Home / Italy: the paradise of wine, pasta, desserts and U.S. military bases
Most people think of Italy as the land of Ancient Rome, art, wine and pizza, but a few think of it as the paradise for U.S. military bases. But the American government has spent millions of dollars into building military bases and deploying troops.
Since 2001 with the beginning of the global war on terror, the U.S. military eye has been turning Italy into a launching pad for possible wars in the Middle East and Africa. Nonetheless, U.S. officials publicly say there are no U.S. military bases in Italy. They reiterate that their troops, equipment, technology and infrastructure are mere guests on Italian bases designated for NATO use. This sounds more like a nice legal term rather than an actual fact, because up until now, the U.S. has spent more than 2 billion dollars on construction (not to mention those billions on classified military projects in Europe).
At the same time, since Barack Obama and even more so under Donald Trump Administration, Italian forces are witnessing a decline in U.S. politico-military leadership and command in Lebanon, Libya, Mali and Somalia. Even in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the U.S. still lead military operations, Trump has insistently request European allies to take more responsibilities, while he disengages as soon and as much as possible. This has become the U.S. strategic withdrawal from conflicts they have created and is becoming a trend that Italy and others must deal with.
However, this situation is far away from any democratic and peaceful reality. These military bases are just one example on how our European and American military capabilities are making it even easier to find new wars and military conflicts in countries we know little. Unless we question why we still have these high equipped bases even though we don’t have any direct nor dangerous threats that demand a military response, those bases will just lead us down a path of perpetual violence, war and insecurity.
Carla Perucca Iannitelli
Bibliography:
Calvo, Jordi; Amorós, Gemma: Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau http://centredelas.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/wp2003_eng_1903.pdf
Istituto Affari Internazionali https://www.iai.it/en/area/sicurezza/ricerca?page=1
Irenees http://www.irenees.net/rubrique2_en.html
