Posted on 04/11/2006 10:40:48 AM PDT by dead
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Italian elections appeared to have stripped President George W. Bush of another Iraq war ally in Silvio Berlusconi, with staunch US partner Tony Blair barely holding on in Britain.
Pro-war supporters had already departed in Spain and Portugal, but Berlusconi's apparent loss took on added meaning after the campaign-style attention Bush lavished on him during a visit here six weeks ago.
US officials had little comment on Italy's two-day legislative vote that left opposition leader Romano Prodi claiming victory, the Berlusconi camp talking recount and Italy facing the prospect of political paralysis.
"We certainly look forward to working with whoever is the next prime minister," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "Italy is a good friend and ally, and we look forward to working with them on a number of issues."
But US commentators saw the result as a new setback for Bush in his bid to repair bridges to Europe and shore up international support for an increasingly unpopular military operation in Iraq.
"With Berlusconi's apparent ouster, President Bush loses an unabashed ally in Europe and the Middle East," the Washington Post reported, heralding the departure of the flamboyant media-magnate-turned-politician.
When Berlusconi, Italy's longest-serving prime minister since World War II, came to Washington at the end of February hoping to burnish his image, Bush gave him a virtual Oval Office endorsement.
The Italian was allowed to address a joint session of Congress on March 1, where he was accorded the rare privilege of speaking in his native language and was given thunderous applause by the Republican majority.
Berlusconi effectively removed Iraq as an issue in the election campaign by pledging to withdraw all of Italy's 2,900 remaining troops by the end of the year, while Prodi said he would do so "as soon as possible."
Analysts forecast little immediate change in Italian-US relations. But some, such as Ettore Greco, deputy director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome, saw significant differences between Berlusconi and Prodi.
"Mr. Berlusconi has presented support for the Bush administration, even in the case of Iraq, as motivated by Italy's historical bonds or loyalty and solidarity with the US," Greco told a forum last week.
"Romano Prodi has articulated a different view," Greco said. "He has constantly placed the emphasis on the need to reinforce the autonomy of Europe and to work for a more equal transatlantic relationship."
Julia Lynch, a political analyst who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed. She said the center-left Prodi was "much less likely to toe a Washington line" on issues from foreign policy to trade.
Bush lost two wartime allies in 2004 when Jose Maria Aznar's conservative government was defeated in Spain and Portuguese leader Jose Manuel Barroso stepped down to head the European Commission.
Now it is Blair, the most faithful of Bush's backers and the most visible defender of the 2003 Iraq invasion, who is on the political ropes for the war, compounded by a series of domestic controversies.
Blair has already declared his intention not to run for a fourth term. But a poll published by the Times last week showed more than half of Britain's voters think he should step down by the end of this year.
His storied friendship with Bush appears to be an increasing liability and the Iraq war a millstone around his neck, as demonstrated by the protests that dogged US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visited Britain 10 days ago.
Anti-Iraq sentiment has also colored the political landscape for other US allies, such as Poland, where a recent poll showed that 72 percent of Poles wanted their remaining 900 troops pulled out.
There is not an occurrence of any kind on this planet that can not be viewed as a negative consequence of the actions of global warming, George Bush, or both.
Berlusconi refuses to concede right now. It ain't over yet.
And you just think it is coincidence that Global Warming and George W. Bush share the initials G.W.???? I don't think so.
who cares who Italians elect... 2,600 troops if they decide to pull them out.
Italy was there when it mattered. And that's a lot more than can be said for most of the other Euro-peon states.
Yea, but if they pulled out now I'm not sure it would be that huge of a loss given the fact that we are giving the Iraqis control over battle space.
As with Aznar in Spain, there were many reasons aside from the war why people voted as they did. There are strong leftist-Communist strains among the workers in both Spain and Italy, and that is probably more significant than the war.
Also, Berlusconi has repeatedly been accused by the Italian media of being rich and corrupt, and some of that may have stuck this time, who knows?
Still, it's perturbing, because to my mind the West is in a life or death struggle against Islam, and people just don't seem to understand that. Yes, the media are doing their best to cover it up and gloss over it, but I would have hoped that ordinary people would begin to get the clue.
It's not as if the recent French riots and the cartoon riots did not give ample warning of against a real and present danger, especially to Europe.
Has it come to the authors attention that the US is reducing its troops too? That maybe ALL are slowly leaving Iraq as they assume the security role themselves.
Why do the Italians have so many of their top cops their? Maybe to TRAIN Iraqi's?
This is so spun!
don't get me wrong, I appreciate their help and effort but for their election to be about 2,600 troops in Iraq sounds like BS.
"who cares who Italians elect... 2,600 troops if they decide to pull them out."
The article states that it's not a matter of "if", but "when". From the below snip, it looks like Bush was going to lose this 'ally' by the end of the year.
"Berlusconi effectively removed Iraq as an issue in the election campaign by pledging to withdraw all of Italy's 2,900 remaining troops by the end of the year, while Prodi said he would do so "as soon as possible."
I love how everything in every country revolves around the US.
Seriously their pathetic sniping is getting old and fast.
Hmmm. Think maybe it's because no leader anywhere is really saying that? President Bush actually says just the opposite with his "religion of peace" crap.
If you want people to understand that the West and the rest of the civilized world is in a death struggle with Islam, a good start would be to actually say so.
And I don't blame the Pole's or many other right thinking Europeans for not wanting their troops in Iraq. The loony left seems to dominate much of Europe, but there were many conservative types over there who also knew this Iraq adventure would be a nightmare. This Islamic democracy notion was a misguided fantasy that is ruining Bush's Presidency and allowing the left to make inroads across the globe.
Removing Saddam and his regime was fine, hanging around to build a democracy for these people has been the disaster many of us predicted it would be.
The real big news is that Bush has lost his allies in the United States, namely we conservatives.
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