‘Well Done,’ Premier Tells Italian Troops in Visit to Iraq

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited Italian troops in Nasiriya on Saturday, expressing pride in their performance and later reiterating that they will remain in Iraq despite a “very difficult” situation.

Italian television showed Berlusconi, dressed casually and wearing a military cap, joking and having his picture taken with the troops at their base.

“Well done,” Berlusconi told the troops. “I bring you a big hug from all of Italy. We are proud of you.”

In Kuwait on his way home, Berlusconi described the situation in Iraq as “very difficult” but said he believed it would calm down to some degree. “We are finding a lot of difficulties in implementing democratic ways and stability in Iraq,” he said.

Last week, Italian troops engaged in pitched street battles with Shiite militiamen loyal to a radical anti-American cleric. The militiamen took control of several key bridges over the Euphrates River in the center of Nasiriya. A dozen Italian troops were wounded and 15 Iraqis, including civilians, were killed.

Until the recent clashes, the Shiite-dominated town had been relatively calm.

The clashes provoked outcry in Italy, where the government has repeatedly insisted that the 2,700 troops it sent to Iraq are a peacekeeping force rather than combatants.

Many Italians opposed the deployment, and there have been demonstrations calling for the troops to be withdrawn.

But Berlusconi, who last week said leaving Iraq would create chaos, told reporters at Kuwait International Airport: “My country will stay in Iraq and will fulfill its commitment and its stand in Iraq.”