“They didn’t ask us to use the bases, if this happens Parliament will decide.” The position of the Italian Government seems clear on US bases present in our country. A number, including air force, army and navy, that exceeds 120 with many of these facilities having secret locations. The most famous are those of Sigonella, Aviano and Ghedi (the latter technically Italian, but with a strong American presence because it hosts nuclear warheads), Naples (headquarters of the American VI fleet which prowls the Mediterranean) and Gaeta, Camp Darby in Tuscany and Camp Ederle in Veneto. In total there are approximately 13 thousand US soldiers located in the bases, while there are 175 combat and transport aircraft. A presence regulated by Convention on the Statute of Forces (so-called NATO SoFA – Status of Forces Agreement) of 1951, the Bilateral Infrastructure Agreement (so-called BIA) of 1954 and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defense of the Italian Republic and the Department of Defense of the United States of America, relating to installations/infrastructures granted for use by US forces in Italy, of 1995 (so-called «Shell Agreement»). Documents largely covered by secrecy even if for the latter the D’Alema Government, in 1999, was forced to declassified after the Cermis tragedy when an American military flight severed the cable car cables causing the death of twenty people. As you will recall, after destroying the evidence, the crew was immediately returned to the USA where the trial took place.
Especially in the Seventies and Eighties in Italy there was talk of a sort of transfer of national sovereignty in relation to the presence of US bases. Controversies that became stronger, with protests also from the then bishop of Molfetta Don Tonino Bello, when 112 cruise missiles were installed by the USA in Comiso (base later dismantled in 1991) with a nuclear warhead.
Today, interest is concentrated above all on the Sigonella base around which, since 28 February, there has been growing drone and flight activity. The use of the Sigonella base had already been the subject of discussion with the United States in 1985 when, then Defense Minister Mino Martinazzoli, Italy refused to hand over the hijackers of the Achille Lauro to the Americans. The Government clarified that the bases are under Italian control and can be used by allies only for specific Alliance purposes.
So what is happening in Sigonella? Meanwhile, the defense minister Crosetto specified that it cannot be used for kinetic activities, i.e. to launch missiles or planes aimed at bombing directly from the base. However, this does not mean that the base has no role in the US war on Iran. On the contrary. Sigonella is what it is called “enabling platform”, that is, it makes a war operation sustainable and possible despite not being the location from which the attack starts. Let’s explain better. Sigonella is attributed a role of C4Isrwhere the four Cs stand for command, control, communications and computers. The I indicates intelligencethe S surveillance and the R reconnaissance. Added to this is logistics, Sigonella is one of eight major global centers serving the U.S. Navy. It supplies spare parts, components and carries out maintenance. This allows an operation to last longer. And still it is a Hub of med, i.e. a transit platform for the entire Mediterranean for personnel and assets. It allows for a rapid turnover of men and vehicles. With the Alliance Ground Surveillance program, provides surveillance and reconnaissance to remotely piloted vehicles. As well as being a strategic support for the 6th fleet.
And therefore, if it is true that it is not an attack base, it is still a strategic hub to be able to support a long-term operation. If it is therefore certain that, without Italian consent, no structure can start from Sigonella to go directly to bomb, how much our country can control the rest of the activities remains to be seen.
