Sicily has historically been a land of crucial importance for the
control of the Mediterranean and surrounding areas. Since ancient times,those who exercised dominion over the island had the ability to control
both civilian and military traffic routes between the East, West, and
the northern coast of Africa. Sicily, with its annex on the island of
Pantelleria, played a crucial role in the Second World War. Sicily was
an important military base for both the Italian Air Force and the German
Luftwaffe. The presence on Sicilian soil of 19 airfields and 12
makeshift military camps (Birgi, Milo, Chinisia, Gerbini, Trapani,
Boccadifalco, Comiso, Catania, Pantelleria, etc.) characterized much of
the war in the Strait of Sicily, affecting transportation, supplies, and
civilian and military supplies between Europe and Africa. Its numerous
airfields hosted planes bombing Malta and escorting supply convoys to
the North African front. For this reason, from December 1941 onwards,
Luftwaffe command and units were heavily stationed between Catania and
Ragusa, and in the Trapani area. During the Second World War, Sicilian
cities were subjected to heavy and repeated air raids against which they
were inadequately protected. Palermo in particular suffered heavy
attacks for a long period: in addition to the port, the primary target
of the raids, the historic center was also hit several times, causing
serious damage to numerous important monuments and historic buildings.
Even today, Sicily's strategic position forces us to confront the
serious problem of our island being a strategically dangerous base for
war purposes, an island that serves militarily to others, especially as
a launching pad for air raids against Libya and neighboring countries.
The situation in Sicily is truly dire, due to the excessive
proliferation of US military installations, which have become out of
control, so much so that Sicily can now be described as the American
aircraft carrier of the Mediterranean.
Sigonella, Augusta, and Trapani are the focal points of all the most
important land and air-naval exercises.
Furthermore, we do not know whether these bases store nuclear weapons,
but the presence of Global Hawk drones at Sigonella and US nuclear
submarines at Augusta is known, while it is not easy to know how the
MUOS communications system is being used inside the US base in Niscemi.
The most important and strategic NATO base is the Naval Air Station at
Sigonella. It is located on the Catania plain and is the base from which
the US Navy's air component operates. Sigonella Air Base is adjacent to
and dependent on an Italian Air Force base (home of the 41st
Anti-Submarine Wing). The base consists of two sections (NAS I and II)
approximately 16 km west of the city of Catania and 39 km south of Mount
Etna.
Sigonella Air Base also hosts Naval Air Station Sigonella (NAS Sigonella
or NASSIG) of the United States Navy. It is also used for NATO
operations and is the headquarters of the Alliance Ground Surveillance
Command (NAGSF). The area also hosts EUNAVFOR Med IRINI assets.
Sigonella is the US Navy's primary land base in the central
Mediterranean, a logistical and operational hub for the Sixth Fleet and
NATO operations. It hosts the Alliance Ground Surveillance program and
Global Hawk drones.
Sigonella Air Base is a strategic hub for all US military operations in
the Mediterranean, supporting all US Sixth Fleet operations in the
Mediterranean. Sigonella also hosts the Joint Tactical Ground Station
(JTAGS), a satellite reception and transmission system for predicting
and controlling ballistic missile launches.
The NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Command is closely linked to
the MUOS (Mobile User Objective System), an advanced satellite system
located within the Niscemi cork oak forest, used by the US military in
the Mediterranean. MUOS provides essential broadband communications
services for the US and NATO armed forces and represents an important
strategic asset for US forces in the Mediterranean.
From Sicily, the Americans lead drones and military operations in
Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean; Sicily provides crucial
support for all the war and death-dealing actions of the US and its allies.
The Sigonella base and the MUOS make Sicily a strategic target for
forces opposing Israel's bloody madness, a madness supported by the US
and the European Union. Beyond Sigonella and Niscemi is the Augusta
Naval Base (SR), a landing and logistical support base for the US Navy.
The Augusta Naval Base and the Messina Naval Base are included in the
modernization program to bring them up to NATO fleet standards.
Two other military airports are Pantelleria and Trapani Birgi. The
airport on the island of Pantelleria is of great strategic importance
due to its location in the center of the Strait of Sicily. It is home to
an Air Force detachment under the 37th Trapani-Birgi Wing.
Trapani Birgi Airport, located between Misiliscemi and Marsala, is home
to the 37th Wing. Birgi was used for military purposes in 1999 and 2011.
In 1999, bombers took off from Birgi to strike Serbia during the Kosovo
War, and it was similarly used in 2011 to bomb Libya during the war
against the Revolutionary Arab Jamahiriya regime in Operation Odyssey
Dawn. Today, the 37th Wing is equipped with modern Eurofighter Typhoons,
second only to the new F-35s. By 2028, Birgi will be transformed into a
NATO global training center for F-35 fighter-bombers. The facility,
according to announcements, will become the largest in the world, along
with the one already operating in Arizona, representing a strategic hub
for the Atlantic Alliance in the Mediterranean.
To these already operational bases, we can also add the decommissioned
missile base at Comiso (Rg), now a civilian airport, which could be
converted into a military base in the near future.
Comiso, Sigonella, Birgi, and Niscemi have been and remain the primary
targets of the Sicilian, Italian, and international antimilitarist movement.
For a Sicily free from military servitude, the closure and dismantling
of military bases is one of the strategic objectives of the movement
against rearmament, against war, and against growing militarism.
Renato Franzitta
https://umanitanova.org/sicilia-e-controllo-del-mediterraneo-piattaforma-di-guerra/
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