US troops mistakely shoot at freed journalist

I wonder if Eason Jordan will be able to come out from hiding now? Story:

ROME - An Italian journalist was wounded Friday when a U.S. armored vehicle mistakenly fired on her car after she was released from her captors in Iraq, the Pentagon said Friday. Media reports said an Italian secret service agent was killed in the shooting, while another was injured.

The Pentagon confirmed that U.S. troops had mistakenly opened fire on a vehicle carrying Giuliana Sgrena, 56, a reporter for the communist daily Il Manifesto freed earlier in the day after a month in the custody of Iraqi insurgents, but said it had no details on the incident.

The Apcom and ANSA news agencies said that Sgrena was in a hospital in Iraq with a shoulder injury. The shooting occurred at a roadblock while the car was heading to the airport, the reports said.

The editor of Il Manifesto, Gabriele Polo, said the secret service agent was killed when he threw himself over the freed hostage to protect her from fire, according to Apcom. He also said Sgrena was in the hospital but was not seriously injured.

In an interview with Europe Radio 1, French terrorism expert Frederic Helbert quoted intelligence sources in Baghdad as saying the Italians had wanted to evacuate Sgrena from Iraq as soon as possible and had embarked on the airport road, scene of frequent terrorist attacks, without obtaining the proper clearances or communicating with the U.S. forces.

I'm open to believing this was a mistake. It's a bad mistake to make on the heels of our "charm offensive" in Europe, however. The fact that this journalist wrote for a Communist daily will give the freepers an excellent opportunity to open their mouths and insert their feet, however. "Nice shot" will be the normal repsonse, I gather.

Incidentally, Lindsay Beyerstein at Pandagon has a great post citing specific examples that seem to buttress Eason Jordan's claim, including Gen. Richard Myers admitting the targeting of Iraqi journalists two years ago on CNN, in violation of the Geneva Conventions.