THIS SHOULD BE HOW THE EU WILL COME INTO ISRAEL AND GUARENTEE THEIR SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YR TREATY. AND THIS COULD BE WHAT SETS IN MOTION THE EU ARMY. INTERESTING ITS IN ROME ITSELF WERE THE EU ARMY MAY COME INTO BEING.
Troops deployed in Italian cities against crime and illegal immigration By Elisabetta Povoledo Published: August 4, 2008
ROME: Soldiers were deployed throughout Italy on Monday to control embassies, subway and railroad stations and centers for illegal immigrants as part of broader government measures to fight crime.
By the time it is fully in effect next week, the effort will place about 3,000 soldiers alongside regular police and military police officers, a visible signal to citizens that the government has responded to their demands for greater security, Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said in an interview on the Italian Sky News channel.The conservative government of Silvio Berlusconi won elections in April promising to crack down on petty crime and illegal immigration, which polls have indicated are primary concerns here.Security is something concrete, La Russa said Monday. And the troops will be a concrete deterrent to criminals, though they cannot make arrests.Critics have condemned the deployment as a superfluous measure that could prove counterproductive.
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Putting troops on the street sends a dramatic message that the situation is more serious than it is in reality, the leader of the opposition party Democratic Left, Marco Minniti, said in a telephone interview.Instead of instilling a sense of security, he asserted, militarizing Italian cities will do quite the opposite.On Monday, soldiers began patrolling dozens of cities. In Milan, troops were stationed around the Gothic cathedral, and in Naples they kept an eye on the American Consulate.Television news stations showed military officials searching immigrants' suitcases at subway stations.In the capital, troops will be stationed around embassies, consulates and centers for illegal immigrants in outlying neighborhoods.They will not be securing the city's historic monuments. Local officials said they felt that a military presence could scare off tourists.They will only be in areas where they have no impact on normal citizens, said Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemmano.
Other critics of the measure, part of a larger anti-crime package pushed through Parliament last month, argued that Italy's military was better suited to dealing with emergencies in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq than with domestic urban crises.You need to be specially trained to carry out some kinds of controls, said Nicola Tanzi, the secretary of a trade union that represents the police. Soldiers just aren't qualified.He also questioned whether the cost of the operation, put at €60 million, or $93 million, might not have been better spent increasing the budgets for the police and military police.Structures and qualified people already exist, and they do an excellent job with dwindling means at their disposal, Tanzi said. This is not the right way to create security.The armed forces have been used in domestic security missions in the past, in particular in fighting Mafia violence. In 1992, after the anti-Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were killed in Mafia bombings, the government sent 20,000 troops to Sicily where they remained until 1998.Troops also have been sent to fight organized crime in Campania and Calabria, and they were deployed to protect airports, electricity power stations and potential terrorist targets after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.IHT
Italy deploys 3,000 soldiers in city centres by Martine Nouaille Mon Aug 4, 1:52 PM ET
ROME (AFP) - Italy deployed 3,000 troops to patrol major cities and sensitive areas Monday in a controversial move by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's right wing government to boost security.
Dressed in shirt-sleeve order and equipped with handguns, some 1,000soldiers joined local police in Rome, Naples, Milan and other urban centres.Another 1,000 were deployed around potential targets ranging from embassies to railway stations and churches, while a similar number were guarding holding centres for illegal migrants.
But mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno said no soldier would patrol in the historic city centre where most tourists are concentrated.On the island of Lampedusa, where thousands of migrants have arrived from Africa in recent months seeking to enter Europe, 70 air force troops were supplementing police who patrol the perimeter of a reception centre.They are part of another 1,000 troops meant to be deployed around immigration centres.The Italian left and police unions have criticised the use of troops, accusing Berlusconi's government of seeking to militarize city centres and cover up cuts in spending on defence and security.Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, said he wanted to give the public a better perception of security.The government which took office in April has linked crime and illegal immigration and passed a series of measures aimed at cracking down on both.
But officials Monday played down the decision to draft in troops.
In 1992, 20,000 men were sent to Sicily alone to allow police to concentrate on fighting the Mafia after attacks on judges, deputy chief of the general staff General Mario Buscemi was quoted by Monday's daily La Repubblica as saying.The support provided by 3,000troops spread across Italy would be minor and essentially symbolic, he said.Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa announced in June that troops would be put at the disposal of regional governments for anti-crime missions. Parliament gave its backing to the measure last week.Thousands of African migrants seeking to enter Europe have arrived in Lampedusa in recent months.Of the 11,949 people who landed in Italy in the first six months of 2008, 10,402 arrived in Lampedusa, around double the number for the same period in 2007.
About 1,200 arrived on the holiday island off Sicily last Wednesday and Thursday.
Italy deploys troops to fight street crime Story Highlights
Soldiers deployed around sensitive sites in Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Palermo.Defense Ministry: 3,000 to be deployed as part of a security package Measure, proposed by Silvio Berlusconi's govt., to remain for six months.Critics say the deployments will end up militarizing the cities
ROME, Italy (AP) -- The Defense Ministry says hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in cities across Italy as part of government measures to fight street crime.Italian soldiers on patrol outside the U.S. embassy to the Holy See in Rome. 1 of 2 In Rome, some 400 men and women are deployed at subway and railway stations and at an immigrant center. They are not expected to be immediately deployed in the capital's historic center.In Milan, some 150 soldiers were patrolling the Duomo cathedral and sensitive sites such as the U.S. consulate and the city's synagogue. Soldiers were also deployed in Naples, Bologna and Palermo, Italian reports said.More soldiers will be deployed in coming days, reaching an overall total of 3,000, said Lt. Col. Mario Busi of the Defense Ministry.Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government had proposed the measure as part of a security package that also toughens rules for illegal immigrants, whom some Italians link to crime. The measure, recently approved by parliament, remains in effect for six months.Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa dismissed criticism that the soldiers would scare residents, saying that instead they could help address citizens' concerns on security. The people more likely to be afraid, he said, were the thieves, the rapists, the criminals.
Berlusconi has made law and order a priority after winning April elections on promises to crack down on crime.Some critics say the deployments will end up militarizing the cities, while others bring up the opposite argument that a deployment of 3,000 soldiers is little more than a show.In the 1990s, soldiers were sent into Sicily to help free up police for investigations of the Mafia.
