The world is preparing to go to war. Every country has increased or is increasing defense spending in a proportion that only a fool would consider “consistent with current threats.”
NATO's new Secretary General, Mark Rutte, recently proposed increasing defense spending to more than 3% of GDP and urged member countries to adopt a "war mentality" to prepare for the challenges ahead. In parallel, the next US President, Donald Trump, has expressed his intention to ask NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Perhaps for some rabble-rousers there could be a mere opportunistic speculation behind it to profit from "sheepish" phobias, however there is one aspect that is out of place: the next challengers have been arming themselves for many years with massive military programs that are absolutely far from any prospect of peace. An example? Let's just think of the 22,5 billion ("billions", not "millions") dollars planned on US soil for depots, arsenals and ammunition production plants. On the Chinese side, the interventions are no less intense. Let's just look at the already enormous experience accumulated in theAI adoption in military management of research, design, simulation, production and... command and control of the armed forces. This while we are raising do-gooder ethical questions... when every delay and disadvantage will cost millions of lives, in addition to the final outcome! And let's talk about the quantum field: in seconds or fractions second, which would require years to classical computers.
Aren't Italians intelligent? Absolutely not. We are the most gifted on the planet, if intelligence is adaptability…It's speed that's missing.
What does reality dictate? Intuition: Waking up on the starting line of a Grand Prix with everyone roaring their engines and realizing you're idling. It would be nice to stay out of it, but the car that stays still at the start is regularly run over and destroyed.
What to do then? First of all, open your eyes or stick your head out of the hole.
A great classic of Italian cinema (in another context) taught: “What is genius? It is imagination, intuition, decision and speed of execution!"The first is innate, the second is blindfolded, the third is vaunted and the fourth is defunct: just think of useless equipment like tanks. Ram obsolete and very expensive “updated” ones (which will arrive sooner or later – belatedly) or to the hundreds of autarchic armored vehicles in times of armored. All delivered without anti-drone systems...
But the possible misappropriation of money is nothing compared to the lack of numbers: war is also a collective "will" and there is neither public consensus nor the consequent reserves of forces. At the moment the "Italian nation" is in last place in the world for propensity to Sacrifice (Gallup poll: only 14% of Italians would be willing to fight for their country in case of war).
This data should raise more than one eyebrow. Not because it is in itself worrying or scandalous, but because it is evident that for years someone (or more than one) has been working to destroy us. It is called "manipulation of public opinion” and falls within a specific battlefield: cognitive domain. Let's talk about the ability to influence and control the mental and decision-making processes of individuals or (oops!) community through the strategic use of information, propaganda and psychological techniques. Should the data (“last on the planet”) make us understand that we have been under attack for some time?
With the most intense part of the world war that could soon begin, have we already lost? It is not certain, but the first – inevitable – “blow” will be enough to make the house of cards collapse. At that point, 86% of Italians will understand that Homeland is something that goes beyond political theater, rhetoric, someone's interests, propaganda or the government of the moment.