Bill Clinton: “Well, first of all, what happened was horrible. And when I heard about it, I was very shaken. As you know, there was a…”

“Well, first of all, what happened was horrible. And when I heard about it, I was very shaken. As you know, there was a period of a few hours there where it wasn't clear how many people had died and where there was another whole gondola suspended, where many more people could have died, and thank God they were rescued. The whole thing has been an agony for the people of Italy--there were a substantial number of Germans killed--and, I'm sure, for the pilot of the plane and the people in our military base in Aviano, where I have been on more than one occasion. I can tell you what I think should be done. I called Prime Minister Prodi, and I told him that I was heartsick about it, that I would make absolutely sure there was a no-holds-barred full investigation of what happened, that the Italians would be kept fully informed and be a part of it, and that we would work with them in every way possible to make sure that they knew that we tried to get to the bottom of it and to handle it in the appropriate way. You know, in our military every year--I say this to the American people all the time, but let me just say this. It is an inherently dangerous business. Now, we don't know what the facts are here; maybe somebody made a careless mistake. We don't know. I do not know what the facts are, and I will not render judgment until I do. But we lose about 200 people every year in military service in America on training exercise or otherwise on duty. And those planes fly very fast. And I don't know what the description of the mission was. I want to wait until I see exactly what the facts are. But we--it is inherently more dangerous than I think we think from time to time. Now, I told the Prime Minister of Italy, and I'll tell you: I will do everything I can to find out exactly what happened and take appropriate action and to satisfy the people of Italy that we have done the right thing. I understand why they are hurt and heartbroken and angry. And they are entitled to answers, and we'll try to give them to them. Go ahead, the gentleman in the back. I promised one more. Last question, go ahead. Situation in Iraq”