Abstract
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has followed a cautious defence and
security policy since
returning to power in 2008. In his term of office
between 2001 and 2006 he enthusiastically dispatched
Italian troops to
join US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He now faces a very
different geopolitical
situation, with US President George W Bush and UK
Prime Minister Tony Blair gone from
office. Italy is now following a
multi-national security policy with engagement through NATO, the EU
and UN
the form.
Afghanistan remains the most challenging international
deployment for the Italian military. Although the
Italian contingent is
predominately based in the west of the central Asian country, the force has
seen a
major ramping up of insurgent activity in recent months. Italian
and other NATO forces in the region
have come under attack and fighting
has intensified. US Special Forces raids and air strikes have also
intensified in the Italian area of responsibility.
The July 8-10 meeting
of the G8 heads of government is becoming a major security concern for the
Italian authorities. The switch of location from a remote island to the city
of L’Aquila, which was
devastated in an earthquake, has made it more
difficult for the security forces to seal off the event from
protestors or
terrorists. The idea behind the move was to focus international support for
the earthquake
victims and also to make it more difficult for protest
groups to gain public support. The heavy-handed
response of the Italian
police during the 2001 Genoa G8 Summit made the Rome government determined
to deflect criticism of the upcoming event by trying to tap into public
sympathy for the earthquake
victims. Italian defence industry giant
Finmeccanica has launched a major drive into the US defence
market over
the past five years, winning orders for the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter in
partnership with
Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopters and C-27J Joint
Cargo Aircraft in partnership with L-3
Communications. In May 2009
Finmeccanica were able to buy US defence electronics company DRS to
give
the Italian company a firm base in the US market.
By mid-May 2009, Italy,
France, Spain and the UK had agreed to buy the third Tranche of Typhoon
aircraft, although this is still subject to contract. This followed the
initialling of the commitment by
Italian, German and Spanish governments
at a meeting of the partner nations in Berlin onApril 2. In
subsequent
negotiations the partner nations decided to split the Tranche 3 into two
phases and Italy’s
order would be split into 21 and 25 aircraft
respectively. A final agreement is expected by the end of June
2009.
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