"Italy's Prodi Calls Guantanamo 'A Wound,'" by Maria Sanminiatelli - AP (Rome) 28 Feb 2006
Romano Prodi, a former European Commission president running for premier in Italy, said Tuesday that the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay is a "wound" that should be closed.
In an interview with The Associated Press and Dow Jones Newswires, the leader of Italy's center-left coalition also said he would withdraw Italian troops from Iraq if he's elected.
Prodi, whose country has been a close U.S. ally in the war on terror, said he was following the lead of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has expressed her opposition to the U.S. camp in Cuba.
"It needs to be closed, also, because I think it has done a lot of damage to our image — because there have been abuses we know about, and because it is a constant wound on our image," he said....
Prodi faces a tough battle in the April 9-10 Italian elections pitting him against conservative Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a strong U.S. ally who sent troops to Iraq and who met with President Bush Tuesday in Washington.
In an interview last week with Arabic-language Al-Jazeera television, Berlusconi also said the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo should be closed immediately.
Prodi also reiterated his intention to order the immediate withdrawal of Italy's troops from Iraq if he is elected premier, to be done in consultation with Iraqi authorities. He said the troops would be replaced with a civilian force that would help with the Iraq's reconstruction.
Italy initially was among the most important U.S. allies in the Iraq war — which Prodi has opposed — having provided 3,000 troops to the effort in 2003 after U.S.-led troops had brought down President Saddam Hussein's government.
Italy now has 2,600 troops in Iraq and is in the process of removing them all by the end of the year, to be replaced by civilians.
"My position has not changed, but I see that the position taken by the premier is rapidly converging towards our position," Prodi said with a smile. "It's rapidly converging."
Berlusconi has stressed the troops would only be pulled out in consultation with the Iraqi government and coalition allies.
For another item about the role that voters' feelings about the US may play in Italy's elections, see:
"Bush Says Berlusconi 'A Strong Leader' -- But the White House Then Puts on the Brakes" - La Repubblica (Rome), 28 Feb 2006 (my rough translation of "Bush: 'Berlusconi un forte leader' - Ma piu tardi la Casa Blanca frena")
Silvio Berlusconi and Romano Prodi are waging their electoral battle with a hand from international 'backers.' Yesterday [Prodi] basked in the blessing of German ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl...but today [Berlusconi] won the support of U.S. President George W. Bush.
"Berlusconi is a positive and optimistic person, a strong leader who has brought stability to the Italian government," Bush said. But a few hours later, an anonymous White House source issued something of a reversal, in the form of a clarification. The words of the US president in regard to the Italian president should not be interpreted as 'a political endorsement' of his ally in light of the April 9 elections. A source at the National Security Council, who asked not be identified, told ANSA that "We don't interfere in the internal politics of sovereign nations. The President was speaking of his personal relationship with Berlusconi and expressing appreciaiton for his strong leadership. That should not be interpreted as support in the political sense."...
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