ITALY CITIES PATROLLED

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

EDUOARD AIMS FOR TEXAS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9117766&ch=4226717&src=news

GALVESTAN PREPARES FOR EDUOARD
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=9111743&src=news

Tropical Storm Edouard heads for Texas-La. coast By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press Writer AUG 4,08

GALVESTON, Texas - Beth Bronson said Monday she's determined not to have her trip ruined as the second severe storm in two weeks approached a Texas Gulf Coast vacation hotspot at the height of tourist season. Tropical Storm Edouard was expected to come ashore Tuesday morning anywhere from western Louisiana to Port O'Connor, Texas. But tourism officials in Galveston said many vacationers were planning to stay, hoping the area isn't hit as hard as South Padre Island was by Hurricane Dolly on July 23.We spend money to come here with our families. It's an inexpensive place to stay. If they were to say evacuate, then yeah we would do it. But otherwise no,said Bronson, 49, who was vacationing from Allen.Still, officials in Texas and Louisiana were busy Monday preparing just in case Edouard intensified. It could reach near-hurricane strength as it churns in the warm Gulf waters before making landfall.Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration for 17 Texas counties that could be in Edouard's path. The state activated a number of emergency teams, including calling up 1,200 Texas military forces and six UH-60 helicopters, the State Operations Center said.In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a statewide emergency. Cameron Parish told up to 3,000 residents to evacuate low-lying coastal areas that are prone to flooding. Vermilion Parish, also in western Louisiana, advised people in mobile homes or FEMA trailers along the coast to leave.

For vacationers, the timing of the storm couldn't be worse: The Texas coast banks on tourism at this time of year, with much of the state baking in 100-degree weather. About 50 million visitors to the Texas coast spent about $15 billion in 2006.Since Dolly, South Padre has regained electric power but its four biggest full-service hotels remain closed as well as the convention center in the community about 260 miles down the coast from Galveston. Dolly hit the coast with winds up to 100 mph, tearing off roofs and knocked down signs on the island.At 5 p.m. EDT, Edouard had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, with higher gusts. The storm's center was located about 135 miles south-southeast of Lafayette, La., and 215 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas.The storm was moving west near 7 mph, and forecasters said conditions were in place for the storm to intensify and approach hurricane strength with winds of 74 mph or more.This is not the time of year for anyone along the Texas coast to be interrupted by these storms, said Dan Quandt, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.Forecasters say Edouard's center could make landfall near Galveston, which is in the peak of its tourist season, when the city's population of about 60,000 doubles. No evacuations were ordered and local officials in the storm-seasoned town were merely urging caution.Galveston was hoping its successful tourist season wouldn't be derailed. Hotel occupancy rates and sales tax figures this summer are 10 to 15 percent higher than last year, the city's best for tourist-related income.Edouard is not going to have that large of an affect on tourism because it's not expected to cause (severe) damage, said Roshelle Gaskins, spokeswoman for the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. She added a lot of tourists were staying.As Edouard approached, oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico evacuated workers from 23 production platforms and six rigs, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which monitors offshore activity. The Gulf of Mexico has 717 manned platforms and 125 operating rigs, the MMS said.Edouard is not likely to disrupt production, according to one financial firm that specializes in the energy industry. He'll just be (a) little tropical storm tike compared to big mammas that rip things up and spike gas prices, the Houston-based securities firm Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. said in a note to investors Monday.Shell Oil Co. said Monday morning it had begun evacuating about 40 workers from some of its operations in the western Gulf. The company said no further evacuations were planned based on the current forecast and that it expected no impact on production.Exxon Mobil Corp. said Monday afternoon it was preparing for heavy weather associated with Edouard, preparing platforms and other structures for heavy wind and rain and identifying workers for potential evacuation. But the company said no evacuations had taken place and production had not been affected. A tropical storm warning was in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River westward to Port O'Connor in Texas. A hurricane watch was in effect from west of Intracoastal City, La. to Port O'Connor. Associated Press Writers John Porretto in Houston, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Christopher Sherman in McAllen and Mary Foster in New Orleans contributed to this report.

