JOURNAL OF ITALIAN ARMY 2007 N.3 "RIVISTA MILITARE"

LiZZ20 ~- - - - - - - - - - - - - 0illJD~

CQ NT ENT S

JIUIW If THE Rllllll ARMY FGIIIDED IN 1858

Septembe~~~~~?r November-December

Rivista Militare aims at broadening and updating the technical and vocational training of Army personnel. It is thus a means of propagating the military way of thinking and a forum of study and debate. Through the publication of articles of tech nical and scientific interest. Rivista Militare also aims at informing the general public on the Army and on military issues.

Technology in the Didactics of Languages by Augusto Staccioli p. 70

r

The Regimental Tactical Communications Network by Marco Capp ellini

A 6x6 ··Puma" armoured car on pairol in soulhern Lebanon. The professional experience galhered by our soldiers enables lhem lo operate in lhe besl possible way also in porlicularly hostile environments and situations.

p . 78

FOUR-MO T HL Y Suppkmcnl 1.0 numbt.TS 5 an<l 6 o r Ri\·ista fo.•1ilitarc Italian Edition

Eclitor in Chief: Marco CENTRITTO

Geostru 1;'~11... Prospects for the 21 st C tury 1l

Management and Editorial Office 8 , Via di S. Ma ,·co - 00 186 Rome Phone 0039-06--17.,57.3 7.,

Egypt: Fu Deciphe ed

Advertising Care of the St·cJ\·tariat .,J Ri\i,ta Mili1arc Phone 00.39-06--173581 39

Printer IMAGO MF.D IA 8 1010 Dragon i (CE) Phone 0039-0823-866 7 10

to b

Incendiary Devices by Ulderico Pe tresc o and Rossel/a Prisco

p. 92

,/

Life and Secu ity of the Mediterranean

. 40

\1/\Vw.irnagomedia.il

Caporetto: A Controversial Story by f rienir rii Riem'"'

Conditions for 2008: One number: Euro 2, I 0

p. 98

Boundaries

One back 1Jurnbe1c fa11·0 4,20 Subscrip1ion rates: halv: Euro I I ,40 a vca ,· Ab1=oad: t uro 15.50 a year

h)r S ,

Pa~'lncnl must be rrn:-idc on postal

accoum \!o.22.521009 - SME Centro Pubblicistica dell' Esercito

Fallujah

12311\. Vi" XX &ucrnbr,· - Ro me Rc:-. idc n1s ,il brond rn nv rcn1 i 1 p;,1~·111\.'.l

by Fed erico Bernocco

p . 48

1 Gr

,

11

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre b)r G iio So rnone

through bank cheque or ·

p 108

p . 118

in ternat io nal postal order

A111horizi.:d hv 1hc Crnll'I of Rrnni::

Women In Uniform

unde1- No. 99'4 of the Rcg isuy by

Decree 7-6-1 949.

[

2007 © Copv,igh t b ,· Ri,·ista tYlilitare

by Marer Sa pietr.,..

-

Tht pn.x.lrn:liuu uf 11u~ 111;1g~1~im · h;is lx'l·11 sup.:,,isc.:d

by OnK",n R::1rnp.-'l.

p. 126

The Bundeswehr is Preparing for Future Challenges by Ho ns-Otto Budde p . 62

Summary in Various Languages i.

l

RELIGION AND POLITICS In the political experience of the West and, more recently, of the Islamic East, during the last years there has been a felt need to single out the values of convergence between the two different cultures, in order to include them within a common framework of democratic participation in the life of a globalized society. The overlapping of political and religious dynamics, at a time when spirituality seems to dissolve, prompts the need to make the religious aspects and values coincide with political ideals.

In political relations, the legitimizati on of power t ends to see a type of perfect symmetry between has always been founded on the consensus of the Revelation, the origin of power and the communi commun ity for an ack nowledged authority: an ty over which this power will be exercised. The authority, or Stat e, that exe rc ises its power in uncertainty surrou ndi ng exactly where t o draw the regard to individuals and communities . However, line between holiness , rel igion and pol itics is still since t he formation of Nation States, such neatlytoday a lim it crossed on ly in the desire to assert a defined symmetry has not always been apparent, defi nitive logic of dom ination. The underlying reaespecial ly if we look at a number of episodes in so n for this is that, beyond the desire or possibil history in which power as a goal was overlai d ity to asse rt the secularity of politics, the doubt demonstrations of polit ical or religious power : remains as to whether any attempt to put the con from the coming to the fore of Christianity to the cepts of religion and politics in perfect relation to Crusades, from the Battle of Lepanto to the sc hiseach other can succeed. In Western society, for matic eve nts t hat are a distinguishing mark of example, t here was a sort of redefinition of the Western history. In the imperial epoch, a sense of close ly linked relation between the two, since the legitimacy was considered ind ispensab le for an chang e from a sacred Christian ity to a secular form authority whose very existence of Christianity coincided w ith a was owed to such juridical and synthes is between the various po lit ical recognition an ' ' ... the doubt remains as tc currents existin g in sacred acknowledged leg iti macy in cul - whether any attempt to put Christi an ity. Since Vatican II, an tural as well as religious matthe concepts of religion anc attempt has been m ade to ters. Once the imperial age had reassemb le a system of fa ith come to an end, the progress ive politics in perfect relation tc t hat had dis i ntegrat ed into end of an absolute State and the each other can succeed , , schismatic movements due not rise of national identities redeonly to dive rg ent doctrina l fined the relationship by transinterpretations but also to very ferring it onto a political level , entrusting the leg itdiffere nt pol itical horizons. The transition from a imization of those in power to sup port by the sacred re ligiosity to a profane one therefore community. Since the since of the Cold War, the favoured the transformation of Western society spread of power deriving from the im plosion of into one which is institutionally secular, in which ideo logies triggered a search for identity by the the secula rity of liberal democracy tries to gain community not only in political terms linked to pop u lar support through religious freedom . trad ition, but also in orde r to give a religious sense Tak ing into consideration th e ro le of re ligions in to the proposed social organization. In th is doub le dete rm ining the behaviour of individuals, espe d imens ion of power, the role of relig ion in the cially when t hey also express "political" o bjectives, search for a legitimizatio n of political choices renthe debate over how "sacred" is perceived shou ld dered into facts t ranscends its own resu lt by setnot be neg lected. In a study of pol itical support ting political ideals in a context of mani fest desand democracy and the search fo r the source of tiny, as seen in the nee-conservative American legitimacy as concerns power, religion does not, adm in istration. T he relig ious aspect loom in g large paradoxical ly, belong only to a wor ld apart from in th e background as concerns monotheistic reli that of rat ionality. Though all monotheistic re ligions , whether referri ng to Christianity or Is lam, gions have believed throughout history that legit-

)

,,

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 3/2007

im acy of powe r is founded on a "liturg ical" act, looking closely one can note considerable differences. In the Christian t radition, the need to safeg uard the Church from secular and neo Enl ightenment democracy did not limit the interest in it. While the Catholic soul d id not nurture much of a tendency towards liberal ism, the Enlightenment introd uced a political dimension to religion in t hat its use for pol itical ends proved necessary for t he success of the Liberal State. Montes quieu took advantage of the chance to restore the ineluctab le connection bet ween pol itics and religion. In his "Disse rtation sur la poli tique des Romains", he tried to place re ligion in an ideological dimens ion , almost rationali zi ng its values by putting it at the service of power. This time it was a form of power based on liberal princ iples and values inside of wh ich also re ligi on had its role, w ith the latter's part in po li tical life becoming yet another way to increase su pport fo r a new form of political organizat ion of t he community: the Liberal State. Faced with suc h a background of competitive re lations between religions, and comparing itself with Is lam, Christianity t ends not to t ake t he individual too far from his religious tradi tion. A loss of consensus would mean running the risk of a reduction in shared values which, even in a secula r Libe ral State, determine support, such as the defence of human rights and West ern democracy itself, in its participatory and representative form. From th is standpo int, Western society is suffering under a renewed challenge w hich extends beyond its geopolitical lim it. It is a challenge between State and re li g ion t hat has emerged on common ground between Islam and Christianity, from which they bot h have extracted from the shared hi story the values characterizing the dialog ue and conflict between the Occident and Orient over time. What has become clear since the end of the Cold War is that the spur towards a progressive secularization of Western communities has led the individual back to spirituality, but without responding to the crisis of relig ious values with sec ul ar values universally recognized as such, on wh ich po litical conse nsus cou ld be bu il t . Secular support for some such ones as religion provides, in t urn, woul d have been an effective tool for the consolidation of reciprocal respect between Christianity and Is lam.

OCCIDENT AND ORIENT: MONOTHEISMS COMPARED

The history of Western civi lization can be seen as a progress ive transition from a hetero no mic model of pol it ical power t o o ne in which the autono my of power tends to invo lve single corn-

Above. Emperor Constantine I offering the Temple of Solomon to the Virgin. Byzantine mosaic from the X century, at the Aya Sofya Basilica in Constantinople.

Title pages. Frederick II rece iving the Oriental ambassadors. Illustration by Arthur Ceorg van Ramberg

munities: communities in which the on ly common ele ment is the sense of belonging to a cu lture insp ired by the same rel ig iou s and political va lues. It is a trans it ion which since 1989, with the end of t he confl ict between Eastern and Western Europe and the shift to conflict with t he Middle East, as well as the extending of democratic opportun ities to Eastern Europe, spread the percept ion of a do minant Western civili zation with t he advantage of being able to broaden its support bas is both to the east in Europe and to the south in th e Med ite rranean basin . However, th e recent histo ry of Western civi lization shows that societies organ ized according to market rules are hori zontal ones, without the need for a vert ical, ju ridical order to function. Th is was the bas is for the first critic ism of relati ons between pol itics and re ligion, between the Ch ristian West and Islam: mean ing the r isk that a competitive impulse between the communities wou ld have favoured th e im balance to access, push ing those exc luded in the direct io n of Islam and bestowing on it ideological leaders hip for weaker communities. The West is forced to dea l with and overcome, in such a complex geopol itical context, the markets and its rules wh ich allow every society / com mu nity to act in its own inte re st. In reali ty this is nothing more tha n the overcom ing of the historical lim it of politica l Catholicism, the getting past of the ind ividual d imens ion to lead the indiv idual back to a community as political

identity. In t his ideal effort, the relation between democracy an d religion asserts itself. In Cat hol ic ism as we ll as al l of Christianity, the ut ilitarian model proposed a type of ind ividual re ligiosity which remained dominant for centuries in the past, relying o n tempora l power to rea lize earthly goals and i nstitutional ize ho ly pow er. Neverthe less, in the curre nt conflict w ith Islam the cris is of Cath ol ic humanis m can be seen as a type of return , not on ly in the secu lar sense of po litics but also as part of the need to gain consensus. To put it in others t erms, the need to assert the legiti m acy of one's opinions by proving that democ racy, based on d ialogue and participati on, carr ies out a f undamenta l role in side the community without alienati ng fa ith . By proving that libe rty and democracy can respond, out of a so rt of obedience to t hemselves, reinvigorating a type of ind ivid ua li sm typical of Western Enlightenment w ithout dis parag ing the content and interests of the commu nity to which they be long. T he reason for thi s is that th is particu lar type of obedience, in the terms of an individualism see n in th e competition for success by excludi ng others, is wh at the less fortunat e re proach the West for, seen as a su pporter of gl obalization and the sta ndardization of th e values of one individ ua l over anot her. Taken together, Islam sees individ ual ism as something that excludes t he comm unity from the rules of the game, since it only sets no rm s for ind ivid ual s and, for thi s, interprets it as a dange r to th e sense of identity for the sense of commu nity (umm ah). Wh at Isl am fa ils to see is th e libera l d imension that, in reality, does not al low pol it ical conse ns us based mere ly on the " broad ened " desire to mark t he leg it imacy of a single ho lde r of

power, neither po litical nor, to an even lesser extent, economic. Catholic ism atte mpted t o re spond by revisi ng its assumptions and moving towards a social democracy, in which the tran scendent goal of salvation woul d not be forgott en . The moving on fro m t he focus on the individual and the private side of faith have found a place in t oday's society in re ligious geopo litics, with a var iety of religions on offe r resulting in added value especially fro m the socia l and po litical standpoint and showing the existe nce of a l ink between pol itics and rel igion. In Islam , today 's wa r iness towards democracy is t he same wa rin ess Christians of the past showed when faced with a pol itical model which we nt past t he ind iv idua l by ann ulling it. Whi le Christian Churches were wa ry of democracy, fo unded o n ind ivid ualistic and rationalistic (secu lar if not entirely atheistic), the relationship between the be liever and the Ch urch was no less individualis tic, with the latter seen more as an established autho r ity t han as a com mun ity. In the West the re lat ionship between rel igion and po litics was overcome at the he ight of the Cold Wa r with Jo hn XXlll' s encyc lical "Pacem in Terris". The new eleme nt was in the affi rming of the political liberty of man , albeit wh ile at the same t im e acknowledg in g the universal val ue of democracy si nce " ... the living together of human be ings cannot be orde rly and frui t fu l if there is no authority ensuring order and contributing to the bring ing about Below left. The Battle of Hattin (7 I 87). Below. The AI- Aqsa mosque and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

,,

Rivisla Mililare English Edit ion n. 3/2007

of the genera l good to a su fficient degree .. .". It even went so far as to say that " ... this autho rity co mes from God , .. .this does not mea n th at human beings do not have the freedom to choose th ose appointed with the tas k of exercising it, as well as decid ing on the structures and public powers . ..''. Joh n XXlll's intent was that of showing how t he positions taken by a reali stical ly secular Catho licism in po litics are reconcilable with any type of system that is " ... genu in ely democratic. .. ". In all of t his there is almost a return to a new past. T he getting past the soul as such, in the views of Tocqueville, who believed that relig ion is necessary to pol itics, wou ld almost lead one to say that religion is of practical use as part of its infl uence on internal structures of political communities to the poss ibility of reaching a consensus among d ifferent types of sou ls w ho w ant to provide themselves with democratic systems of governme nt. In othe r wo rds, to raise to the status of a universal value not only t he leg itim izatio n of power but also the acknow ledgement of the limits of all as concerns othe rs' freedom, with reciprocal opportu nities t hrough a sense of common legality. In addition, all re ligions take t heir sustenance from the same element which they lead (o r w hich they aspire to lead): man. And wh ile man is the force beh ind a reli gi ous system , he is also the m oving spir it of democracy. Man is t he one who decides on th e relat ionship between morals and po litics w hen he tries to combine values and expectations as concerns the commun ity of w hich they are a part, finding their affirmation in its support. T his is what should happen, paradoxically enough, in a community based on consensus (ljma or ljgma): Isl am. If this were really the case then every commu nity, even the most closed one, could use the chance for democracy as a sort of too l to bring about an open society, by loo king towards t he only possib le synthesis between a government of t he people and a government for the people. In the end , by looking closely at what is happen ing today, what is the clas h between the West and t he Islamic universe if not a sort of trans position and solution to the histo rical contradiction between Western anthropocentric human ism and a theocratic hu man ism in Is lam? And how are we to make su re t hat, in communities in search of dialogue betwee n relig ions based on the po lit ical cred ibility of both faiths , there is the chance for a secul ar system ensuring religious freedom without com promising civil growth of either society7

THE CLASH WITH ISLAM

Faced w ith such a view of t he political and relig iou s d ialectic, the confrontation with Is lam becomes complex for the West, see ing as the t ran sfer of values as conce rns political participat ion of the masses is o nly with in a community of believers . Islam takes as fundamental categories both support by individ uals and consensus by the community as somethi ng hig her than t he individual, with both seen as an alternative to democracy considered to be a model for civil participation of individua ls in the political life of the commun ity. Is lam finds it d ifficult to define itself politically through categories which are not inhere nt to it by tradition, or in a ju ridica l sense , in a model which combines religion and politics with in the same Revelatio n. From a pract ical poi nt of view, social and political di fficulties make it extreme ly comp licated to bring down political and relig ious leadersh ips sin ce they have been perm itted to exercise the ir aut hority. In addition, see ing as t here as diffe rent interpretation s of the Koran , Islam has cre ated parallel autho rities, with each having a different po litical out look , suc h as in the Sunni and Sh ia branches. Islam is, therefore, very complex and the resul t of a social equilibrium origi nat in g from an accord re ached between holy and secular power, w ith the fo rme r over the latter, reduc ing t he possibility for widespread consensus in a community. From such a standpoint, any definition of democracy and any adaptation of the democratic model to an Is lam ic wo r ld, accord ing to Western ex pectations, would be reductive and - for this very reaso n - devoid of any inte rest. It wou ld not be able to estab li sh itse lf as someth ing new and would only seem to be yet one mo re element of a certain type of modernity im posed by the West. Lookin g instead at Islam as regards the val ue placed on de mocracy, w e see that the Koran conta ins the pri nciples of consu ltation (shura), of independent reasoning Uitihad) and consensus (ljma or lj gma). If we were to add the pri nciple of justice and the possibi lity to disagree as part of the free expression of consensus, there wou ld be sufficient elements to make Islam stand out, desp ite its doctrinal trends , from the other monot heistic religions - Christianity included and from t he political models known in t he West . Making use of these observations in an attempt to bring about a suggestion for democracy in the Islamic world, the need arises to identify value s on wh ich democratic systems fo r political and social

â&#x20AC;˘

~

Above. A statue of Buddha. Right.

Mecca.

life can be based, in order to be able to consider it a model of t ruly consensua l partici pation . A mode l that can survive diversity, as wel l as eco nomic and power- related rifts . A mode l for a government foun ded on free ly offe red suppo rt, w ithout any fear of a Western ized m odernization of Islam, at the heart of the fear and reactio n to what is seen as a Weste rnization of its values. In th is situation , by proposing a pol itical mode l w hich calls for the shari ng of the future, democracy plays a fundamental rol e in the possib ility to redefine polit- ''The nd ical and relig ious t erms, restora ly in g to the individual and the ew moder commun ity political sovereignty ove r its future. Man can t hereby al carry out, while also taki ng part in th e de m ocratic life of the community (ummah), his d uty to bring about the w ill of God every day, whi le at the sam e time respecting eq ual po lit ical and rel igious dign ity. Moreover, power and the legitimization of it are the only way to assess a "new path " in t he political hist ory of the Arab world. In the Islam ic wor ld they are the two aspects which dete rmine politics. With in the concept of a struggle, as rad ical Is lam has shown, effect is sought in spread ing a conflictual message t hat does not always res pond to po litical interests determ ined by a national ident ity. The co- optat ion of consensus is not l im ited to a precise political dimension but tries to invo lve a com mu nity which does not always ide nti fy it self with an instituti onalized political body, i.e. a State . In t his alternative political vis ion which demat erializes in the relig ious dimension of the comparison, Islam attempts to propose its own model of social organization in res ponse to an ideological vision of the wo rld w hich west ern, market-based for ms of reasoni ng

th

-- -

have di sso lved. It offers up t radit ion as a sort of alternative to the Western democratic mode l, making use of the weaknesses of its concrete application especially in comparison with the West's inabil ity to govern t he ma rket and the effects of it accord ing to the democratic values of equal growt h and acces s. This is w hy t he weakn ess of the West has favoured a radical form of Islam, which in turn tries to gain support in countrie s with moderate Islam in which the democratic sense of civil growth is slowly tak i ng root (Morocco, Algeria and Tunis ia, for examp le). It is a rad ical sent iment of political antago nism function ing as a surrogate for the crisis of ideo logies which is transformed into an alt ern at ive po litical fo rce . A political force which aims to legitim ize a form of leadership or qual if y a reg ime as legal or not in line with attitudes he ld to be in accordance w ith the law or the interest s of an authority.

'

¡\

ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY Whi le in t he sph ere of hu m an re latio ns Christianity has su rvived histo ry, Is lam is resisting it and is vying for a place as relational subj ect - not o nly a relig ious one but also as a po litical phenomenon . Globalization and internationalization have not managed to secularize t he values to which the Islam ic com munity aspires. The same re lat ions hip between cu lture and subculture cannot be applied to the Islamic community since the Islamic world has su rvived the d iversities of which it is made up - dive rsities which conform to social ru les whic h are stated, der ived, interpreted and he ld to be con sistent with Sharia principles. It is in this tolerance that lies the explanation for the longevity of contemporary regimes and the difficulty of a transition to democratic rules of civil government. These rules assume a change in d irection t owards moder-

(

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 312007

nity in line with models alien to Islam and are the resu lt of the social ach ievement of non- autochthonous political movements. The question remains open , however, as to whether Islam and democracy have points in common. In other words, whether the simple fact that institutionalized consensus is in the Koran is enough to demo nstrat e the existence of at the very least a certain democratic ten dency, in the se nse of participation in authority, of the individual as part of the um mah seen as a reli gious and political community. However, eve n if consensus is a fundamental aspect of the concept of "pol itical" Is lam, due to its existing before any type of political experience, it is g reatly diffe rent from the western type, which is put into a histori cal context by w ay of the comi ng into bei ng of the first constitutional and liberal stat es , despite it being a form of conse nsus li mited to the majo rity and class. Whe n Islam is referred to, howeve r, it is often believed t hat t he religi ous comm un ity is separate from the civil one; a belief far from real ity. For example, in the Shia branch, in whateve r form it takes, the religious co mmu nity is bound by t heological obl igati ons to be a pol itical community as well. From t his standpo int, the popular aspect and the need to affirm the t erms of leg itimacy in how power and its exercise on Earth are conceived oblige contemporary Is lam to compare itself with that form of modernity which it shuns. And so, in a situation in which there is the attempt to put in questio n an authority leg itimized by a rel igious precept, there are two models whi ch interfere with a democratic dimension. The f irst is the structure of an extrem ist authority in which relig ion and sovereignty are inextricably entangl ed (the Saud i regime) and the Republican vis ion w hich does not personali ze the authority by ackn owledging exclusivity only for God (the Islam ic Republic of Iran). Nevertheless, t hou gh the presuppositi ons differ the underlying assumption re mai ns the same: for Islam, as in other relig ions, what is central to the political life of the individual is on ly the universal ob ligation to God. It is a ideal and t heolog ical hori zon whi ch does not lose its "political" significance in its search for a d ivi ne legitimizat ion for any type of powe r exercised on the community wh ich conditions all secu lar forms of reinterpretation of the role of faith in secular Islam. The end resu lt, however, must necessari ly be represented by a new form of modernity which will not be the westernization of political formu las and val ues. It will , instead, be a synthesis needed to avoid and marg inalize manipu lations of consciences especially among the w eakest communities by fundamentalist terrorism. And so, whatever place faith plays within a comm un ity, modernity and democracy are ever mo re the cau se and effect of a process of world governance which no one can escape - above

all because democracy is co nsidered to be the .best- known institutionalization of the social life of an ind ividual within a political com munity. In this process of ideal maturatio n, the relig iosity that hold s sway over the uncertai nty of a confused w orld (d ue to a lack of equi li brium of stable authority) w ill not be ab le to avoid the onward march of hi story when every foolish unilateral ambition gives way to a tru ly multi- centred and mu lticultural international system : a system created in respect of diversity and legitimized by conse nsus as concerns shared val ues and forms of universal de mocratic participation.

CONCLUSIONS The pol itical f utu re of t he Arab world is at stake in these years, as is the chance for a process of autochthon ous de mocrat izatio n to become ever more irreversi ble. What is at stake is t he opportunity to reshape Arab and Islamic societies closest to the West ern w or ld, wh ile ensuring the spread of an awareness t hat a feasible, secu lar path ex ists: one for a type of modernity all th eir own , without implyi ng a loss of tradition. If the Prince of Be lievers, if Mohammed IV the Ki ng of Morocco has said that democracy is possib le even when faced wit h the persistence of reactionary fee ling s in Islamic political society, then this is something worthy of note and we ll deserves a g reat deal of attention from democratic commun ities . From Casab lanca to Algiers , from t he attack to the political heart of Iraq to the attacks which fo ll ow one aft er another in the poorest communities of th e most remote parts of t he Is lamic world, then we are faced with act ions against democracy as a universal value , ind istinct in principle but able to be shaped. They represent the violent threat used by those who do not want to look into t heir own religion, aware that t hey would fi nd inside compatible prin ciples and va lues, democratic elements founded on t he separat ion of power, the liberali zation of servi ces, market economy and consens us by way of free dia le ctic compariso n. T hey are the strongest m anife stat ion s aga inst an inc lu sive future in wh ich at stake are t he bases on which to create social, ju ridical and eco nom ic opportunities for po litical convergence and dialogue at an equal leve l between the West and moderate Arab states. T hey are aspects which involve t he Christian West. Aspects which have becom e so very im portant for t he future of world peace and wh ich are involving t he world in the pain and fear of bloodshed in t he nam e of radicalism used for political end s. Giuseppe Romeo

Expert in geostrategy

l

GEOSTRATEGIC PROSPECTS FOR THE XXI CENTURY The relations brought about by the globalization process, the evolution of the t ransport nets and the expected im poverishment of the energy resources are causing a more and more marked conti nental connotation of t he security problems.

T he ass u mption that the Armed Forces of a nat io n m us t be adequate to t he ro le assign ed them by t he government and, as a conseq uence, have at their disposal the resources necessary for suc h a task, cannot i n an d of itself be sufficient to define t he m il itary as an inst rument. To arrive at a valid definition of its ro le, one m ust st art off by det ermini ng nation al i nterests. Initial ly th is may seem a definition left to the confused judgement of the moment's d ecis io n- m akers, moved more by t he pub l ic mo od tha n by we ll-founded considerat ions. But Title pages. A formation of A- 129 Mangusta attack helicopters flying over the Iraqi desert.

appearances can be dece iving . Rea lity, on the othe r hand - in al l its ruthles s co ncrete ness lays precise, ine l uctable cha l lenges on the shoulders of every nation. It is also a case of a reality ever more divided and co m plex , making in - depth geo-strategic analysis necessa ry for a rat io nal assessment of national interests. And so, only a pragm atic and histo r ically- dete r mined approach can al low us to bring th is con cept in li ne with the domestic and international parameters of o ur country. In th e cu r r en t situ ation, given the g lobal course of events and constant acceleration due to techno l ogical devel opme nt, we mu st begin w it h a wid e- rang i ng strategic approach capab le of di r ecting national policy, shaping the country's overall

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 3/2007

system and, therefore, defin ing t he role to assign to the Armed Forces. Consequently, our country must act in the awareness that w it hout establi shi ng and ma intaining appropriate relations with other nations , it wi ll not be ab le to com pete in a w orld arena in rapid transitio n, where rank and power are ruthlessly shifting for all the players involved. On ly if guided by this fact can we set object ives, define priorities and acquire the necessary fl exibility to gui de the mil itary and the responsibi li ties of political pow er.

''

.. \

..

\

Centers and Peripheries in the world (1992) A Hierarchical Network

,_r . ,, ' ,, ....

THE GLOBAL SCENARIO

From the shaded im age of the planet (fig. l ) we can see the frame of refere nce. Th e distingu ishing feature underlying the situation is undo ubted ly that of the unequal distr ibution of wealt h. This imbalance gives rise to severe social t ension , causing both friction at a global leve l and the cropping up of local an d /or tra ns- nation al movements with te rrorist o r revol ut ionary tendencies. The prevail i ng percepti on of inte rnational geo- po litics sti ll closely resembles the oli gopoli stic one of the hierarchical network introduced by Fran<;o is Chesnais in 1992 (fig .2) . The reduction of t his ineq uality can be brought about - d isregard i ng facile utopian- demagog ic slogans - in only on e of two ways : by pro motin g the eco nom ic deve lopment of th e poorest cou ntries o r by impoverish ing the richest ones. The fo r mer calls for a gradu al change over time, req uirin g stability and security. The latter, on the other hand , can be immed iat e and norm ally triggered by serious crises. The latter is t he amb it ion of terror ist- revo luti onary groups (the Tal iban in Afghanistan, for examp le) wh o t ry to get hold of powe r by t aking advantage of d iscontent and inciting violence, pro mising immediate results w ith out regard for the wel l- bei ng of the people concerned. Econom ic development, to be brought about by access to resources an d m arkets, therefore remains a top prio r ity, both fo r the ce ntre and the perip heries of the world. Therefore the syste m seems bound in the direction of grad ual expansion through the prog ressive inc lusion of periph eral zones : by globa li zing markets, cu lt ural references , information and even emotions. Howeve r, wh ile globalization spreads and grows stronger, in peri pheral zones two types of states are taking shape . The f irst are those that try t o al ign the ir i nterna l

El [

Periphery integrate to center â&#x20AC;˘ Dead corner An~exed ,' strategic territopenphery , rial reserve or Exploited ~ - zone of p_ioneer periphery colonizat1on A bandoned periphery

'.'Ill!

8

Maj or nodes

O of the global network

Semi

'JI//, isolated

~e~iphery. ,<r)., The global living off ,ts 'o,7 oligopoly own resu rces

Fig. 2 organ ization with new glob al ru les (Puti n's Rus sia, for exam ple, or em erg ing Asians economies such as China or India), w hi le the seco nd consist of countries that in stead refuse internal realign ment , thereby rema inin g un connected wit h g loba l izatio n, eit he r due t o cultural / political rig id ity (as in th e case of Midd le Eastern count rie s) or persistent backw ardne ss (vast reg ions of Africa, centra l As ia or Latin Ame ri ca) . Th is sepa ration is currently the main reason for t he instability of w ar st ud ies. Barnett and Gaffney, in their "Pentagon ' s New Map" (U .S.A. 2004), distinguish the following fou r main flow categories, th e dynamics of which develop betw een the "Functio ning Core" of g lo bal ization (countries led by t he Uni ted States) and

the "Non- In tegrating Gap", or countries unconnected. An un derstanding of these dynamics is of the utmost importance, si nce world stab ility depends on a harmon ious balance of the following flows. Flows of people - from the Gap to the Core According to the Un ited Nations, in 2050 wo rld population wi ll reach its peak with approximate ly 9 bill ion inhabitants (and an overall parity between those under l 5 and t hose over 60), to then drop (with a progressive increase percentage-wise of those over 60). In theory, the increase in average age should reduce conflict, both in side and between different cou ntries. Today violence is hig hest in the Gap where, on average, less than l 0 pe rcent of t he populat ion is over 60, compared with l 0-25pct of t he Core. The "oldest" societies of the Core generally have a low level of violence, since they are societies that have successfully emerg ed from t he process of globalization, with high levels of wel l being and a lower number of children pe r fami ly. Also accordi ng to United Nations estimates, in 2050 the ratio between the active population (between l 5 and 64) and those over 65 wil l drop for advanced economies from 5 to l all the way to 2 to l, where it wil l remain rough ly l Oto l in lessdeveloped region s. T his means that, beyond the foreseeable social security crisis, the maintain ing of an adeq uate workforce capable of keeping current welfare levels in t he West will requ ire cons iderab le immig ratio n. The latter will also work as a healthy safety valve for the system itself, desp ite the problems that the management of these flows bri ngs with it, increasing the population with access to affluence and reducing the risk of a possibly explosive situations which, beg in ni ng in t he poorest countries, could destabilize the entire system. Security Flows: from t he Core to the Gap

T he comb ination of prosperity wrought by glo balization and the surplus of military strength (mostly from the United States), has eli minated "high i ntens ity wars" from one region to t he next. At the beg inning of the XXI century, th is type of co nflict has become unthinkable in the West, across Europe and anywhere on the seas. T he hope is that in a few decades, the same comb in ation of efforts - a mixture of security and cooperation can make war unthinkable even in a develop ing Asia. However, for the foreseeable future the export of security to the Islam ic regions of SubSaharan Africa as well as Central and South-western Asia should remain a priority.

Energy flows : from the Gap to the Core At some po int in the next twenty years Asia wi ll be replacing North America and Eu rope as the centre of the g lobal demand for energy. The reason for this is that energy demand in the Un ited State s and th e EU w il l grow rathe r slowly, whereas in Asia it wi ll double. Suppl ies to meet th i s dema nd w ill come from Central and South - western As ia as we ll as Russia. And so the following re lation has been establis hed : w hil e the energy needed by the Far East depends ever more on Mid dle Eastern pol itico- mi litary stabil ity, at the same t ime Midd le eastern countries need Asian growth for their eco nomies. In 2020 Asia will be buying a bit less t han 2 /3 of the oil exported from Persian Gulf countries, eq ual to 4 / 5 of Asian demand. Any threat to the flow of Middle Eastern o il or t he full int egration of A sian countries into the Core could drive China or India to lay claim to a role of power in the Pers ian Gu lf. T he latte r cou ld give rise to worrisome competition between Core nations, with the risk of becoming involved in the chron ic conflict of the Gap. We must also take into consideration the fact that China's domestic market represents a huge commercial opportunity, and that In dia supplies almost hal f of the total amount of software worldwide. And so the efforts made to ensure the security of the Midd le East, eve n if not with the aim of protecting "our" oil, also ensure "our" prosperity. Investment flows: from the old Core to the new one An in flow of unprecedented foreign investment, almost 2 tril li on dollar s in 2020, will be necessary for th e development of Asi an infrastru ctu res (especi ally for energy output). Asians t hemselves

Rivista Mililare E11glish Edition n . 3/2007

wil l be bearing a large part of the burden of costs, but mo ney will also be coming from private Amer ican and Eu ropean investors who, together, wil l control about two t hi rds of the ann ual g loba l flow. And so Asia (the new Core) is not only depende nt on t he Gap for energy, but also o n the old Core (the Un ited States and the European Union) for financing.

Flows management

les are be ing established to ensure oppo rt unities from those who would li ke to contrib ute to developme nt; prog ressively redu ce the Gap, conti nuing to expo rt security in the direction of the most turb ulent points, at t he same time integrat ing every nat io n as soo n as it becomes econom ically and culturally compatible.

The authors of t he book "The Pe nt agon' s New

THE GEOSTRATEGIC OUTLINE - FROM NAVALISM TO CONTINENTALISM

Figure 4 shows the main Euro-As ian continental corridors, both the existing ones and t hose in development.

T he expansion of the Core is causing a sign ificant change in t he traditio nal relat ionship betwee n land and sea. The inconceivability of inte rnal hig hElerlng Sttall: prOl)OSe<l 1un1101 conoocl!()n

10 Norlh Ameriefl

.. -

0

:~ ----

Khnr1oum

L

\

1.000

2.000

kilomelors

__ ...

_,,, Eurasian lllnd-Brldgo roo1&S Planned 0 1 prol)QSOd fflfufl routes

__, Exllling 01he1 hnes

Other plonnod or proposoo 1onos

_:-=--

Map" therefore suggest a "trans-nat ional " strategy taking the importance of the fo ur flows into account. It would be based o n the fo llowing macro- rules: â&#x20AC;˘ improve re lations for th e security of the Functioning Co re, maintai ning and expand ing histor ical alliances ; â&#x20AC;˘ activate a sort of discrete firewall to protect the Core from t he m ost destabiliz ing exports of t he Gap (terrorism, d rugs, pandem ics) wh ile clearly defin ed ru-

intensity conflicts in the Core is encourag ing t he deve lopment of integ rated and hi gh - capacit y trans port net wor ks based o n the concept of "strat egic cor ridors" (fig. 3). A Eurasian Land - Bridge has long been t heorized on t he basis of hig h- ca pacit y road an d railway networks, w hich cou ld eve n connect with the United States by way of a f easible tunne l under t he Bering Strait.

Virtua l- Regional Mari t ime Traffic Centre (VRMTC) (1 ) . The direct consequence of this evo luti o n wi ll be the end of nava l conflict in the Mediterranean , a basin almost entire ly se aled off with easily contro l lable access points , th e stabi lity of whic h depends mo re on "geostrat egic hinges" (the Middle East, t he Balkans , etc.) than it does on t he Navies. This doe s not mean t hat navi es wi ll prove no longer necessary since, as discussed further on , high - intensity regional crises cou ld always arise in

In additio n, as concerns energy transport, a closely lin ked network of oil and gas pipelines has long been under construction , which will allow for more conven ient and less risky t ransport than the traditional sea routes. The latter will , in any case, retain its flexib ility, making it possible to adapt rapidly to any unexpected security crisis of a tec hnical or po lit ical nature along the pipe li ne rout es (fig. 5). Also the geo- strategic function of the sea is undergoing change. Over the course of history, up until the end of the bipolar conflict, the contro l of the sea was always foug ht over between navies of the time's largest powers to ensure its use by their sailors, while denying it to their adversaries t hereby creating a significant advantage for them selves. The threat to navigat ional liberty is today overshadowed more by crim inality, requiring patrol pow erboats rather than torpedo boats w ith missile launchers, mult i- purpose frigates and submarines. A case to itself in this evolutionary tu rn of events is sure ly the Med iterranean , which seems an ever more "so l id sea", a transport i nfrastructu r e crossed by large volumes of traffic, both legal and illegal. Surveillance of t he later calls more fo r procedures and systems more common to po lice forces rather than to fleets . And so, in " Mare Nost rum" that "j oint governance of a shared sea" suggested by Defe nc e Mi ni ster Arturo Parisi in his speech at the "5th Regional Sea Power Symposi um for the Navies of the Mediterranean and Black Sea Countr ies", held in Venice on 1 3 October 2006. The cre ation of a supra-national authority to guarantee the security of th is "infrastructure" is the natu ra l evo lution of sub - reg ion al systems, l ike the " 5 + 5 Ini tiative " (comp lementary to the Ba rc elona Process among central-western Medit errane an countries taken part in by France, Italy, Ma lta, Portuga l, Spa in, Algeria, Libya , Morocco, Maur itania and Tun isia) or th e

~-,i

-

~) - 10()

1~ - ZQ 21 , 12

:=J NQt);,ql

-

ow, lOQ

~~:S~rtmalnlno co,r,triu

wh ich ensu ri ng su rveil lance of the necessary, preventing enemy forces use of it and projecting amphib ian potential onto poss ible crisis areas lines.

Fig. 6 seas may be from making and air force along coast-

TEMPORAL OUTLOOK The progressive impoverishment of energy reso urces (fig.6), set against the current pattern of economic development, cou ld deeply alter futu re outlooks. Desp ite le aving as ide such pess im istic theo r ies as the Old uva i one (fig.7) , it is necessary to say th at a reduction in energy supply , in addi t ion to profound ly altering econom ic relations, could - especia ll y towa rds t he middle of t he century - g ive rise to seri ou s i nte rn at iona l crises capabl e of threatening even the surviva l of some eco nomic systems. Thi s situation could, the n, be aggravated by th e climate chan ge underway w hic h, beyond any disquisitions in to whether it is cause by human actions or not, w i ll impact the needs of the populat ions of vast areas on the planet. Even in the future, as has occu rred i n the past and is sti ll occurring now, t hese crises w i ll be accompanied by ethical , social, rel ig ious or cu lt ural re aso ns , and w il l be resolve d, as always, through the use of force. T hi s imp lie s the i mpossibi lity of getting past the "Hobbesian" pattern of international relations based on rec iprocal w arin ess and hosti lity. Faced wi th

R1vista M1fltaro English Ed1/,on n 312007

~ e figure shows the complete Olduvai curve from 1930 to 2030. Historical figures Fig. 7 include the period from 1930 to 1999, and 12.00 - - - - - - , projected figures from 2000 to 2030. These 11.15 hundred years are called the Industrialized Civilization. Taken as a whole, the curve and the events are the "Olduvai diagram". It can be seen that the curve in it s entirety has a periodic shape, with excess followed by collapse. Eight key energy- related events define the pattern . . The first event in 1930 (note l ) marks the beginning of the Industrial Civilization, when pro capita energy produced reached Ind. civilization yean 3.32 boe / c. This is the "entrance to 30%", a standard way to define the duration of an o.oo.... ------1 1920 1955 impulse. 1990 2025 2060 • The second, in 1979 (note 2), marks the Tean peak of pro capita world energy production at 11.15 boe/ c. • The third in 1999 (note 3) marks the end of cheap oil. • The fourth, on 28 September 2000 (note 4) marks the eruption of violence in the Middle East. • The fifth, in 2006 (note 5), marks the peak of world energy production. · The sixth, in 2008 (note 6) marks the gaining of prominence for OPEC nations as opposed to non- OPEC ones, since the 11 OPEC nations will be producing 5 l % of oil worldwide and will control almost l 00% of world oil exports. • The "precipice" is the last period in the Olduvai diagram. It starts with the seventh event in 2012 (note 7) when an "epidemic" of permanent blackouts will spread across the entire world, by way of isolated problems and temporary blackouts giving way to a total collapse of power networks. · The eighth event in 2030 (note 8) marks the fall in production (use) of pro capita energy worldwide to 1930 levels. This is the exit from 30% corresponding to when the Ind ustrialized Society came into being. The ave rage rate of decline is 5.44% annually in the period between 2012 and 2030. - - - - - - - - - ~ ___.

----+-------.----.. . .

l

such vi tal needs, friends today could turn into its very definition employable for military ends the rivals of tomorrow or the enemies of the as well. day afte r. A possible co nsequence of such a sce nario could be the rise of, between 2020 and 2050, POSSIBLE LINES OF ACTION regional crises with possible escalat ion into ones of high A global, strategic app roach inte nsity. In managing these 'A poss ble consequence is therefore necessary today crises, the lack of military pre f such a scenario coul more than ever before, able paredness wou ld be -as histo gu id e national efforts in be the rise of regiona to ry has shown time and time the right direction. rise b wee 2020 anc Stubbornly again - an incentive for the insisting on taking most ag gressive side to make 2050 ' ' a comforting r eg ional stand use of vio lence. point on things , even if this A further con sequence of were to be extended to the the fore seeable running dry of fo ssi l fuel sup "wider Mediterranean basin" , would force us to plies is the pro li ferat ion of nuclear energy for be continually caught off- gu ard by events, civilian ends and, potentially, military ones. In without having taken the necessary precautions fact, in all the nations which currently depend w it h the limited resources available. Only a on foss i l fuel s export as a pill ar of their econ clear visio n of the whole can lead to choices omy, nuc lear energy is seen as an indispensa based on reason. ble resource to foster domestic economic Italy is included in the Functioning Core, with development, while maintaining gas and oil wh ic h, in any case, it maintains competitive rel aexport leve ls high. Unfortunately, th e access to tio ns that are the d ist inguishing feature of free nuclear technology cannot be limited exclu market economies. It therefore is affected by the sively energy uses; nuclear capacity bei ng by benefits and critical state of the globalized

economy and is, at the same time, origin and dest ination of a large part of the flow with the Non -I ntegrating Gap. As co nce rns t he type of relations brought in by this flow, it is possible to identify a polycentric series of "strategic arcs" (fig.8) that can be used to draw up spec ific lines of action.

