3 more Italian Military Deaths in
The
ANNOTICO Report
Berlusconi's support of Bush's Imperialistic, Colonialistic "Adventure" in
Storm
brews in
Houston
Chronicle
From New York Times
By
Peter Kiefer
April
28, 2006,
ROME - The
roadside bomb that killed three Italian soldiers in Nasiriyah,
Iraq, on Thursday quickly caused problems for the government being formed by
Romano Prodi.
"This
tragedy hits all of Italy," the prime minister-designate said in a
statement.
Politically, it
refocused Italy's antipathy to the war, which is strong even as the outgoing prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi,
slowly withdrew troops on duty in Iraq from a peak of 3,200, to about 2,600
now.
Some coalition
partners of Prodi urged an immediate withdrawal of
the remainder.
The deaths
occurred when an international convoy carrying Italian and Romanian soldiers
encountered the bomb in the southern city of Nasiriyah;
a Romanian also was killed. A fourth Italian was injured and transferred to an
American hospital in serious condition.
The new deaths
brought to 36 the total number of Italians, both military and civilian, who
have lost their lives during the war in Iraq.
The attack comes
at a moment of political flux for Italy and just one day before the country's
newly elected Parliament is to convene for the first time.
Under the
stewardship of Berlusconi, who was recently defeated in national elections,
Italy has remained one of the United States' most stalwart allies in the Iraq
war.
Earlier this
year, however, the Berlusconi government drew back some of those soldiers. A
thousand more are expected to be home by June, and all
the rest by the end of the year.
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