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| Grazie, signore. Now keep your journos on a shorter leash or GPS'em or something. |
How about that. Prodi does have a testicle or two.
Italy has about 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, deployed between Kabul and Herat, far from the more restive south of the country. But a series of small incidents involving the Italians and heavy fighting elsewhere in the country are heightening concerns in Italy over the troops' security. Addressing those concerns, the government has asked military chiefs to assess security conditions on the ground and indicate whether the troops need heavier armaments to ensure their safety, Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told senators shortly before the vote. Communists and other hardline leftists in the coalition are opposed to the mission and want a troop withdrawal. But Prodi has resisted those calls, as well as NATO demands to beef up the contingent.