Italian criticism of U.S. reveals shift

[kskiska]

ROME -- Recent Italian criticism of U.S. policies, including a military strike in Somalia and the new American strategy for Iraq, underlines a major shift in Rome's approach to Washington under Premier Romano Prodi: the days of Italy's unconditional support are over.

Relations between the two allies have been significantly altered since Prodi took power from former Premier Silvio Berlusconi after April elections. Berlusconi, who led Italy for five years and was a major supporter of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, once said he agreed with Washington regardless of what U.S. positions might be.

But Prodi made clear from the outset that he had different priorities, and Italy's recent criticism of U.S. policies has shown his desire to distance his country somewhat from the United States and move more in line with other European countries.

(snip)

Then on Sunday, D'Alema said President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq to quell sectarian violence was not a convincing strategy. The Prodi government, which opposes the war, finished pulling Italy's troops out of Iraq last month.

more…
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Italy_US_Relations.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. And that is why he is now Premeir. Because the people hate Bush, too.

And according to my french cousins, the french despise Bush. they spit on him.

[MADem]

2. Yep, the Italians finally eased into the attitude! Of course, they didn't hurry in letting us know.

They make a ton of dough off the bases, see (Naples, Aviano, Sicily, Gaeta, etc.). Of course, we're now in a continuing resolution since the FY ended at the end of SEP, and the costs are fixed for the time being, despite the misadventures of the not so almighty dollar....I'm guessing it won't get any friendlier any time soon, as the governments just aren't on the same page.

Also, with this plus-up of the Army and the USMC that is in the works, the assets have to come from somewhere, and it's likely Navy and Air Force in Italy (and elsewhere) will be downsized. If they don't do vertical cuts, they'll nibble around the edges like mad. Every salary not paid in Italy is less money spent in the community, which is less money for the government, which further disincentivizes the politicos from playing ball with us.

[Peace Patriot]

3. And then there's that Italian prosecution of Bush Junta CIA agents for blowing

an Italian terrorist investigation, and "blundering" in and arresting the target, in violation of Italy's sovereignty. Some stuff going on in Italy for sure. The former head of Italian intelligence under Berlusconi was involved in the Rome meeting in 2001, of rabid NeoCons on the Pentagon payroll and the notorious Iran/Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar, where many suspect that the Niger/Iraq nuke forgeries were cooked up (and possibly even worse schemes*). I'm sure glad that Italian voter smartened up. They are a lot closer to Bush's Armageddon than we are, and must be worried about the US fleet's "maneuvers" off Iran.

------

*(The Niger forgeries are an item in Treasongate--the Fitzgerald investigation of the outing of the CIA's covert WMD counter-proliferation network, Brewster-Jennings, and its head Valerie Plame. Plame's husband Joseph Wilson opposed the Bush Junta's use of the Niger/Iraq nuke allegation, because he had personally investigated it and found it to be bogus. It was based on the forgeries, and, although the CIA, the State Dept., and the UN weapons team all declared the Niger docs to be forgeries--and crude forgeries at that--someone kept putting this easily disproved allegation back into Bush's speeches. Why? Merely Bushite propaganda and contempt for the truth? Or was there another motive? Theory: The "crude" forgeries--which used stationary from the Niger embassy in Rome (which was burglarized)--were meant to be discovered, to get the CIA on record as saying no-nukes-in-Iraq. Part 2 of the plot was to plant nukes in Iraq, to be "found" by the US troops who were looking for them after the invasion, thus to discredit the CIA and make it more purge-able, and of course to cement Bush's and Blair's political positions with a "justification" for the war on Iraq. But something went wrong. Someone foiled the illicit weapons movement, and prevented Part 2 of the plot ("discovery" of the nukes) from being realized. And this was the reason for the fury that was unleashed by the Bushites on the CIA's counter-proliferation network, whose job it was to detect and prevent the proliferation of dangerous materials and weapons, and who discovered the Bushite illicit nuke movement, and knowingly or unknowingly stopped it. If this theory is more or less true, it is possible that it is also connected to the highly suspicious death of the Brits' WMD expert, David Kelly, in England, four days after Plame was outed. The theory that there were two parts to the Niger forgery story--what the forgeries were for (why they were easily detectable), and the followup attempt to plant the actual nukes--goes back in time to that Rome meeting and the presence of arms dealer Ghorbanifar. Just after 9/11, the Bush Junta immediately turned its attention to Iraq--already of great interest to Dick Cheney and the oil giants at Cheney's secret energy meeting in spring 2001--and was anxious to find any and all evidence of WMDs in Iraq, real or not. Donald Rumsfeld set up his own intelligence shop, separate from the CIA, to cook the intel on Iraq. Planting the evidence, in addition to making untrue accusations, would make sense to these fanatics. And the suspicion is that the planning took place at that Rome meeting, with the collusion of the fascist head of the Italian intelligence agency. All roads lead to Rome, as they used to say.)

[MADem]

4. I think the Italians had the same votergate shit going on that we did

Last time, though, Berlusconi didn't grease the wheels quite enough. That was a contested election, Silvio wasn't going to give it up at first, which is another reason why Prodi is moving slowly. You can't make sharp turns when you are running a divided crew, in essence.

Tangentially, a link you might like: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2006/07/three_days_in_rome.html

[MrPrax]

5. ..and then there is...

Italy in row with US over shot spy

Italian investigators have clashed with Americans over plans to absolve US soldiers of any blame for the death of the Italian secret service agent Nicola Calipari, killed while escorting an Italian hostage out of Iraq last month.

The Italians are also unhappy that the US will not let them examine the car in which Mr Calipari was travelling when shot. The joint investigation is deadlocked and the dispute is holding up the final report on the incident.

Guardian

Funeral for Italian shot in Iraq

Italy's president, prime minister and senior intelligence officials have attended the funeral of an intelligence agent shot dead by US forces in Iraq.

Nicola Calipari was killed by US troops as he escorted a released hostage, reporter Giuliana Sgrena, to freedom.

Thousands of Italians crowded into Santa Maria degli Angeli church in Rome for his full state funeral.

The US dismissed as "absurd" Ms Sgrena's suggestion that the US troops may have deliberately targeted her car.

"It's absurd to make any such suggestion, that our men and women in uniform would target individual citizens," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

BBC

hardly an absurd suggestion

[bdamomma]

6. like barbara boxer said we are all alone.