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Talabani implores Italy to keep troops in
Iraq
7.11.2005
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ROME, Italy -
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani implored Italy to
keep its troops in his country, saying in a letter
published in Monday's La Stampa newspaper that their
withdrawal would be a "disaster."
"A premature withdrawal would be a disaster for the
Iraqi people and a victory for terrorism," wrote
Talabani, who was to begin a six-day visit to Italy
later Monday. "Neither you nor the free and
democratic world can allow yourselves to abandon the
cause of democracy and leave Iraq to the
terrorists." |
Iraqi
President : Jalal Talabani
Photo: Reuters |
Italy has some 3,000
soldiers in southern Iraq near Nasiriyah, despite
the opposition of most of the Italian people.
"I understand that Italians want their troops in
Iraq to come home as soon as possible," Talabani
said in the letter. "And I guarantee that we will do
all we can for that to happen. We also want the
presence of multi-national forces to end, but it is
the actions of the terrorists that prolong it.
"Those who think that terrorism in Iraq is the
result of the presence of multi-national forces are
wrong," he said, adding: "The orphans of Saddam
Hussein and the Al-Qaeda terrorists cannot stand the
idea of a democracy in the heart of the Middle
East."
Meanwhile, Japan is considering pulling its troops
out of Iraq in the first half of next year and
expanding Iraq-related air missions from Kuwait, a
news report said Monday.
A 200-member Air Self-Defense Force transport unit
has been flying C-130 planes between Kuwait and
southern Iraq to support US missions there, the
Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said.
The government is considering whether to expand its
mission to include flights between Kuwait and Qatar,
where the US Central Command is stationed, the
Yomiuri said citing informed sources.
The US has asked Japan to fly transport aircraft
from Kuwait to other destinations in Iraq, including
Baghdad, after the Japanese ground troops pull out,
the Yomiuri said.
In response to the US request, the Japanese
government has chosen missions that would pose less
danger to the air unit, the Yomiuri said.
Japan has not officially decided when to pull out
its ground troops.
Japan, a close ally of the United States, has some
600 ground troops on a humanitarian mission in
Samawa in southern Iraq, considered a relatively
safe area. The current mission expires in December
but Iraq wants an extension.
It is Japan's first deployment to a country where
fighting is ongoing since its World War II defeat.
To avoid violating Japan's pacifist constitution,
the government says the troops operate in a
"non-combat zone" within Iraq.
The troops have relied on Australia and other
countries for their security.
www.middle-east-online.com
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