A new centre-left government in Italy would pull Italian troops out of Iraq, the coalition's unofficial leader said on Friday. Former Italian premier and European Commission chief Romano Prodi said on Italian radio that Italy's 3,000 troops would be "withdrawn as an occupying contingent because our task will be to help in the reconstruction of the country."
According to opinion polls, however, an Italian pullout would be greeted very favourably by the Italian public, whose majority has always been against the war in Iraq.
Prodi's statement drew fire from government MPs who accused him of giving into terrorists and "showing his true, extremist face" in calling the troops occupiers "despite repeated UN resolutions.", although The foreign-affairs spokeswoman for Berlusconi's Forza Italia party also claimed Prodi's statement was "an invitation for terrorists to go to town."
After the recent attacks in London and Egypt, a terror group warned Italy for the second time to pull out of Iraq by August 15. If it did not, the group said it would "turn Rome into a graveyard."
This week the Italian government repeated that Italy was a target but said its new security package would keep threats down to a realistic minimum. The package, which makes its easier to act against
suspects, gives troops search-and-arrest powers and boosts surveillance of phone and web communications, made it out of the Senate to the House in record time on Friday.
Prodi is favourite to win the centre left's October primaries to select the coalition's leader in next year's general election. It is currently running ahead of Premier Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition in opinion polls.
Berlusconi has repeatedly said Italy will stay in Iraq as long as is considered necessary - or unless a new Iraqi government asks it to leave. The centre left, on the other hand, recently voted against extending the Italian mission in Iraq. On Friday Prodi said he was pleased that the fractious coalition, which ranges from radical leftists through social democrats to centrist Catholics, had "finally" found a common position.
Although the centre-left coalition opposed the war in Iraq, past votes have seen it divided over whether to continue funding the Italian mission. In a motion drawn up by Prodi, the Union coalition
warned that "true stability will never be achieved as long as the military occupation continues."
The coalition said Italy should instead focus on working within the United Nations, which will assume a greater role in Iraq as of January 2006. Italy did not participate in the war in Iraq but now has
about 3,200 troops serving there, mainly as part of a British-led multinational stabilization force in the southern part of the country.
The Italian contingent is the fourth largest after that of the US, Britain and South Korea.
