It's All About "My Truth"

[thedrifter]

It's All About "My Truth"

Why America Doesn't Ask PermissionSometimes it's not easy to avoid popular group-think.No matter what we try to do to make the world better, why are we seeminglyalways sucker-punched by (as it would turn out) some of the most ungrateful,selfish, ignorant, spiteful, and uncooperative of people. And some still havethe nerve to ask why some of us are feeling more and more isolationist.How many times is America expected to come to the aid during a naturaldisaster (see "Act of God") and make the boo-boo stop hurting... NOW!?Then they complain why we didn't use our transporter beams toget-the-people-out/get-the-aid-on-the-ground faster. How many times isAmerica expected to take action, not sit back, watch, and "discuss" duringmeaningless and time-wasting months at the United Nations? And howmany times do we end up getting stabbed in the back, with thousands ofpeople taking time out of their lives to take to the streets and protest theone country in the world that stands between them and certain anarchy?That is, unless you lived in a totalitarian police state. This is not speculation,seeing how people live within those kind of environments today.What would the world, as we know it, be like without an America that's willingto sacrifice it's young so others can walk across the street and not be strafedwith assault weapons, or be blown to bits by a car bomb left by people whodon't like how you pray? What would the world be like... for you women whohate the United States so much?Half of you women journalists from outside the United States would be athome right now with a child feeding from your breast (because you couldn'tafford formula) in a room or two with four or so more roaming about. Yourdream of being a journalist was probably (literally) taken away when yourhusband beat the **** out of you for even implying you could have a life.THAT's because of an America that can say "No!"My TruthWomen don't belong in combat areas. Sure, I say this as a Cold War"peacetime" veteran, but even though they are competent to do the job, whencaptured, they can be used in ways that make kidnappers drool.There is a very simple and logical reason why the United States' official policyis to not negotiate with terrorists. If the captive is a woman, it's a bonus for thebad guys. Sorry, ladies but at certain time of the month, a trained detainercould turn you into a pile of mush at will, and would certainly have you crying(like a Korean male) with a dirty look. You'd sell out your country in front of avideo camera.The United States doesn't deal with terrorists because if you pay them thistime, you've created a market. Ever notice how all of our national newsanchors all made a sweeps appearance in Iraq? If someone kidnapped DanRather, he'd be on his own....If we did "pay" to have Dan released, no American anchor would be safe.With American policy as it is, Rather, Brokaw, and Jennings aren't worth theeffort. Think about it. Who does Giuliana Sgrena think she is? She told us ina narrative that she sure whipped together quickly for the communist Italianpublication Il Manifesto, called "My Truth.""I'm still in the dark. Friday was the most dramatic day of my life. I had beenin captivity for many days. I had just spoken with my captors. It had beendays they were telling me I would be released. I was living in waiting for thismoment. They were speaking about things that only later I would haveunderstood the importance of. They were speaking about problems 'relatedto transfers.'"This reporterette was captured by Iraqi insurgents and was used almostimmediately as a public relations wedge between America and her enemies,liberal and domestic. She was all over CNN crying, "pleading for her life."Now while I understand she was scared, she failed to understand that actionsthat could free her, could put bulls eyes on every Italian on the ground, in anyhot spot worldwide.I'm guessing the "security agent" who later died bringing her to safety,probably paid off the terrorist with cash donated by an unknown Italianmillionaire. After all, would you send a million or so dollars in cash viaFedEx?What's amazing (not really) in the tone of her "Truth" is how much of this is allabout her. Her harrowing ordeal written in diary form is if anything, a sympathypiece, delivered in mushy first person. This would have never happened inAmerica. Sgrena would be holding onto all the details until she got the bestagent to in turn get the best book and movie deals."I learned to understand what was going on by the behavior of my two guards,the two guards that had me under custody every day. One in particularshowed much attention to my desires. He was incredibly cheerful. Tounderstand exactly what was going on I provocatively asked him if he washappy because I was going or because I was staying. I was shocked andhappy when for the first time he said, "I only know that you will go, but I don'tknow when." To confirm the fact that something new was happening both ofthem came into my room and started comforting me and kidding:"Congratulations they said you are leaving for Rome." For