July 09, 2005
Crewdson: CIA, Italy Both Were Supposed To Deny Kidnap Operation
In a profile on Armando Spataro, "the Italian prosecutor who has charged 13 CIA operatives with kidnapping a radical Muslim cleric off the streets of Milan," Chicago Tribune reporter John Crewdson noted that: Despite the Italian government's emphatic denials, newspapers in Italy and the United States are quoting unnamed sources saying a senior Italian intelligence official, maybe more than one, gave a wink and a nod to the CIA's plan to make Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, better known as Abu Omar, disappear into the bowels of an Egyptian prison in February 2003.
The operation reportedly was to be denied by both sides if it went wrong, as it most certainly has, thanks to a series of lax practices by the abductors - communicating via cell phones instead of radios, staying in hotels instead of safe houses, in a few cases using their real names - that permitted the judicial police of Milan, who work directly for Spataro, to reconstruct the operation almost minute by minute.Mr. Crewdson said, "Some Bush administration officials suggest that Spataro might be driven by politics or personal ambition. But those who have followed his career, including several lawyers who practice before Milan's Tribunale, describe Spataro with the same words: very serious, very tough, very competent, very straight."
For more see "Italian Prosecutor Runs With The Evidence.".
Posted by Munir Umrani at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)
Italian Defene Minister To Visit Rumsfled
AGI Online of Italy reported July 9, 2005 that, Italian "Defence Minister Antonio Martino left for a long planned official visit to the United States.
"During his visit in Washington," the publication said, "the Minister will meet [U.S.] Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld to discuss major international issues and bilateral relations between Italy and the USA based on a solid basis of common values, commitments and objectives."
I wonder whether they will discuss the arrest warrants an Italian judge issued for 13 CIA agents who reportedly kidnapped an Egyptian Imam off the streets in Italy and took him to Egypt for interrogation?
Posted by Munir Umrani at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2005
Italy Refuses Go Along With CIA On Kidnapping Story
Los Angeles Times reporters Tracy Wilkinson and Greg Miller reported June 30, 2005 that, " In a case threatening to explode into a major diplomatic row, the Italian government Thursday [June 30, 2005] denied it authorized or even knew about an operation in which CIA agents allegedly kidnapped a radical Egyptian cleric from the streets of Milan and transported him to Egypt for interrogation and torture."
"Italy's denial flew in the face of assertions by former CIA officials that the agency had obtained the consent of the Italian intelligence service before dispatching a CIA paramilitary team to nab the cleric," they wrote. One thing for sure, somebody is lying. Here's more.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 12:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 20, 2005
President Bush in Brussels
The Periscope is covering President George W. Bush's visit to Europe this week. I like their coverage and intend to follow it. The blog reported today that "Various news outlets are reporting on the protests against Bush in Brussels, though they're somewhat smallish at only around 1,000 people (est.)."
Posted by Munir Umrani at 04:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 18, 2005
On Sunday, Mr. Bush Goes to Europe
The Periscope, the "companion weblog to Euro-correspondent.com journalist network," is producing good coverage of President George W. Bush's upcoming visit to Europe. On February 17, 2005, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said Mr. Bush and Mrs. Bush will depart for Europe on February 20, 2005, "with stops in Belgium, Germany and the Slovak Republic." Here is a transcript of Mr. Hadley's briefing on the trip.
Posted by Munir Umrani at 08:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
