CNSNews.com

US, Allies Not Disturbed by Italy’s Proposed Pullout from Iraq

By Patrick Goodenough

CNSNews.com International Editor
March 16, 2005

(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. and key allies are downplaying news that Italy
could begin a phased withdrawal of its troops from Iraq next fall. They note
that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has linked the move to the Iraqi
government having adequate security.

Italy’s 3,000 troops make up the fourth-largest foreign force in Iraq, and
some media reports characterized the announcement as another blow to
Washington’s “crumbling” coalition.

Berlusconi said in an Italian state television talk show that a phased
pullout would take place “in agreement with our allies.”

“Starting with the month of September, we would like to proceed with a
gradual reduction of our soldiers,” he said, adding that the wrap-up date
would “depend on the ability of the Iraqi government in equipping itself
with adequate security and public order forces.”

Berlusconi made the announcement shortly after Italy’s lower house of
parliament voted to extend the Italian mission in Iraq for another six
months. The Senate earlier approved the extension.

In reacting to Berlusconi’s announcement, the U.S., British and Australian
governments all pointed to the conditional nature of the proposed
withdrawal.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the prime minister’s statement
made clear that “this will be based on the ability and capability of Iraqi
forces and the Iraqi government to be able to assume more responsibility.”

McClellan said the U.S. appreciated the contributions of the Italian
soldiers, who had “served and sacrificed alongside Iraqis and alongside
other coalition forces.”

In London, the Daily Telegraph quoted a foreign office spokesman as saying
that Berlusconi was saying “very much the same thing” as the British
government – “that we will be in Iraq for as long as we are needed.”

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer highlighted the fact that
Italian lawmakers had voted to extend the troops’ mission, and said the
proposed withdrawal may not necessarily even begin in September

“I’m pleased that Italy has extended the troops by six months in Iraq and
obviously at the end of that period we’ll have to wait and see what the
situation will be,” he told journalists Wednesday.

“The Italians will make a decision then, in light of the circumstances in
six months’ time.”

Downer said it was clear Italy had no plan to “leave Iraq in the lurch.”

Australia has been a strong supporter of the U.S. in Iraq, having
participated along with a larger British contingent in the March 2003 war to
overthrow Saddam Hussein.

In a bid to shore up the coalition, Canberra last month agreed to increase
the number of Australian troops in Iraq by some 50 percent, a move that drew
strong reactions from opposition parties.

The new personnel will provide security for Japanese non-combat troops who
are undertaking reconstruction tasks in southern Iraq – a symbolic, historic
mission for a country whose soldiers have not been in a foreign combat zone
for half a century.

Japan’s war-renouncing constitution prohibits its troops from taking part in
combat, making it essential that other contingents in Iraq provide force
protection for the Japanese.

Dutch troops have fulfilled that function, but a decision by the Netherlands
to end their mission after two years meant the 600 Japanese troops needed
new protectors – or would have had to leave.

Downer would not be drawn on whether Australia had any envisaged timeline
for pulling out its troops, whose tasks in Iraq include training the new
national army.

“Let’s just see how the training is going of the Iraqi security forces and
how effective the Iraqi security forces are.”

Downer said it would be “utterly foolish” for the international community to
abandon the Iraqi people following their elections and as democracy develops
there.

“I think what we are all planning is pretty sensible … we build up the
capacity of the Iraqis to take control of their own security and the more
they can do that the less we will be needed there.”

In the federal parliament Wednesday, Prime Minister John Howard would not
rule out the possibility that Australia could further increase the number of
its troops in Iraq, to make up for the gap the Italians may leave.

“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,” he told
lawmakers.

According to Global Security, coalition forces in Iraq at present include
those from 25 countries apart from the U.S. – Britain, South Korea, Italy,
Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania, Japan, Denmark, Bulgaria, Australia,
Armenia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia,
Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Norway
and Slovakia.

The Netherlands is wrapping up its contribution, while the Ukraine has also
begun a phased pullout of its troops.

The deputy chief of coalition operations for the Florida-based U.S. Central
Command, Marine Corps Col. Kerry Burkholder, said this week the coalition
went well beyond the 25 nations with troops on the ground.

Others were involved in areas including security and maritime-interdiction
operations, intelligence, surveillance, humanitarian missions, political and
financial backing, and the provision of out-of-country training, he told the
American Forces Press Service.

Burkholder put the overall number of nations contributing at 72.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress