Italy has denied the United States permission to use the Sigonella military base. The Corriere della Sera, according to which on Friday 27 March the Chief of Defence Staff, Luciano Portolano, was informed by the Air Force General Staff that the flight plan of some US bombers included landing in the structure located in Sicily and then set off again towards the Middle EastAll this without any request for authorization from Italy and without the Italian military leaders being consulted. Indeed, the plan would have simply been communicated while the US planes were already in flight. The first checks, continues the Courier, they ascertained that these were not normal or logistical flights and, therefore, not included in the treaty between Italy and the USA.
Sigonella: Crosetto Says No to the US
At that point Portolano would have called the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, to inform him of what was happening and make a decision that inevitably affects relations between Italy and the United States. "There was no doubt about what to do since no authorization was requested. Also because the planes indicated in the flight plan have the so-called 'caveat' and cannot land unless there are emergencies," says the Courier.
Portolano – on direct mandate from the minister – would have therefore informed the US Command of the decision taken: No to landing at Sigonella, both because the aircraft were not authorized and because there was no prior consultation.
Palazzo Chigi: "There are no critical issues or friction with partners."
“With reference to press reports on the use of military bases, it is reiterated that Italy acts in full compliance with international agreements current regulations and the government's guidelines expressed to the chambers. The executive's position is clear, consistent, and already fully shared with Parliament, without any changes."
“Each request is carefully examined on a case-by-case basis, as has always been the case in the past,” the note continues. There are no critical issues or frictions with partners international. Relations with the United States, in particular, are solid and characterized by full and loyal cooperation."
Crosetto: "The bases are active and in use. Nothing has changed."
“Someone is trying to convey the message that Italy has decided to suspend the use of its bases by US forces. This is simply false, because the bases are active, in use and nothing has changedThe government continues to do what all Italian governments have always done, in full compliance with the commitments made in Parliament and the line reiterated in the Supreme Defence Council, in continuity with all previous Councils over the decades." Crosetto wrote this in a post on X.
“International agreements clearly regulate and distinguish what needs to be specific authorization from the Government (for which it was decided to always involve Parliament), without which nothing can be granted, and what is instead considered technically authorized because it is included in the agreements. A minister must only enforce them. Terzium non datur. Finally, I want to reiterate that there is no cooling or tension with the US, because they know the rules that have governed their presence in Italy since 1954 as well as we do,” concluded the Minister of Defense.
The precedent: Craxi and the No to Reagan
It's not the first time, far from it. The precedent is resounding. It was 1985, at Palazzo Chigi there was Bettino Craxi, while in the oval office he sat Ronald Reagan.
The crisis arose from the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro by a Palestinian commando, during which Jewish-American passenger Leon Klinghoffer was killed. After mediation, the hijackers obtained safe passage to Tunisia aboard an Egyptian plane.
The United States intercepted the plane with its fighters, forcing it to land at the base of Sigonella, in Sicily, on the night between 10 and 11 October 1985. The Delta Force American surrounded the aircraft to capture the terrorists and take them to the US, while the Carabinieri and the VAM (Air Force Surveillance), on Craxi's orders, surrounded the Americans to prevent the forced abduction of the two men. A physical clash between Italian and American soldiers almost broke out, who found themselves lined up in concentric circles, ready to fire on each other.
Bettino Craxi argued that, since the crimes had taken place on an Italian ship and the plane had landed on Italian soil, the jurisdiction belonged exclusively to ItalyDespite intense pressure from Reagan over the phone, Craxi refused to give in. And in the end, it was the American president who backed down, while the hijackers were taken into custody by the Italian authorities.
(Last updated: 2:28 PM on Tuesday, March 31).
