Italy blocks US use of Sicily air base for Middle East war
politico.eu
politico.eu
Aviano hosts the 31° Fighter Wing (F-16 jets) and B61-4 nuclear weapons, while Sigonella has Mq-9 Reaper drones and Ep-3 surveillance airplanes.
For context, the other main US bases in Italy are: Ghedi (Lombardia region), Camp Darby (Tuscany region), Camp Ederle (Veneto region), the two harbors of Naples and Gaeta, and some other communications infrastructures. By the way, Camp Darby is the largest US weapons and ammunition warehouse in Europe.
> Someone is trying to get the message across that Italy has decided to suspend the use of bases for U.S. assets.
> Something that's simply false, because the bases are active, in use, and nothing has changed.
> The Government continues to do what all Italian Governments have always done in full adherence to the commitments made in Parliament and to the line reiterated in the Supreme Defense Council as well, in continuity with all previous Councils over the decades.
> International agreements clearly regulate and distinguish what requires specific Government authorization (for which it has been decided to always involve Parliament), without which it is not possible to grant anything, and what is instead considered technically authorized because it is included in the agreements.
> A minister only has to ensure they are respected.
> There is no third option.
> Finally, I want to reiterate that there is no cooling or tension with the U.S., because they know the rules that have governed their presence in Italy since 1954 just as well as we do.
Not to add to the fake news cycle, but since the US seems fine in abandoning international agreements (at least for climate and nuclear weapons,) this comes across as blue-eyed or disingenuous.
This may be permitted under the agreements.
I can't find the Italian version, but Spain's agreement (https://es.usembassy.gov/agreement-on-defense-cooperation/) differentiates between aircraft already based in Spain versus ones transiting through.
> Aircraft of the United States forces which are deployed in Spain, permanently or on rotation, within the agreed force level, may overfly, enter and exit Spanish air space, and use the bases specified in Annex 2 of this Agreement, with no other requirement than compliance with Spanish air traffic regulations. In order to use other bases, military airdromes and airports, the corresponding authorization shall be requested through the Permanent Committee at least 48 hours in advance.
> Aircraft flying logistics missions, operated by or for the United States forces, other than those in paragraph 1, not carrying VIPs, HAZMAT or cargo or passengers that might be controversial to Spain may overfly, enter or exit Spanish airspace and use the bases specified in Annex 2 on quarterly blanket overflight clearances authorized by the Permanent Committee.
We'll see what Italy does if asked next time.
I'm still livid about the Cavalese disaster in which I lost few distant friends (close friends of my Veneto uncle's):
In a twist of fate, the person partially responsible for the 1976 disaster was named Schweizer. The one partially responsible in 1998 was Schweitzer.
So if we are hoping whatever nationality/occupation pair is gone that is responsible for Cavalese car crashes, you'll be hoping to eject more than just Americans (it is not clear to me whether Schweizer was Italian as the last name seems more Germanic and apparently they were a seasonal worker). Maybe instead it is more specific to eject anyone with the name Schweit?zer ...
Is it normal for the Americans to behave this way or is this new procedure?
To put simply: the best peaceful tool I feel that I have to protect my children's future is to maximize the embarassment, shame, and personal disgust of those who the U.S Government represents. Those who have a vote and a voice in their town square. Those who can protest or strike. The goal is to make current levels of domestic inaction intolerable. I'm delighted by the No Kings turnout. That's a good start.
If we get to a point where Americans by and large do not believe they have any power over their democracy, and that they're helpless victims of an oppressive government, I think my perspective would change in the same way I don't think Iranians are to be expected to deal with their government.
I should be clear because this is a very pointed perspective: I don't dislike Americans. As a Canadian it's inevitable that I am close friends with countless Americans. There's a number of them in my very close family. But I believe they bear responsibility for their government because I believe the U.S. is, for now, still a democracy.
And I’ll vote for the people that prevent and/or limit the damage you wish to cause to the current administration and its supporters. Especially if it means using privacy laws to prevent doxxing of such individuals or any adverse action against them.
Aside from public figures, that is very much in the realm of doxxing.
And you still didn't say how you will "prevent" others from embarassing the administration and it's voters without violating 1A or even why you feel so triggered at criticisms of these idiots that you get so passionate to the point of violating the constitution to prevent them being shown for their stupidities.
Or to film/interview people in public or quote their own social media posts?
I searched for maga stupid and picked up a random video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xue1itaEPpE you tell me who its doxxing.
Tell me in just what ways you wish to violate the 1A to suppress these activities.
edit: Weren't you whining just a few days ago of bluesky being too cloistered, first I don't understand how a website that anyone is free to join with even less details than twitter is more cloistered, and more importantly why is cloistering and shielding a group from criticism suddenly good when its magas? It's pretty hilarious I have to say.
Be honest and say you wish to abolish the First Amendment instead of this weaselly nonsense.
edit: also it's the USA doctrine to oppress people whose government you dislike in the hope that they might rebel, so in their case it's completely fair.
> their flight plan was not communicated in advance to the Italian air force general staff, nor had the American aircraft received authorization to land,
Sounds like they might have gotten authorization if they had just told them in advance.
Versus combat operations.
[1] https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzerland-bars-us-overflights...
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/03/31/f...
Agreed, but
> but it's going to be a long-term gain in the form of a weakened Iran and a strengthened Europe
I don't think this is a sure thing at all.
The fact is that the US and Israel kicked a hornets nest that everyone is stuck in the room with, and everyone else in that room is understandably upset. And (to belabor the metaphor) the only ones who those hornets were eyeing had themselves been causing trouble for the past 80 years.
This is a silly claim; they're still sending missiles and drones all over the area, and the strait is functionally closed.
We spent twenty years trying to tame Afghanistan and it went right back to the Taliban within days of withdrawal from the area. Iran has a lot more capacity to bounce back than they did.
As for deterrent, Iran will probably stop being a significant threat to Israel. But cheap drones have changed the situation closer to Iran. The military power required to close the Strait and hobble the economies of the Gulf states is orders of magnitude smaller than the military power needed to stop it.
Also currently Iran is looking stronger not weaker tbh. The Americans have really fucked it all up.
When you say Iran is looking stronger I think you mean in some kind of relative expectation game in the media sense rather than a real hard power sense.. I would encourage you to look at the latter instead
Russia is shipping drones to Iran now.
[0] https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260326-iran-says-oil-exp...
What is a complete strategic failure though is EU's support for Israel's impunity that created this war, which will negatively effect all of the EU. There should have been severe sanctions and travel bans on all Israelis long time ago, to force their government to act better. Economic losses this shithole country caused to the EU, will not be offset by any benefits Israel's<->EU trade could create for a looooong time.
If you think this war is somehow negatively impacting the EU you're being very short sighted. Do you realize the level of impunity the IRGC has traditionally operated with in europe? Only the mass murderer of the Iranian civilians in January initiated a slow wake up call for europe. Still only a service level wake up call unfortunately
In any case, as far as covert IRGC actions in Europe go, individual countries have standard mechanisms to disrupt them, and they use those. There's no impunity. Not sure what's the problem.
Also, attacking Iran would not stop IRGC covert actions in Europe. It would likely add motivation to increase them. That's what engaging in war leads to.
Where there's actual impunity is when mossad/Israel operates in europe. There's even often cooperation on mossads kidnappings and assasinations from Europe's countries. And there's also a complete impunity. Mossad can kill me and my government would do absolutely nothing against Israel, I guarantee you. They did nothing when Israel hunted, terrorized, killed, or kidnapped other Europeans. Not just that, they justified it or ignored it completely.