FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Italian Parliamentary Majority Opposes Syria War

April 12, 2018 (EIRNS)—The center-right coalition (Lega, Forza Italia and Fratelli d’Italia) and the M5S, which together have a parliamentary majority, have spoken out against a military intervention in Syria and called on acting Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni to prevent the threatened attack. But Gentiloni, as well as his Democratic Party, have stated their support for the “allies.”

The anti-war camp is differentiated: whereas the center-right rejects the allegations against the Syrian government, the M5S claims there is a “proxy war” in Syria between the Russian-backed and the U.S.-backed forces.

Most outspoken was center-right leader Matteo Salvini, who said:

“I call on Prime Minister Gentiloni for a clear Italian position against any new and disastrous military intervention in Syria. I do not want economic motivations, power considerations, or the use of chemical weapons, never proven and never found in the past, to unleash a conflict that can become very dangerous.”

In a video posted to Facebook, Salvini went further:

“It is not normal for Donald Trump, whom I esteem, to tweet as if it were normal that ‘the missiles are coming,’ as if we were talking about roast chicken and pommes frites. Bombs and missiles are seldom intelligent and seldom solve problems.”

Earlier, Salvini had posted an article from the publication Analisi Difesa, titled “Syria: Fake News on Chemical Weapons To Create a Casus Belli?” and tweeted: “Fake news to drop more bombs? No more war, thank you!”

Economist and freshman Sen. Alberto Bagnai, in his first speech in the Senate, recalled the “iconic” image of Colin Powell presenting phony evidence to the UN, and Tony Blair apologizing for the Iraq War. Bagnai stressed “the need to know and accurately check the facts” before taking any decision.

“The risk of an escalation is very serious and I wonder in this scenario, what role is being played by the European Union....

“If we think back to the case of Libya, how did our European Brotherhood help us? We had the feeling that they betrayed us, and we had the evidence that the disruption of geopolitical balances ... produced a humanitarian catastrophe which strongly affected the lives of Italians.”

Bagnai asked the government to report to Parliament

“what information they have, and especially, what is the government doing in international fora to promote an investigation to cast light on what really happened”

in Douma?

Prime Minister Gentiloni, on his side, echoed the line that “it is not the first time” that Syrian President Bashar Assad has used chemical weapons. “The images of dead children cannot leave us indifferent.” Italy, like Germany, will not participate in a military attack but, like Germany, will supply logistical support.