Italy's Prodi Calls Guantanamo a 'Wound'

Italy's Prodi Calls Guantanamo a 'Wound'
By MARIA SANMINIATELLI
Associated Press Writer

February 28, 2006, 6:28 PM EST


ROME -- Romano Prodi, a former European Commission president running for premier in Italy, said Tuesday that the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay is a "wound" that should be closed.

In an interview with The Associated Press and Dow Jones Newswires, the leader of Italy's center-left coalition also said he would withdraw Italian troops from Iraq if he's elected.
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"It needs to be closed, also, because I think it has done a lot of damage to our image -- because there have been abuses we know about, and because it is a constant wound on our image," he said.

Prodi faces a tough battle in the April 9-10 Italian elections pitting him against conservative Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a strong U.S. ally who sent troops to Iraq and who met with President Bush Tuesday in Washington.
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