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Berlusconi says warned Bush against Iraq war
By Phil Stewart
10/29/05 "Reuters" -- -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi,
on the eve of a trip to Washington, said he repeatedly tried to
persuade U.S. President George W. Bush against invading Iraq.
The Italian leader voiced his unease with the military operation to
topple Saddam Hussein during a television interview to be broadcast
on Monday -- the same day he meets Bush.
Berlusconi is one of Washington's strongest allies but he did not
send troops to join the invasion, preferring to dispatch troops only
after the fall of Baghdad.
"I tried many times to convince the American president not to go to
war," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by La7 television network,
which recorded the interview.
"I tried to find other avenues and other solutions, even through an
activity with the African leader (Libya's Col. Muammar) Gaddafi. But
we didn't succeed and there was the military operation."
One of Berlusconi's staff said he knew Berlusconi had given La7
television an interview, but could not confirm the comments.
Berlusconi is scheduled to leave for Washington on Sunday.
Berlusconi pulled about 300 soldiers from Iraq earlier this year as
part of a phased withdrawal, leaving about 2,900 troops there. He is
trailing in opinion polls ahead of April elections to center-left
rival, Romano Prodi, who promises to withdraw all Italian forces
from Iraq if he is voted into office.
NIGER URANIUM?
The context of Berlusconi's answers in the interview were unclear
since La7 only provided small excerpts.
The Italian leader has been defending himself against accusations in
Italy that the country's intelligence agency, possibly after
government pressure, passed-off fake documents to Washington used to
bolster claims of Iraq's nuclear ambitions.
The documents purported that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium from
Niger.
His office has sent out two statements in the past week
categorically denying the accusations, made by left-leaning La
Repubblica newspaper. Sismi intelligence agency chief Nicolo Pollari
is due to address a closed-door parliamentary panel over the matter
on November 3.
Bush cited intelligence that Iraq sought uranium from Africa in his
State of the Union address in 2003 before the Iraq war.
The claim fueled criticism from the husband of covert CIA operative
Susan Plame, whose identity was later leaked, sparking a scandal
that led to the indictment on Friday of Vice President Dick Cheney's
chief of staff, Lewis Libby.
"I have never been convinced that war was the best system to make a
country democratic and help it escape dictatorship, even a bloody
one," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by La7.
Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited
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