Silvio berlusconi provided a reminder this week that there are limits to the support that even the most pro-American of Europeans can give George Bush in Iraq. On March 15th he announced on television that Italy would start withdrawing its 3,300 soldiers in September. But, after a phone conversation with Mr Bush, Mr Berlusconi backtracked a. day later: the September date was merely a "hope", he said. Nevertheless, this was the latest sign that more governments are finding involvement in Iraq hard to handle: a first detachment of Dutch troops arrived back on March 14th, Ukraine began a withdrawal on March 15th, and Poland has already cut its contingent by almost a third.
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