Europe 's contribution being of a "variable structure", lack in g in any wid e- ranging strategic vision , and absolutely marginal as concerns prob lem resolution.

"Cooptative" European integration

The num ber one priority of national strategy is u ndou bted ly this type o f geo- po lit ica l "internal ri ng". The countries of the latter are, in turn , origin of flows from th e Gap, b ut i n any case they are always crossed by flows headed for Europe and Italy. Natura l gas from North Afr ica is a perfect exa mple , as is that fro m Russia by way of East European countries . In addition, in most cases, these countries are we ll advanced as concerns development and democratisation processes (soon to become pa rt of the Core), enab ling collaboration and cooperation on an equa l stand in g. In pa rti cular, while in the stabi lizatio n of the Ba lkans and European en large ment to the east Italy can p lay a high profile role as part of a Euro pean Union po licy that seems clea r and wel l-de fin ed, it is su r ely with African an d Asian countries of t he Mediterranean that it is necessa ry t o take on a m ore active role . There is t he rea l possibi lity of integrating t he init iatives for Europea n-Med iterranean partnersh ip and d ialogue - with whi ch NATO inte nds to normal ize security flow i n the area - by way of nat iona l initi atives, which co uld channel mo re w ide-rang ing European synergies , as in the examp le of the Lebanese cris is previous ly d iscussed.

The possibility to effect ively control the phenomena distinguishing t he curre nt gl obal backdrop pres uppose a "geo- po litical critical mass" larger tha n that which Italy or other European nations can provide. However, al l th e countries of the "Ol d Europe" share simi lar and interdependent needs, problems and goals . The current European inability to come up with an organizational pattern able to get past natio nal partial ity co uld be overcome through a programmatic approach based o n common needs. We must get past the deadlock regular ly affecting many of the organizational structures of th e European Union. From this standpoint, the national line of conduct could be directed towards the identificat ion of common needs that could provide t he bas is for convergence of efforts w ith those of other European nations. A possib le form of cooperation could be the one recently used to so lve the Lebanese crisis, in which the initiative of the Itali an government "pul led" other European governments behind it. Obvious ly, cooperation on extemporaneous init iatives should not be seen as an alternative to t he creat ion of an internationa lly recognized European body, but simply as an acce lerator for the integration process . In fact, reflection on the fact t hat Europeans have more thi ngs in common than they do difference among them could help overcome the current stalemate con nected with disquisitions on common cultu ral roots (which are in any case rather fragmentary), to move in the direction of fu ture needs (un doubtedly very simi lar). Of fundamental importance will be the co nt r ibut ion that Italy w il l both be able to and know how to give to t he creat ion of a common European fore ign and security po licy. It is nec essary to prevent the current unde rest imatio n of the need to rational ize t he m il itary component, which, wit h overa ll investment similar to the leve l of the US due to excessive nat ional fragmentation, ends ups w ith insign ificant capacity at a g lobal leve l. T hi s situation means t hat, at the moment, the security flow from t he Core to the Gap originates for the most part from the United States with

Med iterranean integration, European enlargement and "cooperative" stabi lization of the Balkans

Support for "active" development A s concerns Gap co untries, i n whic h most of the flo ws to Italy originate, pol icies need to be bro ug ht in that promote deve lopment. The areas concerned are count ries of the Caucasus , of the cont inental Midd le East and the Arabian Pe ninsu la, as wel l as all of Sub- Saharan Afr ica. The promotion of deve lopment for these coun tries ca lls f irst an d foremost for the creation and maintaining of adequate security and stabi l ity. Inse cu rity and instability are t he current obstacles to improvement, making any other form of aid ineffective. A nd so, concrete support for the deve lopment of these areas must necessarily come about through an effective flow of security from the Core. The lack of taking on of responsibil ity in this sector is leading to a security vo id that Chi na seems willing to fill. Nevertheless, there is st ill the need for a clear st rategy - national if not at a European leve l that takes i nto account the need to co unterbal -

Rivista Mililare English Edition n. 312007

1/

~

AUSTR

ance energy and popu lation flows w ith an adequate security one.

Elements of ihc Functioning~ European lottgration

"Competit ive" world stabiliz ation

The need to contain crises from the Gap before they interfere with existing flows or spread to the point of involving Core countries call s for intervention at a g lobal level. Taking part in this intervention, the goal of which is the maintaining of col lective security , is one of the assessment factors for the geo- political we ight of a nation . It would therefore be necessary to include it in a national strateg ic vision to avoid dangerous dispe rsion of forces.

Meditemnean integration,Emopeao enlargement and 11abilization oflhe Balws Promotion ofdevelopment Worldstabilization Integrationof new ec-0nomies Conflic1slcriies currently underwayrequiring land force ioterl'entioo for stabilization Potentially scositi,e points for maritime traffic

+

Integration of t he new "assertive" economies

T he current situation

Once the g eograph ical borders of our coun try' s flows of interest have clearly bee n identi fied, it wil l also be possib le to more clearly estab lish re lat ion s with the "new economies " (economies of the new Core) . In part icular, it is necessa ry to understand that the i nteg rat io n of new economies is an ex ceptional opportun it y for deve lopment only if carried out with the requisite commercial and fi nan cial open - mindedness. In addit ion , it is necessary to keep in m ind that some of these nations are competitors i n some areas , suc h as Russia for East ern Eu rope or China in Sub - Sah aran Africa.

If we analyze the Italian strategic approach employed over the past few years , we can se e that it i s al ready set up along these lines. A nd it cou Id not be otherwise , considering th at fact that - as ment ioned at the beg inning of this arti cle - rea lity lays precise , i nel uctab le chal le nges on the shoulders of every nation. Take , for example, the many missions currently un derway, from A fgha ni stan (co mpetitive wor ld stab ilizat ion) to the Ba l kans. Unfortunately, without an organic geo - st rategic vis ion of the pro blem, it is not always possible to understand fu lly (a nd make understood) the v ita l

•

FCS Future Combat Systems

••

Manned Systems

Air Vehicle~

Class l & II

• Unmanned Ground Vehtcles

• Unmanned Payloads

ClauUIJIV Small

Manpackable

UGV

• Unatteoded Ground SeliiSOrii

• Un•tteoded, Munitions

• lntelllgent Munitions • NLOS LS

Anned Ro botic Vehicle

~ NLOSCamnon

NLOSMortar

, ~

_..,

..._

...

,t

..;-

Malntenlll!'lce

&Reco~ry

MedlcaJ Treatment, Ev111Ctntl011

Program Objective:

Technical Challenges:

To develop and transition a networked "system of systems" that will serve as the core building block for the us Army's future tactical formations. This capability enables over-matching combat power, sustainability, agitity, and versatility necessary for full spectrum military operatlons.

'"Today, our heavy forces ere too heavy

Graphic diagram showing the elements of land- based Future Combat Systems, under development in the United States.

and our light forees lack staying pow&r, We will address those mismatches with FCS.• - GEN Shinseki, CSA. 23 .line 1999 The greatest cheJlenges are developing

an integrated C41SR network that enables Battle Command on the move, large scale systems of syst&ms integration, and an e)(peditiona.,y, lethal, Sl.ll\lM!ble Md sustainable force.

causes w ith effects (2) . However, i ndef inite o bj ect ives and t he con seq uent in ade qu ateness of t he mi l it ary as an i ns t rume nt, both in te rm s of numerical u nderest imat io n and i n a lack of fu nd ing for te chn ology and train ing , wou ld have mu ch mo re d ire co nse qu ence s on t he fu ture of Ital ia ns th an the m isfortunes w hich are gene r ally see n as t he worst poss ib le, such as a hig h pu blic d eficit and i nadeq uate i nfrastructu re in the cou ntry.

need for such co mm it m ents. Ou r m issio ns are oft en seen si mply as optio na l (a nd costly at t hat) fo r a rather prete nt io u s fore ign po li cy . Wi t ho u t an ove ral l view of t he situation it ca nnot be understood that these m iss io ns are ind ispe ns able - the w ith ou t w h ich a de t achm ent process fro m the Core w ou ld be se t in motio n, lead i ng to t he cou ntry ' s econom ic and THE MILITARY OUTLOOK politi ca l de cli ne. If we d o not fu lly und erstan d t he dynami cs of th e g lobal ized wo r ld , t he n it Given t he sit uat io n j us t discus sed , it is neceswil l prove i mpossib le to sary t o revise som e concepts u nd erstand that Afghan istan r egardin g th e use of th e 'The problem of the pr is as impo rt ant fo r Italy as t he Armed Fo rces , replacing t he Balkans are. T on tak e just on e ection of security is most o ld "p rojection of power" exam ple, if Cent ra l- A sia is y related to the air lane capacity wit h a more mode rn destab il ized by t he sit uat ion component ... ,, " p roj ecti on of security" in A f ghan i st an , then ENI capacity. Once aga in , by woul d find it next to impossi referring to t he glo bal situab le t o w o rk in Kazak hst an in orde r to d ive r sify t io n (fi g. 8) it ca n clearly be not ed t hat th e national energy sou rces. p rob lem of th e " project ion of secu rit y" from the It is und o ub t edly diffi cu lt t o co m m un icat e Co re to t he Gap is a prevale ntly conti nent al th is co mpl exi ty t o the g enera l pu blic opi nio n, problem o r , if yo u like, a p roblem mostly re lat used as it is t o superf ici al it y and strong ly coning to t he ai r-land compon ent of th e m il it ary. d iti oned by t he com mon p laces t hat confus e T his aspe ct sho ul d not be un derestim at ed ,

Rivista M1l1tare English Edition n . 312007

especia lly as concerns an inter- force out loo k, as the component that must be t he mark of modern militaries. This is the point of view taken by the major western nations (including those with more mar itim e ex perience, such as the UK o r the U.S.), wh ich , though within a firm JOINT v ision, are build ing up consistency and capacity in their land forces. Nation al priorities in the sector of security are still: . defence capacity, to ensure national sovereignty and involvement in alliances for common defen ce (with war sk ill s necessary even to be able to manage predictable regi onal crises), and . exped itionary capacity, to take part in world stabilization necessary for a national , globalized economy (Peace Support / Crisis Response Operations capacity). For both of these priorities shared European priorities can be identified. And so, even in defence, Italy could play an active role, with the goal of cooperating with other nat ions on proj ects of military politics, forming important synergies with industry organ ization s for European defence, which go beyond specifi c multinational proj ects (as already achieved for EFA, HORIZON , FREMM, etc.). In particular, t he development of autonomous European capacity in the mi litary field, capable of working alon gs ide the Un ited States in bringing security to the Gap, cou ld have as beneficial effects for Europe as it would for America. In fact, NATO - despite the need for adju st ments • is today the only military alliance in which European countries take part with a firm and trustworthy organ iz ation. But the predomi nanc e of the United States i n th e all iance seem s to hint at the existence of anoth er internal security flow within the old Core (from the Uni ted States to Europe). Wh ile in the pa st this fl ow proved usefu l for the main tai n ing of Europea n and Euro- Asian equ ilibriums, the current situation, which req u ires greate r Eu ropean invo lvement in the stabi lizatio n o f t he Gap, will have no choice but to stimu late the deve lopment of auton om ous capacities by the Old Continent. T he latter will develop gradually and become polarized with in aro und specific prog ra mmes, with the aim of achieving such eco nomies of scale as to make them comparab le with the United States. The possible Eu ropean integrations to bring into being by getting past individu al natio nal programme go from Anti-Ballistic Missile defe nce to air defence, from tactical and strategic ISTAR capacities and strateg ic transport to integrated

log istics, to t he po int of hypothes izing a poss ibl e shared nuc lear deterrent. But the most important European integration must be that co ncerning operative land forces. Land forces are sti ll fragm ented and, des pite efforts at standa rd izat ion of doctrine and procedure by NATO, are of difficult interoperabi lity. It is i n th is field th at a holistic approach co uld today be extre m ely effective. It is a case of drawing up a European "army pattern " able to systemize a stand ardizat ion of military codes (mo stly concerning staff, doctrine and proce dures) with the development of a "fami ly of systems" , thou g ht up for Europe along the same lines as the United States' Future Com bat System (FCS) prog ramme, to work as a "system of systems", the capacity of wh ich wo u ld be greater t han the sum of its single pa rts due t o the network - centred plan. Such a project cou ld: make a valid operative inst rument available for decisive political corps for effective and efficient dispatch, easily integrated even at a Eu ropean level in which, which awaiting the consol idation of a stable dec isio n-making body, coalitions can have a variable structure ; • polarize industr ial research and development, bringing into being synergies and economies of scale among the large number of nation al projects (such as "Future Soldier" ones developed by every European nation), at the moment not up to ach ieving as ambitious of objectives as are required; • ensure trustworthy combat capacity, as necessary for stabilization as for deterrence or possible involvement in regional crises (3); • supp ly a wo rkable frame of reference for ope rating requi sites that gets past the "obsession" for light- armed troops, a distinguishing feature of the American FCS programme (conditioned by a hegemoni c strategic v is ion and the und errating of ope rati ons li ke - to take ju st one exam ple surveillance of a nation in an urban setting), ensuring the achieving of t he necessary economies as much in the acqu isition phase as in log istic sustai nability. In this scenario, it wou ld be necessary to support a revision of competences and procedures for the various levels of command of the large units: • Armed Corps (Multinational) for carrying out operative tasks (the basis of CJTF); vDivisions (National or Framework) to carry out tactical on es ; • Brigade Combat Team (BCT - National or Frame work) for carrying out autonomous multip leweapon actions. These command s shou ld be able to make use of

the geo - st rategic future of Italy and Europe as a who le.

PERSONNEL

1eoooo

•

140000

0

• •

120000 100000

Army Te,rltorl• I A,my

~•,11.~~ dl11 form

80000 10000 40000

Source: International

20000

ITALY

FRANCE

UK

CONCLUSIONS

Air For<•

Institute of Military Studies · «Military Balance 2007»

Compariso n between the armed forces of major European countries with wh ich Italy in tends to be at the same level.

national pawns (armo ured, lig ht, airmob ile, Combat Support, Combat Service Support) at the reg iment level and standardized as concerns structure, employment procedures , equ ipment and training levels. Pawns that would use the new, pu rpose built network- centred systems by way of Community industria l initiatives, i n to keep abreast of current chall enges to security and not relegated to the role of a "sacrificable second line" in operations lead by others. Another factor to keep in mind must be the size of the nationa l land forces. For the Army, in contrast with the other Services, the number of so ld iers is a very important parameter and not reducible - at least beyond certain lim its by t echnological progress . And so, while for the Navy and Air Force we should aim at p latforms wh ich, due to automation and greater system capac ity, are managed and serviced by the sma llest nu mber of staff possible, for the Army techno logical prog ress can improve combat ca pac ity and i nc rease secu ri ty but can not rep lace the so ldier (4). In addition, beyond factors related to current and foreseeable use of our troops, it is necessary to take into considerat ion the fact that the relative we ight of vario us nations taking part in an all iance or a mis sion is assessed in terms of the number of men put at the disposal, and not just overa ll capacity. And , finally, an effort is needed in the field of defence to al ign interna l and i nternationa l pa rameters for a correct definition of the mil itary instrumen t, with a clear inter-force visio n and a sol id land component. Easy to say, but also not so very difficu lt to do. Especia lly if we convince ou rs elves that this effo rt could decide the fate not on ly of the role of the mi litary, but that of

The dawn of the twenty- first century did not hesitate to reveal to us the planetary upheaval of wh ich we are only beginning to perceive the extent. Therefore, it wou ld be extremely dangerous to base the preparation of the military exc lu sively on recent natio nal operative experience, blind ing ourselves to threats loom i ng in the background. Not understanding inter-relations that today govern the globali zed world wou ld condemn us to being perenn ially left beh in d. And so , underestimati ng the clearly contine nta l nature of current th reats to security and not taking into consideration the fact that they may evo lve - especially around mid-century - into high intensity threats, may lead our Armed Forces to a situat ion simi lar to the one seen between the two worlds wars. In that period we stubbornly insisted 0,1 preparation based on the experience gained in the First World War and in colonial expeditions , above all because it was in line with what o ur national industry was able to offer. The consequences were disastrous. Marco Centritto Colonel, Editor in Chief, Rivista Militare

NOTES ( 1) The V-RMTC project includes the participation of a large part of the Navies of the area, and so far 26 Navies have taken part in various roles, incl uding 13 not part of NATO. The project already has the active participation of 16 operations centres with abundant prospects for growth over the mediu m term . (2) Military expenditure are common ly be lieved to be a cause of human conflicts instead of a consequence , a depth of analysis on a par to those who, stuck in a traffic jam, blames it on the traffic warden who is instead act in g to avoid tota l gridlock. (3) Take, for example, the current programmes for precision artillery mun itions (VOLCANO programme), able to restore the fire component to a high- level role in war-type operations such as peace keepi ng and the need to protect foreig n bases from terrorist attacks w ith rockets, artillery and mortar shelling (C- RAM need). (4) As exte nsively shown, as if there were really any need, by the fai lure of the "Rumsfeld doctrine" in Iraq (which called for smal ler and lighter Armed Forces but endowed wi th greater capacity thanks to their overwhe lmi ng technological supe riori ty).

A very high mobility range and highly standardized logistics.

ASTRA VEICOLI INDUSTRIAL! S.P .A. VIA C/\ORSANA, 79 - 29100 PI/\CENZA - ITALY PIIONE ++ 39.0523.543111 - FAX ++39.0523.591773

EGYPT: A FUTURE TO BE DECIPHERED Although not a member of NATO, Egypt is a reliable ally and an important strategic reference. The fou r Presidents that succeeded each other after the fall of the Monarchy come from the Armed Forces, as does the whole ruling class of the Country. It is a monolithic regime, but the wind of Islam is blowing hard er and harder.

With the end of th e Ottoman rule, Egypt becomes a Br itis h protectorate unt il the 18th of February 1922, when it acq uires t he dignity of a formal ly ind ependent Monarchy, even if th e Eng lish retai n their mil itary bases on t he territo ry and share t he control of Su dan w ith Egypt . After t he unsuccessful w ar of 1948, waged w ith other Arab Countries against Israel (in t he year of the proc lamation of the Jewi sh Sate), the ancient dynasty found ed by Moham med Ali in t he XIX Ce ntury is expe lled from the Country by the coup d 'etat of 1952, led by General Mohammed Naguib, w ho fo rces King Farouk t o abd icate. T he Arab Re pu bli c of Egypt is th us born and Gene ral Nag uib assumes t he office of Presi dent and Prime Minister unti l the com ing of Col onel Carnal Abd el- Nasser on the political scene of t he Cou ntry. When, in l 956 , Nas ser ann ounces t he nationalization of t he Com pany of the Suez Canal, he causes the armed intervention of France, the United Kingdom and Israe l. The troops w ith the "Star of David" occupy t he Sinai Penins ula and th e Gaza Strip, which had been part of Palestine and administ ered by Egypt sin ce 1948. Only a perempt ory act ion of the United Nations, with the preven t ive accord of the Un ited Stat es and t he Soviet Union, forces Israel to retreat, until t he new conflict of 1967 - t he Six-day War - when the troops of Te l Aviv reco nqu er t he Sin ai and the Gaza Strip. When Nasser dies in 1970 he is succeeded by Vice Pre sident Anwar Sadat, who tries to li berate the Sinai an d, together with Syri a, in 1973 opens hostil ities ag ainst Israel - War of the Yorn Kippur but also th is time w ithout ac hi eving the des ired results . Alt hough Egypt can count o n the support of a Soviet ai r conti ngent, Israel manages to cross the Canal and con quer th e city of Suez. A sequence of successive acco rds (1 974 and 19 75) envisage the withd rawal of t he Israeli Army from t he we ste rn side of t he Canal and t he p resence of an Egyptian mil itary co nti ngent alo ng a section of the t erritory o n th e eastern bank, as well as Tel Aviv's surrende r of some oilfie lds in the Si nai.

Title pages. Policemen on patrol. Above. A French ship crossing th e Suez Canal (I 906).

Betw ee n l 9 77 and 1979 Preside nt Sadat, presu mably prompted by a real desire for peace , goes first to Jerusalem and, afterwards, signs with Israeli Prime Minist er Begin a Peace Treaty that allow s Egypt t o gradually retrieve the Sinai (1 982). T his puts an end to a th irty-year war and re- establishes dip lomatic relations between the two Count ries . However, the Mus lim world does not seem to appreciate Egypt' s new fore ign policy (after the signature of the Treaty, Egypt is excluded from the Arab Leag ue until 1989) and on t he 6th of October 1981 the year in wh ich the Palestine Liberation Organization makes as many as 248 terrorist attacks against Israeli targets - Sadat is cruelly assassinated , du ring a military parade, by an Islamic extremist group (Islamic alJihad or Muslim Brotherhood?) and his successor is Vice President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's new "Pharaoh", who still today sits on the prestigious throne.

MUBARAK ON THE THRONE T he nineties wit h the new President are marked by t he w orsenin g of the political and social te n-

Riv1s1a Mililare English Edition n. 3/2007

constituted t he greatest concentration of multi nationsions of t he Islami c fu ndame nt ali st cu rrent - two al forces with non-operational tasks, conducted in unsuccessful atte mpts on Mubarak' s li f e , o ne in order to implement com mon combat procedures and Ethiopia and o ne in Cairo - after hi s decision to ve rify the interoperability of the various Commands support the All ied Forces-again st Iraq in t he Gul f the local press preferred to keep a low profi le. War (1991) and t he bloody attacks against we stern Desp ite t he presence of 70,000 sold iers of t en tou r ists near Lux or ( l 99 7). d ifferent Co untries (including It aly, w ith 1200 General Moham med Hosni El- Sayed Mubarak, men) President Mubara k cou ld not ignore the born in 1928 , comes from t he Ai r Force and strong internal o ppos ition, and t he visit paid by atte nded t he "Fru nze" War College in t he Soviet t he Com m ander of the Operat ions in Afghanistan Un ion . He was Chief of Staff in l 969 and (Am erican Ge neral Tom my Franks) incurred some Co mmander- in- Chief of t he Egyptian Ai r Force in crit icis m s for t he bomb ings bei ng carried out o n 1972 (t he A ir Force owe s him its reorganization the Kabu l t erritory, cons idered by Egypt ian publ ic before t he war of l 97 3) til l he w as ap pointed Vice opinion an attack on Is lam. Presid ent in 1975 . And also in 2003, w hen the United States organizAs Sadat ' designat e successor, t he new President es at Camp Lemo nier, an old base of t he Foreign must support the process of peace w ith Israe l and, Leg io n in Dj ibout i, the Command at t he same time, he does his of t he "Com bined Jo int Tas k best t o im prove Egy pt's image Force Horn of Africa" for operain t he Arab wo rld . A n image '' Mubarak must support the tions against t errorism in the co mprom ised by an accord with peace process with Israel and Horn of Africa, Mubarak does not the Zion ist St ate co ns idered 3.t the same time, he does hi~ hesit ate to express his per plexiprematu re, t o say t he least. est to improve Egypt's image t ies the area is historically While winning t he respect of n the Arab world ... , , under Cai ro' s sphere of influence many Western Count ries , in t he by object ing to t he su pport nineties Mubarak carries out a gi .en by the U.S. to t he secesharsh repress ion against f undasion ist rebels of southern Sudan, precisely where t he mentalist terrorism and, at t he same t ime, im plebalances of the region cou ld be jeopardized to the ment s a parallel and underground lslamization of t he detri ment of Egypt, worried by the destiny of the national laws, pursu ing a necessary and ind ispensaprecious natural contribution const ituted by t he Nile. ble nat ional cohesion: the j udicial system , for examBut th e in t ern atio nal policy on w hi ch t he ple, combines elements of the Britis h Com mon Law, Pres ident has embarked cannot af ford dange rou s t he Napoleonic Codes and the Koran Law. But the deviat ions: in 2002 t he t rade relat ion s with the problems of stabil ity of t he new President must take U.S. exceed 4 bi ll ion do ll ars, not counting another into account a public opinion , which, with increased bi ll ion that reac hes Cairo di rectly from Was hington insistence, manifests a marked sent iment of hostility in t he form of mi lit ary aid . against the "Stars and Stri pes" of the U.S. Mo reover, Egypt is now incl uded in a g roup of Also during t he im pressive "Bright Star" exercise, Co untries that, wit hi n NATO, are identifi ed with wh ich took place in Egypt in October 2001 - which the name of "Med iter ranean Dialog " (Algeria, Egypt, Jo rdan, Is rael, Morocco, Maurit ania and T un isia), while Italy has been ent rusted with the A camp of Palestinian re fugees (] 9 48). le ad er sh ip of prefe renti al co nt acts w it h t he Egyptian pol it ical and mi litary autho rities. Thanks to precise bilateral ag reeme nts, Italy can co unt on w ide t rain ing areas - insufficient on o ur t erritory - for mechan ized and armoured units , in order to imp rove each fo rce's specific training w ith t he special ope rat ional con not ation ; always as part of jo int ex ercises w it h the Egypti an Arm y (amon g t he m ost im portant, the "Pinerolo" Br igade in 2002 and t he "Garibald i" Brigade in 2004) . Moreover, in 200 3, NATO envisions its en largem ent - t he greatest threat s come precisely from the Midd le East - for a more stable geost rategic balance of the area and, among t he proposed Countries t he emergi ng name is precise ly that of Egypt. T he project is not without foundat ion, at least fro m the pu rely t ech nical viewpoint.

Ariel Sharon and Menachem Begin during the Six - Day War (1967).

Vis- a- vis al most one and a half mill ion soldiers (European allies and Canada), only 55,000 men are actually operational - and therefore proj ectable out of area - and, at the same time, almost all are employed in international peacekeeping missions: the Alliance needs men and the Egyptian Army can count on almost half a million soldiers (in 2003: Army 71 %, Air Force 25% and Navy 4%, with military expenditure eq ual to 2 .7% of the nation's GDP). The fol lowing year a sim ilar discussion opens at the United Nations, on the occasion of the beginning of the works for a possible reform of the Organization. The Ar<!b 1Norld - but it is more correct t o speak of over one billion Muslims not represented - presses at the doors of the Security Council, where Christians (in the widest acceptation of the term) can count on four seats, while the fifth is an exclusive prerogative of the Ch inese "world". As is known, the Countries with the right of veto are the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. But if Saudi Arabia can put forward assurances, why cou ld not Egypt - so intensely engaged in military operations side by side with the Western powers - do the same? But the Country is pressed on one side by Washington ' s po litico- military offensive against the dictatorial regi mes of the Middle East and on the other by the fres h outbreak of terrorist attac ks. In October 2004 a group of Islamic fundamentalists strike the Hi lton hotel at Taba - on the Gulf of Aqaba - , which accommodates m any Israeli clie nts for the "Sukk ot'' celebrations (the Feast of Tabernacles) and bathe in blood also three tourist resorts on the Egypt ian sid e of the Red Sea. After only a few months, the d readfu l attack in the most crowded area of Sharm el Sheik causes

about hundred v1ct1ms and terror spreads its shadow as far as the valley of the Ni le delta. 200 5, A DIFFICULT YEAR Although Mubarak managed to patch up the fracture betwee n Egypt and the Arab world after the peace accords with Israel - and to place him self in a privileged position among the Countri es of the area and the Western world - a cautious dialogue with the moderate opposition did not suffi ce to grant to the Country the process of democratisation that was deemed necessa ry to guarantee its internal stability. Even if he enjoys a large popular consent - Mubarak has become an influent personality after the good proof given by the Egyptian Army during the war of 1973 - in the face of the intransigent opposition to Islamic fundamental ism, the President has ordered a strict control on the "loyal" Armed Forces , on the Secret Services, on radio and television networks, as well as on the entire economy of the Country. After 24 years of undisputed power, the squares of Cairo - until recently important stages for demonstrations again st Israel, the United States and the Iraq war - are now crowded with people claiming for political and social reforms. They wave the flags of the reformists of the Kifaya ("Enoug h 1") party, of the intelligentsia of the '" Kaldum Centre" and the progressives' flag of the Wafd party, but when, on the central Ramsis and Tharir squares descend the Mu sl im Brothers - the largest opposition force, banned since 1954 bu t tolerated for many years - thousan ds of men in riot gear come out from the Police Headquarters of the neighbouring Lazoghly Square and, after a violent repress ion (dozens of arrest s), disperse the demonstration and restore order in th<;:! t~rbulent streets of the city. Egypt chooses to repress t he intransige nt read ing of the Koran and the Wahab ite rigour: but who are the Muslim Brothers today' They are th e oldest Islamic polit ical movemen t of the Arab world - founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna - who started his terrorist activi ty by carrying out violent and bloody actions against King Farouk's government. When Nasser's "Council of the Revolutionary Command" decid es the constitution of a lay State, therefore absolutely non-Islamic. the Brotherhood is accused of the attempt on the President's life in 1954. The repression is very hars h: thousands of mil itants are arrested, six leaders are sentenced to deat h and o ne of t hem, Hassan al- Hudaybi, is se ntenced to life imprisonment. Also the most moderate wing of the organization is banned from the Country and, most probably, is weakened by Nasser' s great popularity and his winning pan- Arab :deology. But the Egyptian defeat in the war of 1967 and, therefore, the cris is of pan-Arab secularism , reopen the

Rivista M1/itare English Edition n. 3/2007

T he most intransigent fringe groups have sensed the limits of al-Banna' s found ing ideology (lac k of a mi litary organ ization and am big ui ty in view of the ir poss ible assumptio n of political power) and â&#x20AC;˘ have fou nd greater inspiration in Sayyid Qutb, an ideolog ue that distingu is hed himself for having developed a decided ly revolutionary t heo ry for the Su nni confession . Accordi ng to Qutb, the real be liever has t he r ight to oust the illeg itimate governments - from the Islamic principles viewpoint - us ing the Jihad instrument, uphe ld by martyrs in spired an d prePresident Sadat's historica l visit to Tel Aviv (Nove m ber pa red for sacrifice in order to promote Allah's 21, 1977). authority in the world. Howeve r, although t he Egyptian lead ership has succeeded in creating an effic ient and widespread organization in Cairo - the f irst urban - based doors to t he Brotherhood 's return on the po litical Is lam ic move ment capab le of becomi ng a part of a stage. Once more accused of complicity in t he difficult social fabric w ith its medical- hosp ital murder of President Sadat in 1981, the Muslim se rvices, social security and educationa l instituBrothers remain in the list of the outlawed organtio ns - in the moveme nt there is stil l a toug h wing izations, even if in t ime they have apparen tly soft fed by you ng mil itants of the last generation, keen ened the ir po litical positions: they advocate the suppo rters of the Shari'a and motivated by fierce birth of an Is lamic State , but today they intend to anti-West sentiments. achieve it with democratic means. Mubarak's recko nings seem to be simple and Mubarak somehow accepts the new trend and pragmatic. tolerates that 16 cand idates of the Brotherhood Urged by Washington , at the beg inni ng of 2005 , formally independent - be elected to Parli ament in he announces "Cairo' s Springtime", i.e. direct-s uf2000, t hu s favouring the main voice opposing his frage pres idential election s and release of the regime. most important lay dis sident, Ayman Nour, head In 2005 the Brotherhood's leader, Mohammad of the proli beral party "Al Chad' ("Tomorrow "), Ah med Akef, declared to "Al Jazeera" that the who , w ith in half an hour had seen h imse lf Brothers reno un ce the foundation of an Islamic deprived of his par liame ntary immun ity with the State (hypothesis considered im probab le by many charge of having forged fifty signatures on an offi analysts), accept the recogn it ion of the "Copt cial request for social reforms. Brothers" , co ndem n v iolence and promise th eir But when the Mus li m Brothers collaboration w ith Cairo' s gov, take to t he streets , Mubarak ernment, witho ut forge tting - a Egypt is included in a chooses the hard line to show decidedly un usual fact for an group of Countries that, that despit e his having grantIsla mic movement the ir approval to t he parity of man Nithin NATO, are identified ed their polit ical req uests - the Nith the name of "Mediter- Brotherhood remains a hotbed and woma n's r ights. of protests and d isorders , But t hen, why does Mubarak D .laIogue " ' W h'II e Ita Iy therefore it must be considered take such an intransigent attitude7 ranean 1as been entrusted with tht a reason for serio us concern The U.S. State Departme nt insists that the whole Middle East ,eadership of preferential also for the Wh ite House. :ontacts with the Cairo au And the taciturn and astute should start democratic procehorities ' ' President knows his American du res and asks of Egypt in partical lies wel l and does not forget to ular the slackening of the rei ns of remind them what occurred in power and a m ini mum recog niAlgeria in 1991 - when the Islam ic Salvation Front tion of t he opposition forces (Condoleezza Rice' s won the election with a remarkable majority and t he intervention in 2005, at Cairo American Un iversity: military w ere forced to suspe nd the poll, starting a democratic reforms and assertion of a State subject dramatic season of repressions and slaughte rs on to the rule of Law). both sides - therefore t he message reaches its target, But the Musl im Brothers, already si nce the t imes of loud and clear: the analogy with Algeria is cogent . the Diaspora, have started nu merous extrem ist and Was hington's Ad ministration certainly does not paramilitary movements in the whole Arab world, remain indiffere nt to this alarm bell, and when becoming the symbol of religious radicalism against Condoleezza Rice trave ls again to Cairo in Jan uary freedom and democracy of the entire hemisphere.

The Isra eli Flag wa ving at El Arish .

2007 to meet Foreig n Minister A hmed Aboul Ghe it, she is very careful not to mention the reinforcement of the righ ts of a legally constit uted State, lim iting herself to praise the contribut ion offered by Egypt to the U.S. foreig n policy in the Middle East. Mubarak has played his cards well: the democratic game has cautious ly started but the fundamentalist forces - especia lly t hose aiming at a religious dictatorship - must stay out. And when the important Saudi news paper "Arab News" - through its d irector, po litical analyst Khaled al- Maeena - invites Egypt to give a democratic possibi lity t o the Mus lim Brothers ('They have changed in comparison with the past [... ] today they are pe rceived as the sole force that fig hts corruption and poverty and opposes foreig n interference [ ...] they should be put to the test") Mubarak obtains a further polit ical support to his thesis: aren't t he Musli m Brothe rs actual ly attracted into t he ideological sphere of Wahabism? And is not, in its turn, t he political support given by Saudi Arabia a form of quest ionable interference in a sovereign State t hat tries by all means to fight Islamic terrorism in the name of a by now con solidated secu laris m7 But Mubarak has also t o deal with an additional threat, wh ich in some as pects is even more diffi cult to manage. In 2005 there are important changes in the soci eties of the Arab Countries. T he televisio n net-

work s transmit the elections in Afghani stan and Iraq, quotas of female presence are introd uced in Morocco and Jordan, and Kuwaiti women claim the ir right to vote. The winds of reform start to blow also on the monolithic Mubarak reg ime . The success obtained by the new political party led by you ng lawyer Ayman Nou r - middle class, liberal and non- ideological - seems to be a serious alte rnative to the Natio nal Democratic Party, t he Pres ident's political formation. In practice, Mubarak sees that t he foun dations of his power are undermined, and hi s thesis (e ither us or t he Is lamic ext remists) is a ki nd of "political blackmail" that today cou ld lose all its value. T he Armed Forces are loyal to him, intelligence is under firm control , external threats do not constitute a prob lem and , t herefore, Mubarak must play his game on the politico- constitutional plane. Even if he has bee n leading the Country since 1981, the President wants to obtain his fifth consecutive mandate, despite his having reached the respectable age of seventy- seven in a health condition that arouses great concern among his collaborators and serious pe rplexities among Western observers. In the history of the Arab Republ ic of Egypt, Mubarak is the first Pres ide nt th at has not appointed a Vice President, with the risk of creat ing a power vacuum in case of death or disability (Egypt has always had a kind of automati c succession between the Preside nt and t he Vice President) and t his situation creates a se r ious diffidence amo ng diplomats and foreig n ana lysts. T he Pres ident of the Republic, on the bas is of Art icle 76 of t he Con st itution, is elected with a rather un usual procedure. Parliament is call ed to choose, with an absolute majority, a sing le candidate that wi ll be submitted to the people 's judge ment for his definitive nom ination , fo r a period of about six years. The active electorate can only express a favo urable or opposing vote, but there has always been unanimous ag reement. And in th is case, with about 90% of t he seats in Parliament assigned to t he Democratic National Party , certain ly there are no sig ns of noticeable concern, and Mubarak can afford hi mself the lux ury of winning t he elections by challenging also other cand idates. The Pres ident accepts t hat any cand idate who is supported by at least 10% of Par liam ent can present himself for election (Constitutional ame ndment approved by referendum on the 26th of May 2005) . This is t he sta rt, only from a strict ly fo rmal po int of view, of the first competit ion in th e pres ident ial elections. Mu barak obtains 88.6% of t he consents (the Party has put at hi s disposal for the electoral cam -

Rivista Militare Engli sh Edition n. 312007

paign its impress ive mach in ery) vi s- a- vis his chal lengers Ayman Nour (7.6%) and Nomaan Gomaa, head of the Wafd historical party . Of course, there is no lack of criticisms: Nour complains that there were no equal opportun ities and Gomaa asks that the vote be repeated , saying that he has been subject to limitations of various natu re and, moreover, many international observers express great perplexities about the correctness of the elections . Even if the turnout was a scarce 23% (7 mi llion Egyptian went to the polls, out of the entitled 32 mi llion) in the people there is still an undisput ed wil lingness to rely on a charismatic leader - the personality cu lt is a characterizing feature - capable of leading the Country with authority, prestige and steadiness. In any case , the first manifestation of democracy seems to be sprouting from the land of the Pharaohs, even if in a markedly Egyptian style.

Jets engaged in Exe r cise "Bright Star" (200 1).

