The event on June 2nd (the day in 1946 when Italy became a Republic) was not a military parade, not even a parade, but a “review”, according to the Ministry of Defense that directed it (Minister Pinotti’s final act).
The parade at the Fori Imperiali – in front of the newly-installed government – was symbolically opened by 330 mayors representing civil society, followed by all the sectors of the Armed Forces, to celebrate “Italians’ Day – United for the Country”.
In his message, President of the Republic Mattarella expressed the gratitude of the Italian people to the Armed Forces for “the precious work they carry out in many troubled regions of the world to assist the populations who suffer from armed conflict”, a work based on “our Constitutional Charter, architrave of the Institutions and fundamental benchmark for all”.
As the military units paraded, the announcers listed the military missions in which Italian armed forces are engaged in over 20 countries: from Kosovo to Iraq and Afghanistan, from Lebanon to Libya and Latvia, from Somalia to Djibouti and Niger. In other words, they listed the wars and other military operations in which Italy has participated and is still participating, in violation of its own Constitution, in the framework of the USA/NATO’s aggressive expansionist strategy.
The number of military operations abroad in which Italy is engaged is constantly increasing. On June 5, on behalf of NATO, Italian Eurofighter Typhoon fighter-bombers began, together with units of the Greek airforce, to “protect” the airspace of Montenegro, the latest member of the Alliance. Italian fighter-bombers already “protect” the skies of Slovenia, Albania and Estonia from the “Russian threat”.
Italian warships are preparing to sail to the Pacific, where they will participate in RIMPAC 2018, the largest naval exercise in the world. The military navies of 27 countries will be taking part in the exercise, under US command, directed against China (accused by the US of “expansion and coercion” in the South Chinese Sea).
Italian special forces participated in Niger in an exercise run by United States Africa Command, sponsored by the European Union, in which about 1,900 soldiers from 20 African countries were trained.
In Niger, where the US is building a large base in Agadez for armed drones and special forces, Italy is preparing to build a base that will initially host 470 soldiers, 130 military vehicles and 2 aircraft. The official purpose of the operation, hampered by opposition within the Nigerian government, is to help Niger and its neighbors to fight terrorism. The real purpose is to participate, in the wake of France and the United States, in the military control of a region rich in raw materials – gold, diamonds, uranium, coltan, oil and many others – of which not even crumbs go to the population, who mostly exist in a state of extreme poverty. As a result, social tension is growing, and consequently, also the migratory flow towards Europe.
The new government intends to “re-evaluate our presence in international missions in terms of their effective importance for the national interest”. To do so, however, it is necessary to determine what the national interest is. That is, whether Italy should remain within the war system dominated by the US and by the major European powers, or should decide to be a sovereign and neutral country based on the principles of its Constitution.
Internal policy and foreign policy are two sides of the same coin: there can not be real freedom at home if Italy, subverting Article 11, uses war as an instrument of offense to the freedom of other peoples.
Source: PandoraTV
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This article was originally published on Il Manifesto.
Manlio Dinucci is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.
