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GUEST: Giuliana Sgrena, Italian journalist and author of Friendly Fire

Yesterday, an Italian journalist, held captive in Afghanistan for two weeks was released. Taliban insurgents took responsibility for the kidnapping of Daniele Mastrogiacomo who works for the newspaper, La Republica. His story is reminiscent of another Italian journalist kidnapped two years ago in Iraq, Giuliana Sgrena. In fact, Sgrena and Mastrogiacomo are friends and today, on this 4th anniversary of the start of the US war on Iraq, we spend the hour with Sgrena who is currently touring the US. She has written a book called “Friendly Fire: The remarkable story of a journalist kidnapped in Iraq, rescued by an Italian secret service agent, and shot by US forces.”

Sonali interviewed Giuliana yesterday, in front of a live audience at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. The event was sponsored by Haymarket Books and KPFK was the media sponsor. Special thanks to Mansoor Sabbagh of Global Voices for Justice for recording this event and making it available to Uprising.

In February 4th, 2005, award winning Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena was Iraq attempting to interview refugees from Fallujah, when she was kidnapped by a group of Iraqis and held hostage for a month. Her captors demanded that the Italian government withdraw their troops from Iraq in exchange for her release. Sgrena, an avowed leftist and peace activist, had made her seventh trip to Iraq to give voice to Iraqi civilians affected by the US-led war. But her political views made no difference to her captors, who forced her to record several videos asking Italians to help release her. When eventually she was released four weeks later, she was rescued by Italian Secret Service agent Major General Nicola Calipari. On their way to Baghdad airport, the car transporting them was shot 57 times by US forces, killing Calipari and severely wounding Sgrena.

Now, for the first time since her ordeal, Giuliana Sgrena has detailed her experiences in Iraq in a new book called Friendly Fire, published by Haymarket Books. In it, she charges that the US Department of Defense covered up the investigation of the shooting and death of Calipari. Today, while the Italian government has begun a phased withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, Giuliana Sgrena is speaking out around the world for an immediate end to the US war.