NATO member, remains an impo rtant m ilitary and strategic ally (it is the only Arab Nation that has spy sate llites) and its leadership on the African continent allows it to propose itse lf as a privi leged interlocutor for providing assistance and training also to other Countries . With conscription, compu lsory at 18 years of age ARMED FORCES, INTELLIGENCE AND TERRORIST and lasting three years, every year the young men ORGANIZATIONS that reach the age for military service are abo ut one m illion, and the yearly availability almost According to the Constitution of 1971 (Articl es reaches the remarkable number of 20 mill ion 180- 183) the Egyptian Armed Forces "belong" to ad ults aged between 18 and 49. the people and are cal led to defend the Co untry, Thanks to the important role played by the not only for what concerns t he territory and the President of the Republic - also for contro lling the national security, but also to protect the social Ministry of War Production and the National Council conquests ach ieved. Stil l according to the for Mil itary Provisions - one can objectively talk of a Constitution , Egypt is in fact an "Arab Republic high degree of militarization of t he Country. with a democratic social ist system" and the Besides the summit command structure, t he President, elected with a six- year mand ate, is also "Arab Organization for Ind ustrializat ion" - a conChief of t he Executive. sortium of a markedly national connot ation - is The defence of the Homeland is considered a also of strategic importance. Its stated objective is "sacred duty", and the Command of the Armed to achieve operational autonomy from the West Forces is entrusted t o the President of the Republic, through the planning and prowho exerci ses full powers wit h duction of defence systems . the so le aid of the "Council of Besides, Egypt is one of the Nat ional Defence", t he ma in ''The U.S. State Departadvisory body for what concerns ment insists that the whole biggest producers of arms. the national security. Although Middle East should start Accord in g to some Western instituted by the Constitutio n democratic procedures and experts, in Leopol is, near Cairo itse lf, it is actual ly hard ly ever asks of Egypt, in particular, International Airport, t here is a structure for mi litary production convened, as the decisional a minimum recognition of (from hand grenades to tanks, up power remains de facto in the to med iu m- range m issiles) conhands of the Pres ide nt and the the opposition forces ,, sidered one of the largest in the Minister of Defence. world as regards dimension and It is not without reason that diversified typology of war production. the four Presidents of the Republic - after the fall It is therefore a high- profile military po licy, of the Monarchy in 195 2 - and more precise ly which intends to reward the aspirations of the Naguib, Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak, all come from Egyptian leadership (the leader ship of the Arab the Armed Forces, cons idered by public opinion as world) through the ro le of the Armed Forces, an the most important supply so urce of the Country's effective means of internal pol icy and, first of all, ruling class. a powerful in strument of i nternational po li cy. With a number of active men nearing half a mi lUnder the Ministry of the Interior there are two lion , Egypt's Army is considered the strongest paramil itary Corps: the "Security Central Forces" force of the region - in 2005 t he military expense (250,000 men eq uipped also with armoured vehi has reached 3.5% of t he GNP - which, albeit not a

After the iro n hand wanted by Nasser (20,000 political prisoners , contro l of political meeting s and even of public discus sions), t he GOSSI has been d iscred ited by President Sadat's assassination (ineffic iency or indirect complicity7), but reacquired presti ge and a good reputatio n w ith Mubarak ' s rise to power. Tasked with control ling the represe ntatives of the opposition, the jo urnalists, the foreign diplomats and the po li tical activists suspected of subversive activities , in 1986 this Unit was accused of t ortures on captured Islamic extre mists, and forty Office rs were ind icted for 422 crimes again st members of the al- Jihad terrorist association. President Mubarak meets Lebanese President Lahoud After a two- year investigatio n the cou rt acquitted (May 21, 2006). al l the defendants but, wh ile acknowledging the actua l use of inhuman practices , it could not (or believed inopportune) attribute the respons ibil ity cles and mortars) and the "Nati on al Guard " of th e atroc ities to the Officers indicted. (60,000 men armed with lig ht weapons), while In any case, today the GOSSI is the on ly body under t he Mi nistry of Defence (at General entitled to fight the polit ical subvers io n, and its Mohamed Husse in Tantawi 's orde rs) there are the organization has apparently infiltrated po litical "Forces of National Protection" (60,000 men), the parties, media, unions, public companies and even "Frontier Forces" (20,000 men) and the "Forces of government bodies. Coastal Protection" (2000 men fo r the security of But who are the real enem ies of the Egyptian public installations alo ng the littoral and for antipub lic institutions? smuggling activities) The al-Jihad (Holy War) is an organization of Unde r the Mi nistry of the Interior there is also Islamic militants who spl it from the Musl im the first of the Special Forces created in the eightBrotherhood in th e seventies (contesting their ies to fight terrori sm, the "Hostage Rescue Force" refusal to use violence) to start an armed activity based in southern Cairo, with about 100 m en against the Copt minority in particu lar and the govtrained for oppos ing urban te rrorist activities, in ernment's instit utions in general (President Sadat). co llaboration with the metropolitan Police. Beyond the capab ility of o rganizi ng bloody T he second team - t he information concerning it att acks agai nst t he government, its dangerousis very sca rce - is called Unit 333 and should conness cons ists mainly in making converts among sist of 50 men di rectly subord it he Egyptian m i Iitary. nate to the Army. Very much hindered by the The third Unit, called 777 (also ' With a number of men intelligence and by the Special known as "al-Sa'iqa or nearing half a million, Egypt's Forces (almost all its historical Thunde rbolt Force") is considered ls considered the strongest leade rs have been arrested) , the most important. Trained by t he new members of the new Army in the region... ,, the U.S. since 1981, this airtransgeneration of t he "Holy War" ported unit consists of about 300 have created, al ready since the men, and only of late has reached nineties, a new formation called qualitative levels of a certain significance. It is now "Vanguard of the Conquerors", con sidered the under the Army's command , trains periodically with m ost determined and intransige nt fringe g roup of the Delta Force and has appare ntly made some illicit t he entire o rganization. trespassing to capture extremist elements of the On the contrary, the "Is lamic Group" springs from Muslim Brotherhood. the student movement, which also separated from the The intelligence act ivity is organized in th ree Islamic Brotherhood at the end of the seventies. After main sectors which are called "General Security a political all iance with t he "Holy War" (the common Services", directly under the Presidency of the enemy is the Government), which lasted until the midRepublic, "Secret Services", under t he Mini stry of eighties, the "students" of the "Islamic Group" have Defence, and "General Directorate for Security started their diffused activity of proselytism among Invest igations (GOSSI), und er the direct control of the poorer classes of the Capital and in the rural vilthe Ministry of the Interior, and responsible, with lages of the south, soon becom ing a military and an activity often considered too intrans igent, for organizational point of reference for some th irty the complex and many- sided national security. minor Islamic organizations spread on the territory.

R1vista M,//tare E:ngl1sh E:d,hon n 312007

Based on this new force, the Islamic Grou p has proved particularly aggressive and dangerous and caused a harsh reaction from the Government, with the physical elimination of many of its most impor tant members . In particular, the l 997 Luxor attack, where 58 foreign tourists lost the ir life, was apparently organized by militants of that Group, trained in Afghanistan with the collaboration of the Taliban. Although in 1977, im mediately after the massacre, six historical leaders of the movement, imprisoned in Cairo, made an appeal for a unilateral "ceasefire" (refused also by Mubarak), the new leadership has dissociated itself from the declaration of social policy and has tried to re- consoli date t he guerrilla groups, in order to resu me the armed struggle. The "Egyptian Revolution" is another extremist movement, wh ich is not linked to the Muslim Brothe rhood but is fi nanced by Khaled Abdel Nasser, son of the former- President. Despite its responsibility for killing two Israeli citizens (1985) and two Ame ri can Office rs (1987), this moveme nt does not seem to have much fo ll owing amo ng the popu lation, owing to the total absence of an ideo logical background , either political or religious . The arrest of its most sign ificant members much emp hasized by the med ia - occurred at the end of the eighties, and the related sentences have apparently weakened the force and dangerousness of the entire organization. The Mu sli m Brot herhood , which , as we said, appears on the po litical stage of the Country with a new ideological passport, seems to have consol idated its position of refusal to be an interposition entity between peop le and power, convinced that it can constitute a valid (democratic7) means of achieving an Islamic State. But the strengthening of the geopolitical and strategic positions of th e theocratic States (Iran and Sudan) and Mubarak's unwil ling ness to take part in any kind of negotiation could induce the Muslim Brothers to pursue their religious and cult ural specificity with greater determination. Even if at present the Muslim Brotherhood controls the professional and trade- union organizations of the Country and can count on the sponsorship of the f inancial and commercial establishment - it is actually perce ived as a bou rgeois and exclusive secret association - this movement remains the only association in a position to catalyse the Islamic challenges that come from the southern regions, where t he backward econom ic and cu ltural conditions are the best ground for extremist inclinations. Moreover, wasn 't perhaps the Constitution of 1971 modified too many times in order to be subjected to the exclusive interests of the Pres ident and his regime? In fact, Ayman al-Zawah iri's appeal, made in the first months of 2006 ("Let's take the Jihad to Africa")

Condoleezza Rice on a visit to Cairo(2007).

was immediately received by the "Salafite Group for Preach ing and Fighting", which - accord ing to French and Span ish intelligence sources - after sweari ng their submission to al- Qaeda, gathered on the Algerian mountains their armed Islamic militants, in order to create a real log istic platform. The objective is that of training men and exporting the struggle to the North African Countries (Egypt is considered "excessively" non-ideological), in obed ience to the d irect ions of the ideo log ue Abu Azam al - Ansari: "Africa is a gold mine for the Jihad{. .. ] the proximity to Europe allows us to move rapidly to attack the infidels ". Wi ll a Govern ment's strong pos ition be sufficient to stop the al- Qaeda's violence t hat the fou nder of the Egyptian Jihad, Imam Abdul Aziz al- Sharif, and the brother of al Qaeda's number two, Mohammed al- Zawahiri - both detained in Cairo's pri sons intend to launch?

AN HEIR TO THE THRONE?

Already during the presidential elections of 2005, Mubarak decided to delegate to his son Carnal the proces s of de mocratic innovat ion of the Country, at the sam e time - as a kind of ge neral test - entrusting him with the del icate task of organi zing and cond ucting the first direct-suffrage election campaign . Carnal Mubarak, havi ng become in a very short ti me the most important personality in th e political field, enjoys a wide popular consent and, at the moment, is co nsidered the natural candidate to the leade rship of th e Co unt ry. Second-born son of the President, young Carna l is not yet forty-five. After a master in "Busi ness Administration ", obtained at Cairo's American Un iversity, and a job with the Bank of Ame rica (Ca iro and London), he sets up an invest ment company, "Medi nvest ", and at present controls assets es ti mated around 100 millio n dollars.

An Egyptian soldier during an amphibious operation.

After hi s fat her's election, he is appo inted ViceSecretary General of the Democratic National Party, and with the help of young technocrats , starts the modernizatio n of the economic and financial structures of t he Cou ntry, that have been considered fossilized since Sadat's times. Although President Mubarak along the years continued to consolidate his alliance with Washington (in 30 years the US has meted out, in various forms, more that 60 bi llion dollars), Gamal is apparently assuming a political attitude more heedful of the interests of the Country, rather than the historical collaboration with the U.S. State Department. At the beg inning of 2006 he gets engaged to the 23- years- old daughter of el - Gammal - belonging to a powerful family of building contractors - and, as the name of t he young lady is Khadija, like that of Mohammed 's fi rst wife , the Musl im Brothers in the choice of the future wife read a respectful tribute to Muslim trad ition: do they have perhaps a new important ally? On September l 9, 2006, in an official statement, Gamal Mubarak openly criticises the American policy in the Middle East and unexpectedly announces his intention of verifying t he hypothesis of nuclear option. Actual ly, Egypt has an old project that was interrupted in 1986, after t he tragic Chernobyl disaster, stopping the works of the atomic plant of elDabaa (Alexandria) and the tests of the "National Cent re of Atomic Researches", which had brought the Country to the highest level in the Arab world. But today the grey smoke of nuclear power seems to linger all over the Maghreb and the Midd le East . An open threat to the Israel i State? In March 2007, a documentary broadcast by the Israeli television on the "Six- Day War" (fought from 5 to 10 June 1967 between Israel and an alliance of Arab Countries,

Egypt, Syria Jordan and Iraq, and broken out as a conseq uence of the blockade imposed by Egypt on the Israeli ships in the Gulf of Aqaba) is interpreted by Egypt as an ad mission of guilt in the slaughter of hundreds of prisoners of war. Despite the denials of the film di rector, Ron Edel ist, (it was a squad of Palestinian guerrillas organized within the Egyptian Armed Forces during a regular shoot-out), the Egyptian press accu ses the t hen Commander of t he "Shaker" (Almond) Special Unit of massacre: "Forty years ago, he ordered the slaughter of 2 50 prisoners of war, his hands are dirty with our blood". The Commander of the Un it, from l 967 to 1970, is Binyamin Ben- Eliezer, Tel Aviv's former Minister of Defence and today Minister of Infrastructure, a General of Iraqi origins who speaks a perfect Arabic and is held in great consideration by the Egyptian President and by t he Head of the Cairo intel ligence. Nevertheless, the media and the Deputies of the Muslim Brotherhood ride on the resentment of the Egyptian population: the former induce th e Foreign Ministe r to summon the Israeli Ambassador, Shalom Cohen, and the latter threaten to "cut his throat if he dares to set his foot on our courtyard". And they go even beyond that, they go as far as aski ng the recall of t he Egyptian am bassador to Tel Aviv, the freeze of the Camp David accords, the interruption of t he agreements for economic cooperation and, through the voice of Salama al- Ruqi - independent Sinai MP - also t he use of weapons: "The only way of resolving the situation is to declare the state of war!" The only option left to Minister Ben- Eliezer, who had plan ned a visit to Cairo to discuss the importation of gas, was to cancel t he meeti ng. Even if the "Six-Day War" has seen the loss of 21,000 soldiers of the Arab Alliance, of 45,000 wounded and 6000 prisoners (against 779 Israeli dead, more than 2000 wounded and only l 5 prisoners), President Mubarak cautiously tries to extinguish the fire and surely does not forget that the Israeli exports to Egypt in 2006 have reached 126 million dollars (against 29 millions in 2004) and t hat Egypt has sold goods to Israel for 77 millions, compared to 29 millions realized in 2004. Therefore, if the concern constituted by Israel cannot be considered legitimate (its nuclear val ue is on ly that of a "final" deterrence) it is more credi ble to surmise that Iran's obstinate determination to build an atomic arsenal probably conditions a great deal, from an anti - Sh i 'ite viewpoint, the Governments of t he region. The popu lat ion of the area is almost totally Sunnite, and the fear of Shi'ite Iran's military growth and regional invasiveness drives these Countr ies towards an instinct ive mechani sm of defence: Algeria has announced t hat wants to resume its programme started in 1985 and later interrupted, Libya has made known that it wants to take up again the programme started secretly, and

Rivista Militare English Edition n . 312007

Egyptian expatriates demonstrating in front of the White

even periphera l and unass uming Morocco has House for the liberation of Ayman Nour (2005). started negotiations with American companies for building modern nuclear reactors. Saudi Arab ia, Jordan, the Arab Em irates and Kuwait, owing to their considerations on the importance of the Army, as strategic all iance with the United States, have determ inant element in the train ing of the ru ling already formalized their request to the Director of class, and cannot exclude that Mubarak's choices the International Agency for Atomic Energy, (absence of a Vice President and start of const itu Mohammed el Baradei (accord ing to Saudi Foreign tiona l reforms) may foreshadow the begin ning of a Minister Saud al- Faisal, this course must advance in course for the successio n of his son. an "open, legal and official way"). Yemen, Oman and Even if at present Gamal is considered the true Bahrein are simply on the waiting list, precisely like political leader of t he Country, there is actually an Turkey, and Syria, led by young Bashar Assad. ideal candidate who answers to the name of Oman Therefore, not only does Gamal Mubarak distance Su leiman, Head of the Secret Service. himself from the (non-ideolog ical and authoritarian) He is an influ ential figu re who enjoys wide presnationalism of his father, but raises his sights and is tige in the Arab world and li k ing in the West, apparently ready to contest the American ally just to besides a wide consent in side the Country, which get an applause by Cairo's lslamists: analysts believe he has obtained t hrough complex negotiations, that, despite the U.S. pressures, Egypt wi ll build from carried out w ith particular abil ity, with the three to ten nuclear reactors. The official thes is is, as Palestinian armed groups, on the difficu lt road always, that of a choice for research and developtowards peace with Israe l. ment of a source of civilian energy (the alternative However, wil l the unifo r m ones would requ ire almost 50 with a General ' s stars and the years) for answering the needs of ''Mubarak's unwillingness to right political and organi zathe Country. tional talents be sufficient to conduct any kind of negotiaAs we have already pointed out, defeat such an ambitious and Pres id ent Mubarak has not tion could induce the Muslim openly favoured competitor? appointed a deputy (a dangerous Brothers to pursue their reliprecedent, according to many gious and cultural specificity analysts) and, therefore, at the moment no automatic succession Nith greater determination , , 2007: LAUNCHING THE CON TESTED CONSTITUTIONAL is practicable. Although public REFORM opinion has not li ked the Syrian model (Bashar Assad has taken his father Hafez' In the spring of 2007, Parliament - where place and Egypt is not a "Monarchy" but a republic), President Mubarak's party dominates unopposed young Gamal seems to be the only prestigious figapproves, with 31 5 votes for and l 34 against, as ure in a position to reach the highest office of the many as 34 ame ndments to the Constitution, Country. introduced by the Government and insp ired by a Still, there is an eve n more delicate problem : "deep democratic reform". Gama! Mubarak is not a soldier. The amendments, harshly criticised by the oppoAll the Presidents of the Arab Republic of Egypt sition and by the human rights organ izations, are come from the Armed Forces, and is the Country submitted to the Egyptian people for a referendary really ready to see , for the first time, a civilian as vote (also in t his case it is possible to accept or Head of the State? We have already expressed our

agai nst terrorism ju stifies the abol ition of the cit izens ' ri ghts and , acco rd ing t o Amnesty International, it is t he "worse blow dealt to human rights" in Egypt since the special laws of 1981 . A rt.5 forbids t o create political part ies with a reli gious basis or trend, and art .6 2 bars t he way to Above. the Mus lim Brothe rhood defin itively: no ind epend A d emonstration of the Mus lim Bro thers in Cairo. ent cand id ate can stand for election, si nce th e Right . Brothers - precise ly as indepe ndent candidates Eg yptian and Am erican service m en of "Task Force had succeeded in gaining one f ift h of the seats in Stre ngth" i n Afghanistan. t he leg islative electio ns of 2005 and , t herefore , constituted the ms elves as t he so le organ ized opposi t io n force. The reactio ns of leade r Essam reject them as one) on t he 26th of March 2007 . The al-Arya n are apparently justified: t he transformaday before t he elections m any un pleasant incidents t ion of the Republi c into a de- facto Monarchy has occu r during some demonstrations. Only a massive started, and the amendments are prepar ing the pol ice int ervent ion, wit h several charges and t he road for the son of President Mubarak. arrest of hund reds of dem onstrators, manages to The actual victi m of art.8 8 is instead t he rest ore order in the sq uares. Magist racy: according to some analysts it is responBut what are t he real changes in the constitusible for having openly challenged t he Security tional syst em? Forces t hat preve nted the electors (also wit h t he use The am endments to art. l 79 of of weapons) from voting in t he Co nstit ut ion envisage t he po lli ng stat ions w here the formalizat io n - in to con stitu ' ... Israeli exports to Egypt Democratic Nat ional Party was t ional law - of the special law s n 2006 have reached 126 particular ly weak. Af ter its oppointrod uced d ur ing t he Sadat million dollars (against 2 9 sition to t he electoral frauds in regi me and tig htened up immemillion in 2004) and Egyp th e elections of 2005, t he d iat ely afte r his assas sination, Magist racy fi nds itself excluded eve n if t he popu lat ion had has sold goods to Israel for from the responsibility (and from wa nt ed th em mit igate d , and 77 million ... , , the guarantee) of t he correctness even abrogated , already since of the vote. An "independent" their instit ut io n in d istant 1981 , Governm ent Co mm iss io n i.e. t he emerge ncy and "trans itory" law s t hat have replaces it in order to mon itor the validity of t he always accompani ed Mubarak's presiden cy . vote. In t he opinion of Nassar Amin, Di rect or of the Today eve ry citizen can be arrested and detain ed Arab Ce ntre for t he Independence of Magistrates , w it h no li m its of time, and can also be t ried by t his is the "final blow to our democracy". mi litary court s. Mo reover, in the investigat ions For t he whole opposition - from t he Islam ic to the agai nst terro rism, the Police can carry o ut searc hnon-ideological one - the revision of t he Constit ution es and eavesd rop ping wit hout a warrant from a is a real cou p d'etat ("the death of every personal m ag istrat e. Com m unicat ions (by phone , mail an d freedom") and more than a hundred MPs leave the computer) are no more an invio lable r ig ht , j ust li ke room in order to organ ize a sit-in of protest: We want private homes and pe rsonal privacy : t he f ight a clean conscience, let the DNP alone answer for this

Rrvista Milttaro Eng/lsh Edu,on n. 312007

Ghali, former Secretary General of the United Nations: civil servants have been compe lled to vote, the records at the polling stations are not accurate, some observers have been barred from even getting near the polls and a ce rtai n number of persons responsible for the vote have filled in many ballots in advance. These serious charges join the chorus of protests from the Judges Circle, the Kifaya Movement, former Premier Aziz Sedqui , dissident poet Ahmad Negm and, of course, the Muslim Brothers.

Above. President Hosni Mubarak with Austrian Chancellor Wolf gang Schussel.

Right. U.S. General Myers and Egyptian General Sarni.

shame before the people. The State television, which usually broadcasts every working session, avoids showing the empty seats in Parliament. But the day of the popular referendum is getting near (March 26, 2007) and in the streets of Cairo there is a remarkable number of vans that tour the city w ith an im posing picture of Mubarak who , through a megaphone, gives his suggestions to the population: Vote yes, for the good of your children and for your future. But for those that manage to avoid them, it is the State television that takes it upon itself to broad cast the Rais' message methodically: these are democratic reforms that encourage the activity of the parties, that put an end to the exploitation of religion and illicit behaviours, protecting our Homeland from terrorism. The opposition succeeds in making its voice heard only through political rallies and public cal ls (s ms do a lot more) and the appeal is to boycott the referendum, even if the price for it is the arrest of six members of al-Chad in their offices, and of thirteen activists during the organization of a popular protest. The day of the referendum the Government has given instructions to transport the civil servants to the polls. Hundreds of coaches picked them up from the textile factories of the Ni le delta and the Suez most remote oil fields. And with 20% of popu lar participation (less than 5% according to independent observers) and 75.9% of approval, Mubarak's reforms dominate the political and social life of the Country. There are many charges of a "rigged referendum" and, among these, the influential voice of the National Council for Human Rights, an organization recognized by the State and directed by Boutros

Hosni Mubarak's im portant and authoritarian constitutional reform, besides aggravating the already precarious condition of human rights, actually legalizes the difficult situation in which thousands of political detainees in the Egyptian prisons find themselves. In addition to the accusation by Human Rights Watch (the arrest of Muhammad al- Sharqawi, a 2 5year- old blogger detained and tortured), the one by Amnesty International (April 2007) is particularly harsh: "Egypt is the international centre of tortu re also on behalf of other States - and is the theatre of systematic violations in the name of national secu rity. The prisoners, against whom no precise charge has even been made, reach the number of 18,000 and have been kept in prison for over ten years". The Government has im mediately rejected all charges, proclaiming itself "deeply offended", and confirmed that as regards human ri ghts the Cou ntry is making "real and cont inuous progress". Nevertheless , the day before the Amnesty International official report, ten members of the Gama/ Mubarak.

still required for an amp ler project, ai med at mak ing this man the natural heir to the Presidency of his father: a necessary and sumptuous matrimo ny. In the Egyptian cu lture, where the ave rage male age for saying goodbye to ce libacy is aroun d twenty-five, a prestigio us office cannot prescin d from the deep-rooted co ncept of famil y, tradition ally considered as a mark of personal maturity and social prestige. If Egyptian public opinion is still hes itant about a President without the collar badges of command, it is certainly not ready t o accept t his office witho ut a firs t lady. And this is what prompts the future "heir to the throne" to take a wife on t he 4th of May 2007, exactly on the 79th birthday of the President, and immediately after the end of the sessions of the "International Conference for the Stabi lization of Iraq", held at Sharm el Sheik, the Egyptian pearl of the Red Sea.

Left. Attack helicopters exercising in the desert. Muslim Brothers are arrested w ithout apparent reasons : Mubarak has today a formidable alibi for Below. putting his political adversa ries out of action . Policemen watching over a district of the capital. But does this intransigence, besides its po li tical opportun ism, actually constitute the hinge of the f ight against terrorism, even if today the Is lamic militancy presents itself with the democratic connotation of popular consent? The fear, shared by some analysts, resides precisely in the excessive preclus ion to the democratic ways, which could bring abo ut, as happened in previous situations, a recrudescence of terro rist activities, nourishi ng the hypothesis of a sing le practicable way for determining one's own reli gious specificities. Nevertheless, one of the last moves is made, as usual, w ith cunn ing and stubborn dete rm inatio n. Even if the international press has given scarce attention to this piece of news, (which has been Although the actual marriage settlement had total ly ignored by the Italian daili es), today a further already been signed the week before at the "Air Force amendment to the Constitution reserves to the Club" of Heliopolis in Cairo (before the highest Prim e Min ister the right to take over the presidenauthority of the Sunnite world, Great Imam tial office in case of death or incapacity of the Mohammed Sayyed al Tantawi - author of the harshPresident. Therefore there is no more obli gatio n to est criticisms to Benedict XVl's address at Ratisbon appoint a Vice President- w it h al l and with the Head of the inte lli the problems we have exami ned gence, Omar Suleyman, as the if the choice had falle n directly " Although public opinion brideg room's best man) - the on the son - but the succession has not liked the Syrian mod merry celebration of the wedding becomes automatic with the with beautiful , young and rich el, young Carnal seems to be Khadija el- Gammal takes place in seco nd political position of the Country, irrespective of the uni- the only prestigious figure in the presidential vi lla of Sharm el form and the pre-established a position to reach the high Sheik with thousands of guests. appointment of a Vice President: est office of the Country , , A quip that circulates among another step towards a Cairo's intellectuals labels th e "Monarchy" has been made. event w ith ill - concealed irony: But on the road of son Carnal - by now paved "T he wedd ing present? Egypt'"¡ But t he interrogawith political prestige - something important is tives put forward by analysts are not few. Among

Rtvista M,htaro Engt,sh Ed,t,on n. 312007

A unit of the Egyptian Navy on parade.

Amphibious infantrymen on training.

the most important that ought to be pointed out Is lam ic Maghreb". there is that presumably Gamal Mubarak does not A long fuse is alight in North Africa and slowly know his Country in depth (and th is is seen as a bu rning ... but in which powder keg is the explosive? seriou s po litical shortcom ing) and his youth would Egypt has been object ively left alone with its d if not allow him to fully understand the complex traficult decisions. ditions of the national culture and pol itics. As we have mentioned, the European and But if w e are really facing a defin itive transforAmerican media have g iven little and fleeting mation of the old socialist regime into a modern attenti on t o the recent developments in th e system governed by free market (even if still Cou ntry, as did the democratic Institutions impervious to democratic demands) the real quescharg ed with this type of analysis and with w orktion that shou ld be as ked is: what do the m ilitary ing out the short- and medium - t erm scenarios. think abo ut it? The problem of nuclear power - or better, of its And, moreove r : in its next configuration is Egypt strategic con notation - could inflame the national ready to m eet t he challenges that are increas ingly pride, which is already put to the test by Israel' s and crowding precisely inside North Africa? Iran's po litical and military superiority and , although The dramatic appeal sent out by al Qaeda has President Mubarak has, up to now, been against the not remained un heeded . development of weapon s of mass destruction, what Since t he beginning of 2007 a is the position of the new leaderchain of bloody attacks has ship wanted by son Gamal going shaken the entire region, scatto be? Will it be the large eco'we are facing a transforma tering wounded and dead among Jon of the old socialist nomic deficit reached with the the civi lian population of the regime into a modern systerr United States that prompts Egypt Mediterranean shores. At the to accept the tempting offers governed by free market.. . , , that come from Rus sia and gates of peaceful Tun is Uanuary 2007) an actual battle was foug ht China? Moreover: what is the role between the Police and a Jihadist of the Muslim Brotherhood going cell that was planning a series of attacks against to be, after the expulsion from the political life of the Embassies (US and Great Britain) , luxury hotels and Country? the most important tourist resorts. Besides the polit ical and decision-making fickleIn cosmopolitan Casablanca (March 2007) three ness of the European Union, the U.S. State suicide bombers blow themselves up to avoid capDepartment is apparently distracted by particu larture - t hey were equipped wit h explosive belts ly intricate prob lems. The Iraq i quagmire , the dif during an attempt to counter the numerous clandesficulties met in Afghanistan, Iran's political med tine terrorist cells detected by the Moroccan police. dling , Lebanon's and Palestine's endu ring instabil But the most appalli ng attac k occurs in Algiers ity have presumably convi nced Was hington to (April 2007) with a frightful explosion caused by a work out a doctrine based on defensive pos ition s, car driven by a su icide bomber against the where priorities do not consi st any more in Government's Palace, in the heart of the city, spreading democracy in the Middle East area, but im med iately fol lowed by two more car bombs in consolidating the stabi lity (the resid ual one) still launched against the "Bab Ezzouar" Police barpresent in the region. racks, along the road leading to the airport: about 30 dead and more than 220 wounded , with the Daniele Cellam are trademark and responsibility claimed by al Qaeda, Lecturer of History which uses the new logo "al Qaeda in the Land of of International Relations

LIFE AND SECUITY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN In a background characterized by globalization, one perceives the need of a strategy that could influence the future order of the Mediterranean, so as to avert the risks of political and social degeneration in an ancient and high ly civil ized region. Italy has always been working in order to keep this area firmly bound to a corn mon destiny of development and freedom.

For we Italians this problem , which has t urned countries (this process was started in a summit t hat out to be serio us, although it is linked with the was held in Rome in November 199 1) has been possecurity of the whole wor ld wh ich now touches itive. For Italy the acknowledgement of the existence every country, is extremely important for lots of of a strong lin k between European and reasons, not only the geographical ones. It has Mediterranean security is extremely important and in been d iscussed in a recent meetin g that was Brussels discuss ion meet ings about this issue are organi zed by the Centre of arranged as well as other meetStudies on Defence and Security ings wit h the six cou ntries of the and chai red by Sen. General ' For Italy the acknowledge- Persian Gu lf and with Morocco Luig i Rampon i, forme r Preside nt ment of the existence of a and the most important one was of t he Defence Comm it tee of in Istanbul. strong link between European held the Chamber of Deputies. The need for a change with in The issue has been deve loped and Mediterranean security is the framework of the acknowlon four levels: th e loca l level of extremely important,, edged centrality of the the bas in; the issue of the Medit erranean also concerns the enlarged Mediterranean ; the military order; it is necessary to European and the world leve l, wh ich are lin ked take a fi rm and joint action, with better coordination with eac h other. and use of resources , and this requires the partici The analysis has focused on some fu ndamental pation of Israel and the Mus li m countries. For this questions: first of all, the need for a reliable internapu rpose it is essential to create a network of infort ional strat egy, because the phenomenon of globalmation about the Mediterranean traffic, whose enti ization, which cou ld bring about terrorist effects, ty is enormous (about two thou sand departu res puts al l countries at risk and make the m vulnerable. every day from the ports of the 2 5 coastal countries The transformation of NATO from an element of as well as arrivals from every part of the world). contraposition into an instru ment of cooperation between countries, especially with ex- communist THE ITALIAN POSITION In this complex situatio n Ita ly has always played a central role an d, in the last decades, has reached its exact pos ition and has become aware of the Left. Sen. General Luigi Ramponi and the Hon. Mass imo D'Alema at the Conference of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies.

Title pages. A satellite image of Italy and the Mediterranean basin.

Riv,s/a M1t,taro English Edition n 312007

importance of an improvement of the relationships between t he three coasts of t hi s sea. In the meeting lots of special issues have been examined : the significant level of commercial partnership, as well as political and military, for example with regard to trai ning, between Italy and Middle East countries, in particu lar Lebanon; the large flow of energy resources that arrive or pass through this sea (recently there has been an increase in the flow to Sardinia), and the care they requ ire for reasons of ecolog ical security. Hence the need for thorough checks that we should do. As a consequence of the Italian activism, Europe has paid much more attention to the problem concerni ng the Middle East, where our Allies is find ing more and more difficulties. An example can be given by one of the latest crises, when we were able to lift the naval blockade that had been imposed on Lebanon by Israel.

THE «SEISMIC DANGER» OF THE MEDITERRANEAN Anothe r cruc ial issu e is that relati ng to Mediterranean as «fault line» on which the three biggest and most ancient geographical and political entities of t he world come into contact with each other: Europe, As ia and Africa w ith thei r history, cu lture, religion and tradition. Therefore it requires to be discussed thoroughly and with great care. This stresses the importance of the Armed

"Lagunari" on surveillance duty in Lebanon.

Forces as a «stretched out arm» of Italy abroad, where they have shown considerable operational skill s that have earned Italy the respect of ot her countries. This shows again our inherent abil ity to establish a positive relationship with people and the institutions of the countries where we have operated, despite all prob lems that inevitably arise.

«STRATEGIC CHANGES» The end of the stability that was based on nuclear energy has brought about a significant change that must be discussed. Another important issue is the importance of the Middle East problem. This has led to a period of g reat conflict, which is atypical from the past, because it is localized to specific areas of the planet and, at the same time, is extended to every part of the world because of the presence of mi llions of Mus lim s in all world count ries, whose cu lture must be considered as a resource and not as a problem. However it could result in fanatical be haviour and lead to terrorist attacks. The most worrying aspect is that, d iffe rent ly from traditional conflicts, terrorism does not need to win. It aims not to be defeated and it is very difficult to handle this aspect on a military level. It can be compared to the

Table l

BALANCE AND HARMONY BETWEEN SEA, LAND AND SKY

I

I

In this sense the prospect of the responsibility of the Armed Forces changes. The respons ibility of the air and naval forc es remains considerable: links in the transports, control and protection of the constant civil and com mercial maritime traffic, of the enormous number of underwater links, with thousands of kilometres of gas pipeline, telephone and electric cables, providing land forces who operate in risky areas with air and sea cover, thanks to maritime artillery units wh ich are effective over a longer range and are able to move more eas ily than land units, avoiding difficulties that could arise when they operate on uneven and im practicable grou nd, and the great speed of military aircraft also to enable them to retreat in case of excessive risk. Naval patrolling and air control remain important to prevent illegal immigration and acts of maritime piracy (e.g. the "Achille Lauro" case). The risk of facing "naval battles" has been reduced while the difficulties land forces have to cope w ith have increased and requ ire special skills, more soph isticated weapons and resou rces in order to spot risk areas. It al so requires new training activities to carry out effective actions in areas that can be considered atypical they are compared to the old concept of "battlefield" or "front", which does not exist any more; the conduction of operations is much more difficult in these zones, especially in built- up areas and requires a more complex and careful organization of the operations. Ensuring balance and cooperation among the three Se rvices, because of the increasing emergencies to cope with, and an equal distribution of wealth, are now even more important. To conclude, the political authorities should take another factor into account: the role played by Italy within the framework of the international powers involves making available more funds not only at internal level but also at European and world level.

if

«guerrilla warfare in the mountains», because it is T he meeting was lacking only in giving inform anot conducted by military formations that are easily t ion about the progress of constr uction works on identifiable but by people spread across the world. the system of pan- European multi- modal corriTerrorists can hide in common houses, among the do rs of co mmun icat ion and transport. Peo ple have woodland trees and in the gorges in the mountains. t he right to know, at least in ge neral , what is happening and how things are going. In this framework, the role of our country both in designing new strategies of investigation and defence and in promoting the European activity has been important so that we wil l be able to handle THE «PROCESS OF BARCELONA» properly something that touches us directly, coordinate our work with that of other countries and act Interest of the Mediterranean «on a large scale» unanimous ly, provided that we want to regard Europe as a «European Union» (table l ). As a posiThe conference of Barcelona, which was held in tive result of our diplomacy, the Israelis have ag reed November 1995 and was entitled «Euroto use an international instrument to strength en Mediterranean», demonstrated at least two th ing s: their security, in the Israeli- Arab-Palestinian conhow to establish a dialogue even in the most comflict, which constitutes the main factor of destabiplex situations and between awkward partners providlization in the world and causes knotty problems, ed that there is goodwill, good faith and clarity of aims; such as the new recruitment of terrorism even in the that the Mediterranean includes in its sphere of African continent. interests not only its coast al There is another important countries but also other areas. In element t hat is linked w ith the ' ... the role of our countr) fact, even di stant countries iss ue of security: the contribun both designing new strat attended the conference , tion to economic development although they were already rep~gies of investigation anc resented and to the improvement of livbecause there was both ing condition s in other coun - Jefence and promoting thE the Council of the European _uropean activity has been Union in the person of Javier tries. Not only is this contribution civilly necessary, but it is ,ery important , , Solana and the European essential also because peop le Committee represented by Vicew ho have got nothing to lose President Manuel Marin. Despite and are on the breadline are more likely to adhere this, also Belgium, Denmark, Finland , Germany, to extrem ist pos ition s. Ireland, Luxembourg, Holland, Great Britain and Lui g i Ramponi and his Study Centre have Sweden had wanted to attend. Th is body as been stressed these points and have hig hlighted the one of the few (apart from the UN), and maybe the role of Italy in Iraq not to «help the Americans», as only one, where Israel and the Palestinian Authority, some people have im properly said, but to de monin the person of Vasser Arafat, were present at the strate that there are more appropriate and co nsame time. All the conference members continue to structive instruments to handle the situation. work silently on its «process», despite lots of diffi-

Rivista Militare Englis/J Edition n. 312007

culties, accordi ng to t he defi nition of t he conference as an «open process in evolution». In this se nse, the «significant emphasis o n the social, cultural and human d imension» is very important for the her itage of our cult ure «because they are t he th ree f undamental as pect s of the shared object ives about t he Medit erranean».

The security iss ue comes to t he foreg round In particular, the first chapt er was about secu ri ty. After stressing in t he pream ble t he st rat eg ic importance of t he Mediterranean t he need for a peace settlement in the Middle Eas t (Table 2) was underlined . Th is g ives r ise t o strong susp icio ns about the world foreig n policy : t he protag onists of t he events cou ld lie deliberately or other entit ies or reaso ns hide be hind t he situation and sabotage any po ssible ag reeme nt systemat ically. As well as reaffirmat ions co ncern ing t he need for peace, st ability and secu rity, the reference to the Charte r of t he United Nation s, the Un iversal Declaratio n of Hu man Rights , the pri ncip les of democracy, of a balanced econom ic and social devel-

Right. Minister of Defence Arturo Paris i at the Conference of the Cent re for Defence and Security Studies.

Below. A barge crammed with illegal im migrants.

I

I.

opment, of d ialogue and of respect for the disti nctive characteristics of every single populace and for the nonint erference in t he internal affairs of other countries , another point was stressed: they recog nize t he necessity to promote and strengthen peace, stability and security in t he Mediterranean by all means at their disposal, ad hering t o t he pri nci ple t hat «the regional secu rity must be promoted to achieve the goal of t he non- proliferat ion of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as we ll as conventional. .. throug h international and regional ag reements on control and di sarmament and the creation of demilitarised areas ... t he reduct ion of troops and weapons

/

Table 2

TH E DECLARATION OF BARCELONA In the Declaration of Barcelona, the first part was dedicated to com mon obj ectives in the f ield of pol icy and secu rity to create a common area of peace and stability. In this framework, in the military sector, the participants said that they wanted to "promote regional security supporting any actio ns aimed at ach ieving t he goal of the non- prolife ration of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons , through t he cooperat ion between international and regional organizations on the non-prol iferation, arms control and agreements on disarmament such as N.P.T., C.W.C., B.W.C., C.T.B.T. , and also throug h reg ional agree ments on demilit arized areas, including control systems, as well as th roug h a serious comm itment to adhering to conventions on arms control, d isarmament and non- proli feration". 'The goal is to create an area, i n t he Midd le East, fre e from weapons of mass destru ction, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their launch ing systems, and j ointly real ly controllable". "In addition, the participants will work towards a solution in order to prevent the prolife ration of nuclear, chemical and biolog ical weapons and the excessive accumu lation of conve ntional weapons". "They prevent t he mil itary forces from pursuing objectives that go beyond a pu re necessity of def ence and uphold their decision to obtain t he same level of security and m utual trust, using as fewer troops and weapons as possible and adhering to the C.C.W.". 'They promote t he establi shment of good neigh bourly relations and will support t he actions that are aimed at ensuring stabil ity, security, wealth and regional and sub- reg io nal cooperatio n" 'They take any measures aimed at ensuring security and seen by each participant as a good instru ment for creating an area of peace and stabil ity in the Mediterranean, includ ing the long- term opportunity to create a Eu ropean- Med iterranean pact for th is purpose".

to the mi nimum .. . the establishment of neighbourly relations and good cooperation .. . in order to create an area of peace and stability in t he MediterraneanÂť. With regard t o cooperatio n it is necessary t o ref er to It aly, es pecially in the m ili tary field (but also in other fields: health service, ed ucation, public work s and so on) both with t he prese nt co untries and other coastal cou nt r ies (e.g . Alba ni a) co nsidering the strong prese nee in the ltal ian Milit ary Schoo ls of dozens of you ng people earning from t hose co untries and the activity of training and support t o the local institut io ns (Iraq and Lebano n) that is sti ll do ne today.

Economic cooperation T he second part was dedicated t o econo m ic cooperation to narrow the develop m ent gap between the Med it erranean reg ions and t he par-

t 1c1pants put forw ard t he idea, which is sti ll impract icab le, of expand ing and opening the market by 2010, acco rd ing to the European free trade ag reement, at least to some co unt r ies t hat are situated in t he South and East Medit erra nean (and in pros pect to all countries) . T his is still im practicable becau se t hese count ries are far rem oved from reachi ng t he econo mic, ad minist rative, organ izatio nal and legislative standards that are required by the EU, but t his idea is still harbo ured and encou raged by close contact that has been establis hed between the d ifferent populatio ns, espe cially between the yo unger generations; just twe nty years ago, in fact, no one would have bet o n t he birth of a European Union. Lots of aspects have been high lighted protection of intellectual and industrial copyright, the deve lopment of market economy, modern ization of econom ic and social structu re es pecial ly in the private sector, encouraging the ag reement between companies; environment: t he role of women, ene rgy policy, water resou rces, agricult ure, transports, informatio n and telecommunications, mariti me law, scientific research, fi nancial coope rat ion, cultural and religious t olerance, payi ng attent ion t o t he role of the mass media, educat ion and cultural and student exchanges , health, decentralized cooperati on, em igrat io n, terrorism prevent ion, drugs deal, raci sm prevention , xenophobia and intole rance. To ach ieve all these obj ectives regular meetings between the foreign mi ni sters of t he participant cou ntries w ere he ld. They drew up a co m prehensive wo rk programm e that was des ig ned to create a Medi te rranean area of free trade, t o st imu lat e

Javier Solana, Pres ident of t he Council of the European Union.

Rwisla M,Mare English Edition n 312007

I Technical intervention on a pylon of a marine platform.

A marine platform in the Mediterranean.

