Italy and Bulgaria to pull troops, Iraq's Shiites reject Sunni candidate

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050331/wl_afp/iraqpolitics&cid=1512&ncid=1473

<snip>And in Italy, Premier Silvio Berlusconi announced a plan to withdraw 300 Italian soldiers from Iraq in September if his allies of the US-led coalition agree.

"Before the end of August, thousands of members of Iraq's security forces will be trained and this will make the presence of certain troops unnecessary," Berlusconi said on RAI television.

"There is a plan to withdraw 300 troops by September if an agreement is reached between the allies and the Iraqi government," he said.

Earlier this month, Berlusconi made a surprise announcement that Italian troops would start leaving Iraq in September.

[Boo Boo]

1. And in Italy, Berlusconi was overheard on

the telephone begging President Bush to please, pretty please just let him bring home a few soldiers so his party doesn't get creamed in the next elections. "You wouldn't want Italia to be Communist again, do you Georgio? C'mon buddy, throw me bone!"

"Hang on Biscotti, let me go ask Unka Dick."

[expatriot]

2. So Shiites are categorically rejecting all former-Baathists?

Civll, meet war. War, meet civil.