[bert]

.....Spain and Italy were more trouble than they were worth.
.....

What in this article would cause you to say that?

The effort noted seems to be a legitimate commercial venture promoting Italian businesses to Iraqis. How is that a bad thing?

[Patriot from Philly]

Maybe the fact that Spain bailed out on the coalition and that Italy is rumored to have paid millions of dollars in ransom to terrorists in Iraq for release of its hostages.

Paul Bremer, in his latest book, says that Spanish soldiers stood by and and did not come to the aid of American soldiers under fire in Southern Iraq.

And both countries are prosecuting American soldiers, cleared in military investigations, for murder in what were clearly friendly fire incidents.

Other than that, they are good allies.