The most important econom ic partner of the Maghreb, and consequently of the Arab Maghreb Union , is th e EU, with about 70% of its fo reign trade: exports especially in t he sector of minerals, hydrocarbo n, farm produce and labour; imports especially in the sector of farm produce, industrial products, trade relations with European ind ustrial plants which are situated in the area to take advantage of lower labour costs. Studies are now under way on bilateral free trade agreements, which are warmly suppo rted by the "process of TH E INSTITUTIONAL MARCH OF THE ARAB WORLD Barce lona". Through the modern means of communication The Arab- Maghreb Union (especially television), in the last years there has been an increase also in the cultural relationships with th e In order to value whether it is pos sible to carry out this pro'With regard to cooperatior West. According to the information gramme, it is necessary t o refer t is necessary to refer to Itpublished on its website, the to the Arab Maghreb Union, aly, especially in the milital') Arab Magh reb Union copes whi ch is an o rganization that was fou nd ed on the 1 7th field ... , , mai nly with the tas k of spreadFebruary 1989. It is based in ing knowledge of the area across the world, deals with Rabat and includ es Algeria , Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tu nisia. economic, commercial, touri st and computer issues Its principal aim is to strengthen the lin ks and fosters the creation of a ÂŤfemale forumÂť for between member countries, to ensure reg ional Moroccan members of Parl iament, th uspromoting stability, the common defence and the non interthe advancement of women in society. ference in the internal affairs of the partners and T his slow but constant headway, especially in the coastal areas (and this has caused problems in the to im prove political coordination. It also aim s at more internal areas), on th e one hand opens up promoting a gradual insertion in th e area of free opportunities, and on the other poses dangers movement of goods, services and inputs. Since 1990, thirty-six multil ateral agree ments have caused by the globalization performed by the West been sig ned in different sectors : commercial tarwith its massive and at times invasive methods. iffs, farm produce, guarantees on investments. Considering the interdependence between politThere is also an ambitious motorway project to link ical, cultural, economic and mi litary events, it is Mauritania with Algeria (Autoroute East- West): it will important to take into account this process and be 7 thousand kilometres long, 1 200 of which have the good opportunities that could arise from it: they could seem limited, but actually they can lead already been bu ilt in Algeria. Its completion would be to important chang es, always taking as an exam a remarkable factor of economic growth in the area. ple what has taken place in Europe. Work is continuing , despit e logistic and normative difficulties due to the complexity of the project, the Giordana Canti lots of interests it involves and to the different social, Journalist cultural and political realities it crosses. investments, to encourage industry, agriculture, transports and energy; it also included issues concerning regional plann ing , tourism , environment, science, t echno logy, water resources, fish ing, human resources, dialogue between cultu res, mean s of information, the young , exchange s between different societies, social development, health , em igration, close contact at a parliamentary level and between publ ic institutions.

( IO lveco Fiat - Oto Melara

•

•PUMA

Syndicate Company

Afghanistan Iraq

•CENTAURO Albania Bosnia Herzegovina Iraq Kosovo Somalia • DARDO

Iraq

• ARIETE

Iraq

FALLUJAH On November 8, 2004, at dawn, l 5,000 American and Iraqi soldiers launched an attack on the city of Fallujah, Iraq. It was the beginning of operation "Phantom Fury"/AI- Fajr (Dawn)" the hardest fight in a built- up area ever conducted by American Marines since the battle of Hue, South Vietnam, in 1968. This article is a thorough reconstruction of a battle destined to be included among the classic combats in in habited areas, such as Stalingrad, Ortona, Hue and Grozny.

On March 31 , 20004, a log ist ic convoy, escorted by private mil itary contractors from the "Black Water USA" American company, fell into an ambush while drivi ng through the city of Fallujah. T he four members of the esco rt were killed and their mangled bodies were hung from a bridge on the Euphrates. The strong emotional impact of the event started , as wished by the guerri llas, a new strategy of tens ion, aimed at disprovi ng, through the world 's mass media, the official American reports on the progressive improvement of the situation in Iraq. On April 4, the l st Marine Division, which had replaced the s2 nd Airborne Division in February, assuming the responsibility for the area, launched, as an immediate response, operation "Vigi lant Resolve" (l - 5 and 2- 1 Marines), with the intention of dislodg ing the resi stance groups from the city. The operation ended after three weeks of fierce fighting: the American forces avoided entering the city, because of th e high number of victims thi s would have caus ed among the civilians, with a notable damage to the mission's image in Iraq. The local authorities, which had worked to prevent the extens ion of the fighting into the city centre, undertook to keep the city from hostile forces and to create a local security force (the Fallujah Brigade), which would guarantee the pledge . On May 1, the guerrillas took to the streets of the city, proc laiming their "triumph". In al l, 39 marines and 600 resi stance- fighters d ied. The media of the whole Middle East talked of a resounding American defeat. Despite the accords of the late summer of 2004, according to the American intelligence, in Falluj ah there were no less than 2000- 3000 hidden resistance fighters: until November 9, it was considered almost certain t hat also the charismatic Jordan ian leader Abu- Musab al- Zarkawi had his headquarters there. The "Sunni triangle" had been a hard nut to

crack for the coalition forces, but Fall ujah in part icular was like a fi nger pointed d irectly at Laying along the Eup hrates, about 69 km Baghdad. west of the capital, the city was the natural logistic stop on the infiltration routes of the Jihad ist f ighters who, following the ancient river, headed for the heart of the Cou ntry. From a political viewpoint the presence of a sanctuary of the guerrillas a few kilometres from the capital was a real ou t rage to the credibi lit y that the new Iraq i government was trying to gain. The app roach ing national elections, which were due in January 2005, mad e a rapid response mandatory. Operation "Iraq i Freedo m" was nearing the end of its second year: time, as in all counterins urge ncy activities, was beginning to play inexorably against the side unable to keep the initiative against t he enemy.

Title page. M240 machine gunner supporting the irruption of his squad from a roof.

Above. A Ma rine squad moving to the attack.

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 3/2007

death of two Iraqis. Despite the effo rts of the American military authorities to prove that the sold iers had responded to t he fire of terrorists hidden Fallujah is located in t he Iraq i province of Al among the crowd, what w as left by the tragic event Anbar, and its origins go back to Babylonian times. was a g rowing and irre m ed iable hosti lity, w hich At the begi nn ing of operation Iraqi Freedom it led the entire city to openly support the Sunni numbered 300,000 - 350 ,000 inhabitants on a guerrillas sponsored by al- Qaeda. territory of three by three and a half kilometres. As a battl efie ld , th e city is a real nig htmare . A During Saddam Husse in' s rule t he city was an de nsely-bui lt up area, w ithout a clear distinction important support area fo r the regime. In fact , mostly Sun ni Iraqis inhab ited the city, and m any between resident ial , com me rcial and industria l quart ers, it does not permit an opti mal distri buprom inent members of the Ba' ath party cam e tion of attack secto rs to t he units. The movefrom the region. Also because of th is, during the regime the city underwent a m assive indust r ial ments of armou red ve hicles are lim ited to the ma in streets, which form dist r icts of about ization in com parison with many areas of the l 00x200 met res . Inside the districts th e street s Country. Nu merous mil itary inst allatio ns and are narrow, with w alls on both sides ; th ese charindu strial plants were located on its outsk irts : acteri stics hinder t he move me nt of the ve hic les already during the Gulf War of 199 1, th e area was and the trave rs e of the weapons on board. T he often bombed , for the suspicion that t he factoinfa ntry on foot can ex pect an equall y difficu lt ries producing chem ical weapons w ere hidden job: forced dispersion of forces, spl itt ing down to there. More than for its industr ial i mportance, the squad leve l, lack of fire and observatio n fields city is known in the regio n as th e "City of an d , the r efore, prob lems in the Command, Mosques", thanks to the more than 200 relig ious buildin gs risin g in its ce ntre an d in the nearby Control and coordinat ion of t he forces, even at the lowest leve ls . But the most de licate aspect is villages . the clearing of bui ld in gs . T he houses , made of Du ring the invasio n of Iraq in 2003 , th e city w as marginally invo lved in the clashes. The un its of the bricks , are dense ly grouped in blocks, and can Iraqi Army station ed there simply laid dow n their either be adjoi ni ng or stand ate f ew metres from weapons and equ ipment and mingled w ith the each othe r: in both cases it is possible to move from one to th e next witho ut being seen, even population. The collapse of the regime caused an from observat ion poi nts on the roo fs. Almost al l institutional vacu um: for seve ral w eeks , crim inal houses have an inte rn al garbands raged in the area stripden surrounded by w alls, with ping all build ing s of anyth ing a potti ng shed that can valuable . This was made eve n ' ' Laying along the Eu worse by the fact t hat Saddam, phrates. .. the city was the acco mm odate a man. The win dows ove r looki ng t he garden, in one of his last official acts, natural logistic stop on the unlike those on the exterior, had released all t he in m ates of are rath er large. Many have the nearby prison of Abu Ghraib. infiltration routes of the Ji bars and shu t t ers to obstruct Thus the inhabitants had to hadist fighters ... , , t he view from t he outside. organize themselves to protect Ofte n the entrance has two their hom es from t he thieves. doors, an i ron one t owards the exterior an d a Th is large ly explains why, at th e begin ning of the second one , more internal, made of iron and invasion, the mayor of the city, Taha Bidaywi w ood. T hrough th e second door o ne enters an Hamed, elected by t he tribes' ch iefs, init ially sided anteroom wi t h two more doors that open on two open ly with the American s, helping them to readjacent rooms and , past them , one conve rges establish order in the region. However, the situation worsened in th e follow ing on a ce ntral passage. All the roo ms of the first floor ope n on the passage, where there are also months: the restrictive measures imposed by the American Army to stop the t errorist activity, such t he stairs th e lead to the second floor, w ith a num ber of rooms proport io ned to the size of th e as curfew, strict co ntrol of ide ntities, lim ited freehouse. T here can be also a sm all i ron staircase dom of moveme nt, gradually raised t he host ility of leading to a spacious t errace , from w hic h the popu lation. Th e most serious incident took t hrou g h anothe r small sta ircase o ne can reach place on April 28, 2003 when a throng protesting the roof itsel f. against the curfew gathered in fron t of a school This short desc ript ion gives only an idea of what occu pied by paratroopers of th e U.S. s2nd anybody w anting to li berate the city from an Airborn e Divisio n, demanding that the school be enemy had to expect 39 ,000 build ings with more reopened t he soldiers fi red on the crowd of civil ians , killing 7 and w ounding more t han 70. A cou t han 400,000 rooms t o inspect, destroy with bu llple of days later, another protest en ded wit h t he dozers o r blow up.

THE BATTLEFIELD

TA.SK ORG J8 T MARINE DIVISION MAINEFfORT ( l(Rch)

RCT-1 X

Fallujah Environs

Fallujah

.

~

-

~

~

k\l

2 BCT IJ8:gl 1

RCT-7 ~

31:8Js j h

l(Rn• •J

Ramadl

0

Western AO N. Babil

U'I/

2BC116J 2

lr

SSF

SSF

1 ~~

-

759 ~

~ 44 1s:..1

-

SSF 1~

IIF

24 bd

SSF

9

sW10 ·c~,

I 5

SSF

~

C

AC[

2

-·

3

,,,

: DIY RESERVE;

lAf

2(2j~4 l

lAf

, GEN. SUPPORT •

•

ING

2 ~

.,,

.l

' - -------~- ---- ' ·-

Snrce: M.MMatthews, "OperaJion Al-F qjr: a suu/y in Army and Marine CQ,PS JQint Operaumss", GWOT Occasional Paper 20,

Combat Studies Institute Press, Kansas 2006.

THE BATTLE BEGI NS Operation "Phant om Fury", later renamed "AI Fajr" (Sunset), started at 7 p.m . of November 7, 2004, commanded by General John F. Sattler, Commander of the I MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) . The sky over Fall uj ah was already clouded by the sm oke of t he intense preparation fi re of the art illery and the air fo rce, wh ich for days had been hammering the city to cover the movement of the m echanized un its towards the assig ned st arting areas, located to the north and south of the city. Meanwh ile, at least ten different types of UAVs photog raphed, control led and filmed every metre of the city gro und , singling out the targets of high -potential, sate II ite - gu ided convention al bo mbs. The plan of attack envisaged the subdivision of t he I MEF forces into a Brigade- level security force (approx 7000 m en), tasked with surrou nding the city, and an attack force due to fall upon it from the north. Eight thousand men strong, the fist that had to sm ash the defe nces of the city was made up of two Marine Regimental Combat Teams (RCT-1

and RCT- 7), consisting altogether of 4 Marine Combat Gro ups (3 -1 , 3- 5, 1- 8, 1- 3) and two mechanized Combat Groups from t he U.S. Army, the 2- 7 CAV and 2-2 INF (Mec han ized). Each Task Force was ass ig ned an attack sector going from north to south and , at the same time, reference and consolidation lines, fo r the necessary coordi natio n of t he effo rts of the un its wit h the huge number of supports availab le. The manoeuvre was simp le: t he advance of the infantry had to work like a ham mer, pu sh ing t he enemy forces to the southern part of the city where, th anks to the anvil rep resented by t he security units, they would be entrapped and destroyed i n the engag em ent area set up in the southern industrial area. As envisaged in the first phase of the operation , t he 2nd Brigade Co m bat Team /1 st Cavalry Divi sion (2 nd BCT) put up an impenetrable secu rity cordon around the city, so that nothing and nobody co ul d enter or leave t he cit y. Meanwhile, in the night of November 7, the Marines of the Light Armoured Reconnaissance Battali on occupied the bridges on t he Eup hrates on t he west , in clud in g the Jurf l<as Sukr. T he Iraqi 35th Comma ndo

Rivista Mililare English Edition n . 3/2007

.0

Battalio n was to occupy t he hospital, located on a peninsu la on the Euphrates, and prevent its tactical use by the enemy. Backed by a mighty air and land support fire, in the morni ng of Novem ber 8, and the whole follow ing day, the 2nd BCT "Bl ackj ack" started probi ng the defences on the south, occupying t he first lines of the houses on the outskirt s. By fi ve o'clock in t he afternoon the electri city to t he city had been cut. Together with t he initial attacks conducted on November 7 to the west of the city, t he initial American efforts were a part of a more general deception plan aimed at making the defenders of the city believe that t he bulk of the attack would come from the south, thus diverting the great est part of the fo rces from the main attack sector to the north. Meanwhi le, on November 8, at 7 p.m. , on the northeastern side of the city, RCT - I and RCT - 7 had crossed the starting lines, begi nni ng t he main attack: th e marine units took advantage of the surprise and quickly occupied a group of apartments (3 / 5 Marines) and t he rai lway statio n (2 - 7 CAV and l / 3 Marines) , wh ich was im mediately

A ttack deploymen t on November 6, 2004.

t ransform ed into a support base for the extens ion of the efforts inside the city. Also special units of t he Iraqi security forces (ISF), some 2000 men, joined the combat. Late in the af ternoon of November 8, both the advance of the RCT - l , in the northwestern district of Jolan, and t hat of the RCT-7 in the northeastern di str ict of Askari were 700- 800 metres deep. On Novembe r 9, the most advanced vang uards of the American mecha ni zed infantry had actually reached Highway no. l 0, in t he heart of the city. In stead of us ing the Abrams tanks and Brad ley IFVs in a mere fu nction of support to t he infantry in its systemat ic cleari ng of the various districts , som e armoured eleme nts of the 2- 7 CAV were immediate ly projected forward. Pushing thei r w ay by firing on confirmed or suspected enemy pos itions, t he tanks went as far as Highway no . l 0, t hus preventing the g uerrillas from consoli dating thei r defences on successive lin es exploiting the slower advance of the infantry. As a matter of fact, the

risk was that t he ene my, with drawing undisturbed , cou ld practically nu ll ify the effort s aimed at stopping and progress ively weakening it, setting up at the same t ime traps and explosive devi ces along t he attackers' way. As expected, the re sistance in the so uthwest became immed iately much hard er, slowi ng down the firs t attempts to en ter the city. The Ji hadi sts had concentrated most of their heavy weapons in the south, a sign that th e American's dece it p lan had been fruitfu l. In Ap r il the marin es had arrived from t he south and the leaders of t he res ista nce ex pected t he same script, albeit on a larger scale. As envisaged by the f ire plan of t he operations , in the beg inning the city was stricken by a heavy supporting air and ground fire : in particular, du ring the first 12 hours of the attack the re was not a minute of pause. T he land un its that made it to the first bridgeheads in the outskirts of the city could count mainly on their own mortars and on the artil lery deployed at Camp Fa lluj ah, 22 kilometres southwest of the city. Wit h its M- 198 howitzers and l 5 5- mm M- 109A6 Paladi n self- prope lled gun , t he artillery ensu red the efficacy of its fi re through the numerous Fire Support Teams (FIST) det ached with the infantry units, often under the 600- metre security distance envisaged by the doctr in e. The air support was provided by fixed -wing land - based aircraft , belong ing to the Marines and the USAF: AV- 88 Harriers, F/ A- 18 Hornets, can non-armed AC- 1 30 Spectres , mu ltitask fighte rs F1 5 Strike Eagles and F- 16 Falcons. T he F/ A- 1 8C Hornets and the F- 14 To mcats of the US Navy in t he Persian Gulf were t aki ng off from the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) aircraft carrier. AH-1 Cobra and AH-64 Apache helicopters completed the spectacu lar depl oyment in th e sky of Falluj ah.

TO THE LAST MAN

Th e g uerrillas barricaded in Fallujah displayed from the very beg in ni ng a ve ry good knowl edge of the art of urban fighting. Th ey ado pted a fl ex ible de p loym ent, an d moved their forces very cleverly to t he poi nts of g reater concentrat ion of the American troops , try ing to nu ll ify their impetus. The i nvest igations conducted at th e end of t he fi ghting cl ear ly d emonstrated that the defende rs were real prof ession als of the in ternational Jihad, coming from eighteen different nations. T he vo lunteers from Chec hnya were

An M 198 howitzer of the 4th Battalion/ 14th Marines, Mike Battery, in support of the units in Fa llujah.

among t he hardest: by tak ing w ith them t he experience of the terri ble f igh ts ag ainst t he Russians in Grozny, the Chechnyan "wolves " put very often into practice th eir am bush in g ab ili ty, with dreadfu l results. T he crede ntia ls of t hose ex pe rt f ighte rs we re confirmed by t he fact t hat the defence was anything but im provised: they had learned very w ell t he lesso n from the Am erican attack launc hed i n Apri l. As a matt er of fact, t he American unit s found several tunne ls and communicat io n t ren ches across the city, co nnecti ng the stron g po in ts of the defence w ith depots of weapon s an d am mun itio n, p rea rranged along th e mai n withdrawal routes . Bes ides, breaches in t he wa ll s were opened between bu ildi ngs : they were used as escapes and, once utili zed, we re covered with t raps . With th i s organ ized syste ms of movement amo ng bu ildings, it was not easy t o preven t the res istance figh te rs fro m escap ing the systematic clea ri n g conducted by th e American infant ry, resu m i ng the f ig ht beh in d the adva nced un its and exp loiting the void s betwee n adj oin i ng un its. In order t o reduce th e impact of the Ame rican fi repowe r, exposed movement s were avoide d - es pecial ly those perpendicula r t o t he American advanced l ine - by moving from o ne sector to the next in para llel.

'

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 312007

On November l 0 , 2004, af te r a two-day battle, the American Command announced t hat t he land forces he ld 70% of the city, including im portant strateg ic points, such as city hall, numerous mosq ues and the market. With this success, th e American troops controlled highway no. l O (in code: Phase Line Fran) and consolidated thei r success for the subseq ue nt leap forward . Together w ith the advance of the land fo rces , there we re ince ssant air strikes : AGM-65 E Maverick and Hellfi re missiles w ere launched as close as 200 metres fro m the frie nd ly units, wh ile satel lite-g ui ded JDAM Uoi nt Direct Attack Munitio n) of the GBU-38 type were surgical ly stri king and destroyi ng the bu ildings occup ied by the g roup s of the res istance behin d the lines. Compared to the progress made in the north, in The effect of a )DAM on a building. the southwestern part of the city the situation was mo re i ntricate an d difficu lt. In the Re sala and Nada l di stri cts the defence had progress ively st iffe ned and become stronger an d stronger In fact, duri ng the Apri l fi ghts, the sn ipers of t he and bette r orga nized as the units went dee per 2nd Batta lion ; 1st Marine s (2 /1) and the tanks inside them. Obs tacl es and ex plo sive traps covhad made havoc of all those that had care lessly ered the most impo rtant accesses , channel ling ventured in the open . the un its against res istance stro ngholds planned At any rate, not al l the fighters that were in so as to ensu re a recip rocal cove r. Ge neral town intended to w ithd raw and resume the com George W. Casey Jr., Commande r o f the bat another day. Together wit h t he groups of Am erica n troops in Iraq, expected j ust that: with guerr illas , w ho exploited all poss ib le tactics t o t he closi ng of th e circl e the fight in g would strike and d isappear as q u ickly as possible , beco me blood ier, leaving le ss space to manoeu there were also un its of actua l martyrs, ready to v re and giv ing more importance to a real battle sacrifice th eir life ta king at le ast a m arine w ith of attriti on , wh ich wou ld wear them. Usually these fanat ics out the enemy til l its ann ihilaoccupied t he fortified positions tion. of the defence and resisted on ' ' ... it was not easy to pre T he f ig hting did not spare the spot to the last man. They vent the resistance fighters protected bu ild ings, such as often set up concealed posi - from escaping the system mosques , ofte n used by the tions in side th e ho uses and atic clearing conducted by guerri llas as shelters for their wai ted sile ntl y for the wou nded , or ammunition an d American infantry to come fo r- the American infantry ,, arms de pots. At any rate, in ward to clear the house: at that order to avo id negative impl ipoin t , they tried to wound one cati ons, the clear ing of mosques w as mostly left of the sold iers, in order to entrap the enti re to Iraq i troo ps, with the Am erican units f uncsquad that was trying to help hi m , thus i ncreastion ing as sup port. In fact it was precisely t he ing the number of the victims. occupation of the M uhammad ia mosque that They were not easy to dr ive out and elimigave r ise to one of the fiercest an d blood iest nate. As reported later by the American veterfights of the whol e operatio n: 8 rifl eme n of ans who had taken part in the battle , syring es Company B, l / 8 Marines los t the i r life in a few of adrenaline and psychotropic substances hours. In side the buildings the troops found w ere frequ ent ly found. The Jihadists emp loyed stac ks of w eapons and m unit ion s, together with them to increase the ir res istance t o fatigue and materials for maki ng bombs and explosive traps . pain. It was not uncommon for g uerrillas, woun ded by several 5.5 6 mm shots , to keep on figh ti ng feroc iou sly. The resu lt w as that, i n HOUSE BY HOUSE ord er to shoot down an enemy, the marines had t o aim directly at his face, complete ly dis Despite the prearranged hig h logistic and tech ch argi ng the mag az i ne o f t heir M 16s. In their nolog ic support, life for the A merican infantry turn , the enemy d id the same to avo id the squads was anythi ng but easy. m ar ines' bu ll etproof j ackets.

The teams tried to carry out their tasks as best as possible, despite the fac t that they were below strength even before the beg in n ing of the fight (in some cases they were as m uch as 50% short). With the protraction of the combat, the sect ors assigned to compan ies and platoons began to be too wide, thus forcing the units to reduce the number of me n tasked w ith searches, security and iso lation outside the blocks of bui ldings. Th is w as part icularly dangerous, since if the block was not proper ly iso lated and cleared t here was a growing r isk that the enemy escaped the fig ht or, even worse , that it could manoeuvre to the rear or o n the flanks of the att ackin g units. As proof of the fact that t he infantry work is someth ing that can be learned mostly on the field, after the f i rst clashes the attacking u nits learned to select carefu l ly the buildings they would attack. In fact, there was the ve ry high r isk of enteri ng a b uildi ng t hat had been turned i nto a trap (BCIED - Building containing IED), with the tragic consequences of losing an entire squad in a si ngle blow. The same fate cou ld hit those who i mprude ntly got near parked vehicles wit hout making sure beforeha nd that th ey were not VBIEDs (Vehic le-Borne IED), "cleari ng" them w ith automat ic fire. Once the bui ld ing was se lected, the marines and t he infantrymen avoided , if poss ible, ente ring t hrou gh doors and w indows, preferring to breach t he walls with t he Abrams' main armament and the Brad leys' antitank weapons. Often t he best way to conquer a building was to go throug h the roof. This, be sides offering the best pos itions for o bservation and f ire, permitted to t ake by surprise t he guerri llas barricaded i ns ide the buil d ings. T he tactical importance of the higher floors was also underst ood by the expert resistance fighters who, in a lot of build ings , destroyed the stairs or wa ll ed up the accesses that led to the roof. Whatever the w ay used by t he attacke rs to penetrate, they were awaited by exp losive traps or by an enemy ready to revea l itself on ly at very close contact, in scarce light, a lot of dust and w it h the deafening noise of automatic weapons in the enclosed environme nt. Even t hough eac h room w as cleared by a grenade before the irruption, the ene my could still fire through prearranged b reaches from room to room. The psychophysical stress increased rapidly among the men: a slow and method ical clearing offered the ene my an easy target, wh il e in a qu ick foray a tripping w ire tied to a grenade could go unnoticed. On ce a bui ld ing su ita bl e for defence was conquered, a platoon set up a f iri ng base on a dom i nant position, which provi ded a mut ual cover with the supporting armou red units mov ing on

Marines attacking with an A T- 4 rocket launcher.

the streets . Only w ith fire superiority on e cou ld kee p the i nitiative against a probable counterattack. Once t he o bjective was reached, a new consolidat ion line was set up and secured , which permitted the infantry to organize, evacuate the wound ed and receive suppl ies from the logi stic columns. The combats didn 't eve n stop at night, when t he gue rrill as hoped to escape the ove rwhel ming su periority of the Americans. AC- l 30Us airplanes, real flying arsenals, equi pped with thermic cam eras for night vision, spewed fi re on anyth in g moving t hat was not recog nised as friend, th us protecting the pos itions occupied by the marines for the night f rom the risk of bei ng isolated and crus hed . On November 11 the coal ition anno unced t hat the searches in the central part of the city had brought to light the existence of houses organized and used as real tort u re rooms. Some of them we re later recognized as the places whe re many hostages had been detaine d and ki lled. On the same day, t he defen ders shot down two Cobra hel icopters , but lucki ly t he pilots were rescued and d id not fa ll in t o the ha nds of the adve rsary. As th e American un its completed the mopping up of the districts, advanci ng more and more in the house-to-house battl e, th e cleared d istricts were handed over to the Iraq i units, w hich sec ured the m so as to prevent the ene my from reoccupying them. By that time, the favourab le situation was co nvinci ng the Americans t hat the game could be ended within 48 hours, w ith an additional week for clearing the entire area once and for all: the day ended with l 8 Americans and 5 Iraq i sold ier s

Riwsto M111tare English ÂŁ:d1tion

Members of the I st Company 3 5 Marines directing mortar fire .

ki lled and 164 membe rs of the coalition forces wounded . Th e losses of the g uerri llas were estimated in approximately 600 dead. By November 12 , eighty percent of the city was firmly in the hands of the coalition forces. There we re more an d more freq ue nt episodes where separate groups of survivors of the res i stance laid down their wea pons and negotiated the su rre nd er. The irreducible ones con centrated in th e southern qu arters . Some groups succeeded in eluding t he co ntro l of the advanced troop s maki ng the battlefield very irregu lar. Havin g carefull y stu d ied t he batt le of Grozny, the American Commanders were not surpri se d at th ese in f iltrat io ns; however, as the fight continued, t hey increased the number of the secure areas , wh i le the reserves began to run short. The imm ediate consequence was th at the un its that had at last been replaced on the front- line for having exhausted t heir opera tional capability, had t o conduct back- clearing o peratio ns , even t ho ugh they were tired and d ecimated. Thus , scattered fights raged in many areas of the city, making ins ecu re the logistic itineraries and the routes for the evacuat ion of the wou nd ed. Although early on November 13 a thousand guerril las had been killed and two hundred were taken prisoners , t he house - to- hou se operat ions did not end. On November 14 and l 5, fighting still raged: incons istent w ith th e previ ous announ ce ments , th e Amer ican m ilitary authorit ies declared th at 3 to 4 days mo re were needed in o rder to wipe out all the pock ets of r es istance . That the defence of the city had been well prepared and

n

312007

orga n ized was confirmed also by the discovery of an actual fo rt ifi ed system of build i ng s, all connected through a net work of communicatio n trenc hes an d tu n nel s leading to un de rground bunkers and hi dd en depot of w eapo ns that contained even an t iaircraft guns. Cle aring the compo und , f ul l of explosive traps, sl owe d down the advance consi derably. The depots of arms and ammunition d iscovered insi de t he buildings were too many to be counted, and so were the chemica l labo ratori es . After as long as a week of inten se fighting, the tactics employed by t he American infantry in cleari ng the districts becam e less "surg ical": if a bu ilding was suspected to house enemy forces o r ex plosive devices, was di rectly blown up or razed to the ground by 0 - 9 armoured bulldozers. The sq uad s that assaulted the buildi ngs, by then cut t o the bones, did not want to hear losses mentioned any more. As a matter of fact, the number of American casualties had gone up to 38 dead and 275 wounded, while 1200 guerrillas had reported ly been killed. In time, together with the sufferings of the fig hte rs, t he traged ies of the civil ian s we re growing in proportion. T he Red Crescent r eported more and more insistently the lack of food and water for the evacuees fro m the city. For t he Iraqi civi lians trapped in the city the situation wa s eve n worse. T he cro ssfire prevented t he hu ma nitarian workers from hel ping tho se entang led in the f ights. Th e Iraqi governm ent m anaged to organize several humanitarian convoys in o rder to meet t he primary needs of the tens of tho usands of citizens encamped at the gates of the city, but it was imposs ible to en ter or leave Fall uj ah.

A CONTROVERSIAL VICTORY At last, on November 1 6 the coalition Forces announced that the city was in t he ir hand s. Ma rines and Iraqi so ldiers we re still fighting in so me areas of the city, but by then there were, apparently, only some glimmers of resistance. In the north of the city, a last joint operation of the Iraq i 6th Battali on / 3rd Brigade and t he US 1 st Cavalry Division led to the capture of 1 7 more suspects who were i mmediately transferred to the Abu Ghraib prison to be questioned. Actu ally, si milar operations actually continued until as lat e as December 23 , but the end of largescale action s had already been officially declared and SASOs (Stabi lity and Support Operations) had rep laced them. On the same day of the diffusion of the new s on all the world media, the victory w as obscured by a

tragic event. The American network "NBC News" broadcast a report by Kevin Sites, a journalist embedded w ith t he Ame rican troops , showing a marine killing in cold blood a captu red wou nded guerrilla. The case compel led CENTCOM to issue an immediate answer, announcing t hat the First Marine Division w as already ho lding an official inquiry in order to asce rtain the truth about the alleged war cri me. In a si mi lar way , the internation al p ress sta rt ed t o spread news about the alle ged em p loyme nt by the Americans of MK-77 ince ndiary phosphorus bombs and napa lm to drive the guerri llas out of the ir she lters. The use of this type of arms is banned by both the Ill Protocol of the Ge neva Convention of 1980 and t he Convent ion on Pho to of a Fallujah district ta ken by a UAV Dragon. chemica l wea po ns of 1993. Thus t he U.S. Defence Department had to adm it that some of these devi ces had act ua lly bee n used against th e report that about 200,000 Iraq is should be conguerri llas, but the ir employment again st civ il ian sidered IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), for targets had never been autho ri zed. As a matter of fact, the land artillery had been us ing a tactic they have not returned to the region after the called "Shake and Bake", which co nsi sted in evacuation. T he Iraq is who want ed to go back to t he ir homes th row ing WP (White Phosp horus) g renades i n were authorized to do it afte r the midd le of order to fl ush the gue rril las out of th eir posi Decem be r, and only after each one of them had tions an d then hit them in th e open wit h HE been issu ed an ID card to be carried at all t imes. (High Explosive) gre nades. In any case, once t he g lares of battle w er e over , the press lost interest in the matte r. CONCLUSIONS The American units officially left the area on ly at the end of January 2005 . After t he hectic phases of the battle, the city had to be cleared of the enorThe batt le of Fal lujah has already entered among t he classics of combat i n mous amount of enemy arms in habit ed areas, next to names and equ ipm ent that had been impossible to remove during the ' ' The city suffered heavy like Stal ingrad, Ortona, Hu e For t he Arm ies of fig ht. destructions. About 60% of and Grozny. th e 2 1 st Cent ury it is already an The city suffered heavy the buildings were permaimportant chapter of history t o destructions. About 60% of the b ui ldings w ere pe r mane ntly nently damaged, while 20% be stud ied and analysed , since damaged, while 20% was com- was completely destroyed,, the lessons learned, if app ropriate ly assim ilated and used pletely destroyed. Sixty of the on t he doctrinal plane, will help about two- hundred mosques of to imp rove t he preparation of the units for com bat the city w ere razed to the ground. Ame r ican reports relate that that these rel igious build ings in these very difficult an d dramatically probable we re amply used by t he guerrillas as combat po si contexts . From a tactical v iewpo int the operation was an tio ns or arm depots, contrary to the provisio ns of unqu estio nable success . In its ge neral li nes , the art.1 6 of the Geneva Conventio n. plan was simp le and co uld not be easi ly thwarted T he esti mates of t he losses of t he "Multinat ional by possib le une xpected events . Althou g h the Force-Iraq" repo rt 1350 guerrill a fig hters killed announce m ent w as made in advan ce to th e civil and abo ut 1000 take n prisoners . The losses of the Iraqi Army amount to 11 dead and 43 wounded. ian residents, so th at they could clear t he cit y as qu ick ly as possib le, th is did not p reclude the All egedly, t he American losses as of December effectiveness of the dece pt ion plan aimed at con 2003 are 95 soldiers ki lled in combat and over 4 25 cealin g the real di rection of t he main attack . T he wo und ed . There are no cred ible estimates about the civilpre parat ion of reception camps outside the city ian vict ims of t he com bats, since not even the mad e it poss ible to estimate the nu mber of people who remained w ithin the city be lt, an d to number of t he populat ion at the moment of t he evalu ate correctly th at about 95% of t he pop ulaattack is certain . In any case, humanitar ian sources

R,vista M,t,wrc f=ng//sh Ed,t,on n. 312007

tank company said that his unit had conc luded the combat firing 1600 rounds of 120mm mortar, 121 ,000 rounds of 7.62 rifle and 49,000 rounds of 12.7 machine gun. As was to be expected, the fight became a job for platoon s and sq uads. At these levels, train in g and cohesion of the units were the winning cards. All the units employed had already been operating in Iraq for months, gain in g a solid combat experi ence . Thus they had a high degree of knowledge about the type of combat that awaited them in Fallujah, together with a se nse of belonging that bound the men together. Moreover, the leadershi p was strengthened by the previo us experience i n the war theatre: t he infantry Commanders showed a marked capabi lThe TF 2- 7 on highway no. 10. ity of initiative in combat, often employing "intu itive tactics" in order to carry o ut the assign ed mission with min imum losses. Lack of orders or tion could be considered not involved in the failure of radio connection with the higher figh ting . This had an im portant weig ht on the Headq uarters - ju st as strength sho rtages that decision about the instrumen t s to be employed were progressive ly increasing w ithin the squads insi de the city !n order to reduce t he losses to a - never paralysed the advancing units. To have min im um. an idea of th e hard jo b entrusted to th e infantry, During the planning it was made su re that, down suffice it to think that, for the whole two weeks to company level, t he decisio n- mak ing p;ocess of the battle, each p latoon was tasked with could resort to any type of available information cle aring 60 to 80 bu il ding s a day. Thi s enta iled a and digital support, extremely up-to-date maps dai ly average of two to four clashes with the and sate llite photographs. Enormous scale models enemy: every squad concluded the operation of the cit y were prepared in order to enable the with at least 24 engagem ents to its credit; th e Commanders to review with their men all phases duration of each of them varied from a few minof the act ion. The in telligence cycle was organized utes to several hours. so that the information cou ld timely reach the The q uality of Command and Contro l at the lowunits on the ground, allowing the necessary tactiest levels was also confirmed by the sk ill shown in cal adjustments: deep target s the employment of the engi were directly tran sferred to t he neers and of the advanced air force and the artillery, wh ile ' ' The battle of Fallujah has observers of the artillery and t he in fantry was t asked with already entered among the the Air Force, w hich were clearing the rest. To complete classics of combat in inhab- detached down to platoo n the traini ng framework before level. Even if it is equipped with the operation , and provide the ited centres, next to names the most advanced technologi update of the operational situa- like Stalingrad, Ortona, Hue cal instruments, inve sting tim e tion du rin g the mission , l 0 and Grozny ,, and resources to prepare types of UAVs ("Dragon Eyes", squad , platoon and company "Predators" and "Rave ns" among Com manders provid es the unit them) flew over the battlefie ld, recording every with the solidity and credibility necessary for con detail , from defences to troop m ovements in side ducting such a hard and w earing combat. the city, giving a precious help in the asses sment Particu larly noteworthy w as also the capabil ity of of the necessary adjustments . UAVs were issued cooperating at close contact with the tank secdown to Tas k Force level. tions, w hi ch needed coveri ng and fast indication of Considering the com plexity of the operation s, it the targets. The Abrams t anks w ere ab le to deve lwas not forgo tten to emphasize the coordination op all their power in support of the infantry: each proced ures, inc luding the ide ntification of friend ly of them fired an average of twe lve to twenty- four troops . At least officially, the re is no knowledge of 120mm rounds a day, togethe r with five hundred instances of victims of "friendly fire" despite the 12.7mm and over two thousand 7.62mm from the great volume of fire: 4000 artill ery she lls, l 0,000 coaxial machine gun. m ortar rounds and over l 0 ton s of bombs As a training ground for the veri fi cation of dropped by airplanes. The Commander of a Marine doctrine and TTPs (Tactics, Technics and

TASK ORGANIZATION TF 2-2 2- 2

A

~

1 x ACE 1 1 4 6

••• ~ ••• [Q]

X 09 X SHIPER X TERP X S OOS

A C) 2-6 3 •••

(§] •••

ITT ••

1 x ACE 1 X 09 J X SOOS 1 X l t RP

2 BN IIF

• ••

~

••

••

@]

@] ~

ri@

1 x MCLIC

1 x JTAC

2 BN IIF

1 x LRAS 4 X S ODS

GX US AAMY AOVISORS

4 X TERP 1 x SNIPER Tt.1

••

Cbt Power:

00

x M1A1 16 x M2A2 4 x M1064 (120MM MORTARS) 2 x 81MM MORTARS 38 x M1114 16 x M998AOA 2 x M109A6 (155MM PALADIN) 1 x MCLIC (2 X RELOADS) 14

Ir;rI IC: I~ 1x JTAC

1 X GBS (PREDATOR ( UAV DOWNLINK)

2 X RVT 1 X FORWARD E Y ES (SCA N EAGLE DOWNLINK) 3 X RAVENS Source: M .MMatthews, "Operation AJ.-Fajr: a stu.dy in Af'11U' and Marine Co,ps Joint Operations", GWO T Occasional Paper 20, Combat Studies Institute Press, Kansas 2006.

Procedures) in in habited centres, Fa lluja h also confirmed the g reat usefulness of certai n materia ls and equip m ent that the units had at their disposal. In th e first place , the D-9 armo ured bul ldoze r s, orig inally made in Israe l , employed for removing obstac les and demolishing build ings. As for the armament, tog ether w ith the use of bangalore torpedoes and C-4 p lastic bombs (a lso used in satche l charges), one sho uld emphasize the importance of MI CLICs (Mine Clearing Li ne Charges) to ope n corridors through minefie lds and inside the city, to clear the streets of vari ous k inds of IEDs. Finally, there was amp le use of ant itank weapo ns agai nst forti fied positions: each p latoon fired an average of l 2 rockets a day with the AT - 4 lig ht antitank g un , whic h cou ld el im inate the enemy posi tion s with extreme precision, eithe r w ith the HEAT traditiona l charge or the new thermobaric charge made of PBXIH- 13 5 exp losive. A s simple as it w as in its gene ral li nes, the joint character of the operation was a factor of friction to be taken into account. T he integration of the US

A rmy units within Marine units d isp layed the diffe rences between the two Services , as concerned both equipment and ope rational conception. Even if t he armoured and mec hanized unit s of the A rmy we re actually able to int egrate in the decis ion makin g process , some rather important in compatib ilities came to light during the batt le , especially as regarded com muni cations (e .g. tactical radio sets) and the manageme nt of the units ' density in space. Owing to the t ype of armament at its disposal, a fully mechanized unit has a capability of space manageme nt very different from that of a un it on foot: it gives more im portance to speed t han to reg ul arity, go ing straight to its objective, clearing its way with its superior protection and firepower. The marine infantry units , desp ite their high- level qua lity, did not have t he characteri stics provided by t he Bradleys and Abrams of the Task Forces 2- 7 and 2-2. In more than one occasion, the slowness of prog ression of the mari ne units compelled the armoured and mechanized units of t he Army to retrace t heir steps in order to prevent the formation of passages between t he sectors,

Rivista Militare English Edirion n. 3/2007

TASK ORGANIZATION TF 2-7 2J ~

1RCT

()

C ~

... 1 ~A/2-7

•••

...

2 ~ A n .-7

,I I C)

CJl-1

1

...

2-7

~en.-,

...

l ~ C . Q-7

, I~ I

Cl) ••

2l~ICfJ.I

...

88... 215 SPT E J 8121S

HHC ~

U

••• 2 ~ 9 1 2 -1'2

•••

,....J>---< I

2 ~ C / 2-7

...