Storm Edouard shuts refinery, hits shipping By Erwin Seba
AUG 4,08

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Edouard disrupted shipping, cut refinery production and shut some offshore oil and natural gas output on Monday as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico toward landfall along the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday U.S. crude oil futures hit a three-month low of $119.50 a barrel on Monday before settling down $3.69 at $121.41 as signs of a slowing U.S. economy and rising supply from OPEC outweighed storm fears.So far, Edouard has closed only 0.9 percent of crude oil production and 7.2 percent of natural gas output, according the U.S. Minerals Management Service.The Gulf of Mexico supplies about a quarter of U.S. crude oil output and 15 percent of its natural gas, while Gulf Coast refiners make about a quarter of domestic gasoline.Energy companies evacuated staff from offshore platforms due to Edouard, the second named storm of the season to threaten oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico, with Apache shutting a small amount of output.Apache shut 8,600 barrels per day of oil output and 130 million cubic feet per day of natural gas production after evacuating 110 personnel from facilities off Louisiana.

Marathon shut its 76,000 bpd Texas City, Texas refinery and Valero Energy Corp said production was cut at its 245,000 bpd Texas City and 100,000 bpd Houston refineries because crude tankers couldn't reach the ports of Houston and Port Arthur.We have started an orderly shut-down in preparation for the storm, said Marathon spokeswoman Angela Graves.The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only deep-water U.S. oil port and a major conduit for the country's crude oil imports, temporarily suspended offloading oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico due to high waves and winds.The port's onshore storage continued to supply refiners with crude on-hand, however, a spokeswoman said.Packing 50 miles per hour (85 kph) winds, Edouard swept across the northern Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south-southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana.The storm has a 20 percent chance of reaching hurricane speeds of 74 mph before it makes landfall on Tuesday near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.At its predicted strength, Edouard is unlikely to do much damage to coastal area refineries that were swamped by the storm surge from hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, said Kenneth Medlock, an energy fellow with Rice University's Baker Institute.Some refineries are on the dirty side of the storm's projected landfall, where winds are the most damaging. But I do not think it will matter much, Medlock said. The swell won't likely be big enough to do sustained damage.A series of powerful hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, including Hurricane Katrina, toppled oil rigs and severed pipelines in the Gulf, pushing oil prices to then-record highs.(Reporting by Erwin Seba, Chris Baltimore, Haitham Haddadin, Richard Valdmanis, Robert Campbell; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Lebanon govt adopts manifesto, paving way for confidence vote Mon Aug 4, 4:52 PM ET

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon's national unity government on Monday adopted a manifesto that affirms the authority of the state over all matters, including the weaponry held by Hezbollah, a minister said. The document was approved unanimously, Information Minister Tareq Mitri said at the end of a cabinet meeting chaired by President Michel Sleiman.Parliament would soon hold a vote of confidence so that the government can begin to function officially.

The new cabinet was formed on July 11, but negotiations on a manifesto were hampered by disputes on the key issue of the arms of Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite Muslim political movement and militia.The Hezbollah-led opposition insisted on the right to resist Israel, while the ruling bloc, which is supported by the West and most Arab states, insisted that only the state can make decisions on war and peace.Mitri said that four ministers had expressed reservations over the clause related to resistance against Israel.The manifesto, he added, insists on the right of Lebanon, its people, its army and its resistance to liberate its land in the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshuba Hill and Ghajar which are occupied by Israel.It stresses that the the unity and the authority of the state would be the guiding principle of all government decisions and actions.The controversy in Lebanon over Hezbollah's weapons intensified after its militants captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July 2006 that sparked a devastating 34-day war.It boiled over again when Hezbollah led an armed takeover of large swathes of predominantly Sunni west Beirut in fierce fighting in May that left 65 people dead and sparked fears of a return to all-out civil war.The new cabinet, in which the opposition has the right of veto, was formed after weeks of bickering despite a May power-sharing agreement struck in Qatar that ended a protracted political dispute.The committee that drafted the new government manifesto comprised ministers from the parliamentary majority as well as ministers from a Syria- and Iran-backed coalition.The Western-backed parliamentary majority has 16 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition 11, including the post of labour minister which is held by a Hezbollah MP.Three portfolios are held by nominees of President Sleiman who is considered to be neutral.

