Right Wing Nut House

The story about the Italian journalist who was recently released by her captors in Iraq only to be involved in an incident at a checkpoint with US soldiers is getting curiouser and curiouser. The military says that the vehicle was travelling “at speed” and “failed to stop at the checkpoint despite warning shots from soldiers.” Here’s this from the left wing Guardian:

Italian reconstruction of the incident is significantly different. Sgrena told colleagues the vehicle was not travelling fast and had already passed several checkpoints on its way to the airport. The Americans shone a flashlight at the car and then fired between 300 and 400 bullets at if from an armoured vehicle. Rather than calling immediately for assistance for the wounded Italians, the soldiers’ first move was to confiscate their weapons and mobile phones and they were prevented from resuming contact with Rome for more than an hour.

An armoured car? Fired 300-400 rounds? That car must be totalled, right? This is a picture of the journalists car after an armoured car fired 300-400 rounds into it (probably .50 cal which would be standard on a Bradley):

Please note the bullet proof windshield. Either that, or we’ve got to send these guys back to basic and teach them how to shoot for God’s sake!

Aside from invisible bulletts, there was always something a little stinky about this “kidnapping.” We saw a tape a month ago of this poor woman pleading for her life. In the past, that usually meant curtains as a few days later a headless body would be found. Instead, a month later, the woman is released (or rescued depending on who and what you read).

Sound a little off to you?

Obviously, someone (an anti-war commie journalist?) is not telling the truth here. I wonder when the truth comes out if anyone will ever report it?

UPDATE: ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO IN ERROR. THAT’S NOT THE CAR

The car pictured above is not the car that was mistakenly fired on by American soldiers at a checkpoint. The Associated Press who released the photo with the story now says that the photo is of stock footage of another car stopped at an American checkpoint.

Begs the question; what possessed the AP to release a photo that had nothing to do with the story it accompanied?

While the photo is inaccurate, these questions still exist:

1. Does anyone really believe that 300-400 .50 cal rounds were fired at the journalists car? If this were the case, no one would be alive to tell the story.

2. Was the journalist released or did she escape?

3. Was this entire kidnapping incident a set up to make the Americans look bad?

Can’t wait to see a real picture of the car.