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Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 274
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 2:48 am: | 
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Italian PM Berlusconi announced yesterday that Italy will begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq in September. He plans talks with Britain's Tony Blair to develop an exit strategy. Ukraine has begun withdrawing its troops, Poland and the Netherlands have announced plans to withdraw large numbers of troops and Bulgaria is moving toward total withdrawal from Iraq.
The United States needs an exit strategy, too, along the lines called for by Senator Kennedy in January: http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012805X.shtml
The House is considering an $82 billion spending bill for Iraq. You can email your representative and ask him/her to demand that an exit strategy be attached to this spending bill. You can send the email on the ActForChange websit:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=18716
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Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 275
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 3:37 am: |
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Addendum:
Ignore the March 15th deadline on the ActForChange website. The House hasn't voted on the appropriation yet.
It's worth noting that yesterday the House voted to eliminate $658 million from the bill that the administration wanted to fund construction of a new embassy in Baghdad. |
Phenixrising
Citizen
Username: Phenixrising
Post Number: 489
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 8:17 am: |
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I feel Italy's withdrawal has more to do with the shooting incident. Italy has increased pressure on the United States to explain its troops firing on Sgrena's convoy. Berluscon is up for re-election in Italy and this incident pretty much confirms that he may not serve another term. Also, the anti-globalisation protesters gathering outside the U.S. embassy in Rome demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Read on:
Italy doubts U.S. version of Iraq shooting
By Robin Pomeroy and Roberto Landucci
ROME (Reuters) -."
Bush promised a full probe into why troops shot at the Italian car nearing Baghdad airport on Friday evening. Calipari died instantly of a single bullet to the head, doctors said.
The U.S. military says the car was speeding towards a checkpoint and ignored warning shots, an explanation rejected by Italian government ministers and the driver of the car.
A senior U.S. official, White House counselor Dan Bartlett, said the shooting was a "horrific accident."
"As you know, in a situation where there is a live combat zone, particularly this road to the airport ... people are making split-second decisions, and it’s critically important that we get the facts before we make judgments," he told CNN.
Rome prosecutors have opened a second degree murder investigation into Calipari’s death and Italy’s justice minister has signed documents requesting information from witnesses.
PUNISHMENT, APOLOGY
According to Italy’s leading daily Corriere della Sera, the driver, an unidentified Italian agent, said: "We were driving slowly, about 40-50 km/h (25-30 mph)."
In a harrowing account of the ordeal, Sgrena wrote in Sunday’s issue of her communist newspaper Il Manifesto that Calipari saved her life by shielding her with his body.
"Nicola threw himself on to protect me and then suddenly I heard his last breath as he died on top of me," she wrote.
Although Italy has denied paying kidnappers in past hostage releases, Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno told the Corriere that "very probably" a large ransom had been paid in this case. Newspapers spoke of sums of up to 8 million euros (5.5 million pounds).
"We need to get the guilty punished and an apology from the Americans," Alemanno said. "We are trustworthy allies but we must not give the impression of being subordinates."
Parliamentary relations minister Carlo Giovanardi also said he did not believe the U.S. version of events.
Italy is one of Europe’s closest U.S. allies and Washington is keen to show it is taking the matter seriously.
Bush telephoned Berlusconi on Friday night. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called their Italian counterparts over the weekend.
LAST RESPECTS
Thousands of people queued up outside Rome’s huge marble Victor Emmanuel monument to pay respects to Calipari where his body is lying in state before a funeral on Monday.
The national outpouring of grief and anger has put pressure on Berlusconi, an ardent supporter of Bush and his war on terror, to get answers from Washington on what went wrong before he addresses parliament on the matter on Wednesday.
"All 57 million Italians who were united in the anticipation of Giuliana Sgrena’s liberation have the right to know what happened," said Romano Prodi, the former prime minister and leader of Italy’s centre-left opposition.
Berlusconi has sent some 3,000 Italian soldiers to Iraq, a decision opposed by a majority of Italians and the opposition which is seeking to unseat him at a general election next year and weaken him at regional polls next month.
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Foj
Citizen
Username: Foger
Post Number: 34
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 12:08 pm: |
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Funny --the check point story has been thrown out at this point. |
Walker
Citizen
Username: Fester
Post Number: 79
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 12:56 pm: |
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It has to do with Berlusconi coming up for reelection, it is just more politics and has nothing to do with the situation on the ground in Iraq.
The Italian people were never for the war and have at every turn attempted to get him to withdraw their troops, now he has a dead hero and a mad wounded communist to deal with. He has no choice but to withdraw Italy's troops if he wants to get reelected.
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Dave
Citizen
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5609
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 1:00 pm: |
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Reality check: They were tired of Iraqi food and wine. |
Guy
Supporter
Username: Vandalay
Post Number: 601
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 12:24 pm: |
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Not so fast.
ROME, March 16 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday appeared to backtrack from his proposal of withdrawing troops from Iraq starting from September, saying the date was only his hope and could be changed.
