Italy threatens to take back its bases unless NATO is in command

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini gives a joint press after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, March 21, 2011.

From AGI:  [Foreign] Minister Franco Frattini has said Italy will take back its bases if NATO does not assume command of operations in Libya. "Should there be a variety of commands, we would have to study a system in which Italy would assume responsibility for command over its own bases," he said after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.

From David Brunnstrom, Reuters:  Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called on Monday for a greater NATO role.

"It’s time to move from a coalition of willing toward a bit more coordinated approach under NATO because NATO has the capacity, the experience to lead a well-coordinated action," he said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

An Italian foreign ministry official said Italy considered the current three-way command structure involving France, Britain and the United States and the resulting bombing campaign "anarchic" and said it "poses problems to the Arab world."  (photo: Getty)

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