Luckily it's an exercise, otherwise there was fresh air waiting for friendly help. The joint military operation of eight NATO countries, "Noble Jump 2023", which will officially start in 48 hours in Sardinia, has a goal put in black and white: joint relief for an allied state under attack. The Isola dei Nuraghi, needless to say, was chosen, coincidentally, to simulate the country targeted by a hypothetical enemy. NATO's manual of magnificence foresees the rapid convergence of all kinds of means and men at the chosen point. In this case the Allied landing is expected from north to south, in the airports of Cagliari-Elmas, Decimomannu and Alghero, in the ports of Cagliari, from the Ichnusa pier to the container terminal, up to Olbia, passing through that of Sant'Antioco. A concentric landing of three thousand men and seven hundred armored vehicles and war vehicles. Ships loaded with weapons and ammunition that have been sailing from northern Europe to Sardinia for days with intervention times that appear decidedly "biblical" if they really had to assist an ally. Just think of the "Ark Germania" , the ro-ro ship of the very powerful Dfds, carrying the Danish flag, which arrived yesterday morning in front of the desert of the Porto Canale of Cagliari. It had set sail from Emden, northern Germany, Lower Saxony, 6,000 km from Cagliari, on 17 April. Seven full days of navigation to "save" Sardinia from enemy attack. In reality, in a week, any well-equipped attack would have left no way out for the Island.
Seven days for "rescue"
However, even if it took the Germans seven days to cross the Gulf of Angels, the Germans will present themselves in front of Teulada with the latest generation of tanks, the most powerful, those capable of hitting a target (beaches, sea and magnificent coast) 5 kilometers away. The Leopard A7Vs are on board the “ Ark Germania ”, positioned, after the morning entry into the port, in the roadstead in front of Giorgino. Tanks equipped with new optronic cameras capable of aiming and bombing in the middle of the night. This explains the ordinances of the Port Authority of Cagliari which herald bombings from midnight until 11.59 pm on a large part of the south coast, in front of the Teulada shooting range, in theory a minute's respite a day, until the end of the "hostilities", scheduled for May 14. However, the loading of the ship that arrived yesterday in Cagliari from Germany could represent much more than an exercise for the Germans.
The 8 billion Leopard fair
At stake, according to well-informed sources, there would be an ongoing negotiation between the Italian armed forces and the German war industry to purchase the "beauty" of 250 Leopard 2A7 model tanks, i.e. the most up-to-date version, believed by the "warmongers" quintessentially the best tank in the world. An expense for the package (purchase and logistical support) estimated at around 8 billion euros. An exercise behind which we could, therefore, hide yet another arms fair under the aegis of NATO, with the exhibition-demonstration of these means precisely in the most paradisiacal theater of war in the Mediterranean, that of Sardinia. There is no certain timetable for this presumed joint defence, complete with landings from the north to the south of the island, it appears to be covered by military secrecy. We only know that yesterday the Prefecture of Cagliari issued a statement in the style of a "proclamation of state" announcing a massive military deployment throughout the island. «From 27 April to 14 May - writes the Prefecture - the deployment on the ground of allied forces from various countries is expected. Approximately 3,000 men and 700 vehicles are expected and Germany, Holland, Latvia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Norway and Luxembourg are taking part, in flow from the airports and ports of the region, primarily from those of Elmas, Decimomannu and Cagliari. The areas affected by the exercise will be the shooting ranges of Quirra and Capo Teulada, the Decimomannu air base and the Alghero site». The State communication could not fail to "celebrate" the goodness of these exercises which - writes the state representation - "will be conducted in full compliance with the protection standards envisaged for the population and the environment and all necessary measures will be adopted for the preservation and environmental protection of the areas in which the activities are concentrated». In short, the words of the Generals are valid for the Prefecture and not those of the Prosecutor of Cagliari who ascertained, in no uncertain terms, the environmental disaster on the entire Teulada firing range. Assuming that these "fire" exercises, with bombs, missiles and weapons of all kinds produce "environmental protection" is like stating that war is a copious sowing of roses and flowers. The Prefecture's communiqué could not fail to mention the hymn to "military well-being", announcing hardships on all the island's arteries: "As regards the municipalities concerned, we note the positive economic impact on the Sardinian social fabric, deriving from the logistical services that will be provided in favor of the troops".
Twenty Days of War & «welfare»
We need to understand what these vaunted benefits refer to for 20 days of simulated war in Sardinia, with a territory linked to a "throwaway" economy that has produced only thousands of unemployed and among the lowest incomes on the island. The Municipalities have taken care of translating the "military chaos" of these holidays on the island, especially those from Cagliari to Teulada, on the most varied branches. With their own press releases, they have announced to their citizens the inconvenience on the practicability of the roads. The municipality of Carbonia has, for example, put all the inconveniences that will occur in the next few days on paper: «The logistical operations of transit of military vehicles will lead to inevitable slowdowns in speed in both directions for drivers of vehicles who Carbonia move in the direction of Cagliari or towards the localities of the lower Sulcis. The road arteries that will be affected by the passage of the military columns in the areas that lead from Elmas and Decimomannu to Teulada, are in particular the State Road 130, the Provincial Road 86, the Provincial Road 2, the State Road 126, the Provincial Road 74 and the State Road 195».
Line up behind the tanks
In short, there is no road that will not be blocked by the passage of tanks and military vehicles. The municipality of Villamassargia was even more explicit: «We remind you that marching military columns cannot be interrupted pursuant to article 163 of the Highway Code». So, all in single file behind the tanks. But it's not finished. The port of Cagliari, the commercial one in front of via Roma, which appears to be bombed but for other reasons, is a scenario of the Second World War, with all fronts occupied by warships of all kinds. Finally, the port channel of Cagliari transformed into a war garrison without having been authorized by the Joint Joint Committee and by the Region itself, without the adoption of the regulations of use provided for by the law on military servitude. After all, the Ministry of Defense and NATO itself, it is known, consider Sardinia as a "state colony", where it is not even necessary to ask for permission to transform a port close to the island's capital into a new base military. From tomorrow the disembarkation begins.