Rome, that'sexactly what they said."They were nice terrorists.After all, the were only trying to drive out those evil Americans. Evil peoplewho wanted Iraqis to have the opportunity to vote for someone other thanSaddam Hussein. Evil Americans who made it possible for women to vote.Vote? What the hell is vote...?Evil Americans who wanted to spread some convoluted concept called"democracy." Her captives were "comforting."One of many questions for Giuliana: if the captors were indeed that nice, whydid they take you at gunpoint against your will and threaten to kill you? Yourtearful exhibition on our cable news stations demonstrated a wee bit of angst.Just an observation...."I experienced a strange sensation because that word evoked in mefreedom but also projected in me an immense sense of emptiness. Iunderstood that it was the most difficult moment of my kidnapping and thatif everything I had just experienced until then was "certain," now a hugevacuum of uncertainty was opening, one heavier than the other."No ****. That's what happens when you're kidnapped. People who do thatkind of thing, and this may seem judgmental, usually aren't very nice. Yes,you'll feel a sense of emptiness when the world that apparently revolvesaround you is taken out of your control, but in times like that some peoplereflect and see things differently.Yet, there are always exceptions, right Giuliana?"I changed my clothes. They came back: 'We'll take you and don't giveany signals of your presence with us otherwise the Americans couldintervene.' It was confirmation that I didn't want to hear; it was altogetherthe most happy and most dangerous moment. If we bumped into someone,meaning American military, there would have been an exchange of fire."Let's see if we can understand this logic: the kidnappers wanted her to keepquiet and not alert the Americans. She was finally going home, but those evilAmericans could muck up the works. Obviously she must have known thatsomeone had paid her ransom. She was happy and scared.Like I wrote earlier, since it was always just about her, she failed to grasp theenormity of what had taken place. From this day forward, every Italianjournalist will become part of the terror infrastructure. An abduction wouldmean funding for several more days and/or weeks. Ransom money couldpay for more explosives that could be placed under cars to kill Americansoldiers, Iraqi police and civilians, at random.Yes, a "most happy and most dangerous moment.""My captors were ready and would have answered. My eyes had to becovered. I was already getting used to momentary blindness. What washappening outside? I only knew that it had rained in Baghdad. The car wasproceeding securely in a mud zone. There was a driver plus the two captors.I immediately heard something I didn't want to hear. A helicopter washovering at low altitude right in the area that we had stopped. "Be calm, theywill come and look for you... in 10 minutes they will come looking for." Theyspoke in Arabic the whole time, a little bit of French, and a lot in bad English.Even this time they were speaking that way."Okay, so far so good."Then they got out of the car. I remained in the condition of immobility andblindness. My eyes were padded with cotton, and I had sunglasses on. Iwas sitting still. I thought what should I do. I start counting the seconds thatgo by between now and the next condition, that of liberty? I had just startedmentally counting when a friendly voice came to my ears "Giuliana, Giuliana.I am Nicola, don't worry I spoke to Gabriele Polo (editor in chief of IlManifesto). Stay calm. You are free." They made me take my cottonbandage off, and the dark glasses. I felt relieved, not for what was happeningand I couldn't understand but for the words of this "Nicola." He kept ontalking and talking, you couldn't contain him, an avalanche of friendlyphrases and jokes. I finally felt an almost physical consolation, warmth thatI had forgotten for some time."Again as much as I shouldn't be, I'm amazed at the total lack of an observationoutside of how she felt. Sure, with a title like "My Truth" it should be expected.But it's all "I" and no attempt to show any side of her besides that of ahelpless, quivering, self-centered female.No one forced her to go to a war zone. I'm sure, judging from her tone, thatshe expected to just be able to stroll into the middle of a firefight knowing theywould never accidentally hit her. Probably the last thing going through hermind would be that she was freed because she appeared on television as apitiful, crying woman.Up until that point, Giuliana was pretty much unscathed. No one felt the needto beat the crap out of her like Jessica Lynch. Lynch probably resisted;Sgrena seemingly would sell out every man, woman, and child to save her butt.In retrospect, maybe she did."The car kept on the road, going under an underpass full of puddles andalmost losing control to avoid them. We all incredibly laughed. It wasliberating. Losing control of the car in a street full of water in Baghdad andmaybe wind up in a bad car accident after all I had been through wouldreally be a tale I would not be able to tell.

continued.........