81215

... I

Mort• 10111)

Modic -

HHC/2-7

HHC/2-7

IIHC/2-7

14/30/12/12 M1A2 SEP/M2A3/UAH/Rifle Squads Source: M.M.Matthews, "Opera:Jion AJ.-Fajr: a suu:ly in Army and Marine Corps Joint Operoiions", GWOT Occasional Paper 20, Combat Studies Institute Press, Kansas 2006.

through which the enemy could infiltrate (as it actual ly happened). Apart from t hese difficu lties in coordination, the overall logistic support was we ll balanced according to requirements and t his was proved by the med ical evacuations and t he flow of supp lies, which were never lacking for the troops on the front line. The losses were li mited if compared to the tragic initial estimates. Despite the victory, the desired lo ng-term effects were limited. Th is confirmed that th e pursuit of a decisive bat tle in a situation of guerrilla warfa re can produce posit ive ly explo itable effects only for a give n period of time. Anyway, the fact that American un its remained in the area permitted to carry o ut, as desired , the election s of January 200S . With th e w ithdrawal of the last units at the end of the mon th , the fear that more heavy figh ts could involve the city made the populat ion hostile to the gue rrill as' attem pts to mass ive ly reenter the social fabric of the city . AlQaeda fai led to establish a sanctuary in the city, but the guerrillas in the area adapted the ir tactics so as to avoid direct confrontations with the American military mig ht. Ambushes, IED attacks

and raids against strategic resources increased: on Jun e 23, 200 S, for example, in a suicide carbo mb attack again st a U.S. convoy, six marin es died and thirteen were wounded. In September 2006 the 1 st Marine Divisi on reported th at the Al Anbar province was still infested with guerril las, w ith the city of Ramad i as the ir new he ad quarters . In any case , on December 200 6 the American forces transfe r red for good the control of the area to the l st Division of the Iraqi Army, officially keepi ng o nly a function of support to the operations. The new strategy ad opted by the Pentagon now seems to prefer to entrust the cont rol of the territo ry t o the Iraqi allies, making the Ame rican un its avai lable for conce nt ratio ns of forces in the most crit ical areas. Howeve r, the quest of a further dec is ive battle seems unlikely. As was we ll summed up by a Marine Officer "Fall ujah was not a defeat, but w e can not afford victories of thi s ki nd anymore". Federico Bernacca Captain, 186th Paratroop Regiment

THE BUNDESWEHR IS PREPARING FOR FUTURE CHALLENGES Multiethnic conflicts, religious extremism and fanaticism, collapse of entire regions, terrorism, proliferation of nuclear weapons. These are the reasons for concern that prompted the Western Countries to take a new road, in order to adapt their military instruments to the presumable future engagements. This is what is happening in Germany, where a radical reorganization is under way, according to the strate g ic concept of "Security and Reconstruction". In this article, the Chief of Staff of the German Army talks to us about this subject.

Barely two decades ago, the question of what constitutes operational success for the Armed Forces was relatively easy to answer: deciding a war fought by regular forces, winni ng a largely "symmetrical" armed conflict, and defeat ing the enemy . Structures, training and equipment of the mi litary instrument w ere optimised to achieve th is goal. Security, for Ge rmany, w as routinely eq uated with deterrence and defence capabil ity to ensure our territorial integrity. Th is was what the German Army w as geared to. Th e rad ical changes in security policy after the end of the Cold War changed that equation in an incredible and unforeseeable way.

RISKS AND THREATS

Title pages. The German Delegation at the June 2 ceremony in Rome.

Above. Paratroopers in various uniforms.

Symmetric threats - kept in check only by the nuclear stalemate between the two superpowerswere progressively replaced by new risks and threats: development is the state's slow but steady loss of it s multiethnic conflicts, re ligious extremism and fanatimonopoly on the use of force. cism, the break- up of entire regions, combined with The Defence Policy Guidelines (l ), the Bundeswehr the privatisation of power, crossConcept (2) and the Federal border or international t errorism, Government's White Paper on as well as the weapons prol ifera- ' ' ...a clear priority for the Germany's Security and Defence tion potentially resulting in a Army is to provide the capaPolicy (3) all respond to these new covert nuclear armament. New bilities for "full- spectrum opchallenges to our security in the risks and dangers, such as attacks erations" in the context of in21st Century and involve a clear on information systems, that priority for ope rations in the conternational conflict and crisis text of international conflict and generally and very quickly make themselves felt also at interna- management" In order to precrisis management, resulting in t io nal level, pose a hit herto vail, it is fundamental to have the need for t he German Army to unknown type of threat. Going the appropriate capabilities , , provide the capabilities for "fullhand in hand with this, is a prospectrum operations", from maj or gressive trend towards the pricombat operations through vatisation of warfare that has been taking place over nation building to hu manitarian assistance on a worldthe past two decades. Whi le inter- state confl icts and wide scale. For the German Army, operational success wars can not be ruled out in the future, the crucial occurs in two settings: in relatively short- term and

Riv,sta Milttaro n . 512007

The German Army ---------------------------------Army Forces Command

Army Office

)()()()(

ill

HFOKdo

Cor99ne Army Schools Central Tng Organizations

I

Kob enz

Speaal Operabons O,v,s,on

XX

I DSO I Hannover

I

Franco-German Bde German efement

Armoured Bdo

X

I

Stadtallendorf

I

Armoured Bde

Airborne Bdo

1~1 1~1

Mulheim

Munster

Augustdort

C alw

Saartouis

EJ Oldenburg

~rbome Ops Division

XX

I DLO I S,gmaringen

Leipzig

Mechanized Bde

Mechanized Bde

Armoured Bde

~

~

,~1

Frankenberg

Totgolow

Amberg

VeitshOchheiim

Mountol n Bde

Alrmobile Bde

l:?kJ

Army Loglsllc and Suppo Forces Command X

I HTr I

Bad Reichonhall

Fritzlar

high-intensity peace enforcement, and in long-term nation building. It is essential to prevail and, ultimately, win in both of them.

FORCES AND CAPABILITIES This requires mi litary forces that can operate seamlessly across the entire range of miss ions and tasks. The German Army has a "single set of forces" at its d isposal from which to draw force packages, each with a specific capabi lity profile tailored to the individua l mi ss ion and spectrum of operations and augmented with personnel from the Specia l Operat io ns Divis ion (4) and t he Airmobil e Division (5), as necessary. These are, on the one hand, forces whose capabilities make them part icularly suitable for conducting major combat operations in multinational peace enforcement missions and under largely networkenabled conditions, against a more or les s mil itarily organised adversary. These forces are also capable of conducting rescue and evacuation as well as stabil isation operations. They are the first choice when it comes to creating a safe and secure environment. In addition , the German Army has forces available for employment in multinational operations of

Bruchsal

longer duration, usually in the low- to mediumintensity spectrum of peace stabilisation activities. They are particularly capable of maintaining a safe and secure environment. The German Army currently contributes this category of troops to the ISAF operation in Northern Afghanistan. Stabilisation operation s may well be of high intensity at the tactical level, as is clearly illustrated by t he situation in Southern Afghanistan. That is why the more peacebuilding- oriented forces are also proficie nt in their soldiering skills, which means these

Female personnel of a Fallschirmjager unit.

companies and battalions are no "lightweight s" when it comes to warfighti ng. At Brigade level, their basic organisation does, however, provide specific capabilities for stabilisation operations (such as additional engineer, signal, logistics and reconnaissance units). However, such a capabilities- oriented force postu re alone is not enough on its own military capabilities must always be integrated into a national policy of networked security, an overarching policy involving all ministries and agencies dealing with security- related tasks, both at nat ional and international level. From the point of view of the obj ect ive to be achieved, operational success for us soldiers means creating and maintaini ng, as a prerequisite , so to speak, a safe and secure environ ment in which f urther political and civilian measures can and must be successfully implemented. Soldiers stand first and foremost for security - and t hat includes warfigh ting . As security is being established, m ilitary action can be reduced to make room for non- mil itary measures. This requ ires t hat each individual soldier also has a wide range of capabilities. Every sold ier must first of all be capable of enforci ng the mandate he has been given, eve n in the face of resistance, in other words be capable of fighting. This is a principle that appl ies t hroughout the Army. But it is not the only one. All sold iers in the German Army m ust also be able to protect people and property entrusted to their care, to act as mediators between conflicting parties, and to provide assistance

in emergencies, even when in a geographically, climat ically and culturally unfamiliar envi ronment. The operat ional and tactical- leve l equivalent to the strategic goal of "security and reconst ruction" is the "protection and effects" approach. It applies, on t he one hand , to the popu lation requ iring support. It must be protected, and assistance must be provided for the reconstruction of destroyed structures. It is essential to win the hearts and minds of t he people. This requires trust, which can only develop through direct contact with the people. It also applies with regard to our own soldiers who are expected to achieve these objectives. The close contact needed always involves increased personal risk. T hat is why force protect ion on operat ions is of vital importance: to ensure miss ion accomplishment, to retain political freedom of action, and to fulfil our duty of care. Yet protection alone will not suffice. Force protection is inseparably lin ked with the ability to del iver precis ion effects . Protection and effects are two sides of the same coin.

PROTECTION According to the doctri ne of the German Army, only an appropriate com bination of information and Co m mand - and-Control superior ity, prec1s1on effects and robust engagement capabilities as well as force protectio n on operations, tai lored to t he

Rivista Militare n. 512007

Operational effectiveness - Selected syste1ns

LEOPARD 2 A6

vehicle platforms are needed, with different levels of specific situation and threat, wi ll give our effort to protection. No sing le type of vehicle can meet all these accomplish the mission sufficient credibility. Force varied req ui rements. Especially the multiro le protection in the German Army is an integral system armoured vehicle "Boxer" provides a level of protecof active and reactive components, comprising tion that is unique worldwide for a wheeled vehicle. Its equipment, weaponry and miss ion - oriented trainimpressive mobility and high loading capacity make it ing, as we ll as operational doctrine and procedures. the ideal basic veh icle for the infant ry and underscore "Protection" and "effects" are the subject of concrete its suitability for use as a command as well as a transprojects. The German Army is conce ntrating its port and medical vehicle . Fourthly: ide ntification efforts in the fie ld of protection on four areas: capability. "Blue- on- blue" incidents or civilian casualFirstly: high -g rade individual protection systems ties caused by friendly fire on operations pose a ri sk that improve t he survivability of deployed soldie rs. that must be actively countered. Prime examples of th is are the Given the extended ranges of "Future Infant ryman " system modern sensors and weapon syswhich is proving its worth in ' ' Force protection is an in Afghan istan, and - for al l no n- tegral system of active and tems as well as accele rated decision- making and engagement infantry personnel - the "Soldier reactive components, com processes , quick and reliab le on Dep loyment" system. The prising equipment, weapon identification of own, friendly, introduction of a new generation ry, mission - oriented train - enemy and neutral forces is vit alof personal weapons wi ll also improve individual protect ion. ing as well as operational ly important. Force protection in the Secondly: base camp and faci lity doctrine and procedures ,, German Army also inc ludes the protection. Because of the obviconsistent use of modern techous vulnerability of our faci lities nolog ies and capabil ities , such as robotic systems. on operations, this is a matter of considerable They can eventually be employed to perform the importance. In parallel , a defence system against so- called "3-D" tasks - t he dirty, dull and dangerbal listic t hreats is being developed. ous ones - and free up personnel for more sophi sThirdly: Vehicle protection. To perform Command ticated tasks . Robotics t hus offers great potential and Cont rol, reconnaissance, combat, support and for the future in all capability categories. transportation tasks on operations, various types of

General Otto Budde, Chief of Staff of the German Army, enlisted in 1966. After attending several courses, he held the job of Platoon Leader at the 31 3th and 272nd FallschirmI jagerbataillon. At the latter unit, besides being Company Commander from 1972 to . â&#x20AC;˘. I 1978, he was appointed Head of the 1 ,.... ... . ' . Information Office. . In 1978 he attended the Staff ~~ -. . .4 Course and in 1980 was designated as Head, Information Office of the 1st Luftlandedivision. In 1982 he attended the General Staff Course. After a period as Chief, Operations Office of the 31 st Panzergrenadierbrigade, in 1986 Gen. Budde took command of the 82nd Panzergrenadierbataillon. From 1988 to 1995 he served at the Ministry of Defence. From 1995 to 2002 he commanded the Franco- German Brigade, the SFOR Central Multinational Brigade and the Special Operations Division. From 2002 to 2004 he has held the office of Army Deputy Chief of Staff. Since 2004, General Hans-Otto Budde has been holding the position of Chief of Staff of the German Army.

,I¡ . .

ed by the 'Tiger" multirole support helicopter, with its PARS 3 Long Range main armament. With it, the "Tiger'' ach ieves its full effectiveness in all types of operations when engaging high- value targets or protecting convoys. With the "Tiger" and the NH 90 light transport helicopter, that began to enter service in December 2006, the German Army has succeeded in taking a pioneeri ng and innovative quality leap and a decisive step towards air mechanisation. In the field of combat support, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) for the Medi um-range Artillery Rocket System (MARS) will bring about a marked improvement in terms of precision and stand-off capabi lity. The first systems are scheduled to enter service in 2009. Another item on the procurement list is a weapon system permitting stand-off engagement of single and pinpoint targets while largely avoid ing collateral damage, which must, of course, be employed in combination with unmanned aerial reconnaissance systems (such as the KZO target acquisition drone).

EFFECTS Especially on operations, force ' ' .. .it comes down to bejng CONCLUSIONS protection must always be consid - faster and more ered in conjunction with the abili rate ... dictating the course The deployment of the German ty to deliver effects, since opera- of action and having or re- Armed Forces is never an end in itself. Protection and effects are tional success or, ultimately, the taining the initiative ,, now, and will continue to be, the degree to which the m ission is specific military contribution to accomplished, hinges on the the co ncept of security and capability to bring forces and reconstruction. Protection and effects is a peopleassets to bear at t he right place, at the right time, and oriented approach. People are both actors and the for targeted effect. It essentially comes down to being targets of political and military action. Providing profaster, more accurate, having better standoff capabil itection and effects for German soldiers deployed on ties and producing better target effects than an adverinternational crisis management operations is theresary, to dictating the course of action and having or fore of central importance. It is both an ambition and retaining the initiative. A prerequisite for effective and an obligation to give our soldiers optimum protect ion robust engagement capabilities is the progress ive and effective means to accomplish the mission enhancement of the capability to conduct networkass igned, and that includes the use of all available enabled operations - another core element in the means and technologies. Protection and effects must, transformation of Germany's Armed Forces. With the however, always be in proportion - and may someintroduction of a new Command- and- Control infortimes be in conflict - with mission accomplishment. mation system, the German Army is creating, in a first Th is is something all soldiers are aware of, and step, an integrated information network that combines acknowledge as part of the ir role. the capabilities of all levels of command and all service branches in one system of systems. Enhanced Hans-Otto Budde effective engagement capability is the subject of sevCeneralleutnant, eral concrete programmes of the German Army:With Chief of Staff the "Leopard 2 A6", the German Army has one of the of the German Army world's best main battle tanks at its disposal that is being optimised further, especially for stabilisation NOTES operations, by upgrading measures such as additional mine protection or the new multipurpose ammunition. ( 1) Verteidigungspo/itische Richtlinien. Another example is the air transportable armoured (2) Konzeption der Bundeswehr. infantry fighting vehicle "Puma", one of the central ( 3) WeiBbuch der Bundesregierung zur Sicherheits- und defence procurement projects of the German Army; Verteidi gungspoliti k Deutschlands. thanks to its modular configuration, it meets the high(4) Division Speziel/e Operationen. est demands in terms of robustness, mobility and pro(5) Division Luftbewegliche Operationen. tection. Effective engagement capability is also provid-

accu-

www. 011111iaexpress. it Phone 06../92021

International Convoys - Terminalizations Handling - Fuel Transport Full Loads - Small Deliveries Daily Links

Your Destination Our Mission

--=~·if.:-;-

~

ilia r,i'll'0~

•

Mi1lar.10 " "' . ~e,;...a r.1a Bal0~.r.1;a

· l "

•

,. --~

•;

C

....

,,___ _

-........._

TECHNOLOGY IN THE DIDACTICS OF LANGUAGES Excellent results have been achieved in the teaching and learning of languages, thanks to an advanced method commonly known as "Computer Assisted l anguage learning". Its application requires knowledge and skill from the teachers as well as abil ity and competence from the st udents.

Since classical antiquity, the teacher's word has ited the interaction between stude nts and teachers always been the primary source of knowledge . and teachers ' attention to the individual student. Th e writte n text goes back to the most ancient Subseque ntly, television sets were used as teachtimes and it represented a funing tools. With the dawning of damental element of teaching, satellite systems and video from the first clay and wax ' ' The Internet has opened recorders good res ults were tables to the books written by up new horizons for lanach ieved in the education sector. the amanuenses to the printed On the one hand the lingu isguage teaching ... , , t ext. T he 20th century marked tic laboratories have produced the dawn of the f irst technoloan important change in th e gies that jo ined the undisputed didact ics of language, on the binom ial ÂŤteacher and textboo kÂť. oth er the recent birth of t he co m puter has made technology more attractive. Today more and more schools use the new LINGUISTIC LABORATORIES met hod of language learn ing , known as "Compute r Ass isted Language Learning" From the Sixties and Seventies, the use of new t echnolog ies in linguist ic teach in g started to j oin the use of books. COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARN ING In those years, the first linguistic laboratories arose. It was generally admitted that the more exerIn t he Eighties and Nineties com puters started to cises students did, the sooner t hey learned the secbe used as a teaching tool (CBT: Computer Based ond language; the activities were based on a model Train ing) taking advantage of hypertextual docu stimulus- answer. Howeve r, not only did they turn ments. Among t he new methods of language out to be monotonous and frustrating but they limlearn ing we have to me ntion the so- call ed CALL. (Computer Assisted Language Learning). The particular interaction between users and computers and its non- linearity (that is the possibility to choose a personal course of learning) make comput ers an attractive instrument for st udents and t his makes them more motivated to learn. In addition, the computer provides users with an immediate feed back that allows them t o work at a personal rat e. This tech nology has also some negative aspects such as the limited effectiveness of grammatical exercises or the inability of the didactic software to adapt

Title pages. A lesson in a modern classroom for language teaching.

Rivista Militare Englis/1 Eclition n. 3/2007

to users. In general, t hese kinds of software are more useful for the developme nt of a single lingu istic skill. However, there are more recent prog ram s that provide us w it h a hig her level of interact ivity, all owing stude nts t o pract ise the second lang uage. At the same t ime, w ith t he d iffusion of CD and DVD players, t he offer of t eachi ng t ool s has increased (quantitative ly and qu al itatively).

ing t o t he following strat egies: • Pre- read ing and predictio n: in order to get i nfo rmat io n fro m t it les , images or a topic; • Skimm ing - scanning: to read throug h a highlight ed text quick ly and increase or change the information w hich comes from pre-readi ng ; • Looking for meaning through context: t o infer t he meani ng of unknown words from the context; • Carefu l reading to read caref ully again checking whether t here are useful tools t hat are necessary fo r a co mp lete understanding ; • Applying what t hey have read : to stimulate creat ivity app lyi ng t he con cepts t hat have been learned to a new sit uat ion. One of t he latest sof tware applicat io ns, which exp loit t he hardware pot ential and t he veloc ity of t he Web , is re prese nted by the platform of Learni ng Management System (LMS) which guarant ees t he effectiveness of the activities med iat ed th rough Internet . In sho rt the platform LMS provides t eachers w ith t he following im portant t oo ls: System Managem ent Tools: t hese tools are used by

T HE INT ERNET IN THE DIDACTICS OF LANGUAGES

Internet has o pen up new horizons for lang uage teaching . Current ly, texts represent the most immed iate resource that users can exploit since t he Web provides us wit h lots of pages about any topic in any language. We can even apply some strategies to the Web pages that are able to improve ou r li nguistic skill s. Hence the ex press ion Web Based T rai ning (WBT). The mate rial that has been collect ed can be put into t he li ng uistic prog ram t hrou gh th ree d ifferent approaches, t hat is throug h lesson s given or assist ed by t eachers or chosen by studen ts.

READING AUTHENTIC MATERIAL ON THE WEB

For each level of knowledge, teache rs can fin d Web pag es concern ing a particular activ ity accord -

Television

teachers to monitor, check and personalize t he enviro nment where t he learn ing process takes place. Content Management T oo ls: a ser ies of fun ction s t hat are used t o create didactic mater ial t hat is useful for t he pre parat io n of classes . Cou rse Manage ment Too ls: a se r ies of f un ction s t hat are availab le on t he Web and can be used by teache rs to pre pare on- li ne co urses. A ssess ment man agement Tool s: a series of f unctions that allow teachers to develop and publish on- line t ests des igned to as sess students. Web Resou rce Management Too ls: a se rie s of fu nctions th at are used to publis h integrative didactic contents on t he port al of on - line courses. Col laboration Tools: a series of fu nctions t hat all ow the synchro nous and asynch ronous inte ract ion between st udents and t eachers . In particu lar, t hese tools can perform usefu l funct ions for students, g iving them the opportunity to: • Join t he course th ey are interested in t hrough a use rname and a passwo rd ; • Manage a mai lbox us ing t he software client t hat is within t he p lat form ; • Send fi les ;

the electronic board ; the Webcam and asynchronous elements such as: electronic mails, a foru m of discussion, virtual notice boards and secretaries.

E igb t i es a n d Nineties

CB T

C omputer Based Training

THE NEW ERA

IC.A .L.L.] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____, Computer Assisted Language Learning

• Take part in o n- li ne exami nat ion se ssions t o as sess one ' s knowledge; • Check constantly the headway t hat has been made; · Look for specifi c contents in t he cours e; · Attend t he course using a co mput er. T eache rs have the oppo rtu nity to : · Plan the course t hat mu st be pub lished; · Define and publish tests which consist of mult iple choice questio ns, true- false questions and open questions or wit h pictures that can be highlig hted ; • Publish test s t hat can be do ne by students m ore than once ; · Publish t ests with a self-cor recting fu nction in the phases of se lf- assess m ent; • Fix a t ime- li mit within which st udents have to answe r t he quest ions ; · Give d ifferent mat erial to d ifferent gro ups of stu de nt s t hat attend the same cou rse; • Create a series of q uest ions that can be publ ished on- line autom at ically and w it h rando m comb inati ons; • Defi ne access test s in the sam e courses ; • Def ine preli minary t ests accordi ng to specific courses. In short, the modern platforms of e- learning have instruments and services of communication that can be divided into synchronous parts when t eachers and students commun icate with each other in real time : the chat (which is the room where it is possible to «chat» virtually in writing); the function of co- browsing (some users can netsurf on the same sites at the same time);

Unit 2

'

-~ I rnmedjate f"ee dback

The Internet has changed our w ay of co mmuni cat ing th an ks t o elect ro nic mail s and foru ms of d iscussions. We can rece ive even e-ma ils that con tai n news about d ifferent top ics from vi rtual asso ciat ions that are kn own as new sgroups , o n wh ich use rs can click aft er a p relim inary reg istration. The electronic m ail, w hich is used as a learn ing too l, puts st ude nts in t ouch with t eachers and w ith other stu dents who study the sam e lang uage (tan de m partners) . T he forum of di scussio n, acco rding to lot s of la nguage t eachers, is useful for st udents at differ ent levels . They ca n im prove their ling uistic skills t hanks to a rea li stic co ntext . T he electronic mail is an asynchronou s tool, whereas t he chat is a syn chro nous tool . T his means that more stu dents are present in t he virtu al room at t he sam e ti me and t hey co mmu nicate w ith each other in real ti me. Throug h a "chat" (abbreviation of chat room) it is poss ible to com municate w ith mother tongue tutors and , in add itio n, the written wo rk ca n be improved t hanks t o an authentic cont ext whe re peop le p ret end t o com mun icate w ith each ot her orally using sho rt messages . The rooms of the traditio nal chats allow peop le to comm un icate on ly in wr iting t hroug h phrases that wil l be read by all users that are pres ent in the room at t he t ime. On t he contrary, the voice chats all ow people to est ablis h a vocal com municat ion us ing a mic ropho ne and headphon es . Thro ugh a webcam it is pos sible to organize a vid eoconfere nce. All these functio ns make t he chat an inviting tool for t he students. Obviously, good di dactics al so requi res a pro per assessme nt of th e prog ress th at has been ach ieved . For this reaso n, t he phase of test ing is as im port ant as that of didact ics.

TESTING T hanks to Internet, today it is poss ible to offer a wide range of exercises to assess three linguistic ski lls. Only the assessment of the forth skill (the oral ski ll) is still carried out using a traditional telephone. St udents can do t he exam at home and t his can be ext remely prod uctive. In additio n, technology can also facilitate the w ork of the pe rsonne l thanks t o optical character readers t hat al low them to correct tests without any margi ns of erro r.

Rivista Militare English Edition 11. 312007

Chat room

Next; t:en years

With regard to laptops, wireless technology, together with the growing power of microprocessors will make it possible for us to work in t he infinite world of We have to co nsider two factors carefu lly. the Web without any cables and independe nt ly. Today Fi rstly, in some sectors it is necessary to refresh th is is already possible in some sectors thanks to one's instruments since mode rn techn ologies Bluetooth wireless technology. make fast prog ress and th is requires a careful With th is regard, we have to analysi s of t heir rea l futu re refer to t he spreading of mobile potential. Most probably t he most sig- ' ' The most significant effects telephony, palmtop com puters, nificant effects on the sector of on didactics within the next GPRS telephones and iPods even didact ics w ithin the next t en ten years will be come from in some Third World countries. opens up new horizons in the years wi ll be prod uced by canthe annulment of distances, This didactics. cell ation of distance, developdevelopment and evolution of The second factor we should ment and evol ution of personal compute rs and ex po nential personal computers and the take into consideration concerns exponential diffusion of mo- our target of reference: students. growth of mobile telep hony. The members of the rising genSecu rity, efficiency and stability bile telephony , , eration can be defined as «digital in satellite communications wi ll be natives» because Inte rnet and the useful in the advanced d istributed new digital technologies are their second nature. learn ing, reachi ng distant theatres of operations. Their enthusiasm for in stant aneous m essag ing Today, it is possible to send «on the field» detailed appl icat ions , videogames and peer - to- peer instructions in real time concern ing, for example, exchange of f iles are viewed with suspicion by the old the correct use of the equipment and, thanks to ge nerations and are see n as a waste of time and an t elemed icine, it is possible to make d iagnoses from escamotage to escape the real world of work and a distance. At the same time , the abi lity t o t ransfer a school. great amount of data from one count ry to another Conside ri ng how keen they are on the new techwill lead to an increase in t he didactic opportu nities nologies, it could be interesti ng to examine the that are offered by videoconference, bring ing use of the new technolog ies in t he formal and togethe r students and t eachers, who are far from informal lang uage learn ing. each other, in virtual classrooms.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

DATA

There is no do ubt that mobi le te lephony and other instruments that al low us to com mun icate in real ti me (in particu lar, the electron ic mail) represent useful educational tools. It is important to analyse this new pheno menon that is known as instantaneou s messaging and mobile communication.

INSTANT MESSAGING AND MOBILE COMMUNICATION The so-called pen pals have always been cons idered as a useful instrume nt t o learn and practise the language. Today thi s tradition has been replaced by the exchange of e-mails and by tandem partners. The Instant Messages require the use of concise phrases, abbreviations, coded messages, emoticons and othe r symbols) also because users are used to take part in more sessions IM at the same time. Since it is a synchronous tool , the IM sim ulates faceto- face conversation, especial ly in an informal way. Cu rrently t here are different IM software t hat support audio exchanges together with the commun ication in writing. Programs li ke iChat also support the video, if the interlocutors use digit al video came ras. The so- called SMS (Short Message Service), which are sent through mo bi le phon es, have grown ve ry much in popular ity. Although creat in g te xts by mobile phones is more difficu lt than writ in g texts by us ing a com puter, this messag ing is already used as a support fo r language learning. The BBC World service, for example, uses SMS and radio programmes for Eng lis h language learning and broadcasts them to francophone West Africa. The SMS are also used as an instrument for teach ing English in China. T he European Union has fi nanced an important initiative, which is known as M-learning, that uses mobile phones to establi sh a contact with yo ung peopl e that have not reached any resu lts with traditional methods. It is generally admitted that through the use of mobi le phones it is easier to persuade young people to dedicate themselves to studying a language during their spare time and in an informal environment. The infrastructu re of M-learning is very sophisticated because it includes its learni ng Management

Cell phones

Fore ign personnel attending an Italian lesson at the Foreign Languages School of the Army.

System and tools for oral and written comm unication. However, it represents an important aspect of futu re. It is amaz ing that today technology al lows us t o share not only information but also multimedia material such as music, video, images and software.

IPOD AND PEER- TO-PEER RESOURCE SHARING The iPod is a MP3 player that is made by Apple and has become very popular among people in the last years. This has led to the phenomenon of peer- topeer resource sharing (P2P). Some language teachers regard the use of P2P as an important instrument for sharing didactic resources, althoug h it is not used on a large scale. An interesting example is given by the function P2P that is within the project LEARN for French teaching (at high schools).lt is used as a part of the infrastructure of learning that provides students with an instrument for find ing resources and sharing them. A considerable amount of digital music is coded in MP3, whose ubiquity, together with small file dimension and its «transportability» to portable devises, gives people the incentive to study languages. Lots of websites, which contain resou rces for language learning , provide us with aud io material in MP3 (for example, to learn Pharsi, Italian or French). Some projects (like that of Wash ington University) aim t o provide ling uist ic laboratories w ith iPod and other MP3 p layers. The school district of Grand Isl and (Nebraska) uses the iPod to imp rove t he Eng lis h students ' pron unciation. iPod and peer- to - peer reso urce sharing are lin ked to anothe r im po rtant instrument, i. e videogames .

LEARNING THROUGH GAMES

'

~

r

.,.

•

•

I -Pot.I"-

Educators and researchers are more and m ore interested in the phenomenon of game, also because today young peop le spend most of their time playing videogames. Th ere are seve ral games that have been des igned for lang uage learn ing .

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 312007

ll)ll)l!) WORLD SERVICE corn

I ....,. !

West

...... ;::::==A==fric==•~

. ..

China

CONCLUSIONS There are lots of affi nities between games and language learning in the use of the role- plays, in the The introduction of digital techno log ies to the im provisation, in the codes and in t he so- called classroom has changed the way of working of lots «negotiated meani ng» (accord ing to the cognitive of operators, improv ing their results. Teache rs theory, it refers to t he learning objectives that have play a central role in improving the didactic system been defined by teachers and students. Teache rs, in si nce they can devi se plans of this context, act as tutors). development where the use of It is useful to t ake advantage interactive tech nolog ies has a of new t echnologi es to offer ' ' The introduction of multicruci al function. Cu rrently, more opportun ities in the field media technologies in the more and more teachers are of didactics. classroom has •changed the able to use new technolog ies in working way of many opera- the didactics. How ever, being tors, improving their results , , able to use the m does not mean INNOVATIVE ASPECTS being able to teach using them, because it is essential to link Th e new aspects that are the knowledge of t ech nology with that of didacoffered by the new electronic environment can be tics. summarized in th e followin g way: Teachers have to ext end their knowledge broad Space of knowledge : we have already defi ned en ing their experience in digital techn ology so that Int ernet as an enormo us informatio n storage, they are able to choose and evaluate education whose dimens ion cannot be compared with that of programmes t hat can be followed t hrough com any othe r human work . The un iverse of Internet puter. At present, the teachers , exactly li ke their expands continuously. studen t s, have to bring themselves up to date with Access to knowledge: Internet can be defi ned as a regard t o technological progress . universe without barriers or space and time limits Thi s means that not only do teachers have t o be thanks to new means of com munication, friendly able to use the software but they also have to have interfaces as well as rapid and efficient search engines . a general knowledge of the hardware. Freedom of netsurfing: th is freedom is based on the The use of technology in language teaching is influflexibility in the con struction of individual knowledge. enced by th ree factors: knowledge of technology and In t he future, lang uage teach ing and learn ing wi ll computer skills ; the didactic approach of teachers and take place where , w hen and how the people constudent skills. The first two factors influence the work cerned want at a reasonable price. that has been done and the results that have been Se.rver-to-server communication net achieved. The third factor requires a good knowledge and the I-Pods phenomenon of the initial situation to est ablish specific objectives. Nevert heless, nothing will be able to replace the figure of the mot he r tongue teacher in class, who interacts with stu dents «face to face», w ithout any techno log ical su pport. Augusto Staccioli Brigadier General, Commandant, Foreign Languages School of the Army

THE REGIMENTAL TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS FRAMEWORK The study of the architecture of a tactical land communications network is the initial prerequisite on which to base modern forces operationally capable and valid for any type of operations. Knowing beforehand the capabilities of the communications network, its services and their distribution in the manoeuvre space, from the Command of the Contingent down to the sing le soldier, represents a planning element that is a real force multiplier. T his is even more true if the architectural assumption is preceded by a realistic study of the available technology, the training capabilities of the Service and t he units' doctrine of employment.

The following study is based on the directions contained in a series of documents, among which the Integrat ed Land Force 2o25 (F IT), NATO Net work Enabled Capab ility (NNEC) - Feasibil ity Study and hypotheses of subd ivision of the "Networking and Information Infrastructure" within the " Integrated Land Force 2025 " of the Transmissions and Co mputer Sciences School. It assembles moreover the experience acqui red with t he Wire less Operational Test Bed (WOTB) and some NATO and national Working Groups. Th is article w ishes to il lustrate and suggest the poss ible architecture of the medium-term tactical land communications system and the guidelines for the implementation of the tactical communicat ion system suitable fo r supplyin g Triple Play services to the un its of the NEC Brigade.

the t errito ry that permits to install sem i-permane nt knots. In t he future w e envisage a high flexibil ity and capacity of the comm un ication system s that will pe rmit t o effectively support t he se nsors eq uipments and the dynamism of UAV and UGV. These ind ispensable in struments, worki ng separately or together and in non-co ntrolled areas, will pe rm it to survey the te rri tory with a minimum deployment of men. T he "lessons learned" have fixed some principles, such as the implementatio n of com munication systems without Nodal Centres or protected "Base Stations" (such as, for examp le, cell nodes) and a real and effective integrat ion between the air-land com mun ication platforms.

SYSTEMS AND COMUNICATIONS NETWORKS EXPECTED CAPABILITIES T he future battlespaces are going to requ ire commun ication networks with capabi lities that are today inexpressible , even by the most advan ced platfo rms or commercial techno logies such as , for ex ample, capabilities of con nection of isolated "clusters", of me n and means among themselves and with the hig her Command and / or the adjoining units. The ir employment in the area will be presumably lim ited in time, but the q uantity of information t ransport ed on t he network will by very hig h and Triple Play. All thi s wi ll have to be repeated in a w ide- rangi ng , "patchy" scenario, charact eri zed by high intrins ic dynamism. Another distinctive characteristic will have to be a high connection aptit ude in built-up centres , technically and operationally very difficult scenarios. T he complexity increases if there is no fu ll cont ro l of

Th e systems and the communications netwo rks em ployed by the Armed Forces and, in a w ider sense, by t he Nations of t he Atlantic Alliance, emp loy techno logies and equipments of a very diffe rent type , but referab le to three cat egor ies (fig. l ), d escri bed at any rate by t he NNEC Feas ibility St udy: Static- Fixed (st atic and fixed do not concern the prese nt document), Dep loyable WAN and Mobile Network . The Dep loyable WAN are networks deployable on the ground, for examp le sate llite system s and rad io links. The importance of these communicatio n structu res springs from the fact t hat the conditions of Informat ion Su periority and t herefore of Decis ion Superiority can be achieved on ly by ens uri ng an ex haustive exchange of information among the Strateg ic, Operational and Tactical levels . Such exchange must be guaranteed also between users and app licat ions, whereve r located,

R,v,sta Mt/1/are English Edition n 312007

Fig. 1

. ······ .....

·······-

Mobile

II(

Title pages.

•

ing their tasks as best as possible (Decision Superiority). Moreover, one shou ld consider that the operatio nal prerequ isites and the relevant assumable technologies are likely to change whatever the Service they belong to (end-to- end remarkably according to the scenario, and may at national level) . reach levels of remarkable comp lexity. As regards the Mobile Network, we believe cru In the NATO perspective, each Nation, at all levels, cial to draw the attention to the communication will have to integrate with the other national nettech nologies of the tactical networks. The reason works and with the NATO infrastructure network in a Federation of Systems (FoS). of t his focus ing derive from the fact that it is precisely on the This will be possible only if battlefield that reside the tech - ' ' Knowing beforehand the every Nation joins this Federation nologica l chal len ges t hat are capabilities of the communias an autonomous and coherent most important for achieving system that can commun icate cations network ... repre - with the ambitious objectives stated NATO as well as with the in NNEC. Th is is because on the sents a planning element that other Nations of the Alliance. As battlefield a multitude of pieces is a real force multiplier , , a result, at joint level, all the of information will be produced, components of each national and distributed by deciders, contingent will have to communicate and interoperate with a perfect integration. sensors and actuator s. Th e informat ion will have to reach the processors that will form the "intelli gent network" and have the task of processing orders, warnings and sit uatio ns. Besides, one will THE T ECHNOLOGIES have to guarantee, to the troops deployed and to the countless number of sensors and platforms What follows is a quick examination of the com(UAV, UGV, etc.), an efficient and effective connecmu nication t echnologies considered appropriate. tion in order to have the availabi lity of all kind s of As regards the deployable WANs, fo ll owi ng both information (I nformation Superiority) and take the trends of the Defence and the NNEC gu ideadvantage of the services necessary for perfor mlines, the shared - access satellite technologies with The CP version of the BCV Bx 8.

dynamically ass ign ed band and asymmetric connection (d iffe rent transmissio n and recepti on speed) are considered suitable. In t his regard there is also a STANAG NATO under way to wh ich to conform in the near future. T he sate lli te wi ll be more and more important for tactical li nks in the battl espace. In vi ew of thi s, one sho uld envisage portable land stations to be employed "on call". We want to mention also the t ech no logy that cu rre nt ly has the best future on t he market: t he Wi Max, wh ich provides a high performance and was born for civi lian infrast ructu ral needs. The ass umable ope rational employment is comparable to the present radio-l inks component, to which one can add a better connection efficiency, an operational capability also "point - mu ltipoint", differing from the "poi nt - point" rad io lin ks, and a reduced cost of the system, which should not be underrated. The ranges are entire ly comparable to the radio-link system s. So far, this t echnology is not ripe for mil itary employment. Besides, if the MANET platforms w ere to reach suitable traffic capabi lities, one could theorize thei r employment at "Deployable- WAN" level. As regards "Mobil e Networks", t he MANET tech nology is current ly going through a remarkable

Below, left. Disposable- node demonstrator. Below, right. MANET- node demonstrator.

developme nt, owing to which su bstantial im provements are expected in a short time. The deve lopment of t he industry is presently oriented towards t he employm ent in t he sector of Homeland Secu rity and Defence. In short, the MANET technology is considered a key technology in t he tactical area, in t hat it is born with high mobility and architectural si mpl icity; moreover, it needs neither a central ized adm inistration nor the support of a fixed infrastructu re . As regards security, it permits a "peer-topeer" authentication wh ich, in t he face of a lesser effectiveness , provides a greater functionality. T he MANET is also a guarantee of hig h operational efficie ncy, of dynamic config uration and high performance. One shou ld also underline the runn ing simplicity, which is a quality that can be cons idered peculiar in a syste m of mi lit ary communication . Likewise, at the moment, the Wi-Max technology in it s mobi le version is not considered su itable, because it does not have the characteristics typi cal of the MANET networks. Another focal po int of the syste m is represented by "routi ng". The "router", within t he surmised field commun ications system , is actually to be co nsidered the real key eq ui pme nt for a series of co nsiderat ions, among which t he importance of the constant updates (standards, protoco ls, etc.) and the problems connected w ith security, which, as is known, decreases natural ly as t ime goes by. The network manageme nt activity will be made noticeably easier by employing t he software of t he

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 3/2007

l\iL..\.NET - - -

\iVI-1\IIA.."\:~

-' - ; .

Fig. 2

~

-<~

_.,. ~"'>:v ,-..

.... \

.•

./ T D NIA 2~ :-12 1'.01;/

..·•·~·~

..··✓

..•·..·

~

:

.

....•·

Km -

5

1

SOI.DI ER

VEHIC LE

MANET / SAT / HF

·······....

~

05+2 l\Ibps.

~

20

100 + Km

M 013ILE COi'Df,>\ND POST

TRi\NSPDRT<\BIKCDWINli\'\1U POST

l\LWET / Wl-l\L.\...'\: / SAT / HF

SAT ' HF

tions by radio t hroug h t elephones of t he IP netsame firm, t hat wi ll fol low step by step the evolution work. They will have automatical ly impleme nted of the systems. It is better to manage a low- potent he PTT functio n ("pu sh t o talk" but ton) in order to tial hardware and a powerful management software be able to operate by the same standards of th e rat her than the contrary, considering also the local operat or. T his perm its to employ one or m ore assumed degree of training of the specialists ; th is Vo IP phones to gu ide t he apparat us, which is in can facilitate an efficient employment of the system . fact connected with the card of a router placed at For these reasons, if poss ible the routers shou ld any po int of the network. be the product of a sing le, wo rld -known firm, speFigu re 2 shows schemat ically the sug gested ciali zed in ro uting. In order to achieve th is , the employme nt of these techn olog ies in t he bat t leDef ence can promote an active synergy between space . Two i nnovat ive platbrand and national indu stry, so form s are eviden ced : t he "disas to favour the production of a device that has a civili an "co re" ' ' . .. at joint level, all the posable Node" and t he "UAV co mp leme nt ed by a natio na l components of each na- Node" . The "disposable Node", a MANET un it with very and secu rity eng ineering. tional contingent will have i.e. adva nced characteristics of Today there are routers capa- to communicate and intertrans po rtab il ity and survival, ble of m anag ing also the VoIP operate with a perfect inteeas ily em ployable, and dep loyservice an d t he Land Mobile able in a sem i- fi xed positio n. It Radio over IP (LMRolP). Withi n gration ,, is fed by so lar panels and /or t hi s fram ework t he proposed f uel-cell batteries. A demo narchitecture singles out, as only strator of the di sposable node has been eng ibroadcast means of commun ication, t he HF radio. neered and tested within the WOTB project with The functions are related to both vo ice trans port excellent results. Also the "UAV Node" wil l be ab le and low- speed transm ission of infor mat ion o n SA. to contain a MANET node car ried by a UAV Class I As far as phon ics is concerned , t he radio is conor II ai rcraft. It w ill be able to co ntrol the fl ig ht nected to an Edge Proxy, i.e. t he LMRolP, w hose paramete rs (route, altitude, etc.) in o rder to ensu re fu nct ion is to make any radio kit interoperable a f unctioning link between tw o or more t erminals, wit h a Vo IP tele ph one net wo rk, allowing conversa-

Table 1 PRESENT TECHNOLOGY

"TCF-2012" TECHNOLOGY

VHF Radio for tactical links up to Bde/Rgt level

MANET Network

HF Radio

HF radio integrated in network with LMRolP

Radio Link

Vi-Max

Synchronous S IC RAL sate llite link

Shared access S ICRAL satellite link with dy namically assigned band and asymmetric connection.

