss]

9. A hypothetical conversation:

Bush: Silvio, I - I - (Bush wonders what to say, since he never apologizes) uh - ah (stammers, his "trademark") uh, hm

Berlusconi: (angry, agitated) Why you do this? Why you make it so tough to be your friend?

Bush: Silvio, Silvio....calm down. We're going to pay for this. It was a terrible mistake, that's all. We've got $2.3 million we're going to wire into your account. Be sure to give some of that to the Calipari family. Skip the journalist.

Berlusconi: You know what this is doing to me? I might not get elected. Did you know, my government broke down last week because of you, and had to be reassembled.

Bush: reassembled? You mean like Lincoln Logs?

Berlusconi: what?

[all.of.me]

10. lol

got a little language and culture barrier going on there, boys?!

skip the journalist. :rofl:

[shadowknows69]

12. Like lincoln logs

please stop. it hurts :rofl:

[Algorem]

18. Berlusconi pretends to dispute U.S. report on agent

Posted on Thu, May. 05, 2005

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/11568935.htm

Berlusconi disputes U.S. report on agent

ALESSANDRA RIZZO

Associated Press


ROME - Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that he disagreed with some of the U.S. military's conclusions into the March shooting death of an Italian agent in Baghdad, but he said those differences won't affect Italy's deployment of troops in Iraq or its friendship with Washington.

Berlusconi told lawmakers that it couldn't be ruled out that U.S. troops who fired on the agent's car from a checkpoint were to blame even if they fired mistakenly.

"Indeed, the lack of deliberate action doesn't rule out blame attributable to negligence, imprudence or even simple incompetence," Berlusconi told lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies three days after Italy issued its own report concluding that soldiers' inexperience, stress and fatigue played a role in the fatal shooting.

He also complained, as Italian investigators have, that the scene of the shooting wasn't left untouched, although Berlusconi added that "the impartiality and good faith of the U.S. investigators cannot be questioned."...

[Algorem]

19. real link:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=730643