Bush! in the name of Italy, I demand satisfaction!
Yesterday, Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, commanded the attention of millions of grief-stricken Italians as he issued a defiant challenge to his good friend and war ally, President Bush:
Come clean now on the killing of our intelligence officer or risk a severe rupture in our friendship and military alliance.
Dramatic? Indeed, but that’s Italian!
Nevertheless, besides being patently specious, Berlusconi’s performance for his Italian public reminded me of the way Arafat always performed for his Palestinian Fatah soldiers and Intifada rebels: he would damn America to hell in the name of holy jihad and then get on the phone to President Bill Clinton – call him Daddy and beg for help. In fairness to Berlusconi, he’s not that pathetic; but, his speech was no less a charade.
Berlusconi’s performance was prompted by the international controversy surrounding Italy’s dealings with terrorist kidnappers in Iraq for the return of journalists and communist radical, Giuliana Sgrena. The questions fueling this controversy are:
Did the Italians notify US military officials of their negotiations with the hostage takers?
Was the Italian agent “driving like a madman” after the exchange to get to the airport as quickly as possible (as Sgrena herself stated in a moment of sobriety immediately after the incident)?
Did the Americans fire flares and warning shots before disabling the get away car and causing the death of the agent? And,
Did Berlusconi pay over 1 million dollars of his own money to the terrorist for Sgrena’s release; and did this motivate the Americans to target Sgrena for assassination as she claims?
Alas, we will never know the answers to these questions because the truth was a collateral casualty of the immediate posturing of both sides to defend their respective political interests.
But as cynical as I am about the US government (and even more so about its military), I have grave doubts that the Americans targeted Sgrena for assassination. This probably was a tragic mistake. And, Sgrena’s claims to the contrary seem delusional even for a victim suffering an acute case of the Stockholm syndrome (hostages who become enamored of their captors).
Giuliana Sgrena: So help me God, the Americans are the evil doers…
Nevertheless, that her claims have incited this controversy does a disservice not only to the gallant agent who died saving her life but also to US – Italian relations that must now endure the public spectacle of Berlusconi challenging Bush to a duel.
Street demonstrations in Italy in the days preceding Berlusconi’s address evinced a palpable lust among many Italians for their pound of flesh from the Americans – no matter the facts in this case. And, the irony could not have been lost on Berlusconi that he was defending his nation’s honor against the US on the one year anniversary of the bombings in Madrid that brought down the Spanish government.
It remains to be seen, therefore, how this shrewd politician will balance the yearning of grieving Italians for vindication with the pragmatic obligations of his government to maintain good relations with the United States.
It seems unlikely that the death of this Italian agent will prove as pivotal in Italian politics as the terrorist bombing of trains in Madrid proved in the politics of Spain. Nevertheless, there is no telling how (or when) mobs cresting on such an emotional wave will finally calm down.
News and Politics
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.