CORRECTED: Peace push with Syria should go on: Israel's Mofaz By Dan Williams Mon Aug 4, 11:06 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel's peace efforts with Syria should continue, without preconditions, after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert steps down, a candidate to succeed him said on Friday. My opinion and my goal will be to continue to speak to the Syrians without preconditions, Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a speech. The way is - peace for peace.Olmert and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced in May they we holding Turkish-mediated negotiations. But Olmert, dogged by corruption scandals, said earlier this week he would resign after his party picks a new leader in September.Public statements suggested the sides remain divided on core issues like Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights and Syria's ties to Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.Syria has made clear it wants a return of the occupied Golan Heights to be on the agenda of any serious peace talks. Mofaz, a former defense minister, has come out against any plan by Olmert to return the Golan. Olmert says he had made no such undertaking to the Syrians.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has the edge in the ruling Kadima party race to replace Olmert, but Mofaz is her closest rival within the party, and contenders in other parties are vying for the job as well.Though Mofaz, as chief of Israel's armed forces, led crackdowns on a Palestinian revolt that erupted in 2000, on Wednesday he cast himself as a potential peacemaker.As a father who has three children in the military, I want peace for them, he said.I will do my best to achieve peace with our neighbors ... Our first priority should be the Palestinians but there are some problems, some obstacles, he said, alluding mainly to the 2007 takeover of Gaza by Hamas.(Editing by Anthony Boadle)

Greenspan warns governments may have to bail out more banks AUG 4,08

LONDON (AFP) - Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has warned that governments the world over may have to bail out more banks before the current financial crisis is over. Writing in the Financial Times on Tiesday, Greenspan also warned of the awesome cost of a move towards protectionism by governments, arguing that globalisation was at the root of economic growth around the world over the past decade.Fears of insolvency have not, as yet, been fully set aside, Greenspan wrote.There may be numbers of banks and other financial institutions that, at the edge of defaulting, will end up being bailed out by governments.British mortgage lender Northern Rock and American bank Bear Stearns both averted bankruptcy over the past year when they were given backing to varying degrees by their respective governments.Greenspan also extolled the virtues of globalisation, describing it as having been at the root of the past decade's unprecedented surge in world economic activity.The past decade has seen mounting global forces ... quietly displacing government control of economic affairs, he wrote.He concluded: The danger is that some governments, bedevilled by emerging inflationary forces, will endeavour to reassert their grip on economic affairs. If that becomes widespread, globalisation could reverse -- at awesome cost.

Oil prices drop nearly $4 after storm threat eases By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer Mon Aug 4, 4:39 PM ET

NEW YORK - Oil prices plunged to a three-month low Monday, briefly tumbling below $120 a barrel in another huge sell-off after Tropical Storm Edouard seemed less likely to disrupt oil and natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude's steep drop — prices fell more than $5 at one point during the day — dragged down other commodities from corn to copper and mimicked the big nosedives of the past three weeks, adding to growing beliefs that the oil bubble is at least temporarily deflating.What this means is that we're going to see some more relief at the pump. We're probably looking at another 10 cents of downside in retail gas prices, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief analyst at Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. A gallon of regular gas fell on average about half a penny overnight to $3.881.Also weighing on oil prices Monday was a report by the Commerce Department that consumer spending after adjusting for inflation fell in June as shoppers dealt with higher prices for gasoline, food and other items. That fed investors' expectations that a U.S. economic slowdown is sharply curbing U.S. demand for fossil fuels.Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $3.69, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $121.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was crude's lowest settlement price since May 5. Earlier, prices plummeted to $119.50, the lowest level since May 6. Crude has now fallen in six of the last nine sessions and has shaved 18 percent off its trading record of $147.27 reached July 11.

