How Italy earned the status of « Great Nation »
by Manlio Dinucci
On 24 March 1999, the session of the Italian Senate
re-opened at 8.35 p.m. with a communication by the honourable Sergio
Mattarella, who was then Vice-President of the D’Alema government (Ulivo, PdCI,
Udeur) - « Honourable senators, we have been informed by the Press
agencies that NATO operations began at
6.45 p.m. »
At that moment, the bombs launched by the F-16's of
the US 31st Squadron, which had taken off from Aviano (Frioul), had already hit
Pristina and Belgrade. New waves of US and Allied fighter-bombers were arriving
from other Italian bases.
In this way, and in violation of the Constitution
(articles 11, 78 and 87), Italy was dragged into a war about which the
government informed Parliament only after the Press agencies had published the
news, once the war had already begun.
Twenty days before the attack against Yugoslavia - as
he himself related in an interview with Il Reformista (24 March 2009) -
Massimo d’Alema had been called to Washington, where President Clinton made
this proposition: « Italy is so close to the theatre of war that we will
not ask you to participate in the military operations, but only to make your
bases available to us ».
D’Alema had arrogantly replied - « We will assume
our responsibilities at the same level as the
other countries of the Alliance », meaning that Italy would not
only make its bases available for the war against Yugoslavia, but also its
fighter-bombers. So 54 Italian aircraft did indeed participate in the bombing,
attacking the targets indicated by the US command.
« Morally, it was the right decision, and also
the way to fully assume our rôle », explained D’Alema in the interview.
« In terms of the number of aircraft, we were second only to the USA.
Italy is great nation, and we should not be surprised by our engagement in this
war, » he declared in June 1999, in his rôle as President of the Council,
pointing out that for the pilots, this had been
« a great human and professional experience. ».
Italy thus played a primary rôle in the war against Yugoslavia.
Taking off from Italian bases was the
major part of the 1,100 aircraft which, in the space of 78 days, carried
out 38,000 sorties, dropping 23,000 bombs and missiles (many of them bearing
depleted uranium) on Serbia and what is currently Kosovo.
These missions served to activate and test the entire
system of the US and NATO bases in Italy, preparing its reinforcement for the
coming wars. The next war on the list was that against Libya in 2011.
While the war against Yugoslavia was still on-going,
the D’Alema government took part in Washington at the NATO summit of 23-25
April 1999, which rendered operational the New Strategic Concept. NATO
was transformed into an alliance which engaged its members to « carry out
operations of riposte to the crises which are not provided for in article 5,
outside the territory of the Alliance ».
That was the beginning of NATO's expansion towards the
East. In twenty years, after having demolished the Yugoslavian Federation, NATO
increased from 16 to 29 States (30 if it also now incorporates Macedonia), spreading closer and
closer to the borders of Russia.
Today, the « North Atlantic area » stretches
to the mountains of Afghanistan, and Italian soldiers are present there,
confirming what D’Alema defined with pride as the « new status as a great
nation », earned by Italy twenty years ago by participating in the
destruction of a country which had neither attacked nor even threatened Italy
or its allies.
The war against Yugoslavia will be one of the themes
of the International Symposium on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of NATO.
The theme « Yugoslavia - 20 years on - the
founding war of the new NATO » will be presented, with video
documentation, at the International Symposium « NATO's 70th anniversary –
what is the historical record? Exit from the war system, now », which will
be taking place on 7 April in Florence
(Cinema Teatro Odeon, Piazza Strozzi, 10.15 a.m. - 6 p.m.). Among the other
themes will be « Europe in the front line of a nuclear
confrontation. »
Speakers: M. Chossudovsky, director of Global Research
(Canada) ; V. Kozin, politico-military expert of the Russian Ministry for
Foreign Affairs; Ž. Jovanovi, President of the Belgrade Forum (Serbia); D. Johnstone,
essayist (USA); P. Craig Roberts, editorialist (USA). Among the Italian speakers: A. Zanotelli, G. Strada, F.
Cardini, F. Mini, G. Chiesa, A. Negri, T. Di Francesco, M.Dinucci.
Organisers: Comitato No Guerra No Nato and Global
Research, with Pax Christi, Comboniani, WILPF and other associations. In order
to participate in the Symposium (no entrance fee), please communicate your name
and place of residence to
G. Padovano: giuseppepadovano.gp@gmail.com
Cell: 393 998 3462
FOR THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF NATO
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