Maggio 2016 – Benedetta Argentieri

Mese: Maggio 2016

25 Maggio 2016
Iraq, IS, ISIS, Military, Syria, terrorism, War

Keep Calm because Raqqa is not happening anytime soon

While the drums of war are all over the internet, we should keep calm. Raqqa, the capital of the so-called Islamic State, is not happening anytime soon. “The current battle is only to liberate the area north of Raqqa. Currently there is no preparation … to liberate Raqqa, unless as part of a campaign which will come after this campaign has finished,” says Talal Silo, spokesman for the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance to Reuters.

In other words, SDF is marching around the city, and most probably trying to cut off all the supply routes.

On Tuesday afternoon most of the media around the world announced the operation. Pictures of YPG and YPJ preparing for the battle circulated widely. Morale was hyped up in every front. Finally the US could formally announce what the Obama administration was eager to accomplish in the war against ISIS. Many believes that the US president wants the two major ISIS cities (Raqqa and Mosul) to fall before he leaves office, and that is no easy task.

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4 Maggio 2016
Dispatches, Uncategorized

The US military dealing with a Lost in Translation case in Italy

When in 2006 US Navy engineers started thinking where they should place the four ground stations for their bright new communications system, in their minds Italy was one of the best spots. Sicily, where the US military has a strong presence, is closer to Tunis than Rome. The MUOS would cover not just the Middle East but also Africa where the lacking of communications coverage made AFRICOM particularly vulnerable in that sector.

At the time, Italy was a also one of the US greatest ally. The close relationship between George W. Bush and the Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi made everything easier, smoother, as described in the Wikileaks cables. So the two governments signed a Memorandum to build the fourth ground station in Niscemi, where the US Navy had already a base. The then Ministry of Defense, Ignazio La Russa, acted as guarantor for the deal, although now he refuses to talk publicly about MUOS.

The US and Italian government didn’t expect such a fierce opposition. NO MUOS activists they first stopped the work at the station and then started suing the government for a breach in the Italian laws.

I wrote about it for Quartz. And this is the link. Enjoy