Italy is reeling from the shock of receiving the mortal remains of 19 Italians killed in a suicide bomb blast in Iraq, reports Samia Nkrumah from Rome Italy is still in shock following the suicide bombing that killed at least 19 Italians and 9 Iraqis and destroyed the Italian police headquarters in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya. That the deadliest single attack against the United States led-coalition of occupying forces should target Italians was quite unexpected here. It resulted in the highest Italian loss of life since World War II, claiming the lives of 13 carabinieri, or militarised police, four soldiers and two civilians. It was a terrible blow because Italians were under the impression from news reports and feedback from deployed soldiers that their contingent was very popular with the local population in a city that had enjoyed relative calm. The soldiers had managed to establish good relations with the Iraqis with their "spaghetti and football", according to one deceased carabinieri's account in a letter to his family. Italians were mainly involved in securing the smooth passage of aid, food and medicine and had no role in combat. But beneath the surface, events were not so tranquil, particularly in recent times. One victim wrote to his friends a week before the attack, "You in Italy don't really know how the situation is here in Iraq. You have a distorted picture of reality. Tension is mounting here. There's been some trouble in a neighbouring province ... " The same impression was borne out by another civilian worker in contact with his family who reported that "discontent among the local population was brewing". More recently, Marco Calamai, who was the Italian coalition adviser in Nasiriya, resigned from his post saying he "deeply disagrees with the politics of the coalition regarding the economic reconstruction of the country". He also criticised the manner in which the democratic transition is being handled. Five days before the attack, the ex-governor of Nasiriya province had faxed a warning to the Italian headquarters after he had learnt of a possible attack against the Italian carabinieri base. Sheikh Ali Al-Munshed, who disclosed this information to the daily La Republica, said in an interview that despite his warning, he neither received a reply nor was he contacted by the Italians. A number of military analysts here tend to agree with Sheikh Al-Munshed's view that the recent Nasiriya suicide bombing was probably the work of foreign fighters. The Shi'ite ex-governor is of the opinion that the systematic attacks on American soldiers using more traditional weapons are carried out by the growing Iraqi resistance. In contrast, the deadly suicide bombings such as those aimed at UN agencies and the Red Cross could have been orchestrated by foreigners. Less than a month ago, a message attributed to Osama Bin Laden warning that suicide bombings will continue against the US and its allies, was broadcast on Al-Jazeera television. Here in Italy, Abdul-Qadir Fadlallah Mamour, a Muslim cleric originally from Senegal, had warned of attacks against Italians in Iraq, and is now under investigation after intelligence found photos of Osama Bin Laden in his apartment. Rome has blamed the bombing of the Italian base in Nasiriya on the "same hand" that carried out the September 2001 attacks in the US. Defence Minister Antonio Martino said during a visit to the site of the devastating attack that Al- Qa'eda working with "Saddam loyalists" bears responsibility for the attack. At the time of writing, Italian media reports said that Al-Qa'eda has indeed claimed responsibility for the Nasiriya attacks in an e-mail message sent to the Arabic- language Al-Majallah published in London. Recently though, clearer evidence of a growing Iraqi resistance is emerging. A top US military official in Baghdad was reported as saying last week that there are no more than a couple of hundred foreign fighters in Iraq -- relatively few given the 30 attacks carried against the coalition forces daily. At the same time, a CIA report last week, confirmed that local Iraqi resistance is on the rise. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, a researcher in Baghdad University studying the backgrounds of fighters who have died in Iraq found that the majority were Iraqi Muslims, Sunni and Shi'ite alike. Salman Al-Jumaili concluded that "Saddam loyalists" and Al- Qa'eda play a small role in the attacks. The researcher characterised the resistance in Iraq as mainly Islamic and nationalist, including some Christians and Turkomens. Here in Italy, the governing coalition appears to be firm in its determination to keep its troops in Iraq. Withdrawal at this moment is out of the question according to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who insisted that Rome "will not be intimidated". With its 2,400 soldiers in Iraq, Italy is the third largest contributor of troops and a reliable Washington ally. For now it is continuing to meet its obligations to the Bush administration. In the wake of the Nasiriya attack, 50 carabinieri were dispatched to Iraq as part of the normal rotation of troops and another 75 are expected to follow suit. According to Giulietto Chiesa, a political commentator and anti-war activist, the government's position is not weakened by last week's military loss. Chiesa told Al-Ahram Weekly that the immediate impact of the Nasiriya attack has benefited the government's stand of portraying the war in Iraq as a war against terrorism and Al-Qa'eda and in justifying its pro-Washington position. "The Berlusconi-Bush alliance continues to thrive and deliver its clear political objectives on both sides. While Berlusconi, together with the Eastern European countries, continues to be the dividing force in Europe, leaving France and Germany isolated, the American administration and the international media system will back Berlusconi in his efforts to change the constitution and introduce wider presidential powers with Berlusconi at the helm," said Chiesa. At this time of grief for fallen Italians, calls for withdrawal are muted. They are deemed unpatriotic and tantamount to an admission of defeat. A recent public opinion survey indicates that the country is evenly divided between the pro- and anti-withdrawal camps, with 50 per cent in favour of withdrawal and 50 per cent against. This is a drop from the 80 per cent who were staunchly against the war in Iraq last February. Meanwhile, the centre-left opposition, the communist parties and the anti-war movement are not united in their position vis-à-vis the troops in Iraq. The former failed to endorse withdrawal and argued for troops to remain to help with the expected transition of power to an Iraqi national government. Therefore, for the time being, "the anti-war camp is on the defensive," said Chiesa. Analysts however predict that when the sorrow and grief abate, the Nasiriya attack is likely to lead to a resurgence of the divisions over the war in the longer term. The war and Berlusconi's pro-Washington stance have never been popular. Italian troops were deployed in Iraq, by parliamentary mandate, an entire month after the US declared the war over and only after UN Resolution 1511 was passed. The resolution appealed for help reconstructing Iraq and for the return of UN staff. During his visit to the US last week, cut short by the Nasiriya attack, Italian President Azeglio Ciampi declared "Italy is for peace" and appealed for a "greater UN role in Iraq". Accompanying foreign ministry officials spoke of "seeking clarification on Washington's political strategy in Iraq". "The situation is worsening for the US coalition. They are failing politically and militarily. The anti- war camp must continue to insist that the war is wrong," urged Chiesa. He called on Italians to raise the rainbow-coloured banners once again -- some have never removed them from their windows -- because by all accounts the war is still going on. In an editorial in the leftist daily Il Manifesto, Chiesa referred to an alternative peace initiative by former Russian President Gorbachev published in La Stampa. Gorbachev called for the immediate transfer of political power in Iraq to the UN and an immediate declaration from Washington that it will withdraw, thus giving American troops the chance to begin withdrawing gradually. Meanwhile, the Arab League will create a military contingent of Arab soldiers who could be under the command of a country that did not go to war against Iraq. "This will end the idea of occupation and give a positive message to the Iraqi people," said Chiesa.
