Sixteen people, including six Italian soldiers died in a suicide bomb attack in the Afghan capital late Thursday minutes after President Hamid Karzai had defended the country's disputed presidential election. The attack of the military convoy was the deadliest on Italian forces in Afghanistan, and caused shock waves to ripple across Europe as EU leaders fight to find enough support to continue the eight year engagement. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said his government shared the pain of the victims' families and that Italy planned a "strong reduction" in its 3,100 troops following the election, but would not do so without the support of NATO allies.
The attack of the military convoy was the deadliest on Italian forces in Afghanistan, and caused shock waves to ripple across Europe as EU leaders fight to find enough support to continue the eight year engagement.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said his government shared the pain of the victims' families and that Italy planned a "strong reduction" in its 3,100 troops following the election, but would not do so without the support of NATO allies.
[Berlusconi] would not do so without the support of NATO allies.
pussssssy. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
A powerful suicide bomb that killed six Italian soldiers here on Thursday prompted Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy to declare that his nation had begun planning to "bring our young men home as soon as possible." ... "We are all convinced that it would be best for everyone, whoever they are, to remove our conspicuous presence from Afghanistan quickly," Mr. Berlusconi said. Senior elected officials in Germany and Britain have also expressed weariness with the mission as violence has increased and casualties have mounted. Meantime, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan dismissed complaints that the Aug. 20 presidential election had been marred by widespread fraud and ballot-stuffing, saying he was "surprised and rather shocked" that European Union election monitors had warned that 1.1 million of his 3.1 million votes were suspicious. Western governments, he said, should "respect the people's vote." ... "I believe firmly, firmly in the integrity of the election," Mr. Karzai said... A number of Western diplomats are convinced that if all fraudulent ballots were discarded, Mr. Karzai would be left with less than 50 percent of the vote, forcing him into a runoff...
"We are all convinced that it would be best for everyone, whoever they are, to remove our conspicuous presence from Afghanistan quickly," Mr. Berlusconi said.
Senior elected officials in Germany and Britain have also expressed weariness with the mission as violence has increased and casualties have mounted.
Meantime, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan dismissed complaints that the Aug. 20 presidential election had been marred by widespread fraud and ballot-stuffing, saying he was "surprised and rather shocked" that European Union election monitors had warned that 1.1 million of his 3.1 million votes were suspicious. Western governments, he said, should "respect the people's vote." ...
"I believe firmly, firmly in the integrity of the election," Mr. Karzai said...
A number of Western diplomats are convinced that if all fraudulent ballots were discarded, Mr. Karzai would be left with less than 50 percent of the vote, forcing him into a runoff...