Berlusconi, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's most vocal supporters, shocked friend and foe on Tuesday when he said Italy would start pulling out its troops in September, adding he was in talks with Britain's Tony Blair about a total exit.
"There's never been a fixed date," Berlusconi told reporters.
"It was only my hope ... If it is not possible, it is not possible. The solution should be agreed with the allies."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16167445.htm
Today he says he never corrected himself. "It was disinformation given by the press that has no intellectual honesty."
I love this guy.
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cjc
Citizen
Username: Cjc
Post Number: 3292
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 3:52 pm: |
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Berlusconi Denies Iraq Pullout Reversal
By AIDAN LEWIS, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, March 17, 2005
(03-17) 10:59 PST ROME, Italy (AP) --
Many Italians expressed relief when Premier Silvio Berlusconi said he'd start bringing troops home from Iraq in September if the security situation allowed. But when he characterized his intentions as a "hope" — rather than a firm plan — in a chat with President Bush, critics accused him of wavering.
Berlusconi insisted Thursday that he never backtracked.
"I did not correct myself over anything. It was a case created by disinformation by a press that has no intellectual honesty," the Apcom and ANSA news agencies quoted the conservative premier as saying.
Italian public opinion is strongly against the war, and pressure to pull out the troops increased after the March 4 killing in Baghdad of an Italian intelligence agent who was escorting a recently released hostage to freedom. The agent was killed by U.S. troops who mistakenly opened fire on his vehicle.
Berlusconi's first announcement on a possible conditional date, made Tuesday evening during a popular political talk show, took many by surprise — even some of his close political allies, according to Italian media.
Opposition politicians have accused Berlusconi of making the comments with an eye to regional elections on April 3-4 and national elections scheduled for next year.
"Overlap between electoral campaign and diplomacy, political role and international commitments — this is why there is much to be worried about," leftist lawmaker Enrico Letta said in an interview published in Thursday's edition of the newspaper La Repubblica.
On Tuesday's show, Berlusconi cited public opinion and said he had spoken about the situation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, another of Bush's close allies on Iraq. In line with previous statements by the government ministers, he said a decision "will depend on the capacity of the Iraqi government to provide itself with acceptable security structures."
The premier then wrote a letter to a conservative paper his family partially owns in which he said: "One can start saying, 'Mission accomplished,'" and "Italy can start discussing with Baghdad authorities and coalition allies the possibility of a gradual withdrawal."
In a phone conversation with Bush the next day, Berlusconi expressed "the hope to be able to begin a gradual and progressive withdrawal of the Italian military contingent as soon as possible, possibly in September."
He stressed that any decision would depend on security conditions in Iraq and would be discussed with allies. "I spoke to the American president and I told him: `George, it's all as before,'" ANSA quoted Berlusconi as saying.
Speaking with reporters in Rome later, Berlusconi stressed that a date had never been fixed, and that a September date "was a hope: A withdrawal has to be agreed with the allies."
Bush said at a news conference in Washington that "he wanted me to know there was no change in his policy that any withdrawals would be done in consultation with allies."
In London, Blair insisted that "neither the Italian government nor ourselves have set some deadline for withdrawal."
Opposition politicians have charged Berlusconi with confusing the issue and backtracking on his initial comments.
"It's very serious that Berlusconi, on such a delicate subject, has made an international gaffe and has backtracked while Italy is involved in a war that no one wants," Green Party leader Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said, according to ANSA.
Berlusconi has rejected calls by opposition leaders that he go before parliament to clarify Italy's stance.
This goes nicely with:
U.S. Likely to Soon Cut Troops in Iraq - Army General
Email this Story
Mar 17, 1:58 PM (ET)
Troops from the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division patrol the grounds outside the uncompleted Grand...
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By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army expects to begin cutting troop levels in Iraq later this year, a move that would reduce the level of American forces there to below 138,000, an Army general said on Thursday.
"I think for the next force rotation, we'll start seeing that (the) force rotation coming in will be smaller than the force that's in there," said Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff.
"I know you're all waiting for a number here, and I'm not going to give you one because I don't know," Cody added in an interview with defense reporters.
The general said the next annual U.S. force rotation for Iraq would begin this summer and that the number of soldiers sent into the rotation later in the year is likely to be smaller than those coming out.
Another defense official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Thursday that the number of U.S. Marines in Iraq also was likely to decline in the new rotation.
There are 150,000 American troops in Iraq -- most of them Army soldiers -- but the number will go down to 138,000 before the end of this month. The force was increased by 12,000 in December to provide security for the Iraqi elections in January.
But U.S. defense officials have said the number will likely begin falling below 138,000 as the Iraqi army and security forces are trained to take over security in the country.
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Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 284
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 10:01 am: |
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Guy and CJC:
Yes, you have a point -- Berlusconi is not formally committing to begin the withdrawal of Italian troops in September. He's apparently saying now that he "hopes" to begin the withdrawal in September, but that will depend on the security situation.
