Two hundred soldiers, 20 land vehicles, 6 helicopters (four Mangusta). Italy is thus ready to strengthen its presence in the Sahel, fully entering the Takuba Task Force, which will be operational by the summer. The mission will be to support local security forces in contrasting the growing jihadist phenomena in the area between the borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The confirmation comes from the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini, returning from a mission in Africa, during which he went to Mali and Niger for a series of institutional meetings and to greet the Italian military personnel employed in bilateral missions , under the aegis of the EU and the UN. "Italy intends to strengthen its presence in the Sahel - explained the minister -, an area characterized by the presence of terrorist groups, which support themselves economically through the management of illicit trafficking of all kinds: drugs, weapons, human beings, especially towards Europe. Its stability is therefore crucial not only for the security of the region, but for the immediate repercussions on the security of Europe itself.". To Niger, Italy will supply military components and bulletproof vests. The political objective is to affirm a greater presence in that territory, also to free oneself from French interests and influence.
WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IN SAHEL
In La Stampa Domenico Quirico explained, outspokenly, the quagmire of the Sahel, an area of the world where regular armies have failed and where terrorist militias have a greater hold on local people, a bit like what happened in Afghanistan after 20 years almost useless war, considering the results left on the field in favor of the civilian population. Italy is therefore preparing to send a military contingent that should operate in the deadly "zone of the three frontiers" in support of the 5.000 French soldiers and rapidly decomposing regimes. United they appeal as a vandal scum responsible for massacres among the populations they should instead defend.
The allied governments, Mali and Burkina Faso, are dealing not too secretly, with jihadist formations including the "Support group for Islam and Muslims"Gsim, linked to Al Qaeda, and the" Islamic State of the great Sahara ". There are areas of the Sahel where there are de facto truces between jihadists and local armies and that men and vehicles of Islamist groups circulate freely in villages, tracks and cities in exchange for suspending attacks. In short, we are there to help the French in a quagmire from which it is impossible to get out except with some Italian dead as a dowry. Probably the Italian strategy is to settle in that area to try to manage the flow of migrants to our country, which is now considered a Turkish-Russian territory. It is no coincidence that France has only now released the 7 red terrorists who had been living in peace for years across the Alps. A gratitude granted to Italy for having thrown itself with closed eyes in the hell of the Sahel.
The budget of the French mission. Ten years of the French war on terrorism have been disastrous. On the one hand, the massive mobilization of military forces has entailed enormous costs, 2 billion euros a year, on the other two thousand five hundred deaths in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in 2020 alone, two million refugees, the jihadist groups that control vast areas, multiply the struggles between communities with shrewd strategy, advance in the direction of the Gulf of Guinea. The massacres multiply and go unpunished, in which civilians are killed more by the military than by the jihadists. There has also recently been a very strong information campaign against the French presence after the death of 19 innocent civilians in Bounti in Mali due to a French aviation error.
In the summit with the 5 governments of the Sahel, Macron assured that the French military presence will not decrease, adding however a little word: "immediately". He then spoke of "Sahelising" the war.
THE ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL PASQUALE PREZIOSA
The situation in Mali is similar to that of Afghanistan at the beginning of the "Global war on Terrorism". Some analysts have called Mali the "new Afghanistan" of Africa.Information is circulating for a new European operation called "Takuba" for the fight against jihadist cells in the Sahel region, including Mali, in the wake of the Barkhane operation already underway. Germany and Spain did not join the invitation, while the 'Italy would seem willing to use special forces, it is said for mentoring, in communion with the French ones, promoters of the initiative. The area of operations is defined by sector analysts "epicenter of global Jihad ".
Moreover, due to the fight against iihadism, military operations by a large coalition with many powers involved are still underway in some areas of Iraq and Syria, the results of which do not appear to be certain or yet definitive. The opening now of another operation to combat Jihadism with the participation of a number of countries and minimal forces raises some doubts on the effectiveness of the global strategy to combat the terrorist phenomenon.
Italy, in particular, should question itself, after Afghanistan and with the pandemic still underway, on the lines to be followed to ensure levels of national security adequate to the new world framework that sees a very demanding strategic competition to win the future. The stabilization of the international framework will not be without surprises. It is necessary to resort to history and his teachings, especially those inherited from the ancient Roman Empire due to threats from the South. The security of the Empire was obtained by strengthening the countries of North Africa and not by dispersing the efforts in areas of little commercial or strategic interest.
La Libya, la tunisia andAlgeria, just to name a few, are the countries of strategic interest for the security not only of Italy but for the whole of Europe. Military operations, even if peacekeeping, have very high costs, even for the G7 countries which, after the pandemic, had to raise the public debt to levels never seen before. Military operations have certain costs, but uncertain returns. Il Malirepresents the new "Quagmire of trouble" in which not to slip in so as not to bequeath to the next generations not only a large financial debt, but also a strategic debt in foreign policy.