Italy Raises Terror Alert

NEW YORK--(Italy Watch)--Due to heightened chatter and the upcoming Christmas season Italian authorities have issued an allarme terrorismo--terror warning--requesting that citizens be extra vigilant in the weeks ahead.

Roberto Maroni, Italy's Minister of Internal Affairs, stated today that their attention is "extremely high" and that Italian law enforcement offficials have stepped up controls to places typically associated with large crowds such as "supermarkets, malls, churches and other places of worship in order to prevent terrorist actions."

Italy, although being a significant contributor to the unpopular US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, enjoys extensive diplomatic and commerical ties with Libya, Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine, and is generally viewed as a less-biased power broker in Mideast affairs.

Following Israel's 2006 invasion of Lebanon, local authorities dismissed French control a month earlier than anticipated, transferring control of UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) to the Italians.