Reply #15: Giovanni Castellaneta has been around, including as Italian

[phoebe]

ambassador to Australia when the delightful John Howard was re-elected. Oh yeah, and he was ambassador to Iran...

BTW - before Bush starts denying he knew Castellaneta -

http://www.usitalia.info/archivio/dettaglio.asp?Art_Id=1020&data=6/27/2004

snip

Our relations have never been better. I arrived in Washington on Saturday afternoon. At 9:30 on Monday morning I saw Undersecretary of State Nick Burns, presented him with my letter of credentials, and at noon President Bush received me for the official delivery of credentials. He didn’t make me wait a single day. An exceptional courtesy."

snip

Some observers consider the current Berlusconi government, "the most pro-American" in Italian history. Do you share this analysis?


"The most pro-American in the sense that there has been a great sharing of ideals and of the actions to defend these ideals that we are carrying out. There was a virtuous intersection of circumstances, in a historical era that has led us to be closer to the United States in order to combat terrorism and global threats. September 11 took place during the Berlusconi government, and it was something of a turning point for all international relations."


As the diplomatic advisor to the head of government, you were to Berlusconi what Condoleezza Rice was to Bush when she was national security advisor. Do you agree?


"Italy does not have an institutional figure of this type, but we could say that the obvious counterpart at Palazzo Chigi to the national security advisor was me . . . I knew first Condy Rice and now Steven Hadley quite well . . . We did many things together, taking part in the various meetings with President Bush."