08 March 2005

Italy didn't plan safe escape for hostage - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - March 08, 2005

Finally, a bit of logic and reason. It's a tragic end to the Italian security officer, who appears to have screwed the pooch big time. As has been pointed out on other blogs, and we have bandied about internally amongst ourselves at the Tattler, mistakes kill.

It's usually survivable to make one mistake.
It's sometimes survivalbe to make 2.
It's rarely survivable to make 3 or more.

That kills cave divers, parachutists, race car drivers, and apparently secret agents.

1. "The left-leaning Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported yesterday that Mr. Calipari decided not to use available escort protection from the elite commandos who protect Italy's Baghdad embassy."

2. "The soldiers did not know that Miss Sgrena and Italian agents were headed in their direction on the way to the airport for a flight back to Italy."

3. "It seems to me that the Italian secret service considers this a James Bond movie in Baghdad," Mr. Maginnis said. "They're driving around at night picking up a journalist who has been kidnapped and pretending they can get through a phalanx of checkpoints along the deadliest road in all of Iraq without being detected, much less shot up."

4. The vehicle also did not stop for hand signals, flashlights, or warning shots.


About all I can think of that's positive from this sad event is that if Bill Clinton or John Kerry or AlGore were the man in charge, the folks manning the checkpoint would already have been thrown under the bus, into the brig, and out of the service with a dishonorable discharge. The ROE would be changed, and our soldier's and Marine's lives would be put in greater jeopardy to satisfy political correctness.

No comments: