Premier Silvio Berlusconi, one of US President George W. Bush's strongest supporters over Iraq, says that he tried repeatedly to dissuade the US leader from going to war and was never convinced military force was the best way to bring democracy to the country.
Berlusconi is facing a tough re-election battle next year, and his popularity has fallen in part because of Italians' continued opposition to the war.
The premier made the comments in an interview with the La7 private television station that is to be broadcast today -- the same day Berlusconi is due to meet with Bush in Washington. Excerpts of the interview were reported on Saturday by Italian news agencies.
"I was never convinced that war was the best system to bring democracy to the country and to get rid of a bloody dictatorship," Berlusconi said.
"I tried several times to convince the American president to not go to war," he said.
"I tried to find other ways, and other solutions, even through an effort together with [Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi]. We didn't succeed, and there was the military operation. I believed that military action should have been avoided," he was quoted as saying.
Berlusconi was one of Bush's strongest supporters in the run-up to the Iraq war. On the eve of the conflict in March 2003, he told Italian lawmakers that using force against Iraq was legitimate and that Italy couldn't abandon America "in their fight against terrorism."
Italy didn't send any combat troops to Iraq, but it sent 3,000 troops after the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to help maintain security and rebuild the country.
While still supporting Bush, the Italian government has clashed with Washington over the Iraq conflict, in particular over the killing of an Italian agent by US forces last March.
Berlusconi has also had to deal with declining popularity because of sluggish economic growth and continued opposition to Italy's presence in Iraq.
Opposition leader Romano Prodi, who opposed the war, has said he would replace Italian troops in Iraq with a civilian force if his center-left coalition wins.
Italy's defense minister said in comments published Saturday that it was "plausible" that the remainder of Italy's 2,900-strong contingent would return home in the first half of 2006.
Recently, an initial contingent of 300 troops returned home and Berlusconi has said subsequent groups of 300 would come back until the final group of 1,000 returns together.
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