An Italian special forces hub in Jordan, this is what it will be used for

An Italian special forces hub, capable of logistically and operationally supporting initiatives in the Middle East area. Jordan has made Italy available for the positioning of a national special forces hub in the country. This is what is made clear in a note taking stock of the trip, which also touched on Lebanon and Israel, of the Chief of Defence Staff, Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, which ended on Thursday, 5 September. The background to Cavo Dragone's trip was the current crisis affecting the Middle East.

Meeting his Jordanian counterpart, General Al-Hnaity, on 3 September, the admiral wished to "thank the Italian Defence Forces for their willingness to locate a national special forces hub in Jordan, capable of logistically and operationally supporting the various sector efforts in the region". The next day, Cavo Dragone had talks with General Halevi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. Transferring to Lebanon, the Admiral reached the base of Shama, near the southern border with Israel, where the Italian Command of the Western sector of the Unifil mission is based. This was followed by a meeting with General Dhakal and Dr. Lecoq, respectively deputy operational commander of UNIFIL and deputy head of mission of Unifil. Reaching Beirut, the Admiral was received by General Aoun, Commander of the Lebanese Forces, from whom he received praise for the work carried out by the national contingents operating in his country. The path started with the Italian-led Military Technical Committee for Lebanon (MTC4L) was confirmed: an initiative that aims to unite the efforts of several nations to support, train and strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces.

The note goes on to explain that the visit by the Chief of Defence Staff, whose topics covered the Middle East geo-strategic framework, with a particular focus on the Israel-Hamas crisis, 'made it possible to emphasise, to the important interlocutors we met, Italy's military commitment in the region, Italy's bilateral cooperation with the three countries visited, the centrality of the Unifil mission for the balance in the Middle East, and the need to make every useful effort to avoid the spectre of a further widening of the current conflict'.