Not surprisingly, Michelelle Malkin isn't too sympathetic to Communist reporter Giuliana Sgrena.
But the friendly fire tragedy presents a real problem for the US. First, because millions around the world will believe Sgrena's conspiracy theory. Second, because what looks like a military cover-up--to shield incompetence--plays into the hands of the terrorists. The defense department should come clean--fast--and make all the facts public as soon as possible. Italians still remember a similar incident, when US pilots killed innocent people on ski lifts at an Italian resort while they were "hot-dogging." That scandal dragged on for a while, damaging US-Italian relations.
And that US intelligence couldn't guarantee safe passage for Italian allies reveals America as weak and out of touch, unaware of what is going on in Iraq. Even the most charitable interpretation of what happened to Sgrena--Situation Normal, All Fouled Up--is a net minus for the US.
Until order is restored in Iraq, such tragedies are bound to recur.