P hone service on d igital multiplation

Voice over IP

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES NOTES

High band availability; lower radio range due env isaged by NNEC Greater effectiveness in to the employment of Urban Warfare tha nks to higher frequencies. mesh characte ristics, the employment of "disposable nodes" and illuminators on UA Vs, scaling possibility; Extreme mobility; Inexpensiveness. - high survivability, also thanks to the new digital and AL E technologies; - wide-range in the most varied scenarios; - integration in the VoiP systems with Land Mobile Radio . - possibilities of "po int-point and point-multipoint employment; - general efficiency a nd, specifically, that of radio support; - inexpensiveness, considering that technology and its development are o f COTS origin. - possibility of sharing satellite capabilities with several land statio ns, also in battlefield; "on the move" employment o f vehic le units . single and transparent techno logy for any communication support; simplicity of interfacing with "Net-Ready" systems throug h "Edge Proxy".

such as, for example, moving vehicles or pe rson nel. The who le wi ll co nsist in a transportable launch base and t wo aircraft t hat wi ll ensu re the continu ity of the service.

low data payload exclusive ly suitable for SA service.

- envisaged by NNEC; - significant technology improvements are foreseen.

none

envisaged by NNEC

some technologies will be developed soon.

-

-

Requires NNEC expects a longcentralized term implementation. management at various levels; lt is sensitive to the qua Iity of the connections.

In o rder to si mplify the co ncepts descri bed above, table 1 draw s a parallel between the techno logies employed at presen t and t he proposed o nes.

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 3/2007

THE ASSETS There are assumptions that are necessary for adequately appraisi ng the assets proposed in the following pages; first of al l, an ind ispensable clear and effective technological leap in the essence of the tactical commu nications system , in both its arch itectural and technological components, wh ile keeping, for the necessary time , the integ ration with the "legacy" platforms, which, as wi ll be successively described, will be guaranteed by the systems now in line. Fig. 3 Anothe r essential prerequisite is linked to the technical validity of the military communications systems of the next generations, which will be 5-7 In view of the above considerations, we deem it years at best , 3-5 years more realistically. This necessary to we igh with insight and competence implies the necessity to structu re the arch itecture of the industry's pro po sals, in the systems with a very advanced order to avoid acquiring sysmodular vision, independent of the producer, so that if, for exam' ' It is necessary to struc - t ems and / or " intermed iate" ple, a more modern system ture the architecture of the gateways not strictly ind ispen becomes available, the old one systems with a very ad- sable for the compatibility with t he legacy. could be easi ly replaced. In view of this, one should also define the vanced modular vision ... , , interoperabi lity standards of the THE SOLDIER systems. The compliance with the civi lian standards and protocols (requ irement pointAs a general rule the word "sold ier" defines the ed out by NN EC) will be a further prerequisite that Commander of a squad on foot and / or the specific facil itates interoperability at al l levels. Another assets that need network commun ications. The availessential precondition concerns a new approach in able pieces of equi pment considered, alternative the acquisition of materials, which have to consider among themselves, wil l be the MANET node and the as objectives economic systems with short tech nical HF station. The MANET node will be employed in case life but which must absolutely meet the manifold of favourable orog raphy and when at least a support and diversified operat ional requirements of the posvehicle is present and can provide the primary servsible scenarios of em ployment. One shou ld also ices, such as VoIP and Command and Control. keep in mind that it will neve r be possible to conThe HF station will be integrated in t he network form these devices to the myriad of norms and regwith LMRolP (fig .3). Anyway, probably in the f uture ulations currently in force , which will require a suitthe employment of squads on foot without the supable adaptation . For example , just cons ider the redport of "com bat" vehicles wil l be an unusual activity. tape and time necessary for t heir homologat ion. The LM RolP functionality will be possible on all veh icles and structures were a radio station is operational to maximise its flexibility. The HF link will permit the integration of the vehicle in the IP network, as well as the tactical integration in general. The purpose is to make the voice interoperable with the VoIP telephone network and to ensure the function ing of the "Situation Awareness" (SA) platform. The traditional work of the HF rad io link will provide the exchange of information in the worst cases of employment.

THE VEHICLE The presence of a vehicle supporting the team , as mentioned in t he preced ing paragraph, will ensure

Vehicular router.

Fig. 4

coiIBAT

COMMAND

LAN

LAN

SINITCH

SINITCH

COM~IUNrCKrfONS

the operativeness of the m ini mal services of the network and, con seq uent ly, of t he local or general C2 systems down to the mini m um ope rational levels . The heart of the communication structure of the "combat" vehicle is a system with extensive capability of routing, radio integration and management of the VoIP se rvice. It will have special function s, such as t he dynamic and optim ised rout ing of the IP traffic on various syste ms of commu nication available at the moment (routing and QoS management) . T he router wil l also have a doo r for the inte rconnection of an additional radio station , fo r example for air-cooperation functi ons. Three different veh icu lar assets have been singled out (fig.4): "Co mbat", "Command" and "Commu nicatio ns". The "Combat " vehicle is represe nted by t he ve hicle with a turret. The system co nsists of a router, a switch of the LAN inside the tan k for t he network t erm inals (PC , VoIP phones, etc.) a MANET node and a HF radio w ith LMRo lP. The "Command" vehicle is represented by t he vehicle with no turret. The organizational level considered goes from company to regiment/Brigade.

BxB Command Post ACV.

..

Rrvisu, M1/1/u10 English Ed1tt0t1 n 312007

The system, like the Combat Vehicle, cons ists of a router, a switch of the internal LAN, a MANET node and the HF radio station with LMRolP. The "Communications" vehicle is represented by the vehicle with aerials. Its employment is envisaged at regiment/ Brigade level and is going to have special functions, such as representing the location of the specialized personnel responsible for the management of the communications and C2 platforms. Besides, it will provide the services of connection of the Mobile Network with the Deployable WAN, thanks to the satellite and / or the Wi- Max component. In short, the commu nications unit will cons ist of a router, a switch of the internal LAN, a MAN ET node, the HF radio station with LMRolP, the satel lite term inal and possibly the Wi-Max node. This in novative asset derives from a series of cons iderati ons, the f irst on e bei ng that the Command Post vehicle, if it carries the communi cations and C2 systems, does not grant a favourable worki ng envi ronment . This was made clear du ri ng the t echn ical- operational tests of the Command Post 8x8 BCV carried out at the Transmission and Information Technology School. Another cons ideration is the foreseeable high dyn amism of t he futu re operations at tactical level, which will have to be supported by a consequent flexibility of the communication framework.

T he "Commun icat ions" vehicle is characterized by a maximum flexibil ity, which permits to employ it, for example, as temporary "MANET radio illuminator" node, placed on a prominent point, with the purpose of supplying a cover to a given area. Besides, it can be employed as support of the regiment Headquarters, thanks to the satellite or Wi-Max connections, or launched by the Commander in support of temporarily isolated team s, for example TACs, Check- Points, BOE assets, etc. In this case the connections of the regiment will be made by portable satellite terminals.

T HE COMPANY In view of maximising its effectiveness, the proposed architecture was designed as simple, w ith hig h survivability, based on the principle of t he employment of "f ew very redundant elements" and with sufficient autonomy. According to this logic, figure 5 is a schematic il lustration of the communicatio n framework at com pany level. This level provides for the employment of a UAV Node and a quantity to be defined of disposable nodes, in order to guarantee the necessary radio cover for the unit in the area of ope ration. T he Mobi le Network wil l be based on cell commun ications, thanks to th e MANET, and broadcast through HF radio. Fig. 5

â&#x20AC;˘

U:A , .

NODE

B... . ..... ,, - ----,,

â&#x20AC;˘

,:'.,,,.,.._.,.-"'-r-,,

GLOSSARY INTEGRATED LAND FORCE 2025 The project "Integrated Land Force 2025": · intends to offer to the continuous process of t ransform ation of the Army a long- term capacit ive prospect, taking into account the need to manage the "transitory aspect" (short and med ium term), marked by the res olute coming on of the emerging politico-m ilitary in it iatives, withi n both NATO (fol low ing t he definit ion of the New Strategic Concept) and, more recently, t he concepts and capabi lities of the "High Read iness Forces" and "NATO Response Forces (NRF)", as well as within the European Union, in view of the process of constructio n of a common force of intervention; can be readapted accordin g to the more or less rapid evolution of the technolog ies - especially the ones hard to foresee in the long term - of the strategic environment , as well as the fundamental fi nancial parameter; has the necessary flexibility that will permit to conceive "interim" capabilities and weapon systems with anticipatory estimates aimed at obtaini ng the best cost- effectiveness ratio ; certain ly it does not repres ent the model to be reached at any cost by 2020, but must be seen as a future prospect that permits both to maintain in a constant balance and in a cohe rent way the capabilities to be developed, and to offer the mil itary world, as well as the industrial one, a new viewpoint for a prospective orientation of the respective research and study activities; • wi ll produce a series of Units, cal led "Integrated Land Brigades" (Brigate Integrate Terrestri- BIT). This implies that the deep change that the units and structu res of the Service w il l have to undergo, at the various organizational levels, clearly requires the conduct of further and deep studies, as we ll as a phase of experi mentation that wil l be cons idered completed only in the long term. NNEC: NATO NElWORK ENABLED CAPABILITY The NN EC basic concept is to collect, ble nd, analyse and d istribute information almost in real time to the Execution Deciders. Th e high- level prerequisites at the bas is of t he development of NNEC have been: • t he need to expand the networking capabi lities "wherever they are needed". This implies the necessity of a "global networking presence"; t he support to limited, modular, multinational Forces such as the NATO Response Forces (NRFs); · the support to the rotation of the national elements of the NRFs. The bu lk of networking information and communications necessary to im plement what is described above is called NII.

NII : NElWORKING AND INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE It is defined "an assembly of systems, consisting of a synergic amalgam of global ly intercon nected multinational and autonomous architectu res, each one incl uding a t ransfer network and infrastructure com ponents that supply gathering, analysis, storage and management capabi lities on demand from entitled users, or as a result of exchanges made by distinct platform s". In short, it is the bulk of networking , communications and information necessary to implement the NNEC. NII will consist of four main components: · Communication Component: wi ll avail itself of 1Pv6. The interface between IP and non- IP networks will be provided by the "Edge Proxies" ; Information and Integration Services (IIS) Component: w ill be characterized by the employment of "Service Oriented Architectures" (SOA); · Service Management & Control Services Component: wil l assure the request of QoS in the management of numerous and independent networks; · Information Assurance Servi ces Com ponent: w ill depend on the NI I partners' ability to imple ment the more advanced functions of information protection. NII is described in Vol. II of the "NN EC Feasibi lity Study". In particu lar: vit defines the technological structure needed to support network- centric operations; it outlines a strategy and the related intermediate steps (road map) for its implementation; it points out the methodologies needed to assess the progress made in the realization of NII. WOTB: WIRELESS OPERATIONAL TEST- BED A project of the "Signal and Computer Science School", financed w it hin t he "National Plan of Military Research" (PNRM- Piano Nazionale dell Ricerca Mi litare), whose mai n objectives are: research and experimentation of communication technologies appl ied to m ilitary realities ; evaluation on the employment of COTS systems (Comme rcial Off the Shelf) in the operatio ns zone; development of a test- bed laboratory, effective meeting ground between military and industry; creation of a permanent organizat ion for maintaining the commun ications culture, making it available for activities of research, study and acqui sition of materials.

THE BATTALION/REGIMENT Figure 6 il lust rat es the set-up of t he communication system from company Command to battal ion/regiment Command. As for the preceding asset , t he Mobile Network will be organ ized on cell

com muni cat ions, th anks to the MANET, and broadcast through a HF radio. As we explained before, the "Communications" vehicle is the connect ing element betwee n the "Mobile Network" and t he "Deployable WAN", since it contains bot h t he satel li te component and the Wi- Max.

R1v1sla M,w:iro English ÂŁd11iot1 n 3/2007

TRIPLE PLAY The IP solutions on multiservice or full service networks permit to make available on a si ngle network terminal an increasingly ample bouquet of IP-based services. This is obtained by employing a suitable service platform and a user terminal that makes them accessible, without impacting in any way on the pre-existing transfer structure. These networks have been cfefined "triple play", especially in the American environment area, and can supply telephony (VoIP), broadband and video access (videocommunication, videobroadcasting and video on demand) access. The architecture of the "triple play" networks tends to make t he demands of the internet and multimedia world s converge, remarkably reducing their costs. FoS: FEDERATION OF SYSTEMS It is the assembly of the C41STAR systems contro lled by the Nations or by NATO. They are characterized by a hig h level of rel iabil ity, interoperabi lity and security.

WI- MAX It is the acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is a technology derived from the Wi- Fi specifications, and will allow a wireless fast connection to the Internet. It permits to transmit data within a range of about 50 km, at maximum speed of 79 Mbps. The technology that employs radio transmissions on freq uencies of 2- 11 GHz is the solution for the future MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) Wireless networks, which wi ll permit to connect with mobile devices, such as computers and cell-phones. The main characteristic of this new technology is the quality of the communication, also when there are obstacles that hinder the electromagnetic visibility between nodes. MANET: MOBILE AD HOC NETWORK It indicates an adaptive mobile network based on specific rout ing algorithms that permit to use interconnection technologies, i.e. Wi- Fi, Wi- Max etc. The current realizations utilize mostly the Wi-Fi mobile devices, which, in the MANET, work in a peer- to- peer mode and need no nodes linked to fixed networks. In practice the MANET connects devices that are outside the reciprocal range of transmission utilizing one or more mobile user devices as intermediate repeaters, thus exploiting a "multi- hop" routing. Although operating at level 3 (OSI pile), the algorithms, in selecting the nodes on which to "hop", must take into account the parameters supplied directly by the physical layer and data link, such as the power level of the signal received by the nodes close by, the link's stability or even the charge of the batteries. At present there are no standards for the MANET networks, but only implementations different and optim ised according to the specific ranges of application. Owing to their characteristics, the MANET networks are believed to repres ent today an ideal solution for communications inside the Battle Space .

VOiP: VOICE OVER IP It is a technology that permits to make a telephone conversation taking advantage of a LAN, the Internet or another dedicated network that employs the IP protocol, instead of passing through the normal telephone line. The packages routed on the network contain the vocal information, encoded in a digital form, and the encoding occurs only at the moment when it i s necessary, i.e. when one of the connected users is speaking. For NII t he voice services must be supplied "end- to-end-, as "Secure VoIP" (SvolP) and "Voice over Secure IP" (VoSIP). NATO has adopted SCIP as protocol of applicative level for the safe management of the exchange of end- to- end information, including the voice service. Through the combined work of the HCWG of NATO and of the nations it w ill be necessary to make sure that SCIP includes all the capabilities for an end- to-end secure voice communication in the NII. Owing to today's lack of a global structure, with uniform and clear standards and a clear understanding of the security implications, the NNEC FS recommends the implementation of VoIP on ly on local structures with limited risk possibilities. The preparation of local sites will provide the necessary ex perience for the subsequent expansion. When, at mediu m term (2012) the QoS activated by the WANs will be guaranteed, in addition to a global VoIP structure, the VoIP technology will at last be exploited for the reasons that had seen it born. Having reached this point, one expects ripe and developed standards, upgraded and clear for the scalable VolPs networks and for the necessary reliable and interoperable gateways. SA: SITUATION AWARENESS A defin ition of SA is: "avai lability of a clear and correct perception of what has happened , of what is happen ing and what is likely to happen in the immediate future".

EDGE PROXY NNEC FS defines as "Edge Proxy" the gateway systems that can integrate different technological platforms. For example, in the specifi c sector of com munications, the system makes a non-I P based technology network interoperable; for example, a HF radio is an Edge Proxy. ROUTER It is a device capable of routing data, se lecting the best path among those available. QoS: QUALITY OF SERVICE In the field of packet switching networks and in the computer networks, the term "Quality of Service" or, more simply QoS, is used to indicate the probabilities with which a network may meet particular traffic specifications: it is often used in an informal way to refer to the probability that a package may succeed in passing between two points of a network.

INTEROPERABILITY The interoperability between the "legacy" materials and t he Tactica l Commu nication Framew ork , will be provided by the "Selex Communication s" apparatus of the MPS series , currently part of the shelte red PR- 6/ l 90. As a matter of fact, thi s

instrument has excellent "Edge Proxy" characteristics, for it can make interoperable the abovementioned platforms (TCP/ IP, VoIP, etc.) with the "legacy" world (EURCOM , TETRATAC, ATM , etc.). This wi ll permit the scalability of the systems wh il e maintaining the interoperability between different technologic platforms.

Fig. 6

\ \

0

\

'

''

\

'

Left. Prototype of transportable Wi-Max node.

It will be possible to introduce the MPS into the network at any level, g iven its flexibi lity, but its management will have t o be entrusted to Signal special ists .

CONCLUSIONS We deem it appropriate to conclude the coverage of the subject by underlining the issues that in our opinion are essential for achievi ng the objective, wh ich is that of providing commun ication services at Infantry regiment level, from the reg iment Headquarters down to the last man . In order to do this, the Service should

p lay an active role in the select ion of t he architectu res of the network and t he technologies to be employed in the communication systems. This will certai nly require the creation of an organization consisting of personnel provided with great experience and a deep knowledge of the matter. Moreover, it wi ll be suitable to consider the architectures , t he tech nologies employed and the performances wanted as an operational problem , and not as a mere techn ical problem to be adapted to the needs of the Service, and perhaps delegated to b usiness pol icies or to the individuals' good w ill. A ll things considered, it is necessary to have the conviction that the Service shou ld give the gu ide lines in the tech nical fie ld, which has become part of t he operational problem, and it is moreover necessary to make a generational leap in the tech nolog ies, avo id ing to develop platforms presently in line but which are no more su itable for meeti ng t he commun ication req uireme nts envisaged by the NATO NEC. Marco Cappellini Major General, Deputy Inspector, Communications Bra nch, Commandant, Army Communications and Information- Science School

M

A

G

0

M

E

Sole agent for advertising on " Rivista Militare"

~~ IJe).

Socie,a Editrice IMAGO MEDIA

I - 8 10 l 0 Drogoni (CE) TEI/FAX .-39 0823866710 +39 082386602 l www. imogomcdio ii e-mail: inlo@imogomed io. il

•

•

0

A

f orce • II

rI g 1n a ty • ex p er1ence 0

INCENDIARY DEVICES The employm ent of incendiary substances in conflicts has very ancient roots. The noxious effects that they produce are devastat ing, while conventions and prohibitions are frequently d isregarded, owing to a discordant percept ion of thei r legitimacy.

The use of flames and smoke in battle has been recorded since the fi rst millen nium B. C. , but w e can easily imagine that ever since man understood the power of fire he has not hes itated to make use of it in any and all confl icts. Supporting this claim are the works of reliable authors from ancient times , w ho provided amp le documentation of the use of flames i n t he past w hic h show that flame throwers, napalm bombs and the general use of incendiary and smo ke-p roduci ng substances are, to put it briefly, the evol utio n of the incend iary arrow and the catapult as an important means of attack. T he Chine se and t he Assyrians regu larly made use of fire in war campaigns by burni ng oil and sulphur.

Title pages. World War II. US infantry attacking with phosphorus bombs. Above. SHMEL grenade launchers (Russia). It uses RPO- A, RPOz (flares) and RPO- D grenades.

Gr eek writ ers from T hucydides (IV cent ury B.C.) to Plutarch (50 A.O. ) refe rred to t he use of smoke and incendiary substances i n vario us battles in A nc ient Greece. Duri ng the Ill cent ury B.C., Aeneas Tacitus and Vege t ius te ll us of t he use of incend iary substances w ith a bas is of su lph ur, coal an d incense, t o w hich oil and nap htha could be added, and wh ich we re kept in

World War I: German Stosstruppen attacking with the help of flamethrowers in Verd un.

"incendia ry vessel s" to be used fo r t he most part in naval battles. Compo unds o n the basis of these substances as well as variations were catalogued i n the "Liber lg nium" by a Marcus Graecus( XI I centu ry). What Crusaders knew as Greek fire (sulph u r, tallow, resi n, turpentine, saltpetre and antim ony) w as m ore common ly called "wi ldfire. " It is we ll - known that eve n Alexa nder the Great , duri ng the si ege of Tyre, w as not able to resist t he temptation to use the ince ndiary Greek fire. Like napalm, Greek fire could not be extinguished w ith water once it caught hold of wa ll s. Architect Callin icus of Heliopo lis in Syria (VII century A.O.) is attributed with the "optimization " of Greek fire, wh ich he had h urled at thos e laying siege to Constant in ople during the reign of Constantine Pergonato (648- 685 A.D.), most li kely made of a base of res in, pit ch, su lphur, naphtha, saltpetre and li me. Ann a Comnena, daughter of the Emperor Alexius of Byzantium, spoke i n t he Alexi ad (1 148 A.D .) of the use of long blowp ipes through w hich Byzantines b lew flames (Bunsen Bu rners and / or ante litteram oxyhydro ge n flame devices) agai nst Nor man assailants during t he Dur res siege (1108) . Since

R,vista M,t,1are c ,,gl,sh Ed1tio11 n 3/2007

"G reek f ire" was in the past the secret weapon of Byzantine emperors, it is not known why Turks did not use it during the final siege of Constant inop le, whi ch put. an end to wh at was left of the vast Roman Empire of the Orient. Arabs, Saracens and other populaces continued to us e Greek fire and incend iary variations after the fall of Constantinople. The introduction of gun powder , which to incendiary effects added ex plo sive ones, diminished the interest in incendiary weapons and devices (XI I- XVI ce ntu ry), widely rediscovered and reassessed most es pecially in the large- scale conflicts of the XX century. During t he XVII century Charles XII of Sweden had smoke - emitting substances used to hide his army from the Russians during the crossing of the Dvina river. A variation of Greek fire was used o n the orders of General Pat ri ck Gilmoore during the American Civil War (1860). The First World War was a sort of trial run for th e new "weapons systems", wh ich w ere th e result of large- scale sc ientific and technolog ical development in the most diverse fields, not the World War II: Italian infantrymen using a flamethrower in least of which the chemical one. In fact, in th is com bat. co nfl ict smoke- ind ucing and incend iary sub stances were used by all the armies involved as weapons in variou s battle setWorld War, following the t ings (la nd , naval and air), with sp read of radar and other noteworthy results. "C hemical ' ' Among the substances mod ern equ i pment al lowing concealment" played a very with a high incendiary and for the localization of targets important role in t he First smoke- discharging poten - and pos itions no longer able World War: from the crossi ng tial employable in war, the to be concealed w ith th e su bof t he Piave by Austrian forces, discussed herein. most well - known are stances made possible by mass ive use However, flares as munitions of smo ke -s creens, to the white phosphorus (WP) , with WP are still considered British use of smoke bombs on thermite (TH) and magne- usefu l for the purposes pro24 August 1916 during the sium (MG) ,, vided for by the laws regulatattack on the Hindenburg in g the use of these sub trenches and t he German use stances. of ince ndiary devices and flame throwers against the French in Malencourt. Du ring t he Second World Wa r as we l l, INCENDIARY MUNITIONS, FLARES AND SMOKEflamethrowers and smoke -di schargers were DISCHARGERS frequently used by those in battle, beginn ing w ith the use of flamethrowers by the Germans Among the substances with a high incendiary in Pol and and Belgium, forcing th e United and smoke-d ischarging potential employable in St ates to boost development of this type of war war, th e most well - known are white phosphorus systems. (WP), therm ite (TH) and magnesium (MG). Of Th en there was the use of sulphur incend iary the m white phosp horus (WP) is the m ost fremunitions in the bombing of Dresden by the Allied quently used, especial ly for the charging of illu forces in the last few months of the Second World minating tracers with a delayed fall for the creWar. atio n of smoke screens to conceal troop moveThe use of flamethrowers was also seen in l 94 3 ments. In addition, WP - based munitions are used in Guadalcanal and, later , in lwo Jima by the Mar ine alo ng side munitions w ith TH and MG by planes Corps, with the aim of first hitting the target and then burn ing it. an d hel ico pte rs wh en taking off and landing , as we ll as when flying at a low alt itude. In fact, in The use of incend iary devices, smoke - screens and the like experienced a lull after the Second order to protect military aircraft from attack in

tio ned, white p hosp horu s is used m ostly for charging i llum in ating and smoke-produc ing munitions, as wel l as th e signall ing of t argets

World War II: A formation of Soviet T 34s attacking German positions after having got past a smoke screen.

the sit uations just d esc rib ed, t h e airc r aft launch fl ares using WP, Mg and TH to devi ate the trajectory of any i nfrared or heat-sen sing lan d-to - air m i ssiles, wh ich head toward sources wi th a higher light or therma l inte nsity . In a sim ilar way, armoured tan k s use smo k eproducing and therma l m un it ions for che mical concealment and to protect themse lves from land - t o-land m iss il es . Some info rmat ion on phosphorus would see m to be in order at th is point. Chemically speaki ng, p hosphorus (WP) is a non - metallic ele ment of t he n itrogen grou p (N) w ith the atom ic number l 5. On coming in to contact w ith air it burns at temperatu re s as hi gh as 2,500'C, giv ing off intense smoke with a yellow flame. Phosphorus ex ists i n three d if fe rent all otro pes : common o r white phosp horus, red phosphorus an d blac k phosp horus . The f i rst , w hen p ure, oxid izes on contact with air , rap idly turning yellow and emitti ng a toxic smoke w it h a garlic- l ik e odo ur. At a temperature o f 35 - 40 degrees it ignites spontaneou sly and therefore m ust be ke pt in water, i n wh ich it is in sol uble. WP can be heated wit h a m ixture of Ca pho sphates i n th e presence of sand (si l ica) and carbon, ca usi ng t he vapo urs to condense. If WP is heated to temperatures of between 250 and 300"C without the presence of air it becomes red phosphorus. The latt er is not to xic but can ign ite w ith friction. At 200' C and in h igh pressure WP turns black (b lack phosphor us) w ith a chemica l structure simi lar to g raphit e. As men-

World War II: A US Marine armed with a flamethrower.

for infrared weapo ns, since some intern at ion al co nventio ns proh ibit the use of compo und s contai ni ng t his element in mu nitions for other purposes.

NON-MILITARY USES OF PHOSPHORUS Phos p ho rus (P) is an eleme nt that is widely present in nature and can frequently be fou nd in rocks as phosphate, tho ugh seldom in its natural state. Th e presence of phosp horus i n animals and p lants is extreme ly important, since it is once of th e essent ial constituents of many lipoprotei n molecules as we ll as sk eleto ns. Phosphorus is present in nuc leic ac ids, i n ADP an d in ATP (ade nosi ne phosphates and adeno sine 5'triphosph ate) for ce ll respiration and ene rgy prod uction. In plants it is a fundamental element in chlo rophy ll photosynthesis . It was isolated fo r the first t ime by the German chemist Henning Brand in 1669, to whom it appeared as a white material burn ing and luminesce nt in the dark. Hence t he word phosphorescent.

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 3/2007

Phosphoru s is widely used at the ind ustrial level, with a great deal of products containing this important element supplied by th e chem ical industry. In more everyday terms we find phosphorus as a basic element of fertilizers , food additives, toothpastes and pestic ide s. Phosphorus is also used in steel and phosphor bronze productio n. Phosp hates are also used in a part icular type of glass wh ich is a component of sod iu m lamps. Calci um phosphate is part of the production proces s of Chinese porcelain, wh ile tri sodium phosphate is us ed in stain removers, wate r softening prod uct s and ant i- corrosive compounds. The use of phosp horus can also be found in the p roductio n of some drugs (m etaamphetamine) .

LAWS AND CONVENTIONS

World War II. Soviet infantry, protected by a smoke screen, attacking a German position in Stalingrad.

The f irst sign ificant attempt to regu late the use of i ncendiary weapo ns and mun itions goes back to 18 October 1907, w hen A rtic le 23 of the part icular wording, WP could be considered under the genera l definition of chemica l sub "Ann ex to the Hague Conve nt io n IV Res pecting stance u nder Article II of the CWC but d id not t he Laws and Customs of War on Lan d" express ly proh ibited the use of "arms, projecti les or spec ifically appea r on t he list of "tox ic" chemimater ia l of a nature to cause superfluous cal su bsta nces attached to the CWC. In concl u sio n, it is cle ar t hat iss ues lin ked to incendiary inju ry." and smo ke- produci ng muniIn su pport of this concept was tions have raised th e interest th e First Add itio nal Protocol (1977) by the Geneva ''Today the proper use of of ma ny States in relation to Convent ion, whe n on 2 August the incendiary and smoke- th e harmful effects connected l 949 the t erm "u nnecessary and fog-discharging mu- wi th their indiscriminate use , in limits being suffering" was added (" It is pronitions is entrusted to the resulting imposed to their employment hibited to employ weapo ns and seriousness and sensitivity in battle reinforced in conproject i les ... of a nature to cause superfluous i njury or of those forced to make vent ions, protoco ls, reports, use of them, in the spirit policy guidance tex ts and unnecessary suffering."). Und erscorin g the issues and according to the rules f ield man uals. A proper use of mun ItIons i s also re lated to i ncendiary weapons set down in the interna- these was the "Convention on Certain tional conventions and entru sted t o th e seriousness and sensitivity of those forced Conventional Weapons" to make us e of them, in the (CCWC) which , in its Protocol Ill bans,, spirit and accord ing to the (l 980) banned their use rules se t down in the conventions and bans, aga inst civilians and m il itary units liv ing among sin ce on th is matter the perception o f leg iti mate the latter. However, Protocol Ill spec ificall y use is unlikely to be reg u lated sat isfactorily by excluded w ea pons i n which the ince ndiary effect any law. is secondary, as in the cas e of sm o ke-producing grenades , a req uireme nt w hich clea rl y exc lu ded Ulderico Petresca WP from th e provi sions of the protocol in ques Captain (MD), Italian Navy, tion . Maritime Military Command As for t he "Paris Convention for the Pro hibition of the Capital of Chem ical Weapons" (CWC), it does not specifically prohibit th e use of WP, so long as it is not Rossella Prisco intentiona ll y use d against huma n be ings Researcher throu gh its toxic properties. In line with th is

CAPORETTO: A CONTROVERSIAL STORY A docu mentary reconstruction that hig hlights the many-sided aspect s of a defeat often misrepresented by disinformation or propaganda. The "raw material" is provided by the book "October 191 7, from t he lsonzo t o t he Piave" by Gioacchino Volpe. A w ork of great impact which, still today, raises impassioned, and som etimes discordant, reactions.

In 193 0 the study by Gioachino Vol pe, "October 191 7, from the lsonzo to the Piave" - which dealt with the origins and the consequences of the defeat of Caporetto - was se nt to press. It was a volume for the assembling of which the author, who had been a di rect witness to the repercussions of that war event as Officer of the Propaganda Service of the VII I Army, had entered into a close correspondence with mi litary historian Piero Pieri, with Paolo Boselli, with Novello Pappafava, as well as with General Cad orna, Com mander in Ch ief of the Royal Army at t he moment of the defeat. But the work was chiefly t he result of his part icipation in the researches carried out by the Historiographic Office of Industrial Mobilisation, fou nded in April 1917 by Giovan ni Borelli, a liberal politician who wished to formulate an objective analysis of the life of the military and civilian Italians involved in the First World War. An analysis that was meant to remove the political biases of different nature that the social impact of the confl ict was causing. These prej ud ices survived also during the Fascist reg ime. "October 19 17", read in advance

by Mussol ini, d id not wi n his approval, was excluded from the publications for the decen nial of t he victory and printed only two years after that anniversary. Assuredly "Oct ober 191 7", the fi nal element of the triptych of "a civil, internal history of the Italian people d uring the war", at which Volpe was going to work unti l 1941, had little to do with the mythology of the First World Conflict, that the Fascist apostolate had fabricated with the publicat ion of tendentious studies, interested memorials, works of pure propaganda, and through systematic disinformation . Neither had that book anythi ng to do with the undiscriminating and tendentious apology of "Cadorn ism" that had been promoted by Ugo Ojetti, a fam ous journalist. Certainly, once the war was over, Volpe would become a militant of the "Cadorna party", a variegated association which included the national-l iberal groups assembled around Giovann i Amendola's "II Mondo" and Alberti ni 's "Corriere della Sera", elements of extremist Fascism, but also exponents of the opposition to the regime, such as Gaetano Salvemin i and Nella Rosselli. But when in the aut umn of 1924 Mussolini, overcom ing his former mistrust of the General, symbol of a "King's war" that was ill -su ited to the Fascist mythology of "people's war", was about to appoi nt Cadorna Mars hal of Italy, in order to formally decree his full rehabil itation, the historian applauded that feat especially for its political character. In a let ter to Mussolini of 13 October, Volpe maintained that "an act of your government, before the Chamber opens again , which would precede any other initiative and divest t he factions of any occasion to raise corn-

Title pages. The dale of Caporetto.

Left. The course of the lsonzo rive r near Caporetto .

,.

I

Rivista Militare English Editio11 11. 312007

lig ht up also when coming in contact with the pern icious example of the Russian revolution. In view of this, Volpe nevertheless excluded the hypot hesis of a "mil itary strike" as the cause of the defeat. A hypothesis put forward by Cadorna himself, by some intellectuals (Ardengo Soffici), and by polit icians like Leonida Bissolati, who "applied to the m ilitary masses the criteria deduced from his experience and from his vocabu lary of socialist organizer, taking no account of the wearing down of the troops on the front, considered, unli ke the other Arm ies engaged in the conflict The effects of mustard gas on a m ule. (excluding perhaps t he Russian Army), simple "combat units", for which there was space neither for propaganda nor for a minim um consideration for the physical and psychological needs that such a long plaints and any reason of dist urbance to the friends , I war, different from the past ones, imposed to take believe would be quite welcomed by public opin ion". into consideration". According to Volpe, the defeat of Therefore Volpe's "Cadornism" was a "prudent and Tolmino, Plezzo, Monte Nero, rather than in the patriotic" one, which could also be found in the vol"excess or in the dissenting and ume of 1930. Rather si milar to t he anti- state quality of the workers' basic theses and conclusions of ' Volpe excluded the hy- politicisation" that had su pposedMarc Bloch's book on France's "strange defeat" in June 1940, oothesi s of a "militar'y ly infected t he Army, had to be 11 "October 191 7" certainly did not strike as the cause of the found in the Italian people's "lack of political awareness" and "disomit the analysis of t he military ::tefeat. A hypothesis tha event, with firm crit ical words for Nas instead put forward by tance from the State". An age-old distance that had affected the the sclerosis of t he High Cadorna, by some intellecbonds of subordination, the duty Commands , the lack of intell ituals, and by politicians ,, of obedience, the t ies of belonggence, t he uselessness of the draing to a "st ill il l- known conian punishment of the desertHomeland". ers, but focused especial ly on the On its publication, Volpe' s work produced passioninvestigation of the Italian "internal front", on the ate as we ll as discordant reactions. Next to the enthuinadequacy of a Country that had not managed t o siastic opinion on the book expressed by Aldo Valeri on the "Corriere della Sera", there was that of Piero Pieri, who referred to the political impediments t hat had delayed its appearance, and who intended to write a review on Luigi Ru sso's magazine "Nuova Italia" as soon as possible. A review that would certainly be more informed, less amateurish and above all more balanced than t he note written by Adolfo Omodeo on t he same magazine. Equal ly positive was the judgement of Novello Pappafava (an intellectual grown in t he circles of the modern ist nationalism of "La Voce" and subseq uently near the experiences of Gobetti's "Rivoluzione Liberale") who praised the book's ability to bring that catastrophe back to its dimension of "m ilitary action" against "all the very Above and right. Refugees leave the sites of t he battle.

become a Nat ion and that, in that j uncture, paid for its traditional lacerations and its most recent division between an interventionist party - incohesive within and a minority in the streets and in the countryside, as it was in Parliament - and a neutral ist party (socialist, cat holic, and a liberal supporter of Giol itti) , with pacifist and even latently defeatist sentiments, ready to

Retreating units of the Italian 2nd Army crossing the

cowardly Pilates that have rushed to offload their Priula bridge. technical responsibilities onto the shoulders of the pol itical and moral character of t he Italians". On t he contrary, Piero Bosell i's reply was very critical; he had there was no shout that went without a forcefu l been Prime Mi nister of the War Cabinet and had handreproof. Never were we indu lgent or pl iant towards ed in his resignation precisely after the defeat of the assertions, t he wishes and the pretensions of the Caporetto. On March l , 1930 , Bosell i sent to Volpe a circumstantial analysis of t he volume and made clear enemies of our Country. 'Was there no warlike spirit' as you say? But m illions were counted; all the instruhis dissent about the observations concern ing the ments of war were created, in a hu rry, generous ly. The Government 's incapacity to strengthen the moral fibre of t he Country, starting from the spring- summer of Country was aroused to the point t hat its sentiment 1917. Boselli's objections dwelt especially upon was greatly renewed. What would have bee n the use Volpe's passage that criticized the work of his Minist ry of a Dictator, a non- Warrior? And Italy in 191 7 was constituted in freedom. And t he force was in the field. during the weeks immediately following the m ilitary The "Caporetto" attributed to the internal cond ition of disaster. The Ministry "could not hold out any longer, t he Country was one of t he alibis that Cadorna used corroded by internal quarrels, t he Suprem e to invent in his egoistic pride. Caporetto was a mil iCommand's lack of confidence, its uncertainty of tary mistake, both technical ly and morally. What was directions and its patriotism which led it to agree with foreseeable was not foreseen. The morale of the the interventionists demanding a policy of war, and its liberal ism that made it agree with Army, Leaders and soldiers, was upset, confused, tired, unsuited whomever cried out louder the ' Raffaele Cadorna motivat- to t he field. In short, the Ministry rights of Parliament and t he parties". Bosell i answered the accusa::id the defeat to the scarcE that I presided over avoided the tions in detail, in a long paragraph martial upbringing of the ltal internal conflicts that occurred of his letter that insisted on the ian youth, who were educatec inside other Countries. Look at what the Country after Caporetto integrally parl iamentary character of t he management of the conflict in a nation where only somE was. If we had exacerbated the egions could pride them angry contentions up to a civil in progress, without apparently war, would the Italy that won have understanding the new features of 'Selves on a sound and widesurvived?" the war, which by then needed a :;pread military tradition , , Precise ly t he difference of these stronger concentration of political opinions showed how in Volpe's sovereig nty. reconstruction there had been no place for the "leg"Here the word not on ly exceeds, but certainly does end" of Italy in war, neither "black" nor "golden", but not represent the thoug ht. One can judge it a lack of repression, but that there was agreement with rather an often pitiless analys is, that intended to find the light and shade of the national identity, in a whomever "cried louder" was never said, because too different is the trut h. You had no time t o see my moment of acute moral and material crisis (besides, common to all ies and adversaries, in the various aperspeeches in Parliament and in t he Country. Certainly

Riv,sto M1/1tare Enghsh Edit1011 n 312007

The "Bersaglieri" were decimated by the employment of gas.

ation theatres and in every belligerent State, all eq ually exhausted by the massive effusion of blood and resources), where the weakness of the Country reverberated on the Government's and consequently on the Army's, becoming more acute in the psychological separation between sold iers and civilians. Therefore it was not a regime- inspired work, in its guidelines and for the originality of its historiographical tone, which made rather unconceivable Omodeo's dogged and harsh criticism that appeared in July 1930. In those pages, Omodeo spoke of the advanced "decline of the author", of a project of a "full, total history, that does not overlook anything; "circonvisualistic" as his colleague Fil ippo Tommaso Marinetti wou ld say", but which actually limited itself to offer the reader "a bunch of hi st orical factors that do not interlock and generate a chaotic confusion and continuous contradiction s", of ¡¡confusion of politics and history", of 'Journalistic impressionism". However, the real point of contention, Volpe's historiographic "bad action", according to Omodeo, was his harsh judgement against those "bourgeois officers" who in 1917 had not been able to fill the void that the slaughter of the trench war had created among the "Officers of the first wave: the regular career Officers, and the more numerous reserve Officers, the pick, coming from the interventionist parties, morally committed to fight well and, if necessary, to die well". To replace them the Army had had to admit in its ranks "many Officers commissioned against their will, because of their school degrees; many Officers dragged out of their offices; many very young Officers, boys actually, "manufactured" in one month on the school desks, rushed up t o the front during the weeks, or days or hours, that preceded the offensives, with no experience of war and men, with no prestige among the soldiers, without determination in the face of danger". Many soldiers and cultured men that had participated in the conflict shared Volpe's judgement. General Luigi Capello, Commander of the II Army, spoke about the "improvisation of such a large mass of new The Count of Torino and General Robilant at Caporerro.