It would be interesting to see a transcript of his original remarks which led journalists to report his statement as "will begin" rather than "hope to begin" the withdrawal.
At any rate, it appears that Italy remains within the coalition -- by all accounts against the wishes of the Italian people -- but on shakier grounds than ever.
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Guy
Supporter
Username: Vandalay
Post Number: 607
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 10:20 am: |
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Paul,
The Italians have been great friends through all this and no matter what decision is made , they deserve our thanks.
Australia may step up even more if needed.
Australia won't rule out replacing Italian troops quitting Iraq
SYDNEY (AFP) - Prime Minister John Howard refused to rule out sending more Australian troops to Iraq after Italy’s surprise decision to pull its 3,000 soldiers from the war-torn country.
Australia announced last month that it would deploy an additional 450 soldiers to southern Iraq to help protect a Japanese humanitarian project and train Iraqi troops after the withdrawal of 1,400 Dutch military from the area.
That decision was opposed by most Australians and Howard came under sharp questioning in parliament Wednesday over whether he would again boost the number of Australian troops in Iraq to fill the gap left by the Italian pullout.
“We don’t have any current plans to increase that number, but I cannot rule out some changes in the future and I don’t intend to do so,” Howard said, adding that Australia had received no requests for more troops
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050316/wl_mideast_afp/italyiraqau stralia
All countries that are in Iraq should be applauded for taking part in a noble effort, including the U.S.
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Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 1471
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 12:09 pm: |
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And to the 100,000 Iraqis for nobly giving up their lives in the service of American triumphalism. Heroes all. |
bottomline
Citizen
Username: Bottomline
Post Number: 201
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 2:33 pm: |
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Someone in the press recently observed that the coalition in Iraq looks a lot like the NCAA basketball tournament: it's a process of eliminating all the participants until there's only one remaining.
Sure, in the short term Berlusconi is walking a political tightrope, trying to have it both ways. But if Italy wasn't withdrawing he wouldn't have made the announcement, not matter how vague the timeline.
From a military standpoint, membership in the coalition is only politcial and symbolic, except for Britian's contribution. Italy has the fourth largest contingent of troops in the coalition. Sounds impressive, huh? But wait -- that's only 2% of the total coalition troops.
Everyone knows this is America's war, but the White House wants to portray it otherwise. Hence, Berlusconi's waivering can only be a disappointment to the Bush administration.
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Analog01
Citizen
Username: Analog01
Post Number: 59
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 6:00 pm: |
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This 100,000 number is bogus. It is based on extrapolating the result of interviews of only 1000 families:
In the study, teams of researchers led by Dr. Les Roberts fanned out across Iraq in mid-September to interview nearly 1,000 families in 33 locations. Families were interviewed about births and deaths in the household before and after the invasion.
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Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 1473
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 9:11 pm: |
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I guess it depends who you trust more: George Bush and his pack of stooges, or two reputable medical schools and one of the world's leading medical publications. |
Paul Surovell
Supporter
Username: Paulsurovell
Post Number: 295
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 3:26 pm: |
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Ukraine Pres. Yushchenko signs the order to withdraw Ukrainian soldiers from Iraq by year-end, making the process "irreversible," according to Ukraine Security Council chief Poroshenko.
quote:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050322.wukrai0322/BNStory/I nternational/
The Globe & Mail
Ukraine to Pull Troops out from Iraq
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Associated Press
Kiev, Ukraine — President Viktor Yushchenko has signed the order for withdrawing Ukraine's troops from Iraq, the head of the country's security council said Tuesday.
Ukraine began pulling out its servicemen from Iraq last week and plans to complete the withdrawal of its 1,650 troops by the end of the year.
Security Council chief Petro Poroshenko told a news conference Tuesday that the President had signed an order making the withdrawal irreversible.
More than 130 soldiers returned home last week, and Ukraine plans to withdraw an additional 550 soldiers from Iraq by May 15 and the rest of the original contingent by the end of the year, the Defence Ministry has said.
Eighteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Iraq and more than two dozen have been wounded, fuelling public dismay about the unpopular deployment.
Ukraine strongly opposed the U.S.-led war but later agreed to send a large contingent to serve under Polish command in central and southern Iraq.
The deployment was widely seen as an effort by former President Leonid Kuchma to repair relations with Washington, frayed by allegations that he approved the sale of radar systems to Saddam Hussein's regime in violation of UN sanctions.
Ukraine's participation in the U.S.-led coalition is deeply unpopular, but Mr. Yushchenko has said Ukraine should keep a presence in Iraq and take part in development and reconstruction efforts there.
The troop pullout was one of the new President's campaign promises.
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cjc
Citizen
Username: Cjc
Post Number: 3321
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 7:57 pm: |
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That withdrawal will go well with US withdrawals of troops in the coming rotations. |
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