The Art of
War
Bannon demands ‘Sovereignty’ from Brussels, but not from Washington
by Manlio Dinucci
Steve Bannon – Donald Trump's former strategist and theorist of
national-populism - expressed his enthusiastic support for the alliance of the
Lega with the 5 Star Movement for "the government of change." In an
interview he stated: "The fundamental question, in Italy in March, was the
question of sovereignty. The result of the elections was to put into office
those Italian citizens who want to regain sovereignty and control over their
country, and to put an end to the rules coming from Brussels.” (Sky TG24, May26)
However, it does not say “Put an end to the rules coming from
Washington.”
It is not only the European Union, dominated by the powerful economic
and financial circles, particularly in
Germany and France, that is exerting pressure on Italy to guide its political
choices, fearing a break in the “rules”
that serve their interests.
Strong pressure is also being exerted on Italy, in a less evident but
no less intrusive way, by the United States, which fears a break in the
"rules" that subordinate Italy to its economic and strategic
interests.
This is part of the policies Washington has adopted towards Europe,
through different administrations and with different methods, pursuing the same
objective - to maintain Europe under US influence.
NATO is a key instrument of this strategy. In Article 42 of the
Treaty of Maastricht, it is established that EU “shall respect the obligations
of certain Member States, which see their common defence represented by the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).” And Protocol 10, concerning
cooperation, states that NATO "shall remain the foundation for the
“defence" of the European Union.
Today, 21 of the 27 countries of the EU(after Brexit), totalling about 90 percent
of the population of the Union, are part of NATO, whose "rules" have
allowed the United States to maintain the position of Supreme Allied Commander
in Europe and all other key commands since 1949. They allow the United States
to determine the political and strategic choices of the Alliance, with
agreements made under the table especially with Germany, France and Great
Britain, and then have them approved by the North Atlantic Council, where
according to the "rules" of NATO there is no voting or majority
decision, but decisions are always taken unanimously.
The entry of Eastern European countries into NATO, including Ukraine
and Georgia - once members of the Warsaw Pact, the Yugoslav Federation and also
the USSR - has allowed the United States
to exert control over these countries, and in fact they are already members of
NATO, contracted more to Washington than to Brussels.
Washington has thus been able to force Europe into a new Cold War,
making it the front line of an increasingly dangerous confrontation with
Russia, which functions in the political, economic and strategic interests of
the United States.
Emblematic is the fact that, in the week during which Europe was
bitterly debating the "Italian question", the 1st Armoured Brigade of
the 1st US Cavalry Division from Fort Hood in Texas, landed in Antwerp
(Belgium), without provoking any significant reaction. Some 3,000 soldiers
landed, with 87 Abrams M-1 tanks, 125 Bradley combat vehicles, 18
self-propelled Paladin cannons, 976 military vehicles and other equipment,
which will be deployed at five bases in Poland and sent from there close to
Russian territory.
This continues to "improve the readiness and lethal power of US
forces in Europe," which has received 16.5 billion dollars since 2015.
Just as the tanks sent from Washington landed in Europe, Steve Bannon
encouraged Italians and Europeans to "recover their sovereignty" from
Brussels.
(This article first appeared in il Manifesto, May 29, 2018)
Translation: John Catalinotto
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