The dramatic dive came after traders learned that Edouard, aiming for the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, likely would not damage offshore oil and natural gas drilling platforms that sit in the storm's path.Natural gas futures also fell sharply, dropping 66.3 cents, or 7.1 percent, to settle at $8.726 per 1,000 cubic feet. And gasoline futures fell 8.41 cents, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $3.0002 a gallon. Other commodities including gold, copper, corn and soybeans also traded lower.That has taken a lot of pressure off the market. It looks like the thinking is that we dodged another bullet, said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Still, oil market traders expressed surprise that a potential hurricane in the Gulf coupled with escalating tensions with Iran didn't send prices higher — an almost certainty just a few weeks ago.Any market that really doesn't respond to seemingly bullish news is often a tip off that we're going lower, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.He and other analysts have predicted that, barring any surprises, crude could tilt toward $100 a barrel by the end of the year.Meanwhile, retail gas prices kept falling, reflecting the continuing price-driven drop in U.S. fuel demand. Gas has fallen 5.6 percent since hitting an-all time high above $4 a gallon on July 17, but so far hasn't kept up with oil's steep descent, suggesting struggling filling stations are still saddled with gas bought when crude prices were higher.They still have expensive gas to feed into the system, so they're reluctant to drop prices, Ritterbusch said. Prices never come down as fast as they go up.Still, Monday's drop in crude was expected to help make retail gas cheaper.Adding to the bearish sentiment around oil, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday proposed that the government sell 70 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves to help lower gasoline prices. He had previously opposed tapping the supplies, but said in a major energy speech that past releases from the reserve have lowered gas prices within two weeks.

The Illinois senator also reiterated his statement Friday that he could now support limited new offshore drilling in the U.S. if needed to enact a compromise energy policy that would foster fuel-efficient autos and alternative energy sources.Following Obama's remarks, the market is increasing the odds now that the drilling deal will get done and we will see more production coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, Flynn said.Oil prices began the day trading mostly lower after the Commerce Department said inflation-adjusted consumer spending fell by 0.2 percent in June. That was the worst showing since February and gave energy market traders another reason to sell on beliefs that people will further cut back on their driving to cope with near $4-a-gallon gasoline. Edouard was threatening to pick up strength from warm Gulf waters and gain near-hurricane speeds over the next 24 hours, prompting Shell Oil Co. to begin evacuating about 40 workers from some of its operations in the western Gulf. But Edouard is not likely to disrupt production, according to one financial firm that specializes in the energy industry. He'll just be (a) little tropical storm tike compared to big mamma's that rip things up and spike gas prices, the Houston-based securities firm Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. said in a note Monday. Crude's drop came as traders ignored mounting tensions between the West and Iran. The Bush administration said Monday the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have agreed to seek more sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program after it failed to meet a weekend deadline to respond to an incentives package aimed at diffusing the standoff. On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said diplomacy was the only way out of the standoff. Those comments came a day after he asserted his oil-producing country would not give up its nuclear rights, signaling that it would refuse demands to stop enriching uranium or at least not to expand its enrichment work. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 8.67 cents to settle at $3.3501 a gallon. In London, Brent crude for September delivery fell $3.50 cents to settle at $120.68 a barrel, after earlier falling to a contract-low of $118.80. Associated Press writers Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans and Tom Raum, Mathew Lee and Martin Crutsinger in Washington contributed to this report.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

Hundreds of African migrants arrive amid Italy emergency ELITSA VUCHEVA 01.08.2008 @ 07:29 CET

Some 800 immigrants arrived in Southern Italy on Thursday (31 July), just a few days after the country declared a national state of emergency over what it describes as the exceptional and persistent influx of irregular immigrants.A boat with some 400 hundred people on board was guided by Italian Coast Guard officers into the port of Lampedusa – a small island south of the Italian mainland, the Associated Press reports.Subsequently, a series of smaller boats bearing some 400 additional people were intercepted by the Coast Guard, bringing the total number of detainees to 876, according to Italian news agency Adnkronos.The migrants include women and children, with most reported to be of African origin.

