Italy Rules Out Possibility of Sending Troops to Join U.S.ActionItalian Defense Minister Antonio Martino said Sunday that his country has ruled out the possibility to send Italian troops now to join the US retaliation."The coming military operation is only aimed at terrorist attackers and it is not a conflict between countries. So it is not accurate to describe it as 'a war,'" Martino said on TV in reply to a question raised by viewers. Some Italians have expressed their concern about "being drifted into war" if the country's troops joined the U.S. retaliation against suspected terrorist targets. The United States has decided to retaliate after its World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked Tuesday, killing hundreds and leaving thousands feared dead. The Bush administration has locked Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian who is now exiled in Afghanistan, as the chief suspect. Recently, Italy has reiterated that it backed the U.S. action against terrorism and will fulfill its obligations as a NATO member. |
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