The following reflects exclusively the thought of the author (and of the director of the newspaper that publishes it, ndd).
Now that the dust from Cyclone Vannacci (pictured, right) seems to be slowly settling, I too would like to have my say. And I do so aware that I know the subject in question very well since, as well as having fought alongside us, I was his consultant in a recent battle (Iraq 2018) which he waged against the top defense leaders for the health protection of our military against exposure to depleted uranium.
I also wrote a self-published book with a rather eloquent title: "Baghdad, a general's rebellion".
What I wish to report with this letter to the readers of a magazine that I have been following for years is that, if in this whole matter there will be an injured party, this is precisely the Armed Forces of which I have been a part for forty years.
I'll explain. It is not the injured party because it is the contents of the book written by my old comrade Roberto Vannacci that harm the Army. The latter was harmed by the decomposed, dare I say almost hysterical, reaction that the political and military leaders of the institutions put in place less than two hours after the publication of a defamatory and disparaging article, that yes, written by a journalist from a well-known national newspaper notoriously associated with a certain political area.
A soldier always expects to be protected by the institution to which he is sworn. And if he is a military man with a career like that of General Vannacci who has taken part in the riskiest missions that this state has asked him to carry out in his more than thirty-year operational career, it seems more than ever a duty.
Instead, exactly the opposite happened. They immediately satisfied the angry crowd and beheaded and immediately displayed the head on the silver tray of the fearless pen warrior who had ventured into the quicksand of the politically correct. Not only that, those who have boasted of having a degree have taken the liberty of saying that Vannacci is raving, not knowing that the "raving" has three degrees and is fluent in five languages.
Poor Itaglia (with the “g” in the middle!), one might say…
Dulcis in fundo, as a retired military man, I think of the discouragement of my colleagues in service who would never have imagined that a government (and, I might add, especially if it defines itself as right-wing) would go that far.
That's why I comment, all this has given a very bad image of the Armed Forces to our nation, due to the leaders who do not protect the base because, after all, they too are a caste or, at least, behave like one.
ten. with the. (ris.) raider Fabio Filomeni
Photo: author
