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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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6

Taliban: Italy Paid Us Protection Money

Italian government denies bribing insurgents to leave its troops alone

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(Newser) – The Italian secret services bribed the Taliban not to attack Italian forces in Afghanistan, according to both a Taliban commander and senior officials in the Afghan government. The accusations have sparked fury in France, which lost 10 soldiers in an ambush after taking over a district east of Kabul from the Italians. The French had misjudged the safety of the area because they were unaware of the secret payments, according to the Times of London.

American officials have refused to confirm or deny that they lodged an official complaint with the Italians last year about payments to the Taliban. The Italian government has furiously denied paying protection to the Taliban and threatened to sue the Times. The country's defense minister said the low rate of Taliban attacks on Italian forces was due to "the behavior of our military, which is very different compared to that of other contingents."

Italian NATO soldiers stand ready on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Italian NATO soldiers stand ready on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)
Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa gestures during a
Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa gestures during a "Question Time" session at the Italian Senate on the deployment of the country's armed forces in Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)
Italian soldiers stand at attention during a changing command ceremony at the Provincial Reconstruction Team compound in Herat province west of Kabul, Afghanistan, last week.
Italian soldiers stand at attention during a changing command ceremony at the Provincial Reconstruction Team compound in Herat province west of Kabul, Afghanistan, last week.   (Getty Images)
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6 comments
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shonangreg
Oct 16, 09 7:08 AM CDT
If this accusation is true, it amounts to cowardice -- cowardice that actually caused harm to others. Reply
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Mia
Oct 16, 09 9:52 AM CDT
That fat horndog needs to be thrown out of office. That amounts to funding terrorist organizations. Were they feeding strategy as well? Reply
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KennyBoy
Oct 16, 09 12:43 PM CDT
The reason the much touted surge worked was because we paid of the Sunnis to stop the attacks. The Awakening Councils were the real answer, the extra troops had negligable effect. Apparently the Italians had their own surge, and it worked. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Spudsy
Oct 16, 09 1:15 PM CDT
Interesting point. Our only problem with the Taliban was that they didn't hand over Bin Laden. If they had, they would still be in power and one of our better friends. If they would hand him over now they could have that lousy country back for all I care.
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Spudsy
Oct 16, 09 1:13 PM CDT
Hurry, one of you rightwingnuts make a post complaining how Obama isn't protecting our Italian friends by taking down the "missile shield that probably wouldn't work anyway" after that deal with Russia. Reply
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