Oriana Fallaci
Posted on 02/17/2007 2:24:57 PM PST by La Enchiladita
By COLLEEN BARRY VICENZA, Italy - Tens of thousands of people marched through the northeastern Italian city of Vicenza under heavy police guard on Saturday to protest a planned U.S. military base expansion.
The demonstrators, estimated by police to number 50,000 to 80,000, marched peacefully along the four-mile route as hundreds of policemen stood guard and helicopters hovered above.
Some protesters wore T-shirts saying "Yankee Go Home" and others waved rainbow peace flags as the demonstration headed out from city's train station. It was not scheduled to pass the site of the planned expansion, where critics of the project keep a permanent picket.
"To build a military base is not the gesture of a peaceful government," said Simone Pasin, a 24-year-old resident of the city. "I think it's time to dismantle military bases and put up structures of peace."
The expansion, which has strained relations within Italy's governing center-left coalition, is part of the U.S. Army's overall transformation into a lighter, more mobile force. Under it, elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, a rapid reaction unit now spread between Italy and Germany, would be reunited at the Vicenza base.
In recent years the 173d Airborne Brigade has also been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2003, the unit made the biggest airdrop since World War II when its soldiers landed in northern Iraq.
Special trains and buses brought in leftist activists and anti-globalization protesters from across Italy to support local residents who are concerned that the expansion could cause traffic, deplete local resources and increase the risk of terror attacks.
Premier Romano Prodi angered his far-left allies last month when he said the government would not oppose the base expansion. Communist and Green parties _ members of the governing coalition _ have backed the protest.
Prodi has said his government had no reason to halt the expansion, which has been approved by Vicenza's city council.
The U.S. Embassy in Rome had advised Americans to avoid Vicenza on Saturday and Interior Minister Giuliano Amato warned that violent protesters could infiltrate the march. Prodi, in a radio address hours before the demonstration, urged protesters to be peaceful.
The Ederle base has about 2,600 active duty military personnel. The expansion at the Dal Molin airport, on the other side of town, would allow the military to move four battalions now based in Germany, adding another 1,600 active duty personnel.
Some in the ruling coalition feared the demonstration might suggest anti-U.S. sentiment in the country. But the protest also drew Americans.
"The U.S. should not build military bases, the U.S. should think of its domestic problems," said John Gilbert, who teaches English at the University of Florence and was in a group of about 20 Americans who had traveled from Rome and Florence.
The Americans were greeted by Italians, who went up to them to shake their hands or snap pictures in a show of solidarity.
The great mystery of history: How did Romans turn into Italians?
As in the runup to WWI, theystabbed their then ally in the back, and switched sides - in secret.
"The great mystery of history: How did Romans turn into Italians?"
Defeat
Is there are more forgotten part of WWI than the Italin-Austrian front?
Well, what would you expect from a continent that started two world wars?
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"I'll bring that request to the Dept of Rainbows & Unicorns"
Can I have a pony?
You write as if you had some bad experience with Italians. Maybe somewhere along the line, some Italian, stallion, stud-muffin "snatched" your girlfriend.
Oriana Fallaci
How about the Serbian campaign? That was as bloody as it is now obscure.
Well, as the article says, it is our military presence they are protesting.... even though some carried signs, "Yankee Go Home!"
Italy is one of the few countries over there I would like to visit. Glad you enjoyed your trip.
Excellent description! Wife and I were stationed in Italy 67-69, just outside Rome. Was very surprised to find there were two Communist parties, the hardcore pro-soviet, and the ultra hardcore Mao Tse Tung supporters. There was also the Fascists, the Socialists, the Christian Democrats, and more splinters that you could count.
Our apartment overlooked a small plaza/traffic circle that had 5 or 6 roads spinning out from it. It was a blast to see the political parties there during elections. And recall, there have been more elections in Italy in twenty years, than in the history of the USA.
I have to say, I never felt the slightest animosity from anyone in Italy because of being American.
Although sexcond generation American, I'm half Italian. And no, I haven't had a girlfriend 'snatched' by a goombah.
I am, however, a student of history, and the mutation of Si vis pacem, para bellum, to "We need to build structures for peace', oe whatever that mamaluke said, led to the question. Capice?:)
Spaghetti for brains.
Get your islamic neighbors to help you build those.
No doubt, in due course they will. Right on top of the rubble of the local church.
I too have spent some time in Italia, and have always been treated well by the locals. I had a few problems, especially in the area of Napoli, but by and large, the Italians were full of smiles and good cheer.
That's where Rommel won his Pour le Merite - Caporetto.
Maybe I can 'splain, maybe not. Are the government and the people always one and the same?
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