Just following up on our earlier post about SISMI Chief Nicolo Pollari, there are already a few US news organizations snooping around over in Rome about this story. But, really, they needn't go so far afield.

According to La Repubblica, a key role in the Italo-American Niger uranium back channel was played by a man named Giovanni Castellaneta.

He was then a key foreign policy advisor to Silvio Berlusconi.

He is now the Italian Ambassador to the United States.

I placed a call to the press office at the Italian Embassy in Washington this afternoon. The man who took the call told me the embassy is being deluged by requests to discuss the Repubblica allegations with Castellaneta. He took my number and said I could expect a call back from the press attache.