Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist taken hostage in Iraq and then nearly killed by U.S. troops at a roadblock, offers up her side of the story.

Here are links to the CTV.ca and BBC stories.

Some excerpts:

The U.S. military said the Americans flashed white lights, used hand and arm signals and fired warning shots in an effort to get the speeding Italian car to stop.

But in an interview with Italian La 7 TV, Sgrena said there were no bright lights, no signals, and the car was moving at "regular speed."

I don't know who's telling the truth, but if the U.S. soldiers even perceive a threat, I suspect their instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later.

Upon her release, she said, "They [the kidnappers] said they were committed to releasing me, but that I had to be careful 'because there are Americans who don't want you to go back'."

In another interview with Sky Italia TV, she said it was possible the soldiers had targeted her because Washington opposed the policy of negotiating with kidnappers.

I highly doubt they even knew the car was carrying her. Even if the U.S. didn't like the idea of a ransom, they're going to kill citizens of Italy when its prime minister is one of the few true-blue friends they have in Europe?

That doesn't make sense.