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| Talabani Visit Prompts Opposition Rethink On Withdrawal |
| 2005-11-08 |
| Rome, 8 Nov. (AKI) - A three-day visit to Italy by Iraq's president Jalal Talabani has inevitably turned the spotlight on the presence of Italian troops there, particularly after Talabani - in a letter in the daily La Stampa - said their premature withdrawal would be "a catastrophe" for his country. Talabani on Tuesday met prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and foreign minister Gianfranco Fin,i and was slated to meet the leaders of the opposition, separately, later in the day. The Italian media has emphasised how the centre-left opposition's stated stance on withdrawal seems to be undergoing modification. In another interview, Talabani said that Italians troops had done a good job in Iraq, and were free to leave whenever the country's leaders saw fit. "But deciding suddenly to pull out would only help the terrorists," he told daily La Repubblica. "Such a withdrawal would do nothing for the morale of Iraqis," he added. Italy did not take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq because of strong anti-war feeling at home, but Berlusconi sent troops after Saddam Hussein was toppled. It recently pulled out 300 of its soldiers, bringing the contingent down to just under 3,000. Italy's opposition - a fragmented coalition embracing moderate centrist as well as left wing forces - is united in wanting a troop withdrawal, but split over how and when. Last week, the secretary of the biggest opposition party, Left Democrats (DS), Massimo D'Alema, said in a radio interview: "I believe that our troops should come back home before the Italian general elections, because the Iraqi people need a different kind of input, based on solidarity and economic aid for the reconstruction." Others on the far left want that to be earlier still, while the moderates want a pull-out immediately, if they are to win next April's general election. However, the DS party leader, Piero Fassino, appears to be at the vanguard of a subtle change. Speaking on Monday at a defence seminar, he said: "If we win the elections, we will put forward a calendar for withdrawal which certainly will not happen within 24 hours". Fassino noted that 2006 will be "the year in which the passage of powers to Iraq's authorities will be speeded up. This will allow the planning of the withdrawal of troops to be discussed with the Iraqi authorities and the other countries with a military presence there. This was met with certain grumblings from the centrist Margherita (Daisy) party, whose spokesman said the opposition Union alliance had agreed to a pull-out immediately if they come to power. However, Romano Prodi, recently endorsed in US-style primaries as the leader of the opposition Union alliance, responded with assurances that there will be no repeat of the abrupt withdrawal of Spanish troops after Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero won elections in March 2004. "I will certainly not make any dramatic moves as Spain did," he said late on Monday. "If we win, we will decide a calendar for the withdrawal," he added. Another side-effect of the Talabani visit could be some form of agreement between government and the opposition on bringing troops home. "Government and opposition can converge on a plan of phased withdrawal," the defence minister Antonio Martino argued. Such a bipartisan approach would be outstanding, and some analysts say improbable, given the over-heated political climate in Italy, where the unofficial campaign for next April's polls is already in full swing. President Talabani's visit coincides with a two-day strike by Italian journalists, limiting coverage of the event. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Talabani should go even further, using the argument that "Italians arrived as soldiers, and performed that task nobly and well. We do not wish them to leave, we wish them to stay as our friends, and the vanguard of other Italians who are not soldiers. That is, proposing very close relations between Iraq and Italy, with Italians visiting Iraq in large numbers, both for trade and for tourism. This changes the whole situation from one of war, to one of profitable peace, trade and amity. By changing the debate, Talabani could subtly make those who want to withdraw Italian soldiers look like they are made with Iraq, or do not wish to be friends. Like they are calling for the withdrawl of their ambassador or something. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-08 13:38 |