The ambiguity only comes without the context or back story

Which is where headlines run into problems. Often they come without the requisite context. An example of this might be:

Starr Asked to Delay Report.

The normal reading of this, knowing that it was a headline in a newspaper, would be, following standard headline syntax conventions, and knowing the context of the investigation into the Clinton involvement in suspect dealing of the Whitewater Development Corporation, that independent counsel, Kenneth Starr was asked if he would delay the release of his report on the Whitewater matter. Reading the article we found that Starr himself was doing the asking.