Posted on 02/23/2006 5:26:26 PM PST by indcons
ROME - The United States should close its Guantanamo Bay prison “as swiftly as possible,” Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was quoted as saying on Thursday, a week before meeting US President George W. Bush in Washington.
Berlusconi, one of Bush’s staunchest European allies, made the comment in an interview with Al Jazeera, in which he was asked if Guantanamo should be closed down.
“Yes, I have spoken about it with many of my colleagues and I too think that these centres, where episodes have taken place that have been condemend by the whole world, must be closed as swiftly as possible,” said Berlusconi.
The comments were contained in a transcript of the interview made available to Italy’s ANSA news agency. The interview, recorded in Rome on Tuesday, is to be broadcast by the Qatar-based channel on Friday.
Bush is to hold talks with Berlusconi at the White House on February 28.
The US president’s other major ally in Europe, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, said last week that Guantanamo was “an anomaly” which would have to be resolved.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called last week for the closure of Guantanamo “as soon as possible,” saying that people could not be held in perpetuity without charges or a chance to defend themselves.
About 500 detainees are held at the maximum security prison located in an isolated corner of a US naval base in Cuba.
We've got to consider the source..let's see if he says that to anybody else... Al Jazeera could be misquoting or taking out of context.
Fair enough
He is in the middle of a political campaign, what do you expect in a country about 80% against the Iraq War.
WOW....80%??
Hard to know why he would say that. Could be the hair dye and hair restoration treatments have sunk in too deep.
Spain was 90% against the war.
If "as swiftly as possible" means "as soon as it's no longer needed", then I'd agree.
The US continues to move away from Europe, this is a very encouraging development. Most of western Europe loathes our country, and in another generation Europe will be so weakened by depopulation that it won't matter to the rest of the world.
Depopulation AND decapitation by muslims
I'll agree if we start digging the 500 holes now and fill them soon.
Ship them all to Italy
Mark
"As swiftly as possible." That's meaningless. Of course you'd want to shut em down as soon as it becomes a viable option.
Wanna bet? Well, not perpetuity I suppose, just until they die of natural of forced causes.
Hmmm.....looks like Silvio is taking lessons from the other surrender monkeys in Europe.
The article has Tony Blair expressing a similar sentiment in more watered-down terms. "An anomoly that has to be settled."
Yeah, it closes in 2099..
I would tell him "Thank you for your input but as long as these bas_urds are trying to kill our people we will be holding these folks at Club Gitmo"
This from a country where someone is sueing the church to prove that Jesus ever really lived!
He is in the middle of a political campaign, what do you expect in a country about 80% against the Iraq War."
How about candidates who are honorable men/women instead of cowardly worms?
We don't even have that much of that in the US Congress.
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