Yankee go home

Vicenza, Italy

Tens of thousands of Italians protested this week against the expansion of a U.S. military base. The U.S military already has a base on the outskirts of Vicenza, and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi recently agreed to let it build another at an airport near downtown. In a raucous but peaceful demonstration, at least 65,000 people marched toward the airport blaring music and carrying balloons and anti-war signs. Dario Fo, a Nobel Prize–winning author, said the location of the base, not anti-Americanism, was the main issue. “It would be in the heart of the city,” Fo said. “In the event of a military conflict, the city itself could become a target.” Most Italians are strongly opposed to the Iraq war, and Italy pulled the last of its troops out of Iraq last year.

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