‘Italian soldiers should exit Afghanistan’

ROME: A key member of Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government has called for Italy's soldiers to be withdrawn from Afghanistan, but the Italian defence minister quickly insisted the troops would stay.




Italian media quoted Reforms Minister Umberto Bossi as saying on Saturday night at a gathering in northern Italy that "I'd bring them all home." Bossi acknowledged Afghanistan was a difficult problem, but "given the results and costs, I'd think about" withdrawing the troops.




Bossi was reacting to the wounding of three Italian soldiers in two separate attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday. Until now, the government coalition has been united and a staunch US ally on the war in Afghanistan. Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa quickly responded, insisting that Italy's 2,800 troops would stay until the conclusion of the mission to provide security for Afghanistan as part of wider, international fight against terrorism. Bossi, Berlusconi's closest political ally, leads the Northern League, a party based in the affluent northeast. The party recently made strong gains at the polls in European Parliament elections, strengthening its prestige in Berlusconi's 14-month-old coalition. ap