Italy's Foreign Policy and Concerns

The position of Italy regarding the Middle East is an excellent example of this theory. In Spring 2000, under Italy's previous government, the country expressed its willingness to participate in a multinational United nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon following the anticipated Israeli withdrawal in July of that year (United Press International 1). As of May, 2002, Italy was being hailed by Israel as a good place for a Middle East peace conference focused on reviving the negotiating process between Israel and Palestine (Xinhua News Agency 2 1). The rapport between Italy and Israel seemed to be strong.

However, Xinhua News Agency (1 1) reported that as of March 2002, Berlusconi ex

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merica that dates back decadesa.In recent years, Italy, along with other European countries has been increasingly at odds with the U.S. over Middle-East policy." Italy, according to Gruber (10), has strong commercial and economic interests linked to Iran and Libya, both viewed as "rogue states" by Washington. In recent months, despite Berlusconi's personal feelings regarding America -- and he is apparently very enamoured of American leadership and culture -- has continued to seek a dialogue with Iraq. Should the United States pursue its proposed invasion of Iraq, Italy may find itself in a difficult position (Xinhua News Agency 3 1). Only if the United States can provide "a convincing case that Iraq is engaged in the production of weapons of mass destruction, and that it has the capacity of projecting these weapons" will Italy join in a coalition effort -- and then only if Iraq cannot be brought to a diplomatic resolution of this issue (Barone 27). Italy seems to be straddling a somewhat pointed fence on the issues of the Middle East. Her friendly ship with Israel has not prevented her In the context of Italy's relationship with the European Union (EU), The Economist (1 46) reported that as 2001 came to an end, there
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Approximate Word count = 1310
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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