Defense minister says Italy's work in Iraq is not yet done

Italy's job in Iraq is not yet done but a
gradual withdrawal of its troops there is not far off, the
country's minister of defense told legislators Wednesday as
parliament prepared to vote on whether to extend funding
for the troops' mission in Iraq.
Defense Minister Antonio Martino spoke in the Chamber of
Deputies, Italy's lower house, as legislators debated
amendments on the eve of the scheduled vote. The war in
Iraq is unpopular in Italy and some opposition politicians
have been pushing for an immediate pullout, AP reported.
«Immediate withdrawal is wrong because our work there is
not yet completed,» Martino said, «That's what the Iraqi
government says, and the facts confirm it: on the one hand
the many attacks, and on the other the slow but constant
and virtuous growth of the Iraqi state.»
He added that «our work there allows us a gradual exit
that is not far off in time.»