Italy After Sept. 11: Official US Support, Public Protests

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promptly lined up his center-right coalition behind the Bush administration's war on terror and contributed around 3,000 troops for Afghanistan.

After kicking up a storm with comments over Islam's alleged inferiority, Berlusconi stuck to his pro-American policy and pledged a further 3,000 peacekeepers after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Not everyone was happy with the government stance. Italy witnessed huge anti-war rallies and protests and public opinion swung even further against Berlusconi after the kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena in Iraq in early 2005 and the firing by US troops on her convoy during her release.

Shift to the left

The terrorist attacks on Madrid in 2004 and on London in the following year in particular heightened worries in Italy that it could be the next target. The London bombings also led Berlusconi's government to unveil a further raft of anti-terrorism measures which included cracking down on illegal immigrants entering Italy via Libya, sequestrating assets of firms suspected of financing terror and stepping up checks on mosques and Islamic centers.

Center-right parties such as the Northern League even called for a special ministry similar to America's Department of Homeland Security. However, opposition fears of a draconian new anti-terrorism law proved unfounded with experts calling instead for a better co-ordination of anti-terrorism efforts instead.

Though Berlusconi announced that 300 troops would be withdrawn in September, 2005, it wasn't until July this year, when Romano Prodi's new center-left government took office, that Italy began a gradual troop pull-out. Prodi has also made it clear that he plans to depart from his predecessor's policy by laying more emphasis on Europe than on trans-Atlantic ties.