Officers", which necessarily compromised "their quality", and added: "They were young men that brought to t he Army the gifts and shortcom ings of the class in which they were recruited, i.e. daring, bri lliance and intelligence, but also scarce mil itary spirit and a limited enthusiasm for war. The length of the war, the weight of the sacrifices and a pacifist propaganda freely diffused in the Country, certainly influenced the mind of these young men, for not all of them had a high sense of duty, while there were some who could have done with pleasure without the honour and responsibility of the rank that was conferred to them". Th is opinion was confi rmed by then Cavalry Captain Raffaele Cadorna, who attributed it to the scarce martial education of the Italian youth, who were untrained for command responsibi lities, in a nation where only some regions could pride themselves on a sound and widespread military tradition. Also the Commission of inquiry on Caporetto, despite being called to give it s opinion only on the responsibilities of the Supreme Commands, attributed the disaster of October 19 17 to the fragility of the reserve cadres, at least as an accessory cause, and "acknowledging as very sound the principle that whoever has ach ieved high ed ucational qualifications should serve the Country in arms and therefore should and could one day occupy a high position in civilian life", declared that it would have been better to send those young men to t he fighting un its on the front as privates, commissioning later only those who really wanted to become Officers, and deserved it for the ir valour and ent hu siasm." The opin ions of some intellectuals were, if possible, even hars her. Angelo Gatti went as far as calling "Aspirants" and "Second Lieutenants" a "real curse of the Army, people "most refractory to any spirit of moral remaking", coming from "that petty bourgeoisie that has no ideal but material comfort". Ardengo Soffici censured the "anational" character of that middle class, above all of its lower fringe groups, which, even when mobilized, still shared the faults of their original environment. 'Too devoid of real culture, too

egoist bourgeois, too little inspired by real convictions and civil and national conscience". Also Giovanni Amendola, in his letter of August 1, 1917 to Bissolati, maintained that the most recent recruitments of Officers very often consisted of eleme nts "rather uncultured and scarcely prepared from the moral and professional viewpoint". And Volpe, after some fifteen years, commented upon this judgement, speaking of "those sons of the middle class, given to tranqui l jobs", who in that very bitter autu mn of war had been unequal to their task and had shown themselves defin itely inferior in comparison with the young men from the middle class of the other Nations engaged in the conflict (France, but Germany and England above all), were "there was a more accurate preparation or, at least, a greater military tradition, a more intense and widespread sports life, spirit of some particular classes, the habit of marshalling and commanding men, typical of semi- feudal Countries, or Countries that have large properties or a vigorous industrial life, or a vast colonial dominions. Finally Omodeo, in a lette r of September 19 16 to his wife , again wrote about "those 'improvised second lieutenants' who remained,

Right. A mace and a gas mask used by the Austro- Hungarian troops. Below. Women building an entrenchment near Treviso.

despite their unquestionable proofs of abnegation and courage" the weak side of our war". These words clashed with the judgements contained in "Moments of War Life" written by Omodeo, that Croce's "La Critica" had been publishing since 1929, which , on the contrary, modulated a nostalgic praise of the Italy that was still happily far from the "mechanic civilization of today" and, in comparison with that Italy, commended the "fighting peasant", "more simplehearted, nearer to the ancient patriarchal habits", "carved out of the old rural rock of some little village in Sicily, in Calabria or in the Alps, who came into contact with the sons of other regions, and with the 'gentleman' and the 'honourable man' who have become Officers". The different models of the Country engaged in the war storm, proposed by Omodeo and Volpe, reflected two opposed and irreconcilable hypotheses of Nation. One linked to the old nineteenth- century model of liberal Italy, the Italy of the notables tied to

Rivista Militare Engltsh Edition n. 3/2007

Italian infantrymen on the attack.

America is ignored , and America ignores. This explains the attention given to Croats and Serbians and the absence of Americans on the Italian front, as we ll as the monopolization by the French and t he Eng lish. the lower classes by bonds of patronage and moral Meanwhile, France conspires with Austria; France and hegemony. The other, whose aim was to modernize its England refuse us the guns . Scarce harmony". While, social structures, create new intellectual, professional for what concerned the breakdown of the Czarist sysand technical execut ive cadres that cou ld establish an tem and Washington's intervention as factors of the organic relation of direction and command with the sudden acceleration of democratic dynamics in masses of the Country. The masses that, precisely on Europe, in its internal and international implications, the occasion of the conflict, were t o be induced to turn Volpe concluded: "Russian revolut ion and American from t he ancient, cathol ic and Counter-Reformation intervention: in both cases, it is democracy entering rabble of "Vanquished of the Risorgimento" (as t he war...Th e Russian revolution facilitates t he Malaparte depicted them in his book "La Rivolta dei American intervention. America could not back the Maledetti" of 192 l , explaining the defeat of Caporetto) Czar. On the contrary, revolutionary Russia resolved to into that of full cit izens, engaged in the new dimenreach a democratic peace, j ust like Wilson". This was sion of war as a"totalitarian activity". an issue analysed more in depth in another note that Volpe was to reflect again on this irking issue in the highlighted the effects of t he general cris is of 1917 on mid- sixties, with a view to revising but above all comt he future European set up and Italy's position in t he pleting the volume of 1930, which in any case was new diplomatic scenario. A position that now had cergoing to have a reprint ne varietur in 1966, wit h a tainly become less strong, after changed title. The work of revit he fai lure of the many geopolitsion, although incomplete , piled ical precond itions that had led to up in a series of notes of consid' Many acknowledge and de the signing of t he Pact of erable amplitude, concerning priplore the waste of magnifiLondon. marily the Italian situation in the :ent soldiers made in the first "Russian collapse. We try to international context, investigatperiod in banal endeavours, ir attract the Slavs to us. Greater ed starti ng not only from the demands from us. Instead changes in t he force ratio useless breakthroughs ... ,, comes America, which replaces between 19 17 and 1918, but also Russia and ignores the Pact of from the consequences that that London. Russian collapse. Important repercussions in â&#x20AC;˘ change brought in the internal status quo of the general and increased honour and risk for us. The Nations involved in the war and, above all, the parallel protector and guardian of the Slavs disappears. Italy diplomat ic and propaganda war that started to crack .... finds itself more directly in front of them. On the one the bloc of the powers of the Entente. Commenting hand our nationalist exigencies, which would have upon an article appeared on the "Corriere della Sera" of been opposed by Russia, are stimulated ; on the other April 1921, regarding the attention t hat American the idea of making Italy guardian of t he Nations public opinion paid to our m ilitary engagement, Volpe oppressed by Austria, the centre if their movement. noted : "As regards the war propaganda abroad:

â&#x20AC;˘I

Summer 1917, the Government and the High Command promote our Slavophile campaign. Ju ly, Pact of Corf u and a few days later t he "Corriere" starts the campaign for the accord. Greater Italian effort, our idea of more rights that derive from it, and need to change the Pact of London, adding Fiume. On the contrary, since the Russian collapse is followed by the American inteNention, there is the substitution of someone that had signed that pact with someone that had not signed and was adverse to the Pact. Therefore , devaluation of t he accord . Hence the revisionist campaign t hat wanted, if not demolish, at least reform the pact". It was a most penetrating analysis that subsequently included also the situation of t he internal front, where Volpe employed his research done in the Historical Arch ive of Mobi lisation, brusquely interrupt-

Left.

General Cadorna and Marshal Joffre Above.

Alarm for a gas attack in an Italian trench.

ed in 1923, for a political veto due to the historian's wish to investigate, in an unbiased manner, the proletarian unrests, the socialist movements, the neutralist and defeat ist propaganda and also the work condit ions of the manpower engaged in the war effort, for which Volpe spoke of violent "exploitation", owing to wh ich the workman was reduced to a "s imple work tool, lacking any type of care", add ing that the "sense of exploitation was sharpened by the huge gains of the employers, m uch larger than the increased wages of the workers". That extraordinary increment of ind ustrial profits was not the only cause of the widespread social disintegration that preceded and followed t he military disaster of 1917. The trans it ion from t he military Caporetto to the "civilian" one had been brought about by the growing rhetoric of the "peasant-soldier", which was indirectly fu nctional to

the "expansion of that somewhat Bolshevik spirit t hat started to spread in 1917", subsequent ly blended with the socialist propaganda that produced the unrest for better wages and against the war, in Turin, the "vanguard" of wh ich was formed by women and young workers, who harboured "a lesser sense of respons ibil ity and greater hopes of impun ity, a weaker res istance to other people's suggestions; more serious disturbance produced by the new life conditions in which the factory, and in most cases the city environment, has put them". Volpe acquired other cues for perfecting ''October 191 7" from his experience with the Propaganda SeNice. The indications regarded the psychological situation of the troops on the fire li ne t he day after the breakthrough , also for what concerned the crisis of t he relat ions, t he lack of comm unication between soldiers and subaltern Officers, and between the latter and the respective Commands. In fact, this is what was stated by a handwritten note, presumably drafted on the eve of the battle of t he Piave, which was going to mark the counterattack of our arm ies. Visit t o the "Vicenza" Brigade. Impress ion of scarce contact of the Brigade Commands with the Officers of regiments and battalions; idem of the regiment Headquarters with t he Office rs of t he battalions. In a "Bersaglieri" regiment (16th) there were Officers of a machinegunners field who, after three months, did not know the Officers of the regiment Headq uarters, which was one kilometre away. Only once a week, or twice a month, the Colonel gathers all the Officers arou nd him. The various battalions com municate more by means of written paper than by contact s

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 312007

I ta l ian troops entrenched along the Piave.

between men. Impressions on the soldiers: They are mostly young me n of '99. Therefore, because of their age and non-ex perience of war, they are generally in good spirits and cheerful. The seniors are less serene, and confess that they are tired. Find rations insufficient. Wit h regard t o Caporetto, they talk about traitors (they were in Carnia). Otherwise those positions would not have been lost .. .But then they implicitly admit that the "traitors" are many.They would li ke to find them and give them their due. But, to tell the truth , they know that guilt is rather widespread. It is common say, also here, that during t he chaotic retreat no Officer was with his men. If one of them remained, it was no more as an Officer but as one of the many fugitives. Some, a few field Officers among them, and a General, have apparently put on the un iform of privat es. soldiers. Lowering of the soldiers' level, from the beginning of the war unti l now. Al l acknowledge and deplore the waste of magnificent soldiers made in the first period in banal endeavours, useless breakthroughs, impossible penet rations through barbed wire or cl imbing mou ntains. One has the impression that the Commands gave orders without much concern about their practicability. They had scarce knowledge of men and positions. They talked and communicated at a distance. They worked on the telephones. Also the level of t he Officers has dropped. The medical Officer of t he 278th Regiment, a Captain, tells me that he often feels humiliation and indig nation before Officers that ask a medical examination and want t o be sick at all costs, and become gloomy when he fi nds them in good health. Besides, it is easy to understand: a Country like Italy does not have such a wealth of educated classes and such a reserve of moral energies so as to supply for three years a selected Corps of Officers. Confirmed that draft-dodg ing is a great cause of discontent. The Officers talk about it al l the time, referring to the sold iers. But mentioning it with such insistence shows that the Officers resent it at least as much as t he soldiers. ..". It was a portrait that had no regard for anyone, not apologetic at all , which st igmat ised the inadequacies of the military Commands, but also the traditional

moral sluggishness of the Italian society, which from civilian life was spi lling into the war effort without interruption. It was nevertheless a portrayal that did not lead Volpe to conform t o the positions of the defeatist historiography, wh ich in the second postwar period seemed t o delibe rately want to undermine t he constitutive principles of the national cohesion and identity, belittling the significance and the extent of the two events , symbols of their historical memory, represented precise ly by the Risorgimento and the First World War. Actual ly Volpe would never forget how big and how strong was t he recovery on the military and internal front after the rout of Caporetto. Actually he insisted on the fact that the name of that little vi llage should not remain as symbol of the Italian people's inadequacy in facing and overcoming the test of the arms. "Caporetto, with so many recrimi nations, reproaches, historical examinations; with so much searching high and low, and crying out on the roofs ; Caporetto, which already during the very first hours had assumed, through our words, before the entire world, the proportions and the character of an irreparable and almost shameful disaster, grew, became wider and wider, lingered in t he general history of war events as a single deed , almost the Italian deed par excellence, as the Italian war. Other routs, no lesser t han ours, with not much d ifferent collective demonstrations, occurred in other theatres of the Entente. Better still: in June came the great resistance and our victorious count eroffensive on the Piave, with military, political and moral effects of enormous and general importance; and fi nally, at the end of October, came the victorious offensive across the Piave and beyond the mountains, which swept away the enemy Army and hastened also the surrender of Germany. And nevertheless, Caporetto, created in part also by ourselves, as was the case fifty years before with Custoza and Li ssa, and twenty years earlier with Aduwa; Caporetto has â&#x20AC;˘ remained, and remains. Every now and again, we Italians see it thrown between our feet from those who have an interest in stopping us on ou r way". Eugen io di Rie nzo Professor of Political Sciences at "La Sapienza" Univers ity of Rome

'.

'

BOUNDARIES «They die and revive, move, vanish and reappear unexpectedly. They mark the experience, the language, one's dwelling space, the body with its health and its diseases, the psyche with its splitting and readjustments, politics with its often absurd cartography, the ego with the plurality of its fragments and their laborious reassembling, society with its divisions, economy with its invasions and retreats , thought wit h its order maps» (Claudio Magris).

The need to circums cribe space wh ere w e bo lic bo rde rs. Bo rd ers assume the shape of m ove goes bac k to th e mo st ancien t time s. Right marks t hat are not on ly m ere geograph ical divi from the start people f elt the need t o fix borders sion. The t erritorial border refl ects deep psycho that reduced the natu ral t ende ncy to ex pand and log ical dyna mi cs and plays a f undam ent al role in t o im pose their ru le on other co mm uniti es . mai ntainin g the soc ial system. T he co ncept of border is not linked w ith the b irth of civ ilization. It goes back to t he occu r rence of th e fi r st speci es on earth. In fact, th e METAPHOR, MYTHOLOGY, DISTINCTION need to draw borde rs w ith in which they co uld build their Bound less space and lim its, world , wh ich on ly later w ou ld ' ' Down the centuries the borde rs an d the crossing of be governed by legal ru les and concept of border has borde rs are only apparen tly co llective dec isio ns, is cl osely o p pos ite co ncepts . In the lin ked with instinctu al and pri - changed ,, co urse of ti me they have com m ordia l factors. It is no coincibin ed with eac h other and, in dence that eve n an i mals are so me cases, t hey have m erged used to ma rk ou t their territory and are ready t o together. attack anyone w ho dares to invade it . Early men T he ind efiniteness and, at times , the invisib il lo o ked li ke an i mals and acted l ike them . T he law ity of bord er s hig hli ght t heir amb ig uo us feaof the strongest prevaile d, i n r ef ere nce t o whi ch tu res. Anyon e co uld cross a bo rd er and break t he Englis h p hiloso p her Hobbes used the the law, trespass on a place, invade the econ o m expression Homo homini lupus and defi ned ic, pol itical and soc ial space of t he ot hers and be hum an natu re as egois t ic, explaini ng th at hu m an seen as a threat because bo rders are estab lished actions are determi ned on ly by the insti nct of in orde r t o st ress differences and those w ho se lf- prese rvat ion . In ab sence of civili zation , cross them t h reaten to underm ine the di st inci ndividuals act ed t o satisfy t heir instincts and tion betwee n «us» an d «the m». The cross ing of tend to def en d their te rritory. However, w ith the a border is a cru cial mome nt. It is a tu rn ing evolution of society th e psyc holog ica l explanapoi nt. It is th e met apho r of a chan ge. It means tio n has not been able to give us an exhaust ive challenging t he unkn own . Amon g t he mytholog theoreti cal framewo rk. Oth er impo rtant soc ial , ica l perso nages Ulysses sets a pe rfect examp le: pol iti cal and cu ltural factors must be t aken into cross in g th e limit t hat was re p resen t ed by the co nsideratio n. Pil lars of Hercu les (t his is t he ancie nt name of Down t he centuries the concept of border has Mou nt Abi la and Mou nt Cal pe wh ich Hercu les cha nged. The ge stu re of drawing border s is ful l separated t o li nk t he Me diterra nean Sea with t he of m ean ing and sym bo lic eleme nts . We can ta lk At lanti c Oce an), challe ng ing God's wi ll t o about natural, national, social, cultu ral and sym q uench the thi r st for knowledge (and t h is acti on wou ld cost him th e Hel l in th e imagi nary Dan tean journ ey) has lots of meanin gs . It was a daring deed wh ich led hi m to ex plore t he Title pages. The Great Wa ll of China. u nkn own and t o co nq ue r new places. It is a dar-

R1v1sta M1/1U1re English Edttl()fl n. 312007

Hadrian's Wall.

i ng and g reat achievement of an unknown t erri t ory whe re the l im it is crossed. T hat «insane fl ig ht» beyond the Pillars of Hercules, wh ich represented the borders of the world and are the l ine that Dante draws betwee n the world of the livi ng and t he world wit hout people, is the sym bol of the thirst of knowledge that does not want to accept limits. It is the fascinat ing and di sp uted t heme of th e «non - border». In antiquity not having bou nd aries meant being against nature (hybris), that is t o say beyon d t he lim its, because in natu re noth ing grows and develops without any limits. T he one who lived without any limits experienced soc ial isolation . The myth of the Pillars of Hercules is not «Greek, it is Arab but Dante used it referring to the Greeks» and, as th e writer Giu seppe Pont iggia has pointed out , «the lslamists bann ed peo pl e from crossi ng the Strait o f Gibra ltar, for commercial reasons. Dante referred to this ban to represent the limit of k nowledge. He did not g ive to it a theolog ical m ea ning, it is not the symbol of a re ligious ban. Individuals want to go beyond all limits and to know, but they cannot cross the final limit, the

end of the dark mountain, which is th e death. Dante revised a Greek myt h and context ual ized it according t o the Christian view. In th e Greek world Ulysses' attitude would have been seen as tota lly negative : t he Gree k s defined the human defiant attitude toward God as hybris. Th is w ord l inks pride and violence and condemns the individual to rui n and deat h. On the co ntrary, the Ch rist ianity does not co ndemn people who loo k for the unknown». In fact, Ulysses is in the eighth trench, among the fraudulent advisers : you were no t crea t ed to live as brutes bu t to fo l low virtue and knowledge, Ulysses said to hi s fel lows falling into error and sin because he ex horted h is me n t o deeds th at g o beyo nd hum an know ledge. Accordi ng to Dan te on ly observing divin e law and recognizing human limits can lead i nd ivid uals to virtue and rea l knowledge. T he concept of «limit» has its origins in antiq uity. It derives from the Latin «limes» (line of border) and in Roman time s it referred to a gro up of barriers (even natura l barrie r s suc h as r ivers and mountains) , among which there we re road s, that were defended by so ldiers; it was not stab le fo rt ifica ti on because it was moved according to logistical - military needs and it was re- b uilt every time. T he works of fortification of

limes started w ith the Flavian dynasty and ended near Ravenna , t he Rubicon , wh ich marked th e wi th that of the Antoni nes. Under t he reig n of border between the province of Cisa lp ine Gau l Domitian, the lim es cons i sted of roads that were and the ager popu /i Romani : it was th e start of garrisoned by troops and towe rs that were made the civi l war which wo ul d lead to the decay of th e of wood - which would be replaced by towers Repub lica n instit u t io ns and speed up that made of stone - and had to spot the enemy and process of cent ral ization of power that had been watch the area; during the 4 th century the limes started by Scyll a thirty years before». Accordi ng was strengthened further thro ugh mi litary f ie lds. Suetonius' account, Caesa r hesitated before perA ntoninu s Pius' Wal l, w hi ch was bu ilt in 142 AD form ing t h is act, whic h has a met aphorical between the ri vers Forth and Clyd e to defend the mea ning, maybe just because he was aware of te r ritory against t he Scottish i nvasions , is the sacred significance of the border and th en he fa mous. Hadrian's Wall, whi ch was orde red t o be utte r ed th e famous p hrase a/ea iacta est (the d ie bu i lt by the Emperor himse lf i n defence of the is cast) as if he wanted to seal the solemnity of Roman Britannias, is even more famo us. It w as that passage. It is no co inc idence that peop le situ ated i n North Eng land and consisted of cas have tried to p rovide Caesar's gesture with tles, towers and moats . With the passi ng of t ime divine j ust ification to legit imise a pol it ical and the Latin word limes has taken on a more comm il itary action which marked a moment of p rehensive mean ing that co incid es with t he id ea cha nge and of laten t insecurity. of «border» whi ch separated p laces that be long The raya de Tordesillas , wh ich is the border to d ifferent geograph ical realit ies, as Pl i ny that divided the spheres of influence of Spa in described accurate ly. and Portugal, has great symbo lic significance T he Romans did not regarded the li mes as an for its geo-political imp l ications. It orig inated impassable front ier, because it was reconstit utfrom a Treaty that was signed b y the two cou ned every t i me after a conquest tries in the smal l Castil ian as a consequence of the town on the 7t h June 1494. In 'Borders play an importan 1493 Pope Alexander VI (w ho expansion of the Emp ire . In the Roma n and Gree k ole in creating identities belong ed to t he Borg ia fam iworld the cross in g of borders through the establishmen ly) , with the bu l l «Inter took on a ritual and sacred of elements of distinction , cetera» determined that al l meaning in a m ixture of reli th e lan d s that were expose d g ious and polit ical elements. and we re situated west of th i s T he cross ing of rivers, in part icular, is a symbol imagin ary lin e wou ld become Span ish territory. of this r itu ality becau se it lin ks the al leg ori c T his decisi o n dis sat isfie d Portu gal, whi ch, afte r val ue of water w ith the sense of unce rta inty intense d ip lomat ic work, was able to reach an w hich enshrouds the moment of the cross in g of agreeme nt: th e treaty of Tordes illas moved t he the border : the river estab lis he s two diffe rent line 2 70 league s fu rth er west. T he iss u ing of «fi elds», con trast ing danger and safety , and it is the bul l and the sign ing of t he treaty provided co r re lated with borders because bot h of t hem the establishment of the border with m oral jusare mom ents of passage and d iffere nt iati on of t if ication. In pa rt ic u lar, th e Pa pal so urc e pro space. A good example is set by the Spartan diavided the d iv ision of the new lands w ith re l ibateria, w hich were the sacrifices that they made gious j ustificatio n reduc ing the arb itra ry meanw hen th ey crossed a prec is e line of d istinct io n ing of t he gestu re. Th is event had p rofou nd such as a r iver. effects on the world geograp hi cal o r der and The most famous rite of passage i n h istory is lots of co nsequences at a cultu ral leve l w ith t he re present ed by th e crossing of t he Ru b icon by estab lishme nt of t he Spani sh and Port ugu ese Caesar , which in Roma n era marked the border sup remacy and the Christianization of those between Italy, which was cons idered as an i n teareas. gral part of Ro m e, and the p rov ince of the Cisalpine Gaul. This event dates back to 49 B.C. w hen Ju l ius Caesar, who was arme d, entered THE BORDER AS A CONSTRUCTION OF ID ENT ITY Rome: it w as a real act of rebel lion against the Roman law t hat proh i bited people who were In every soc ia l syste m fixing, more or less armed from crossing the Ital ian bo rders . T hi s arb itrarily, a border play s a key role in mai nep isode is descri bed in t he wo rk «Borders in the taini ng t he same syste m . Eve n if it invo lve s a classical w orld» «during the nig ht between l ot h p rocess of excl us ion and a situation of i nequa land 11 th January of 49 B.C. , after he had been ity from w hich instabi l it y an d con f licts could d eclared hostis p ublicus from a senatusconsu/sp r ing , th e bo rder is essential fo r the co ns t r uctum, Caesar, with his army , crossed a small river tion and strengthen ing o f ident ity. T he distinc-

Rivista Militare English Edition n. 312007

The Pyrenees are the natural bord er betw een Fra nce and Spain.

tion betw een «us» and what is seen as «ot her» is at th e bottom of the process of identifi cat ion wit h the comm unity of reference. T hi s also prod uces destabiliz ing effects and brings about soci al co nfl icts. Every bo rde r leads to a sit ua tion of i nstab i l it y because it causes inequal it ies and provokes crises of identity , but at the same t ime it provide s the soci al syste m w ith stab il it y and reproduc ibi lity. In the work «Sociolog ie», t he German sociologist George Simmel h ig hlig ht ed the i nevitabi l ity of th e birt h o f bo rd ers: «in t he major ity of human r elationships the concepts of bo u nda ry is importa nt in some w ays. In any sit uation two el ements t u rn thei r atte ntion to the same obj ect, the poss ibility of their coex iste nce depends on the fact t hat a l ine of li m it at ion , whi ch is w it hi n the object, d ivides the two spheres - whether t h is li ne represents, as lega l li mit, the end of the contrast, or it co nst itute s, as l im it of power, the be gin ni ng». Even w hen the l imit i s d rawn phys ically o n a territory has g reat social importance fo r its effects on hu m an li f e i n comm o n. Si m m el underl ines t he sociological orig i n of space: «t he

bo undary i s not a spatia l fact w ith sociolog ical effects, but rathe r a social fact that evolves in a spat ial way». Th e borde rs betwee n nat iona l States set a good example of socia l functionality of the conflict. T hey cau se a situat ion of inequali ty becau se t hey lead to a redist ri bution of wea lth and pu blic resources, but at the same t ime they li mit co nf licts , objectifyin g th e sou rce of i nequality, and , co nsequently, t hey make social coex ist ence po ssib le. A his t o rical even t of the 17th centu ry hig hl ight s the i mpo rtant role played by borders in creating identities through the establ ishment of eleme nt s of d isti nct ion. In 1659 , the Prime Mi nisters of France and Spa in signed the «Treaty of the Py renees», wh ich determined the end of t he hosti l ities between t he two cou ntries and establ ished the handover of Rouss illo n to France . The division of Cerdanya was much m o re co m plicat ed . In fact, t his reg io n was histori cal ly un ited with Rou ssil lon but it was sit uated closer to Spain. The border was establish ed in t he mid d le of the regi on where t he vi llage of Ll1vi a became an exclave of Spai n in th e Fre nch territory. T he po l itica l border was not cause of natio nal co nfl icts. With th is regard , Sa hl i ns w rote: «the national ide nti ty is a constan t

and social process of "friends" and "enemies", a logical extention of the process of mai ntain ing of boundaries between «us» and «them» within more local co mmunitie s. National id entitie s, wh ich are bu ilt on this structure of opposi tion, do not depend o n the existence of li ngu ist ic and cultural d ifferences but on the subjective ex pe r ience of d iffe rence. In this sense, national identit ies , l ike ethnic and local id entities, are conti nge nt and re lational : they are defined by the borders that are drawn to disti nguish the collect ive se lf from its imp licit negation, that is the other». Differe ntly from the Pyrenean border, the border between the US and Mex ico d ivid es two States but does not make any distinctions. It is seen as a world apart, a sort of limbo w hos e inhab itants are not able to ide ntify themse lves w ith a definitive nati ona l model and to give sig nificance to this d ivision. Those people who live the re feel less close to their countrymen than t o people who live beyond the li ne. T he fact is t hat the border does not consist of a sing le cou ntry: it is a group of cities that are situated close to each other along vast stretches of wi ld land.

stressed t hat the process of est ab lis hm ent of a State, thro ugh th e demarcation betwee n l inear borders, was comp lex and indefin ite and the esta blishment of t he French State was determ ined by differ en t «mo dels » of relat ion between state initiative , g eogra ph ical fea tu res , pre ex isting cond itions of division and inte rn al and external li mits that had deve loped over th e ce nt uries. Initially, the st ate French border seemed to be an apparent lin e rat her t han a rea l l ine. It esta b l ishe d itse lf co ncre tely only wi th th e Revolutio n of l 789 . Borders are ve ry important for the establis hme nt of the modern State. It was a slow and gradual process t hat goes back to l 075 w hen

THE BORDER AND TH E MODERN STATE Th e modern State estab lished itse lf in Europe bet ween the l sth and l 7 th centuries . Its estab lishm ent w as determined by a gradual cent ral izat io n of power and te rritori al uni ficati on. Therefore, it is the oppos ite of the fe udal State where t he national territory w as divided into areas that elu ded the control of the central power. The «l inear» state bord er arose from the modern State as a conseque nce of the en d of po li tical un iversalism th at cha racteriz ed the medieval i nstitut ions : Papacy and Em pi re. In fact, the idea of the border is closely lin ked w ith the idea of po litical control which can be exe rted on ly over a limi ted t erritory. In add iti on, espec ially in a relational system that is base d on the match po lit ik, t he concept of border is l inked with the p rinci p le of sovere ignty (wh ich descends from the Head of the apparatus to the apparatus itsel f) . As a consequence of the birth of the modern State is the estab lishment of the princ iple of Stat e as ent ity that superiorem non recognoscens . Th e d ivision of the Pyrenea n regi on can be considered an examp le of defi niti on of state borders. The State fixes bo rd ers on its te rritory, draws a line of separation and estab li shes its elf as unique source of legitimat ion. But it is not the process that Gian Pri mo Cella has focuses on in its work «Drawing bord ers» . He has

Rivers are o ften used as borders between two States.

Gregory VI I iss ued the Dictatus Papae wh ich put a sto p to the overlap betwee n po litical and re ligious authority. Hence the ne ed for a tem pora l just ification of draw ing borders. The absolute political power replaced the rel ig ious power and became the un ique source of legitimation. Politics became th e «p lace» w here bo rders w ere draw n and where the destiny of the popu laces were shape d. Political leaders made dec isio ns , chang i ng geog ra phical m aps and the wo rl d politi cal order. T hey became und isputed arb iters of the wor ld h istory and we re able to upset the dyn am ics of co llective ident ities.The redef in iti on of th e bord ers of a Stat e can lead to dramat ic events such as in Yugos lavia and in the Soviet Un ion. The Africa n t erritory, which was d ivided into sp heres of i nfluence by the co loni zin g countries, regardless of the pre -e xisting

Rivisla Militare English Edition n. 312007

a stretch of territory w hose width depends on cu ltura l ident ities, constitutes a f urther examp le. d ifferent factors . On the contrary, the border In Euro pe there have been the cases of the d eli m its a close space, defines a stable line and Bas q ues and of t he Catal ans spa nni ng two States gives us a sense of security. The border sepaand also of the Moldavi ans and the Ku rds span rates two spaces , two i ndivid uals and two idening two continents. ol ogies m o re mar kedly than th e frontie r . Cla udio T he ar bit ra ry d ecis io ns that are lin ked w ith Magris has wr itten «t he front ier is doubl e and spec ific econo m ic and pol it ical inte rests have ambig uo us; on t he on ha nd it is a bridge to meet often determ ined the fragmentatio n of ident ith e others; on t he other hand it is a barrier to ties or t he fo rced incl usio n of d iffe rent cul t ural reject them.[ ... ] every bo rder is l inked with i nsecompo nents w i thin the same territory. T he cur ity and with t he need for secu r ity». The te rm estab lishment of a State does not happen only «border» w as used for the first time i n the l gth on a t erritorial base, t hat is t o say t hro ugh th e century when Victor Amadeus II sent a dispatch defin itio n of a particula r spat ial context that is to its am bassador, the count of Vernon, about legitimised by a pol it ical aut ho r ity , but it needs th e estab li shme nt of th e borde r with t he cessio n a col le ctive process of ide ntification w ith an of Nice and Savoy to France. abstract id ent it y that is de li m ited by imag inary «Border» , «boundary» (which dates back to the lin es that are drawn in the mi nds of peop le w ho l 7th centu ry) and «fro ntier» are Engl ish terms . t ak e part i n thi s proces s. However, a State ca nTh is dist in ction has turned out to be f undamen not be defined as a real «State» if it is not tal for American h istory . Whereas in Europe the founded on a te rritoria l base that is d elimited by est ab lish ment of t he ab sol ute State involved f ix we l l-defi ned border s. T he Jewish case sets a ing definite lines that delim good example : a nat ion t hat ited t he poli t ical territory of a is in en d less search of a te rr ito ry and its historical iden - '' ... a State cannot be defined cou ntry and , for t his reaso n, as such if it is not founded on we talk about «borders», the t ity. As A. D. Smit h has hig hhisto ry of the US and China is li ghted: «a nat ion w ithou t a territorial base delimited lin ke d with t he t erm of la nd is a co n t radi ct io n i n well-defined borders , , «fro nt ier». t er ms. T he ethn ic co m mun iHist ori an T urner has h ight ies can be se parate d from lighted t h is difference saying t hat the European t hei r historica l te rritorie s, l ike th e case of t he front ier «is a fortified lin e of border w hich runs commu nit ies of the Diaspora of Arme nians, Jews t hrough densely popu lated lands» w hereas the and Greeks . Bu t the es t abl ishment of a nation A me rican frontier «is sit uated just on t he edg e of req u ires a spec ial place where people can live , the territo ries t hat are open for expa nsion and t hat is a land t hat must "be fe lt as o ne's ow n". It co nquest». The events that are linked with the requ ires a historica l land, t hat is a ho me land or «fron ti er» have i nfluen ced Am erican personal ity an ancest ral lan d. O nly an ancestral ho me land and identit y deeply. Ind ividua lism , personal in ican provi de the citizens of a nat ion w it h phy si t iative , pragmatism , wh ich are typical of the cal and emot ion al safet y». Ame ri cans spri ng from t he co ntact wit h th e hos ti le and unfam iliar environme nt of the frontie r. The Great Wal l of China marked the border of BORDER AND FRONTIER t he Chi nese ag r icult ural space and establi she d t he time of the Em pire that was diffe rent from T he meaning of «borde r» and «fro ntier» has t he ind ist inct t ime of the w il d nomads. The alw ays created prob lem s maybe because the two impress ive bu i ld ing is seen by the theo ret icians terms are often co ns ide red incorrectly as synas a l im it of demarcatio n that w as fixed acco rdo nyms and are used im prope r ly . Anthropologists in g t o t he expans ion area of t he empire , as «a rega rd t he bo rd er as a li m it, something t hat frontier t hat m ust not be crossed i n o rder not to m ust not be cros sed, an d the fro nt ier as a zone fal l in t o nomadism and uncerta inty». w here dive rsit ies co nfro nt each othe r . The borLattimore, in his work «The frontier . Popu laces der is seen as a rigid li ne , t he frontier is fl uctu and imperialis m on th e fron t ier between Ch i na ant . T he fo rme r is li nked wi t h inst inct, the lat ter and Russ ia», has stressed t hat the construction reminds us of somet hing irrat iona l. T he It alian of r igid frontiers depends on a factor that he term of «frontier» cont ains the no un «front» ; the defi nes «s phere of act iv ity». Because of t heir fron tie r is «i n fro nt of », t hat is in front of somem istrust t owa rds their sphere of activity, the t hi ng o r some on e. T his «fro nt » is mobile and Ch inese gove rn ment leaders bui lt wall s t hat changes co nt i nual ly. A s a consequence, the co u ld li m it t he i r i m per ial ist amb iti ons and fro ntie r is an artificial constru ct ion and does not defend th eir cou ntry from external attac k s. assume the shape of a l ine (like the border). It is

by

-....

However, th is exp lanation refers to a particular historical moment. In fact, su bseque ntly China we nt through a period of economic, po li tical and social development w hich enab led it t o build an Imperial State. It is important to dist in gu ish betwee n the two concepts of «border» and «frontie r» i n order not to create situations of uncertainty since i n some languages they are used as syno nyms. The pro blem is that the history of one term has always be en l inked with the history of the other. For examp le, in the Roman history there are two concepts of limes: the firs t co ncept, wh ich was predominant unde r Aug us tus and Tiberius, indi cates th e mi litary street at r ight ang les to the borde r and acts as offe nsive cover; the seco nd con cept, wh ich was predominant unde r Hadrian, represe nts the road along the fort ified frontie r an d acts as defensive cove r ; the se two m ean ings coexist w ith each other under Dom itian and Traj an. With the bi rth of the modern Stat es t he concept of frontier was replaced by that of borde r.

The barrier between Israel and Palestine.

Today , we talk abou t «frontier» , bu t the co ncept of «border» is always cu rrent.

THE BERLIN WALL On th e one ha nd , t he Wall betwee n Israe l and Palestine wil l become the symbo lic border of the 21 st century; on t he other there is no doubt that the Berl in Wa ll has been the em bl ematic bar ri er of th e 20 t h ce ntury, as place of viole nce an d contraposition. As Cel la has underli ned: «the Wa ll in the Holy Land is a source of disti nctio n through exc lu sion, whereas the Berlin Wall was a sou rce of distinct ion t hrou gh inc lusion because it was not ai med at preventing the inside rs from leavi ng but it tried to impose stricter rules on the passage from one part to another». An examp le ca n be g iven by the differen t way of l iving in the areas adjoinin g t he Wa ll; in East Berlin t here were

Rivista Militare Englis/J Edition 11. 3/ 2007

deserted places with an tiperso nnel and ant ita nk barriers; i n West Berl in the Wa ll was used even as an internal wal l of typical in ns «the so- ca lled Kn ei pen). Ang elo Bol affi g ives us a pe rfect de scri ption : «it is d ifficu lt t o im ag ine the night mare and su r real atmosphe re t hat loo med over t he two Berli ns: the r igid and ri d icu lou s apparatus o f contro l of East Germ any struck irrat io nal terror into people and w as ab le to reach its objective: tra nsfo rm ing every citi zen into a frig hten ed subj ect th at d id not know o ne's r ig hts». T he Be rl i n Wall is t he meta phor of the las t cent ury: it w as the sym bol of uncertai nty and arb itrary power, d isti nct ion and th e absence of dialogue; it was the barrier to East but it was also the deep r ift that d ivided a city . Borneman has st ressed t he essence of the border: «l ike all bor d ers, t hi s barrier d ivid es, co ntains, reduces and lim its. It created mon ste rs, he roes , traito rs, des ires , love and hatred. The te rrit orial l imits of the Stat e we re powe rfu l but t hey w ere not th e on ly border l imits th at the State created . Th e bou nda r ies of the State aroused envy in those who could cros s t he borde r and f ear in those wh o had al ready crossed it».

BORDERS IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION T he d ist inction from the others is v ital fo r t he strengtheni ng of ident it ies. In a study o n limi nal places in the post- modern city, Colom bo and Navarin i have writte n: «th e id entity is bu ilt o n two i nter linke d phenom ena t hat emerge duri ng the estab l ishment of borde rs : individ uat io n and d istinction». Th is could see m li ke a contradi ctio n in the lig ht of t he process of gl oba li zatio n that has marked the end of last ce ntury and t he beginning of th e new m ille nn ium. Th e p revail ing view is th at globalizatio n lead s peopl e t o cross barriers and l im it s that, at different levels, const itute t he wo rld soc iety. However, thi s phe nomeno n m ust be analysed in det ail. Simm el emphasized that borders support the p rocess of transformat ion of social space into physi cal space. Gl obal ization has infl uenced thi s transfo rmat ion pow erfully. In th e w ork «History and critique of pu b lic opi nio n», Haber mas stressed t hat «even soc ial borde rs, which have formed th e elemen tary coord inates of space and historical t ime in t he wor ld of life, becom e flu id». But he added that we ca nnot take «th e aboli ti o n of bord ers that are socially defined » for grant ed . The need for spatial bo un dar ie s arises, it is st ronge r than ever and i s lin ked wi th t he form s of modern ity. A good ex ample is g iven by the use of mob il e pho nes. A freq uen t quest ion is: «whe re are

The Berlin Wall.

you7». Th is hi ghl igh t s the stron g need to p lace t he person to who m w e are speaki ng in a spec ific physica l space and to es t ab lish limits in th e t err ito ry of po st-m odern soc iety, wh ic h is pote ntia lly inf i nite. T he refore, glo balizat ion has not ca used an abo litio n of bo rd ers. On th e con trary, i n some cases, it has broug ht about an i ncrease in borders: the mass ive flow of stan d ard ized m essages and hom oge neou s cu ltu ral mod els has led people to loo k for new forms of identity and has he ig ht ened their sense of identity. The t erm «gl ocal» w as coin ed by social science i n o rder t o u nder line the exist ence of two conflict ing t endencies: on the one hand t he t en de ncy t o reduce cul tural and social d iffe rences betwee n popu lat ions, on th e oth er hand t he need t o red iscover one ' s roots. Th e do m inan t role of th e me dia in society has hei gh tened the d iffere nces betwee n po pu lation s and comm u nit ies. It i s no co in cid ence that t he t er ro r ist s of the new m il len nium t ake advant age of the me d ia t o es t ab l ish t heir ide nt ity. T his is an ext reme but ap propriate examp le of a new cultu re of bo rders t hat re fl ects t he growin g need fo r identificati o n wi th on e's ethn ic, rel igio us or cu ltural commun ity. Today, the search for mea nin gs and identities tu rns o ut t o be essential to live th rou gh th is un interrupted flow of u nchangi ng impu lses that have bee n pro- • du ced by globa lizat ion. So, borde r s are back and assu m e di fferen t nu ance s and new o ut li nes and maybe today t hey are m ore defi nite th an in t he past.

Sara Greggi Journalist and Sociologist

THE ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE It does not confer honours, but commits dames and knights to an onerous charitable and spiritual activity in favour of the Christian community in the Holy Land.

Any writ ing or comment about the Equestr ian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusa lem cannot be li mited to me re research or hi stor ical cur io sit y; on the contra ry, it constit utes an instrument to deepe n the knowle dge of a «rea lity» wh ich

wo rks for the Christian communities in the Ho ly Land . The Orde r of the Holy Sepulch re has its roots in the Holy Land with abo ut one th ousand yea rs of history and it p urs ues its obje ctives there. It is necessary to refer to the re ligious, social and po l iti ca l context of Europe in the f irst years of the seco nd mi l le nni um whose d istinctive features were devotion for the Holy Se pu lchre , chival ry spir it and desire to go on pi lg r images to the Holy Places. Chivalry, especia ll y med ieva l ch ival ry, from whi ch t he modern ch iva lry orders derive, operate d in almost all Chr istia n Euro pean countries from the VIII to the XV ce ntu ry an d was protag on ist of epi c deeds in the Crus ades. Then th is institu t ion had its own tradition an d rules . Whereas in feu dalism an oath of loya lty bou nd vas sals to their ru ler, i n chivalry, kn ights had to swear alleg iance to supreme p ri nc iples of j ustice and ho nou r . Dur in g the XI ce ntury the Church made k nig hts Christ's figh te rs (miles Chris t,) an d made the in itiation ceremony sacred. The monks p layed a key ro le in drawi ng th e kn ight s to the Christi an fa ith. Th an ks to them, the Churc h was able to penetrate deep into soc iety estab lish i ng a new code of eth ics ; in th e same way, the pilgrimages to the Holy Land an d, the n, th e Crusades contributed to the deve lopment of the doctri ne of «fa ir wa r» and «holy war», which is a war that is made to defe nd t he Chr istianity, faith and civil ization . Since the first Crus ade, the formation of rel igious , and military ass o ciatio ns of knights

Left. Cardinal Carlo Furno, Great Master of the Order, imposing the "touch of the sword" on a new Knight.

