Henry
Carl Remick wrote:
> The Serbs shouldn't feel so bad ... look at how we treat our allies:
>
> Congress Drops Gondola Compensation
>
> Filed at 2:41 p.m. EDT
>
> By The Associated Press
>
> Washington (AP) - Congressional bargainers killed $40 million the Senate
> had approved for families of victims of last year's accident in which a
> Marine jet sent a gondola plunging onto an Italian mountainside.
>
> In March, the Senate had included the provision in a measure financing
> efforts to help Central America rebuild after last fall's Hurricane
> Mitch, aiding cash-strapped U.S. farmers, and other items. But when
> House and Senate negotiators completed a compromise bill for Central
> America and to pay for the conflict with Yugoslavia, compensation for
> victims of the gondola accident was dropped.
>
> The provision had been sponsored by Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va., a former
> Marine who since last summer has been trying to persuade the Pentagon to
> compensate the families. Pentagon officials have said they support
> compensating the families, but under a treaty that requires such matters
> to be pursued in Italy's courts.
>
> ``It's regrettable the families are the victims, and our allies will
> continue to interpret this action as an unwillingness'' for the United
> States to bear the consequences of the accident, said Robb spokesman
> John DiBiase.
>
> On Feb. 3, 1998, a Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler jet on a training mission
> in the Italian Alps sliced the gondola cable, sending the 20 skiers on
> an eight-second, 370-foot plunge to their deaths.
>
> Under Robb's provision, up to $2 million would have been paid for the
> family of each victim. The House did not approve that provision.
>
> President Clinton has said the United States would make amends for the
> accident.
>
> Italian officials criticized the congressional action.
>
> ``They have made fools of us for the second time,'' Justice Minister
> Oliviero Diliberto said.
>
> ``It's another insupportable slight to the ... victims of a slaughter
> that still, today, one year later, hasn't found justice,'' Diliberto
> said, referring to what Italians took as unfairly lenient sentences for
> the crew of the Marine jet.
>
> The head of the defense committee of Italy's lower house, Valdo Spini,
> called Congress' action ``disconcerting and surprising.''
>
> The downing of the gondola triggered demands from some that Italy evict
> U.S. forces from bases in Italy. The bases are now key in airstrikes on
> Yugoslavia.
>
> [end]
>
> Carl Remick