(ANSA) - Rome, October 29 - In a television interview to be aired next week, Premier Silvio Berlusconi says he repeatedly tried to convince American President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq .
In the lengthy interview to be shown on private TV channel La7 on Monday, Berlusconi says that: "I was never convinced that war was the best way to make a country democratic and to bring it out of a bloody dictatorship .
"I tried many times to convince the American president not to wage war... I tried to find other ways and solutions, even through joint action with African leader (Libya's Muammar) Gaddafi .
"We didn't succeed and there was a military operation but I believed military action should have been avoided." The comments were released by La7 two days before Berlusconi was due to visit Washington .
The centre-right leader will hold talks with Bush during his one-day Monday visit .
Berlusconi is a staunch ally of Bush and took a pro-US line on Iraq despite opposition from the centre left and strong anti-war sentiment amongst the Italian public .
Italy did not participate in the 2003 war on Iraq but gave Washington permission to use its air space and transport infrastructure, and Italian bases for technical stop-over and refuelling needs .
It now has some 3,000 troops serving there, mainly as part of a British-led multinational stabilization force in the southern part of the country .
The Italian contingent is the fourth largest after those of the US, Britain and South Korea .
The exclusive interview with La7 was the longest interview given by Berlusconi, who is standing for re-election next year, in six months .
GOVT DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN FAKE IRAQ-NIGER DOCUMENTS. His comments on Iraq also came at a time when his government is denying accusations of involvement in the passing on of false documents to the United States which purported to show an attempt by Saddam Hussein's regime to buy uranium in Africa .
The documents, which accused Iraq of trying to buy up to 500 tons of uranium oxide or 'yellowcake' from Niger, were used by the US and Britain to help support the case for the 2003 toppling of the Iraqi strongman .
A series of in-depth articles in the La Repubblica daily this week alleged that Italy's military intelligence service Sismi handed the documents to the United States possibly under pressure from the Italian government .
The daily accused Sismi chief Nicolo Pollari of involvement in the case, saying that he met with America's then-deputy national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley on September 9, 2002 .
The government issued a fresh statement on Saturday denying the daily's allegations .
The statement said that La Repubblica's report on the alleged Hadley-Pollari meeting was "totally false" .
It said that a meeting took place on September 9, 2002 between Pollari and America's then-national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and that Hadley was present as part of the US delegation .
"The dialogue was exclusively between Condoleezza Rice and Pollari. The other people present witnessed the talks but did not speak themselves," the statement said .
"There was no reference, either direct or indirect, to the problems regarding the Iraq-Niger issue," it said .
Earlier this week, the government issued several statements denying any involvement in the case. It also firmly denied any Sismi involvement, saying that it played no "direct or indirect" role in the forging or distribution of the documents .
"There is a fatal limit to the (La Repubblica's) dossier - the news contained is unfounded and inexact," the government said .
{so the government espouses all that is 'unfounded and inexact eh?}
US and British allegations that Saddam Hussein sought to buy uranium for his nuclear weapons programme from Niger was used by the two allies to help support their case for waging war on Iraq .
{hardly}
Bush cited the uranium deal in his State of the Union address in January 2003, saying it was evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to develop weapons of mass destruction .
The US admitted after the war that the uranium claim was false and Hadley took the blame for including the claim in Bush's State of the Union speech .
According to La Repubblica, the documents were forged in 2000 by a former Carabiniere policeman and ex-Sismi agent Rocco Martino for his own purposes with the help of contacts provided by a Sismi official and friend .
The Italian parliament's intelligence watchdog committee Copaco has announced that it is holding an inquiry into the La Repubblica allegations .
Pollari will be questioned by Copaco on November 3 .
and there ya have it folks. in a nutshell, berlosconi will be replaced come next election. we can only hope the italians are not using diebold systems.
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