Feuding Friends

Already losing allies at home, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may find that his friends abroad have turned cold, too. The U.S. and Italy failed to reach a common conclusion following a joint investigation into a March 4 friendly fire incident in Baghdad, in which U.S. forces killed Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari. Discrepancies in the reconstruction of the shooting — including the speed of the car in which Calipari traveled and disputes over whether U.S. troops used warning signals — meant the U.S. military would not assume responsibility for the death of Calipari, a man hailed as a national hero for saving journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who’d been held hostage for a month in Iraq.

Former Italian Foreign Minister Gianni De Michelis told Time that the disputed findings could potentially fracture the alliance in Iraq. “This can only be good for the Italian opposition and for European anti-American sentiment in general,” said De Michelis, who advises Berlusconi on foreign affairs. More immediately, it’s a further blow for Berlusconi, bruised by dismal regional election results and sniping coalition partners. De Michelis says the foreign policy setback only makes things worse ahead of national elections in May 2006. “This next year is going to be tough for Berlusconi,” he said.