[thedrifter]

Nicola Calipari sat next to me.The driver twice called the embassy and in Italy that we were headingtowards the airport that I knew was heavily patrolled by U.S. troops. Theytold me that we were less than a kilometer away... when... I only rememberfire. At that point, a rain of fire and bullets hit us, shutting up forever thecheerful voices of a few minutes earlier."Let's try and find some perspective here.Without the unofficial intervention of a wealthy civilian in a war zone, specialagent Nicola Calipari would still be alive today. And if you accept the fact thatthe terrorists have become more media-savvy, chances are they would neverexecute a helpless woman who cried on television. Talk about ****ing off theworld. That kind of action the insurgents wouldn't need. So if I were a bettingman, if the terrorists knew they wouldn't get a dime for Giuliana, they'dprobably let her go eventually.After all, she has nothing but good things to say about them. It's those damnAmericans and their irrational policy of non-negotiation with kidnappers that'sGiuliana's problem."The driver started yelling that we were Italians. "We are Italians, we areItalians." Hopefully that wasn't sung to the Queen melody..."Nicola Calipari threw himself on me to protect me and immediately, I repeat,immediately I heard his last breath as he was dying on me. I must have feltphysical pain. I didn't know why. But then I realized my mind wentimmediately to the things the captors had told me. They declared that theywere committed to the fullest to freeing me but I had to be careful, "theAmericans don't want you to go back." Then when they had told me Iconsidered those words superfluous and ideological. At that moment theyrisked acquiring the flavor of the bitterest of truths, at this time I cannot tellyou the rest." So Giuliana's rescuer shielded her with his body. Quite the noble gesture.Seems like a lot of people are over in Iraq risking their lives, yet thisreporterette decided to accept the opinion offered by someone who took andheld her against her will. You know, if her account was published prior to herrescue, her captor might be right. Of course we wouldn't want her dead, butit's not like she'd be given a ticker-tape parade.Then again, we are talking about Italy. Maybe she would."This was the most dramatic day. But the months that I spent in captivityprobably changed forever my existence. One month alone with myself,prisoner of my profound certainties. Every hour was an impious verificationof my work, sometimes they made fun of me, and they even stretch as faras asking why I wanted to leave, asking me stay. They insisted on personalrelationships. It was them that made me think of the priorities that too oftenwe cast aside. They were pointing to family. "Ask your husband for help,"they would say. And I also said in the first video that I think you all saw, "Mylife has changed." As Iraqi engineer Ra'ad Ali Abdulaziz of the organizationA Bridge For [Baghdad], who had been kidnapped with the two Simones hadtold me "my life is not the same anymore." I didn't understand. Now I knowwhat he meant. Because I experienced the harshness of truth, it's difficultproposition (of truth) and the fragility of those who attempt it."Yes Giuliana, it's all about you.Many young Americans have fellow soldiers who have been wounded and/orkilled in Iraq, but she should have been more aware of the situation whenYOUR car came whizzing toward a checkpoint with a driver shouting "We areItalians." If he could say that, then he should have been able to understandthe word "stop." The man who rescued her is dead, yet all she thinks about is how everythingis affecting her."In the first days of my kidnapping I did not shed a tear. I was simply furious.I would say in the face of my captors: "But why do you kidnap me, I'm againstthe war." And at that point they would start a ferocious dialogue. "Yesbecause you go speak to the people, we would never kidnap a journalist thatremains closed in a hotel and because the fact that you say you're againstthe war could be a decoy." And I would answer almost to provoke them: "It'seasy to kidnap a weak woman like me, why don't you try with the Americanmilitary." I insisted on the fact that they could not ask the Italian governmentto withdraw the troops. Their political go-between could not be thegovernment but the Italian people, who were and are against the war."One