Title pages. A ceremony of the Orde r at the Basilica of Collemaggio in Aquila. On the top left- hand corner.· th e emblem with the Jerusalem Cross and the motto "Deus lo vult''.

t

I

I

Rivista Mi/i1aro Englis/J Edition n. 3/2007

of Jerusalem, as if he wanted to make the mi lwhi ch cou ld protect t he Holy Places seemed to le nary bond that l inks this association to the be usefu l. In th is co ntext , these assoc iatio ns felt Holy Lan d more evide nt. the need to ma intain their princ ipl es , through In 1949 the Ho ly See transferred t he goversy stems and stat utes, ae:cording to t he ru les of na nce of the Order from Jerusalem to Rome and m onast ic o rders. The ir mem bers had to lead a appointed the Great Maste r as Cardina l, giv ing r igorous life in convents and com mendam s, to t he Lat in Patr iarchate of Jerusalem the tit le and pray, to abstain from food, at times to ma ke a the prerogatives of Great Prior. vow of chastity, poverty and obedience. Th e See of th e Great Mag iste ry was estabIt was a cohesive an d organized grou p of w arlis hed i n Rome (in the conve nt located in th e rior mo nk s, united b y relig ious vows and by Ch urch of St. Onofr io, on t he Jan icul um) and their ab il ity to use arms. became the cen tre of int ense activities. A lso th e Equestrian O rder of the Holy Wi th t h e reestab l ishment of the Latin Sepulchre o riginated from this context. Pat r iarchate of Jerusalem, as mentioned above, T here have been different and extravagant th e Order was entrust ed w ith the task of sup theses about when it was founded. Acco rd ing to po rting t he loca l Christian communit ie s. an extensive and unreliab le literature it has The Statute was often modified but conti nu ed vague monast ic- milita ry or ig ins. t o pu rs ue cha ritab le obj ectives . These objecAcco rding t o a we l l-researched t hesis, it is tives are m entio ned in the second A rt icle of t he linked wi th t he ecclesiastics of the Basi lica of Statute: «the Orde r of the Holy Sepu lchre is the Holy Sepu lc hre in Jerusalem ; they fo rm a aime d at strengthe ning the p ract ice of Christian re li gious o rder, w h ich w as subject t o t he lif e in the bel ievers , showi ng loya lty to the authority of the Pat ri arch of Jer usa lem , w ho led Supreme Pontiff, accord ing to the teach ings of a life of praye r and used the offering s made by t he Church , and fol lowing the pr inc iple s of the believe rs to he lp th e pi lgri m s who v isited c harity; at suppo rtin g and the Holy Sepulchre. helping t he cultural , charitaThen, celibate or married peop le , the so - cal led «fraters ' The Order of the Holy b le, relig ious and social in st ilai ci » jo i ned th is group of 5epulchre has its roots in tutions of the Catho lic Churc h Holy La nd, espec ial ly churchmen. We cannot ru le he Holy Land with about tinhothe se of and in the Latin out th e possibility t hat t he Jne thousand years of his Patriarchate of Je rusa lem , «fraters laici» were respons iory, and there it pursues wit h wh ich the Order main b le fo r the arm ed defe nce of ts spiritual and charitable. tains trad itio nal li nks; at the Ho ly Se pu lchre, as we ll as spread i ng the faith across for the protection of the pi l- objectives , , those lan d s, st i mu lat i ng grims. interest among Cat ho li cs With the end of the Crusades aroun d th e wor ld, who are united in the cha rity and the definit ive aban donment of the Ho ly b y the sy mbol of the Order, and among al l Land, the members of th is Association went Christian Brothers ; a nd at protecting th e back to the i r cou ntr ies of o ri gi n but they kept Ch urch's rights in the Holy Land». th e link with t he Holy Sepu lch re alive, performA Ca rdi nal Gre at Master is in char ge of the ing good deeds. coord i natio n of all initiat ives are ai me d at Du ri ng the long period of the abo lition of the reaching these objectives and he is assisted by Latin Patriarchate of Jeru sa lem , the Franciscan a Great Magistery, th at has an i nternational Guardian i n t he Ho ly Land, w ho w as the only compos ition . representative of the Cathol ic Ch urch in thos e Fo r it s nature and its re ligious and charitable p laces, co ntin ued to nom inat e many Christi ans objectives, the Order of the Ho ly Sepulchre is wh o we nt to the Holy Sepulchre as knights. not i nvolved in any pol itical moveme nt or act ivIn 1 84 7, after the Latin Pat ri archate of ity . Its members cannot t ake part in activities of Jerusalem was re- estab lished, the Blessed Pius bod ies, organizations and associatio ns w ho se IX restored the Order, g ivi ng it t he task o f main nat ure, objectives and programm es are a con taining the activities of the Patriarchate and trast with the doctrine an d t he teachings of t he putting t he Patriarch in charge of the assoc iaCat ho lic Church, or belong to ch iva lry Orders tion. not recognized by t he Holy See or granted b y In 1888, Pope Leo XII I inst ituted the category sove reig n States. of Dames. In l 907 Sa int Pius X assumed the title The ne w Kn ights and Dames are chosen of Great Master of the Orde r to prove the high among Catholics of i rrep roachab le cond uct , wh o regard he had for the Orde r. Piu s XI gave the have perfo r med good deeds in the Holy Land. regency of the Order back to the Latin Patriarch

ecc lesi as tical co m mun 1t1es, whi ch he had fou nd ed, to succo ur the Church of Jerusalem. This text helps us to u nd erstand t he co mm it ment t he candidat es take on thro ug h th e investiture. Belong ing to the Ord er of th e Ho ly Sepulchre , in fact , does not mea n rece ivi ng an ho nour. On the con trary, it is the start of a demanding pat h that people pursue wi th posi tive and co nstant charitable actions in favo u r of the Christ ian popu lations in t he Holy Land. Duri ng the re lig iou s ce remonies of t he Order, the Kn ights and Dames of th e Ho ly Sep ulc hre wea r a cloak (white for the Kn ig hts and bl ack for the Dames,), tri m m ed, be low the left shou lder, with t he Jerusa le m Cross; the cl ergymen wea r the white mozetta trimmed w it h the Hie rosolymitan Cross. Th e Jerusalem Cross , also kn own as Cross of Goffredo di Bug lio ne, has at the end of each arm Detail of the Jerusalem cross on the Knights' cloak. a crossp iece, is re d and has fou r smal l crosses in the four co rners of the arms. For t his reaso n, it was al so called five - po in ted Cross; and During the tra ini ng (w hi ch lasts fo r at least a rem in ds us of the five so res of Christ , whereas year) each can didate can deepe n the knowl edge the red co lour is a sacred sig n of the blood sp ilt of on e's activity, has t o accept any conditions, on t he Calvary. T he Je rusalem Cross , w h ich is de liver ing an extens ive documen t ation iss ued red ename l led and surmo unted by the mi l itary by the institutio nal and eccles iastica l au t hori trophy (a ribbo n, for the Dames), is the emblem ties, and has to sign a so lem n prom is e on th e of the m embers of the Order. The ri bbo n around Altar the day befo re the Investit ure ce re mony. the neck is m ade of black mo ire si lk. T hose who attend this event today are p roTh e territorial st ructu re of t h is «lay associafo un dly impre sse d and have the feeling that th e tion of be lievers», whi ch is under the protection t ime has st opped at the Middle of t he Holy See , is mad e up of Ages. The Investit ur e cere 52 lieutenanc ies (on e or more mo ni es, whi ch usual ly take 'The new Knights anc for eac h State) and each of p lace in an abbey or a catheames are chosen amonc them is coord i nated by a d ral, go thro ug h a ritual t hat , :atholics of irreproachable Lie uten ant (lay) and led sp iri down the centu r ies, has bee n tual ly by a Great Prior (a cle r onduct, who have per su bj ect to fe w changes . gym an). Italy is d iv id ed into ormed good deeds in thE. f ive li eutenancies : Nort he rn Besides the ri tual act ions ( t he touc h of th e sword , t he ideal Holy Land ,, Italy, Centra l Ita ly and de l ivery of spu rs and sword, Sardi nia, Tyrrhenia n Southern the cloth i ng of the cloa k) it is Italy, Adriatic Southern Italy important to understand the rea l mean in g of t he and Si cily. In each lieute nancy, Sectio ns (wh ich diffe rent litu rgica l moments. According to th e roug hl y corr espond to the territory of a regio n) r itual , w hi ch i s regularly approved by t he ca n be inst ituted an d d ivided into Delegatio ns Congregation for Div in e Wo r ship and the (mo re or less equ ivale nt to a Prov ince). Dis ci p li ne of the Sacraments, every day befo re T he spiritu al life of the Kni ghts of the Holy the invest iture ce remony there is a meeti ng of Sepulch re is und er th e Vi rg in Mary's prot ection, prayer, ca l led «arms and prayer vigil ». For who i s i nvok ed with the tit le of Queen of exampl e, during this meet ing t he fut ure Knights Palestine (Heavenly Patrone ss) . Her Day i s celehave the opportu nity to list en to and re flect on brated, w ith a particular so le mn ity , on t he last a text of the Ep hesians, whe re Apostle Paul Sun day of October. In addition, th e figures of refers to the arms necessary for the spirit ual the Sain ts w ho bel onged to the Order are «fi ght» (. .. the shi eld of fait h .. the helmet of im portant points of re ference Saint Pi us X (who sa lvation ... the sword of the Spirit, that is t o say was th e Great Master of t he Order), the Blessed the Word of God. ); or they have the opportu ni Cardina ls Jose p h Bene dict Dusmet , A ndrea ty to l isten to a pas sag e from the se cond letter Ferra ri , Ildefo nso Sch us ter and Bart olo Longo ( to th e Corinthia ns, in wh ich St. Paul urges t he the fou nde r of th e Sanctua ry of Pompe i i).

R1vis1a Militare English Edition

11.

312007

INTERVIEW WITH THE LIEUTENANT FOR CENTRAL ITALY AND SARDINIA We meet H.E. Alberto Consoli Palermo Navarra, who is in charge of the Lieute nancy for Central Italy and Sardinia, one of the largest organizations of the Order, to better understand how the statutory objectives of the Ord er of t he Ho ly Sepulchre are fulfil led in each territorial structure. Abru zzi, Lati um, Marches, Molise, Sard inia, Tuscany and Umbria are under his respon si bi lity. He also governs more t han 2300 people, among whom there are Knights (lay and ecclesiastic) and Dames . We know that in the last years, according to what has been established by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, each Lieutenancy has started to maintain schools. Could you explain to us the spirit of this new orientation and, in particular, in what contexts does your Lieutenancy operate?

A s Pope John Paul II said so me years ago o n th e occas i on of the World Peace Day: "to reach peace it is n ecessary to bring up people t o l ive in peace". Taking th is exhortat ion into account, the Knights of the Hol y Sep ul chr e h av e sta rted to mai ntain and en large schools. Since 2004, our Lieutenancy has paid the t uition fees of 1 000 Chri stian students , among l 900 yout h w ho atte nd the school of Madaba, Jordan. Since 2006, i n addition, it has been financi ng the wo rks of modernizat i on o f t h e Co mm unita ry Sc h ool Centre of Jeni n, in Samari a and this year it has started to finance the Centre of Aboud, in the Pelestinian territories north - west of Jeru salem. The bond that links the Order with the Holy Land is evident. In your office there are several pictures depicting groups of Knights and Dames in the most famous sanctuaries of those places. Considering the situation of tension we are currently living through, we think that t hese pictures have been put there to recall the pilgrimages of the past, perhaps with a little melancholy. Is that right? It is not. The pictures depicting pilgrims in the Holy Land are very recent . Some of t hem, for example, date back to last March. The re are no situations of particu lar danger for the pilgri ms. My personal know ledge of the Holy Land is based on more t han 20 jou rn eys. Every ti me is as if it were the first time: an intense emot ion that only people who have vis ited those places can feel. The Lieutenancy that I have the honour to coord inate has been many t imes in the Holy Land. Since 2004 I have had the privilege to organize l 5 pilgrimages, making it possible for almost a thousand pilgrim s (Knig hts, Dames and t hei r families) to visit and pray in t hat Land. There are also several pictures of the Pope. Some of them show religious ceremonies w ith Knights and Dames, papal audiences and meetings. What catches our attention is a picture depicting you, wearing the insignia of Gentleman to His Holiness, paying homage to Benedict XVI. Could you tell us something on the bond between the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy See? Although the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which the Supreme Pontiffs have enriched with privileges for it s historical, legal and spiritual bonds, is not an Order of the Vatican, but is under the protection of the Holy See and enjoys the legal status of canon law and, by a rescript of February l , 1996 by John Paul 11, also the Vatican legal status. The Pope appoints the Cardinal Great Master, whereas the Secretariat of State to His Holi ness impresses its vis um and seal on the d iplomas of the new Knights and Dames. Decorations, ranks of chival ry and privi leges are subject to the same rules governi ng the conces sion of papal Orders. In view of t he hig h prestige of the Order of t he Holy Sepulchre, the admission is subj ect to a ri gid selection and traini ng of the candidates. As regards t he m ilitary, exactly as envisaged for the papal chivalry Ord ers, only Officers with at least the rank of Captain can be admitted .. Obviously t hey must also have the prerequ isites envisaged by the Statute (confi rmed Catholic faith, blameless behaviour and involvement in the catholic deed s in the Holy Land) . With regard to the pictu re that shows me wearing the in signia of Gentleman to His Holiness as I'm paying homage to Benedict XVI, let me express th e great j oy I felt at be ing part of the papal fami ly and at having the privilege of serving the Pope, especially on the occasion of special audiences and official and solemn moments.

I

• • •

Th e objectives of the Order of the Holy to maintain one or more schoo ls. Sepu lchre have turned out to be fundamenta l in Knights and Dames act as peace operators, the last decades, even as instruments to stem in order to reach the objective of peace, which the strong tendency, shown by the Christian in the Ho ly Land seems to be st il l very far. populations, to emigrate from the Holy Land. The Christi an, Jewish and Mus l im litt le chil Some data recently collected by the Bethle hem dren and boys w ho sit next to each oth er at University paint a dismal pict ure of the situaschoo l, fraternize with eac h other, and have t he tion. Since l 948, no less than opportunity to grow toget her 230,000 Christia ns have left and be free from pr ejudice the Holy Land. Th e Chris tian ~' The objectives of the Orde, and old grudges, perh ap s population of the Holy Land, of the Holy Sepulchre have- tomorrow, at last, could be wh ich numbers today 14,000 turned out to be fundamenta able, together, to build th e peop le, has decreased, ¡ n the last decades, al so as peace in their land. between 1 840 and 2002, The you th who attend th e from 25% to 2%. In the same instruments to stem the sc hoo ls financed by the the Order and whose tuit io n f ee s period, the number of Jews strong tendency shown has increased (from 4000 to Christian populations to emi are entirely paid by its mem 400,000) and the popu lat ion grate from the Holy Land ,, be rs, are about l 0,000. With of Muslims has grown from th is help, the Knights of th e 4600 to 143,000). Holy Sepulchre aim at pro About 24,000 Kn ights and Dames spread viding the m w ith adequate education that can around the world, and 68 Par ishes of the Lat in allow them to integrate in the social and polit iPatriarchate of Jerusalem fina nce about 45 cal context of the Holy Land , which does not school s, attended by more than 19,000 you ng give ample opportun ities to the Christian people of all races and rel igions. minoriti es, un less they hold cultura l and profes The Order of the Ho ly Sepulchre does not have sional positions of distinction. its own estate ; the economic resou rces used to Even though it is not a statutory obligation, finance this rel ief work come only from t he the pi lgrimage to t he Holy Land represents an do nations of its lay and ecclesiastic members). impo rtan t moment in the life of a Knight of the In the last years , each Lie utenancy has started Holy Sepu lch re. As well as maki ng the wo rship

by

Collection of medals with different decorations, emblems and distinctions of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Rivista Mi/i/are Eng/lsh Edition 11. 3/2007

of the Ho ly Places poss ibl e, it always i nvolves t he visit to one or mo re schoo ls and Parishes. T hu s, meeting the local Christi an communit ies and listen ing to their acco u nt s, the pi lgrims can become awa re of the real d i m ens ion of their prob lems and w orries and, above all, of th eir great need for peace. Lat ely t he w hole wo r ld has been paying attention , as never before, to the tragic events in the Mi dd le East, which have als o involved the Ho ly Land in a most ala rming way. A spiral of violence has spread across those tormented reg ions and has had more and more se ri ous consequences, espec ially because the death to l l has been he avy, with t hou sa nd s of civi lian v ictims, among whic h a great number of ch ildren. Bened ict XVI, with his heart full of affliction, has add ressed all w ho are respons ib le for t hese v io le nt actions in order that in the name of Cod each side lays down its arms, and the international leade r s and inst itut ions urg in g them to spare no effort to start to build, through a dia-

A group of Knights and Dames after the i nvestiture ceremon y in the Abbey of Montecassino.

/ag ue, a lasting and stabl e life in common for all t he populations of the Middle East. Address in g all men of goodwi ll , the Pope asked them to continue to provid e the destitute with humani tarian aid and to pray to God for peace . His appeals have been answered: the Knig hts of the Ho ly Se pu lchre have intens ifi ed their act iv ity in favour of the Chris t ian pop ul at ions in th e Holy Land, estab lish ing themse lves once more as staunc h supporters of the statutory commitment of the Order and upd ating the ir o ld motto: Deus lo vult, God wants it. Giul io Salomone Great Officer of the Equestrian Ord er of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Councillor of t he Lie utenancy for Central Italy and Sardinia

WOMEN IN UNIFORM The women's integration within the Ital ian Armed Forces has represented a change of mentality, wh ich numbers Italy among the most advanced nations. It is a component highly motivated and loyal to the Institutions, wishing to demonstrate its capabilities with commitment and dedication.

Cons idering the t ime in wh ich Francesca Sca nagatta lived (1 776- 1 865), it is certain ly diffi cult to think that she was a soldier. She is reg arded as a unique figure of the Ital ian nineteenth cent ury. Since one of her brothers had fallen ill, she rep laced hi m and did six years' mi lit ary service in the AustroHungarian army cross-dressing and fight ing agai nst Napo leon . She was eve n decorated and promoted to a h igher rank on merit. They say that her fathe r went to his dau ghter ' s Commander of Regiment and, si nce he did not know German and the Commander d id not speak Itali an, they spoke in Lat in: the gir l's father used expressions in the femini ne, but the Commander in terpreted the use of a wrong gender as a conseq uence of the man's ignorance. So th is misunderstan ding lasted fo r a lo ng t ime . Her mi litary career end ed in 1800, when she was un masked and discha rged, but she obtained a pens ion. Final ly, she could get marr ied and brought four children into the world . In 1865 the first m ili tary woman of Italian history died.

FROM THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND Francesca Scanagatta.

During the pe riod l 944- 1948 so me wo men were enl isted as auxilia ry volu nteers, entrusted with the task of assistance and commanded by ma le Officers. Since the n nothing happened unt il 2000, wh ich was the firs t year of recru it ment of female personnel into t he var io us Services. Some f ema le professiona l roles are worth mentioning. We shou ld refer to the ir recruitment into the Armed Fo rces (Army, Navy and Air Force) , t he military Pol ice Forces ("Carab ini eri", "Guard ia d i Finanza") , civil Police Forces (State Police, Corps of Forest Rangers) , the adm inistrations (National Corps of the Fire

Brigade) and the local Police , just to mention a few. This has led to a new role for women, the adoption of new regulat ions concerning the ir legal status and, above all, a new conception of wome n in the wor king world.

THE REFERENCE NORMS AND THE TOOLS FOR MON ITORING THE INTEGRATION OF WOMEN

The ru les in the delicate (a nd , i n a way, new)

Rivista M1/itare Englis/1 Edition n. 3/2007

Above. sector of t he fema le m il itary world are based on The control o f the territory is carried out without distwo corn erstones: tinctions between male and female personnel. • «Reg ulati ons concern i ng recruitment of vo Title pages. l untee r s, legal status and advance m ent of the An artillery unit marching on parade in Via dei Fori f ema le mi litary pe rsonnel i n the Armed Forces lmperia/i, Rome. and in the "Guardia d i Finanza", in pursuance o f art icle l, paragraph 2 of the law of 20 Octobe r l 999, no. 380» ; w o r ld and to emphas ize the f emale differe nce • Ru les about equal male-female opportunit ies , i nto the o rganizations , a di ffe rence wh ich must Decree of the Italian Government of l l Apri l be seen as a factor of innovation an d d eve lop2006 no. 198 arti cles 32, 33 , 34 «Prot ect ion men t . T he normati ve instrumen t s that wi l l resu lt agains t d i sc rim i nation w ifrom a careful analysis of th i s thin the Armed Forces, spe situat ion wi ll be food for cial Corps an d mi lita ry care- ' ' The admission of female thought, espec ially wi t h ers». personnel to the Armed regard to the phenomenon of The year 200 7 has marked Forces is still regarded as t he so-ca l le d «reverse dis the beg in ni ng of the recruit - a conquest in a man's so- crim i nation », t hat is t o say • ment of wo me n into new di scr i minat i on aga i nst th e working sectors . This is one of :iety , , ma le component. t he mai n strategic object ives Th e Armed Forces have dealt • of «2007, whi c h is the w ith t he prob lems concerning the recru itmen t of women with numerous pubEuropean Year of Equal Opportu nit ies for Men licatio ns. Today, in the so- cal led in itinere and Women»: th e goal is to deve lop and foste r a cultu re of equa l oppo rtu nit ie s i n t he wo rk i ng phase we can eva luate th e first results of th is

new profession th at has been open to women and the ir actual professional i ntegration. The mon itori ng of ge nd er equal ity is one of the most effec tive tool s to stimu late the full integratio n between women and me n: on t he o ne hand thi s new instrum ent can detect stro ng and wea k points with regard to the attit ud es peop le take ; on the other hand, after the phase of integ rat ion of the fe male personne l has been passed, after six years, it mo nitors t he organi zat ions and th e tasks that peop le have bee n set, as we l l as caree r advan cement. It can evaluate key con cepts such as «ho ri zonta l segregat io n» (t hat can be defi ned as the margin ali zation fro m sectors typica lly staffed by m en and the co ns iderable incorpo rati on into those sectors w here th ere is a st rong fe male presence) and «ve rtica l seg reg ation » (limi t at io ns on career advancement), wh ich has never ha ppened in the mi litary f ield because th e female personnel can reach only the lowest rank s si nce they are in corporated for a b r ief period. In th e subjects co ncern ing women i n the world of w ork som e co ncepts, suc h as «eq ual d ig n ity» and «equal opportunit ies», ra ise the crucia l issue re latin g to t he «reverse discrim inat ion » aga in st m a le pe rson nel. Conseque nt ly, th e mon itoring of gende r is a useful instrument for check ing th e situatio n in orde r that there are

Air Force p ilots.

not any d iscrepancies and problems about equa l opportun it ie s.

THE DEFENCE CHIEF OF STAFF ADVISORY

COMMITTEE Present Situation The ad missi on of fe male pe r son nel to the Armed Forces is sti ll re garded as a conquest i n a man's society. T he inst itutiona l organ isms and diffe rent elem ents of civil and mil itary society have paid atte ntio n t o th is problem. Th is change has happe ned tog eth er with t he new «professiona l configuration » of the Armed Forces , afte r the end of m il itary conscriptio n . In this co ntext w e shou ld me ntion t he work t he Defe nce Ch ief of Staff Adviso ry Co m m ittee and the Command ing Gene ral of the Corps of the "G uard ia d i Fi nanza" have done - which was esta blished t hro ugh t he interd epa rtm enta l measu re of 19 June 2000, un de r clause 1, pa ragra p h 3 of th e Law of 20 October l 999, no. 380. T his wo rk is ai m ed at faci litating th e in teg rat ion of the female person nel into th e m il ita ry wo rld acco rdi ng to the require m ents and t he

Rivista Mili/are English Edition n. 312007

total balance of he «Defe nce Syste m ». It is an effective t ec hn ical instrument for hel pin g the pol itical - mi l itary Summ it , which provi des us with usef u l g uid el ines for the full d evelop m ent of the activity. Women - sold iers represe nt a historic tu rni ng poi nt. Before the adoption of the m easu re ment io ned above th ere w as a long deba te w h ich ch anged the same pe rceptio n of the «so ldie r» in the Ital ian society, touc hi ng poli tical- i nstit ut ional and cu ltural sectors and those relating to info rmat ion and pub lic opi nion. Since the recruitme nt of w omen lots of monito ring visit s have been m ade t o the educat ion au thor itie s of the Armed Forces. Before the Co mmi ttee starts wo rk there is an impo rtant activity of study and con su ltation , according to what the institut ive decree provide s for . Mentio ning so me important activit ies, it is necessary to stress that: wit h regard to the integration of the m ilitary female personne l, the Ge neral Staff of Defence iss ued a directive on the m ilita ry Eth ics in December 2002, whi ch h igh lighted the values of the m il itary cu lture and established a set of rul es for behaviour that the personnel must fol low w hi le carrying out th ei r duties. This has laid a sound eth ica l and be havioural foundatio n for harmon ious p ro fessio nal re lationships between me n an d women. In regard to th is, it is possib le to notice that the p ro pe r enfo rcement of the regulations co ncerning equa lity of opportu nit ies guara ntee s the correct performa nce of institutio nal d uties. in 2006 the gradual improvement of infrastruct ure brought about a grad ual inc rease i n t he max imum pe rcentages of femal e personnel t hat ca n be re cru ited and led to a total ope ni ng to any role s and categories. It is important to unde rl ine that female selection has t ighter con t rol s t han that for men in regard to endurance tests an d med ical examin ations. T he recruitment of the female person nel has h igh lig hted a strong inte rest from small town s in j oin ing the military wo r ld. Of cou rse the d irect know ledge of mil itary life has caused an increase in the n umbe r of t he applicat ions th at now re pre sent l 0% of the tota l, i n harmony w ith t he perce ntage of recruitme nt in other European countries. A s far as t he career advanceme nt is con cerned, it is possible to notice that • for example, with regard to t he Army there has been fu ll integ ration w ith the wome n of countries whose cultu re is very different from ours , such as Iraq and Afg hanistan : • with reg ard to the "Cara b inieri ", the cri t eria of employment, which are based on the pe rsonal sk ills of the individu als (and , co n sequently,

Also in the "Bersaglieri" the f emale component is highly valued.

on the be tter use of the d istinct ive features that charact erize th e fema le nature), and the insti t ut iona l dut ies of the "Ca ra bin ier i" have made women fe el l ike an inte gral part of the Ins titut ion and an e lemen t close to t he civil wor ld . In t he "Carab i nie ri " any «excess>> has be en avoid ed (an intern al direct ive is be in g issu ed and it is aim ed at avoid ing inappro- • priat e form s of «hel p» , any discrimination from the hierarch ica l ch ain and the unjusti fied employment of wom en i n sit uations of representat io n): • th e fe ma le personnel of the "Guard ia di Fi nanza" is ful ly i nteg rated in every sector of service . The only exce ptio ns are t he ant ite r -

•

key factor beca use of the impo rtance of their f unction and beca use of military and et hical va lues. They are see n by peo ple w ho have em barked on a military ca re er as a f i rm fo undation fo r their affectio n for the instit ution. In fact, the no rmative and disc ip linary frame wo rk, becau se of its «neutrality», prov ides satisfactory answers and gu arantees substantial ly the «equal ity» that must lay a strong fou ndatio n for all the regulations. Soldiers have to show an exe mp la ry and pe rfect behaviour both in terms of style and in terms of interpersonal rel atio nsh ips to safeguard the prestige and the honour of the Armed Forces. This highl ights th e inst it u tional interest in guaranteei ng equa l r ights. In part icu lar, the relationships between so ldiers are subj ect to the ran k they have and to the ir duties and this even influences behaviour accordi ng to st rict ethi cal ru les . In th is process, th e role of the respons ible Authorities who , according to the pos it ion they occupy, have to facilitate th e cohes ion be twee n al l mil itary person nel i s extreme ly i mportant, because t hey are responsib le for profess ion al ism, motives an d educational and d i sci pli nary harmonization. In addition, the innate behavio u r must be known an d understood and the devia nt behaviou r mu st be prevented and prosecuted. These concepts are wort h dee peni ng . Innate behaviou r. With the rec ruit men t of female perso n nel the Armed Fo rces had to face up to a «new rea lity» and had to rea lize that A woman Ensign. i nnate differ ences betwee n women an d men can exis t with reg ard to the ap proach to the same pro ble ms and with re gard to the handl i ng and rorist section and the rap id intervent ion unit, the expression of emot ions. Consequent ly , it is becau se they are like ly to be invo lved in si necessary to con sider these poten tia l d iffe rtuat ions more su itab le for men. ences because they could have a significant influence on in terperso nal re lations hi ps and, at Critical Elements t imes, on fo rm al relations. Part icu larly, m en tend not In t he five meeti ngs with ' The Authorities must fa- to sh ow emot ions, whe reas t he representat ive s of the ~ilitate the cohesion of mili wo me n tend to exp ress the ir Armed Forces , "Carabinieri" emotions to share them w ith ary personnel, because they and "G uardia di Finanza", the peop le, so met ime s :tre responsible for thei other in frast ructural probl em through confrontation. professionalism, motivation, arose. The object ive was to In rega r d to th i s, it is stop d iscriminatio n w it h ~ducational and disciplina11 important to stres s th at regard to quarters. The infrathese t wo be havi oura l armonization ,, structura l prob lem has influ typolog ies are both fun cen ce d the ass i gnment o f tional, accord ing to the con female personne l to units, becaus e this proble m text in wh ich they are set. In fact, ex pressi ng is linked with the pre - existing logistic situation one's emot ions is a positive attitude because it as we ll as with op erati onal factors. al lows peop le to th ink over situations in o rder T he Reg ul ations of Mi litary Di sc ip line provide to ac hi eve good results. However , it turns out for duties whi ch emp has ize the difference to be ne gative in operat ional contexts that between sold iers an d civ ilian s and represent a req uire quickness of re act ions and stro ng em o-

Rivista Militare English Ed ilion n. 3/2007

tional res istance. In short , the Commanders and / or th e respo ns ib le Aut ho rities will have to pay special att entio n t o this aspect an d th ey have to re alize that we cannot co nsider a behavioural typology as rig ht and the othe r as wrong, bu t we can f ind a more or less ade qu ate an swer according to the context in wh ich we act. Critical behaviour. Critical behavio ur i ncludes al l the actions th at are ne ither adm itted nor admissible from a mo ral, eth ical and deo ntolog ical po int of view. What we m ean by «moral » is the intuitive percept ion of what is co rrect and fa ir, whereas the adject ive «ethical» refers to the pu blic and pr ivate co nd uct in the hum an re lationships and «d eonto lo gica l» r efers to all duties that th i s profession involves. T his k i nd of behaviour has a negative influ ence on t he correct emp loyment and deve lop men t of human resources, as we ll as be ing harmful to human di gn ity. Conse q uently, it undermines the spirit of so lidari ty and cohes io n th at makes the Unity efficient. It includes d is cr iminato ry and pe rs ecutory acts agai nst an in div idua l or a group , wh ich spring from t he ign ora nce and arrog ance of people wh o want to

In the missions abroad, th e female personnel have always shown to be up to their tasks.

use physical and psyc hologica l viol ence mak in g their author ita r ian behaviour devian t. Th is re f ers to that behavi our the m ilitary pe r sonnel can dis play, whi ch goes beyond th e usual working relatio nships, adopt in g an auth oritari an attit ude t hat can be classified as «harassmen t». Th ere are variou s types of «harass ment»: • Mobbing: it is a form of psychological pres sure th at is ex erted by coll eag ues and superi ors . T hese attacks can be al so implic it and in d ir ect and lim ite d to si lent iso lati on. Th is persec utory attitude can degenerate into the complete destructio n of h um an dignity (i n su lts, constant criti cis m, unjusti f ied t hreats , i solation and boyco tt) . T hese actio ns can lead to harm ful co nseque nces , such as psychological problems and psychosomat ic di so rders th at ca n cause psychological d isab il ity. From thi s po in t of v iew we can co nsider th e effects of bully i ng as a professional disease or an acc ide nt at work . In addit ion , not only thi s

phenomenon ha s effec t s on the individual but it influ ences the entire working environment. In the mi litary wo rld th is att itude can assume «vertical » (w hen a superior exerts power over his infer i ors) or «ho ri zonta l » (between colleagues) forms, taki ng advantage of human weaknesses because of jealousy of the ir tasks. · Sexual harassment: in t he EU there are various definitions of «harassment»: · harassment: when people ex hibit undesirab le behaviour that is lin ked w ith the sex in order to rob someone of their d ignity creating an atmosphere of intim idation , hostility and hu m il iation. • Sexual harassment: when people exhibit un desirable behaviour that is l inked with the sex t hro ug h verbal and nonverbal forms of communication in ord er to rob someone of the ir dignity creating an atmosp here of int im id ation, hostility and humi l iation. Harassment is not regarded as a «sim ple undesirab le act» but as sexual discrim inat ion and for t his reason is p unisha ble by law. The disting~Jishing feature of harassment is not the ethica l and tec hn ica l- legal assessme nt of the mere act but the u ndesirability and in ad missibility. Some att itudes, which are linked wit h the se nsitivity and the reaction of the pe rson con cerned, can be considered as sexual harassment: · Behaviour that is based on gender and i nclu des the attitude of people who deni gra te , mock , intimidate and insu lt, espec i al ly with al lusions to the person's gender. · Non verbal be hav iou r based on sex, wh ich consists in showin g photos or pictures, pornographic objects or pieces of writing, in adopting attitudes a nd performing actions which allude to sex. · Verbal behaviou r based on sex, which inclu des undesirab le pressure , sexual advances and obscene and ambiguous phrases. · Phys ical be haviour based on sex. It incl udes all undes i red and u njustified physica l contacts suc h as pats, caresses, pinches and rub bing against other people 's bodies. It is es sential to pay attention to the subjective aspect that is the pe rson al assessment of an attitude or an action which is done by the person concerned. It is acceptable to make distinctions only w ith regard to categories, ranks, roles and military specialities. Any gender dist inctions could arouse resentment amo ng peop le of the oppo site sex who wou ld take on other tasks and this could undermine the cohes ion and t he spi r it of

th e corps, which are key va lues i n the military structure.

-

Riv1sta Militare Eng/is/, Edition n. 312007

Similar forms of resentment could be caused by other attitudes , even though they could seem

An "Alpini" unit employed in the multinational contingent in Afghanistan.

ha rmle ss: for example the ac hi evement of the min imu m standa rd s of ope rat ional efficiency th at have bee n estab lished in regard to that particular Unit. It is i mportant to st ress t hat there is a physiological difference betw een t he sexes in order not to have negative effects o n the health and morale of the employees. It is certain that women have phys ical ascenda ncy and ski ll s di fferent from men's. However, these as pects can be balanced by stro ng values and determination. We cannot omit t o look at the issue concern i ng perso nnel mo bility with spec ific reference to ma rried couples that are bot h so ldiers. In case th ey serve in the same Un it or place t here must not exist mu tua l hiera rchical dep ende nce. Th e awa reness of ge nd er d iversity is important but the absen ce of prejudice is essential as we ll in o r der to exploit al l huma n resources effective ly. In regard to th is, any in itiatives aimed at deve lopi ng a process of integrat ion t hat allows fe male personnel to assume th e inst itut ional dut ies natural ly and to become aware of one's mi litary status is im portant. There mus t be m utual equity in ord er not to create p hen ome na of «reverse discrim inat io n» again st ma le personnel wh o serve in the army and i n orde r that me n can face this evolution in the best way and co nsider it as leg itimate and not as a prob lem th at must be han d led or an obstacle that must overcome and re moved Normative Instruments and Prospects

As well as the regu lations of the ord ina ry codes, the no rm ative framework of re f erence i nclude s the Regulations of Mi litary Di sci pi i ne, the Mi l itary Penal Peace Code and the Code of Cri minal Procedure. The Reg ulat ions of Mi litary Discip line includes special reg ulations (Title Il l «Military Du ties» Title V «Rules of Behav io ur of the Military») wh ich establish the p rincip les all military person nel have to ad here to. They have to show exemplary behaviour treating superiors, co lleag ues and infe r io rs with utmost res pect and followi ng p ri ncip les of transparency, objectivity and loyalty. In addit ion , the Title VI «Discipl i nary Sanction s» provides for special discip linary sanctions that must be imposed agai nst those soldiers who do not carry o ut their duties. T he more ha rm f ul the action that is performed against an ind iv idual is, the m ore severe the sanction wi ll be, consideri ng that the responsibility cou ld not be ass ignable to a single indivi dual.

A radio operator in A fghanista n.

The role of the Authority responsible for the function alit y of the Unit/ Comman d / Organization is extremely important to make t he worki ng environment peaceful, through an effective and con stant action of command and an effective action of mon ito ring of one's empl oyees ' be haviou r. Safeguard ing people's dignity and im proving the ir skills means strengthening the principles of solidarity and aware participation that allow soldie rs to carry out the institutio nal duties of the Armed Forces .

CONCLUSIONS

Integratio n and cohesion are t he mai n objectives that m ust be reached if we want to make male and f emal e personnel high ly efficien t. Female pe r sonne l sho ul d act as «tutors » beca use the y can understand an d hand le com p lex situation bette r . The problem is the lack of f emale personne l at al l leve l s of the hierarchical ladde r , especial ly i n th e different Units. Behav io ur must be assessed bot h on a horizon tal level an d on a vertical leve l according to

Rivista Mililare English Edition n. 3/2007

Women p lay a key role in the distribution of humanitar-

principles of equality tak ing profess iona l skills ian aid. into consideration r egard l ess o f gender. Mai nta i ning the same reg u latio ns of mi litary d iscipli ne and integratin g it with d i rectives ad p rereq ui sit e) of al l personne l. hoe const itute a clear and good indication. Today we can not r u n t he r isk of t rainin g Techn icall y, in th is period of adaptat ion, the w astage because of budget at an orga ni zat io nal objective is to reach a critical fo rebodin g mass of substa ntia l change. Th e ne xt step will be cul level for th is reason it is important to pay attention to the ski lls of th e resources. And it tu ral integratio n, t hro ugh a comb i ned process of assimilat ion into t he mi litary cultu re ma inmu st be adm itted t hat women has shown tain ing the surpl us value, i .e. rem arka b le skills i n the t he differe nce of gen der. Theatre of ope ration s es pecia lly w ith regard to ÂŤm ater- '' men must be aware that The most critical aspect is na l th inkin gÂť wi th t he local he integration of women is that of the full integ ratio n of person ne l. popu latio n facilitati ng rescue :omplementary to their pres- fem a le Somet im es it is poss ible to operat ion s. ence and is an integral part of not ice a d ist inct lack of one's An other prob lem concerns st atus and of the role that is t he combat area and in th is the Institution ,, occupied w ith in the mi litary regard w e must tal k about h ierarchica l structure and in th e milita ry w orld. pos sib il it ies and not about segregation. Th is point ra ises t he i ssue about phys ical skills i n T hi s attit ude is reflected in lot s of p rofess ional â&#x20AC;˘ som e contexts . It is impo rtant to assess poten aspects, such as i nte rperso na l relationships, p rofessio nal effic iency and the image of wo men t ial and physica l ski lls of female personnel i n the m il itary world . Sometimes t he lack of w hich r each infe rior st andards t o those of men. awareness of o ne's role , of spec ific tasks , of the The p robl em is that in so me ope rat ions th e exact dimens ion of the im portance of one's f ig same stan dards shou ld be reached if we wan t to u re and of th e li mitatio ns beyond wh ich so ld iers ta lk ab ou t f ul l equa lity, with regard to operacan not go is t he result of two deviant factors : t ional effic iency and to safety (which is a vital

Above. A patrol of Italian Blue Helmets in Lebanon.

Below A girls' school in Afghanistan.

Poor initial indoctrination and lack of professiona l retraining, espec ia lly wi th regard to the socio-ps ych olog ical as pects of the mili tary wo rl d; ÂŤReverse disc ri minat ionÂť that causes some women to take advantage of the situation preve nting the eq ua lity from being achi eved and undermining the fi gure of the female soldie r .

The added val ue t hat the female elem ent co uld bring to the military world depends on a particu lar form of literacy and of consciousness raising in both sexes. On the one hand, women must becom e aware of occupying an importan t role that can improve the Institution; on the ot her hand, men must become aware that the integration of women is complementary to their prese nce and is an integ ral part of the Inst itution. In add ition, on t he one hand it is necessary that men should consider this integration as a factor of improvement even of their status ; on th e other hand it is vital that women should perfectly und erstand the differences in minus (phys ical skills) from men and try to co mpensate for th em by other ele ments such as determination, willingness, co nsc ientio us ness and devotion to fundame ntal p r incipal of t he mili tary Institution (esprit de corps, respect for tradi tions, orga nizational skil ls, loyalty to institu tions and fa irness) . The goal is to erad icate any prejudices in o r der that everyone can prove one's worth on the job, whatever it may be. Mara Sampietro Fir st Lieutena nt, Medical Corps (Psych), General Affairs Division, Army General Sta ff