This is why Italy is not ready for war according to Crosetto
Italy is not ready for war according to the Minister of Defense, Crosetto: "The resources are not enough, we need investments in additional means, training, personnel and reserves". And General Portolano, general secretary of the Ministry of Defense and national director of armaments, also places emphasis on the need for investments. All the details
Italy is not ready for a war and I will explain why.
This is what the Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto did yesterday, in a video message published on X (formerly Twitter). It all began at the beginning of the week when, when asked by Nicola Porro, host of Quarta Repubblica during the March 25th episode : "Are we at an acceptable level of defense from the point of view of armaments, training and military?, the response of the head of Defense did not left room for doubt or interpretation: “No.” “Do you want the truth? In my opinion, no,” reiterated Crosetto. The journalist insisted by asking if this statement is "at the level of personnel, ammunition, training, what is it that we are missing?". “If we had suffered an attack like the one Ukraine suffered… I would stop,” Crosetto commented.
Strong statements from the head of Defense who has been raising the issue of the "alarming" international geopolitical situation for some time, underlining that his task – after all – "is to prepare the country for the worst scenarios".
“Unfortunately we are among the last to understand the need to have a solid defense. We are paying for a cultural legacy, a widespread "antimilitarism". And instead it is in peace that an army must be strengthened, in every way, with new technologies and professional figures: not just tanks, which are also useful, but cybersecurity, AI experts, modern analysis, training and research tools" he had already observed at the beginning of the month Crosetto in an interview with Corriere della Sera .
Together with Minister Crosetto, the military leaders have long shined a spotlight on the "absolutely undersized" Italian armed forces for the current times.
All the details.
WHY ITALY IS NOT READY FOR WAR ACCORDING TO THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE CROSETTO
It is necessary today more than ever to "transform defense" which, until now, was based "only on the value of the people who formed it" explained the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto last night in a video on
“We have extraordinary armed forces. And they are extraordinary because they are made up of fantastic men, women, officers, enlisted men, non-commissioned officers who are used to working in any conditions, regardless of what we gave them, regardless of the attention the country gave them, regardless of the consideration of financial resources. The times in which we live no longer allow us to base our defense on their heart, on their courage, on their habit of throwing their hearts beyond the obstacle. There is a need to invest in vehicles, in further training, in additional personnel, so that rotation times are acceptable, in reserves, in maintenance of the vehicles, in the quality of the vehicles", said Crosetto. “We must do more – he added – not because NATO asks us to, but because the times ask us to do so, because defense is the prerequisite for democracy, peace and freedom to exist, and because the people who have represented us in the world up to now with their courage have everything they need to allow them to defend us as they have done in recent years. What we gave him is no longer enough."
Why not? pic.twitter.com/sFhCrauYWs
— Guido Crosetto (@GuidoCrosetto) March 27, 2024
YOU MUST BE READY FOR ANYTHING
“I would prefer not to be worried but the European Union and the States must prefigure any type of scenario”, the Minister of Defense declared yesterday on the sidelines of the ceremony for the '100+1' of the Air Force.
“I think nothing serious will happen, but we must prepare for the possibility that serious things could happen, as Ukraine taught us, perhaps not directly to our country,” added Crosetto, underlining that “Defense is the fundamental prerequisite of democracy and necessarily he must also talk about bad things, because there is no possibility of defending oneself without weapons", the minister said during the ceremony. “In a dramatic moment like this, we remembered that Defense could not just be civil protection 4.0, the world can change and this is a period that no one hoped for. But we never gave up. Many of our fellow citizens had forgotten about the existence of ISIS, not us who fight it in Iraq and Kuwait. The provocations have been going on for over two years at European borders. We are here to defend the country, even when no one remembers the danger. Our greatest success is tranquility which however requires constant commitment, sacrifice, preparation and investment".
At the same time, the Minister of Defense had specified that despite the current scenario "There has never been talk of compulsory military service in the country". “We live in difficult times, in which, if anything, we need many professionals. We must rather think about the number of these", explained Crosetto, adding: "We need trained professionals, not citizens who do a year of military service".