Their arrival has raised concerns that the additional migrants will overcrowd the Lampedusa holding centre, as it has practically reached its capacity of 1,500 people.The news comes just a few days after Italy declared a state of emergency over what it sees as an exceptional and persistent influx of clandestine immigrants.Prior to this latest migrant interception, the country recently passed another controversial law that would make undocumented migration a criminal offence punishable by between six months and four years in prison. It would also make it possible for property rented to such an immigrant to be confiscated.

New Italian measures may spur xenophobia

The strict measures drew criticism both at home – from the centre-left opposition parties – and abroad.On Tuesday, the Council of Europe – Europe's human rights watchdog – released a report criticising that Italy's recent immigration policies, saying they lack human rights and humanitarian principles and may spur further xenophobia.It also expressed concern at the way the country treated representatives of ethnic Roma origins, following plans announced in July to conduct a census and fingerprint all Roma people, including children.These measures may make it more difficult for refugees to ask for asylum, and is likely to result in a further social stigmatisation and marginalisation of all immigrants, including Roma, the organisation warned.Italy, however, says it needs the measures to respond to and control the growing numbers of migrants coming to its territory, and insists the concern expressed on lack of respect for human rights is totally unfounded.

Deaths at sea

Separately, some 80 would-be immigrants were rescued off Malta's shores this week, German news agency DPA reports.But three women – one of which was pregnant – died in their attempt to reach the island.Earlier in July, 15 African immigrants, including nine children, died from heat exposure while trying to reach Spanish coasts in a small overcrowded boat.In a response to what he called an almost unbearable tragedy, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said: We are in an alarming situation.Either we help Africa, either we help fight poverty and desperation, or our future as a region of well-being and progress falls into question, he added, urging all EU states to meet the target they have set of donating 0.7 percent of their income to development aid, Deutsche Welle reports.

THIS SHOULD BE HOW THE EU WILL COME INTO ISRAEL AND GUARENTEE THEIR SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YR TREATY. AND THIS COULD BE WHAT SETS IN MOTION THE EU ARMY. INTERESTING ITS IN ROME ITSELF WERE THE EU ARMY MAY COME INTO BEING.

Troops deployed in Italian cities against crime and illegal immigration By Elisabetta Povoledo Published: August 4, 2008

ROME: Soldiers were deployed throughout Italy on Monday to control embassies, subway and railroad stations and centers for illegal immigrants as part of broader government measures to fight crime.

By the time it is fully in effect next week, the effort will place about 3,000 soldiers alongside regular police and military police officers, a visible signal to citizens that the government has responded to their demands for greater security, Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said in an interview on the Italian Sky News channel.The conservative government of Silvio Berlusconi won elections in April promising to crack down on petty crime and illegal immigration, which polls have indicated are primary concerns here.Security is something concrete, La Russa said Monday. And the troops will be a concrete deterrent to criminals, though they cannot make arrests.Critics have condemned the deployment as a superfluous measure that could prove counterproductive.

Today in Europe
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Putting troops on the street sends a dramatic message that the situation is more serious than it is in reality, the leader of the opposition party Democratic Left, Marco Minniti, said in a telephone interview.Instead of instilling a sense of security, he asserted, militarizing Italian cities will do quite the opposite.On Monday, soldiers began patrolling dozens of cities. In Milan, troops were stationed around the Gothic cathedral, and in Naples they kept an eye on the American Consulate.Television news stations showed military officials searching immigrants' suitcases at subway stations.In the capital, troops will be stationed around embassies, consulates and centers for illegal immigrants in outlying neighborhoods.They will not be securing the city's historic monuments. Local officials said they felt that a military presence could scare off tourists.They will only be in areas where they have no impact on normal citizens, said Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemmano.

