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Prodi: Iraq war was 'grave error'

Italian soldiers carry coffin of one of three servicemen killed in Iraq in April.

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ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italy's new Prime Minister Romano Prodi has said the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a "grave error."

"We consider the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country a grave error," Prodi told the upper house of parliament on Thursday as he outlined the program of his new government which was sworn in the day before.

"It has not resolved, but complicated the situation of security," he said. Prodi, a center-left politician who prevails over a wafer-thin majority in government, was jeered by center-right senators who yelled "shame, shame."

Italy's center-left parties opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq three years ago, but the government of then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi backed it and then sent in peacekeepers.

Italy has about 3,000 troops in Iraq in peacekeeping roles and Prodi reiterated his intention to pull them out, a plan that had been in the works under his predecessor.

"It is the intention of this government to propose to parliament the return of our troops from Iraq," Prodi said, adding that his government intended to continue Italy's historically good relations with Washington.

Prodi did not give a date for a withdrawal, saying a "technical timeframe" would have to be agreed with all sides involved. Military experts say the allies would want to spread withdrawal out over several months.

Communist Refoundation, one of the parties in Prodi's center-left coalition, wants an immediate pullout.

Prodi said Italy plans to be in the forefront of the so-called war on terror, even with military intervention, as long as there is international backing. But he said it must be fought without sacrificing human rights and freedom.

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