ROME - Italy is a country that mourns its dead as deeply as it enjoys the pleasures of life. And so when word got out that a suicide attack had killed six Italian paratroopers and wounded four others in Kabul this morning, the nation stopped in its tracks.

Within minutes, the news was splashed across the Web sites of the country/s leading newspapers, Corriere Della Sera and La Repubblica The defense minister, Ignazio La Russa, broke the news to the Italian Parliament ? which declared a moment of silence and immediately adjourned until 6 p.m. this evening.

Here, every soldier?s death seems to become a national event. Yet even as Mr. La Russa expressed the government's "firm commitment" to staying the course in Afghanistan and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told RAI 24 news that "we have to try harder to win the hearts of the Afghans,"  it was clear that Thursday's attack would prompt much national soul searching.

The center-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been a firm supporter of both the war in Iraq and the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. Once a close ally of President Bush, Mr. Berlusconi is trying hard to be a close ally of President Obama, but that relationship is still young and has been marked by a few upsets.

Yet like many Europeans, Italians are less than enthused about involvement in overseas wars. Indeed, the majority of Italians (and the Vatican) were opposed to the war in Iraq " rainbow-colored peace flags hung in windows nationwide for several years " and they are not entirely thrilled with the war in Afghanistan, either.

What is more, one of the most powerful parties in Mr. Berlusconi?s center-right coalition, the separatist Northern League, has been agitating for months that Italy should pull out of Afghanistan and focus more on domestic problems, such as curbing illegal immigration.

So far today, the leader of Northern League, Umberto Bossi, hasn't commented on the Italian deaths, but Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, also from that party, sounded a more conciliatory internationalist note. Mr. Maroni said that withdrawing from Afghanistan would mean "submitting to the logic of terrorism," the ANSA news agency reported.

Mr. Maroni noted that Spain sent more soldiers to Afghanistan ahead of the still-contested Aug. 20 elections.

Italy and the United States remain close allies, but Mr. Berlusconi has much stronger personal ties with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia than with Mr. Obama. In his first interview with the Italian press, the newly appointed United States ambassador to Italy, David H. Thorne, told Corriere della Sera that a big part of his job would be to manage the complex nexus of the United States, Italy and Russia. 

His first meeting with Mr. Berlusconi is scheduled for Friday, Mr. Thorne said in the interview.

The details of the Italian deaths emerged on the ANSA Italian newswire, a running ticker of the national consciousness where regional pride runs strong. ?Afghanistan: A Sardinian Among Dead Parachutists,? one ANSA item read, followed not long after by, ?Afghanistan: Neapolitan Among Killed Soldiers.?

ANSA later reported that the victims were all from the 86th regiment of paratroopers, based near Siena. They are: Antonio Fortunato, from Lagonegro in Basilicata; First Cpl. Matteo Mureddu, from Oristano, Sardinia; First Cpl. Maj. Davide Ricchiuto, a native of Glarus, Switzerland; Sgt. Maj. Roberto Valente of Naples; First Cpl. Maj. Gian Domenico Pistonami from Orvieto; and Massimiliano Randino from Sestio Fiorentino.

In his interview with Corriere della Sera yesterday, Mr. Thorne complimented Italy's Carabinieri in Afghanistan. "They're great, and we admire their work," he said. " Having troops there isn't necessarily popular," he added, noting that "in Afghanistan things could get worse. Italy is a strong ally, and we hope that continues."

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/
italy-in-mourning-after-afghan-attack/

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