Other critics of the measure, part of a larger anti-crime package pushed through Parliament last month, argued that Italy's military was better suited to dealing with emergencies in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq than with domestic urban crises.You need to be specially trained to carry out some kinds of controls, said Nicola Tanzi, the secretary of a trade union that represents the police. Soldiers just aren't qualified.He also questioned whether the cost of the operation, put at €60 million, or $93 million, might not have been better spent increasing the budgets for the police and military police.Structures and qualified people already exist, and they do an excellent job with dwindling means at their disposal, Tanzi said. This is not the right way to create security.The armed forces have been used in domestic security missions in the past, in particular in fighting Mafia violence. In 1992, after the anti-Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were killed in Mafia bombings, the government sent 20,000 troops to Sicily where they remained until 1998.Troops also have been sent to fight organized crime in Campania and Calabria, and they were deployed to protect airports, electricity power stations and potential terrorist targets after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.IHT

Italy deploys 3,000 soldiers in city centres by Martine Nouaille Mon Aug 4, 1:52 PM ET

ROME (AFP) - Italy deployed 3,000 troops to patrol major cities and sensitive areas Monday in a controversial move by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's right wing government to boost security.

Dressed in shirt-sleeve order and equipped with handguns, some 1,000soldiers joined local police in Rome, Naples, Milan and other urban centres.Another 1,000 were deployed around potential targets ranging from embassies to railway stations and churches, while a similar number were guarding holding centres for illegal migrants.

But mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno said no soldier would patrol in the historic city centre where most tourists are concentrated.On the island of Lampedusa, where thousands of migrants have arrived from Africa in recent months seeking to enter Europe, 70 air force troops were supplementing police who patrol the perimeter of a reception centre.They are part of another 1,000 troops meant to be deployed around immigration centres.The Italian left and police unions have criticised the use of troops, accusing Berlusconi's government of seeking to militarize city centres and cover up cuts in spending on defence and security.Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, said he wanted to give the public a better perception of security.The government which took office in April has linked crime and illegal immigration and passed a series of measures aimed at cracking down on both.

But officials Monday played down the decision to draft in troops.

In 1992, 20,000 men were sent to Sicily alone to allow police to concentrate on fighting the Mafia after attacks on judges, deputy chief of the general staff General Mario Buscemi was quoted by Monday's daily La Repubblica as saying.The support provided by 3,000troops spread across Italy would be minor and essentially symbolic, he said.Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa announced in June that troops would be put at the disposal of regional governments for anti-crime missions. Parliament gave its backing to the measure last week.Thousands of African migrants seeking to enter Europe have arrived in Lampedusa in recent months.Of the 11,949 people who landed in Italy in the first six months of 2008, 10,402 arrived in Lampedusa, around double the number for the same period in 2007.

About 1,200 arrived on the holiday island off Sicily last Wednesday and Thursday.

Italy deploys troops to fight street crime Story Highlights
Soldiers deployed around sensitive sites in Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Palermo.Defense Ministry: 3,000 to be deployed as part of a security package Measure, proposed by Silvio Berlusconi's govt., to remain for six months.Critics say the deployments will end up militarizing the cities

ROME, Italy (AP) -- The Defense Ministry says hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in cities across Italy as part of government measures to fight street crime.Italian soldiers on patrol outside the U.S. embassy to the Holy See in Rome. 1 of 2 In Rome, some 400 men and women are deployed at subway and railway stations and at an immigrant center. They are not expected to be immediately deployed in the capital's historic center.In Milan, some 150 soldiers were patrolling the Duomo cathedral and sensitive sites such as the U.S. consulate and the city's synagogue. Soldiers were also deployed in Naples, Bologna and Palermo, Italian reports said.More soldiers will be deployed in coming days, reaching an overall total of 3,000, said Lt. Col. Mario Busi of the Defense Ministry.Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government had proposed the measure as part of a security package that also toughens rules for illegal immigrants, whom some Italians link to crime. The measure, recently approved by parliament, remains in effect for six months.Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa dismissed criticism that the soldiers would scare residents, saying that instead they could help address citizens' concerns on security. The people more likely to be afraid, he said, were the thieves, the rapists, the criminals.

Berlusconi has made law and order a priority after winning April elections on promises to crack down on crime.Some critics say the deployments will end up militarizing the cities, while others bring up the opposite argument that a deployment of 3,000 soldiers is little more than a show.In the 1990s, soldiers were sent into Sicily to help free up police for investigations of the Mafia.