Former Defence Chief of Staff Camporini: 'Nato survives even without the US'

The hypothesis of the US leaving NATO put forward by Donald Trump, if confirmed, would not have catastrophic consequences and 'the Alliance would survive'. This is the opinion of General Vincenzo Camporini, former Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force and Defence, for whom there would still be a problem, which 'would not be economic or a new command structure. What would instead be missing are some key elements that other countries do not have, except with American support'.

According to the general, 'the giant question mark is the nuclear deterrent, which only Great Britain and France use. Also the satellite surveillance system is essentially provided by the USA, while we Italians have the excellent 'Cosmo Skymed', which is not, however, at American level. New investments will certainly be needed because of the need to increase operational capabilities. In addition, the American anti-missile defence, unlike the European one, is very powerful and it would be appropriate to make some investments in the EU as well'.

Camporini argues that if the Europeans would then agree to continue the structure as it is, 'nothing would change and we would be framed in a transatlantic alliance in any case, of which Canada is also a member. Of course the geopolitical risk of being more exposed would increase because capabilities would decrease, but they would not be annihilated'. And what about the Italian bases now used by the United States? "They could be used by other European countries if they needed availability to deploy assets, for example, they could be used by the French if they decided to make a greater contribution to the surveillance of the Mediterranean by deploying a squadron for maritime patrols".

The former Chief of Defence Staff also specifies that, 'according to the laws in force in the US today, the decision to leave NATO would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate: the numbers are currently not there, but Trump could care less. He has already demonstrated this. In any case, an American withdrawal would obviously entail a diplomatic rearrangement of the current agreements, but the timing would not be momentous'. And the investment programmes in the various defences that are in place, 'if they are implemented, would be sufficient. Of course, Italia would have to invest more than it does today, but if it keeps its promise to increase military spending, we should manage it'.