WAR IN BRIEF : ITALY : Rome Names New Chief of Navy Force

Italy appointed a new chief for its Persian Gulf naval task force and insisted that the outgoing commander is not a pacifist. Vice Adm. Enrico Martinotti, chief of naval operations, has replaced Vice Adm. Mario Buracchia. Buracchia asked to be relieved of his command in the Gulf on Tuesday after a magazine quoted him as saying that war could have been avoided had the U.S.-led alliance shown “a little more wisdom” and continued the economic embargo against Iraq. Buracchia said that his remarks had been distorted but that because of the resulting controversy he could no longer do his job.