Who’s the real appeaser in this war?

last updated 8 January 2015

Italy

Barbara Spinelli

The Americans have no call to mock Italy, said Barbara Spinelli in Milan’s La Stampa. No sooner did we secure the release, through a prisoner swap, of an Italian reporter held hostage by the Taliban than American commentators were denouncing us as “spineless and unreliable.” Giving in to hostage takers is no way to fight terrorism, they lectured. Forgive us if we’re a bit confused. Prisoner exchanges happen all the time in wars. Besides, the real appeaser here isn’t Italy, or any member of NATO helping the Americans in Afghanistan. It’s America, which has continued to arm and support Pakistan despite evidence that Pakistan supports the Taliban and tolerates al Qaida. “This, then, is the result of so many years of war: Al Qaida’s headquarters has moved a few miles, from Afghanistan to Pakistan.” And the U.S. is the one looking “unreliable.”