of the most profound statements she made during her account is theadmission that she is a weak woman. Funny how brave she claims she waswhen they kidnapped her. I wonder how many times she must of asked hercaptors, "Do you know who I am?!""It was a month on a see-saw shifting between strong hope and moments ofgreat depression. Like when it was a first Sunday after the Friday theykidnapped me, in the house in Baghdad where I was kept, and on top ofwhich was a satellite dish they showed me the Euronews Newscast. ThereI saw a huge picture of me hanging from Rome City Hall. I felt relieved.Right after though the claim by the Jihad that announced my execution ifItaly did not withdraw the troops arrived. I was terrified. But I immediatelyfelt reassured that it wasn't them. I didn't have to believe theseannouncements, they were "provocative." Often I asked the captor thatfrom his face I could identify a good disposition but whom like his colleaguesresembled a soldier: "Tell me the truth. Do you want to kill me?"I wonder if she showed some leg...."Although many times there have been windows of communications withthem. "Come watch a movie on TV" they would say while a Wahabi roamedaround the house and took care of me. The captors seemed to me a veryreligious group, in continuous prayer on the Koran. But Friday, at the timeof the release, the one that looked the most religious and who woke up everymorning at 5 a.m. to pray incredibly congratulated me shaking my hand, abehavior unusual for an Islamic fundamentalist -- and he would add "if youbehave yourself you will leave immediately." Then an almost funny incident.One of the two captors came to me surprised both because the TV wasshowing big posters of me in European cities and also for Totti. Yes Totti.He declared he was a fan of the Roma soccer team and he was shockedthat his favorite player went to play with the writing "Liberate Giuliana" on hisT-shirt."Why is she spending so much time reminding us that the terrorists that madeher cry and beg for her life on worldwide television aren't so bad after all?They were soccer fans!"I lived in an enclave in which I had no more certainties. I found myselfprofoundly weak. I failed in my certainties; I said that we had to tell aboutthat dirty war. And I found myself in the alternative either to stay in thehotel and wait or to end up kidnapped because of my work. We don't wantanyone else anymore. The kidnappers would tell me. But I wanted to tellabout the bloodbath in Fallujah from the words of the refugees. And thatmorning the refugees, or some of their leaders would not listen to me. I hadin front of me the accurate confirmation of the analysis of what the Iraqisociety had become as a result of the war and they would throw their truth inmy face: "We don't want anybody why didn't you stay in your home. Whatcan this interview do for us?" The worse collateral effect, the war that killscommunication was falling on me. To me, I who had risked everything,challenging the Italian government who didn't want journalists to reach Iraqand the Americans who don't want our work to be witnessed of what reallybecame of that country with the war and notwithstanding that which theycall elections. Now I ask myself. Is their refusal a failure?""I who risked everything...."I'm going to wrap this up because this is growing more disgusting the more Iread. Fortunately, her "column" ended there.Because the United States and Italy refuse to negotiate with terroristkidnappers, and because she was the captive, Giuliana Sgrena believesPresident Bush and the Americans wanted her dead. She's even said asmuch, to which the official U.S. Response is “absurd.”What is absurd is that here is another lame excuse for an objective journalist.At least she saved her anti-war diatribe until after her sorry butt was extractedfrom Iraq.And news flash: elections did happen in Iraq, Giuliana.And the only failure in this equation is hers. She believes her rescue, despiteher nation's policy, was some kind of humanitarian victory. The real victim inthis whole episode is Special Agent Nicola Calipari, who paid for Giuliana'sfreedom with his life. He followed orders; Giuliana felt that an exceptionshould be made for her.I wonder how many Italian journalists feel more at ease in Iraq today. Theinsurgents will avoid Americans like the plague, but it pays to kidnap anItalian.Just ask Giuliana.Go "Home" to email Bob...

Ellie