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ARMED FORCES CAN NOT BE POSTPONED
And the Secretary General of Defense and Italian National Director of Armaments is also convinced of the need for transformation of Italian Defense.
“It is certainly necessary to go through an adaptation process that touches all aspects. A change that must take into account the evolution of conflicts into true hybrid warfare" explained General Luciano Portolano, general secretary of the Ministry of Defense and national director of armaments, in an interview today with Corriere della Sera .
“The main theme, however – continues General Portolano – is that we find ourselves in a situation in which Europe and Italy are asked to provide support in terms of systems, weapons and ammunition in a context of war, without at the same time adopt a war economy, which Russia has done instead. In this sense, the superiority in production capacity of the Russian war industry compared to the European one is objective, so much so that difficulties are encountered in guaranteeing constant support for Ukrainian needs for ammunition and weapons systems. For this reason, we are moving, both within NATO and within the EU, to improve the productivity of our industries: with common funds, joint procurement between countries, development of industrial aggregations".
IT IS NECESSARY TO INVEST IN DEFENSE
Regarding compulsory military service, a hypothesis already excluded by Minister Crosetto, General Portolano also agrees that it is "not a viable solution in Italy. We live in difficult times in which serious and trained professionals are needed."
And on the topic of resources, the Italian Secretary General of Defense and National Director of Armaments is also convinced that it is necessary "Investing in Defense and aspiring to have an adequately sized, balanced and technologically advanced military instrument means investing in stability and security or creating the conditions for the peace and well-being of our country and our allies."
THE CHANGED SCENARIO OUTLINED BY THE CHIEF OF DEFENSE STAFF
Regarding the new geopolitical context, the Chief of the Defense Staff, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, also expressed his opinion this week during a hearing at the joint Foreign and Defense Commissions of the Chamber and the Foreign and Defense Commission of the Senate. “If we put together the crisis in the Strait of Aden, the evolution of the geopolitical scenario from Sudan to the Sahel, up to West Africa and the Great Lakes region, we see a band of instability taking shape that threatens Europe, in able to influence trade flows, migratory movements and energy supplies", explained Cavo Dragone. “The latest developments have led NATO to review both its force model and its defense plans,” added Cavo Dragone.
INSUFFICIENT ARMED FORCES
And there is no need to hypothesize the worst scenario of a conflict in Europe to draw a negative assessment of the state of the Italian armed forces.
Only on the basis of the current commitments of the Defense is the size of the forces insufficient: "Today we are absolutely undersized: 150 thousand is unthinkable, 160 thousand which is what was approved for us is still little and 170 thousand is the limit of survival" highlighted the Chief of the Defense General Staff. “The Di Paola law of 2102 occurred in a different context, the commitments and threats have changed”.
“When I think about the situation I put my hands in my hair. In the army – Cavo Dragone recalled – we have grueling shifts. Times have changed, threats have changed, and our commitment is increasingly massive. We want a European defense, and this will require a lot of us. I applied for more men. I will continue to ask for them until they kick me out” concluded Cavo Dragone.
MILITARY CLASH IS COMING IN EUROPE ACCORDING TO MARGELETTI
Finally, for Professor Andrea Margelletti, president of the Center for International Studies, there is no doubt: "We are going to war, this is my feeling." “And not because we want it” explained Margelletti in a recent interview with Policy Maker “but because it seems to be inevitable from the attitudes of the Russians. It worries me a lot, however, when I hear it's not the time to talk about war. This means that we are not psychologically and structurally prepared for a possible conflict. Remember that yesterday the defense minister Crosetto said that we are not prepared. The fact that we are not prepared means that we must prepare. The first step to solving a problem is to recognize its existence” concluded the president of Cesi.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/ecco-perche-litalia-non-e-pronta-alla-guerra-secondo-crosetto/ on Thu, 28 Mar 2024 15:05:57 +0000.