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CONTENTS

Number One 2005 .January-February \ l arch-April

Riv1sta Militare aims at broadening and updating the technical and vocational traInIng of Army personnel. It rs thus a means of propagating the military way of thinking and a forum of study and debate. Tl1rough the publication of articles of tecl1nical and scientific interest, Rivista Militare also aims at info rming the general public on the Army and on military issues.

ue by Parliament of the recent 'he suspension of conscription 1e conclusion of an era and the n "Institution" which accompa, slow and difficult unitary jourour Country in its process or cultural, democratic, technical ntific growth.

Politic,, Economh:, and Strategy 2 The Cla~h That Ncv~r Was. (Antonio Cia/Jmtini /,emwrdi) 12 Red Arrica. (Ginrm111i Rurcio/ )

22 ;\frican Prospects. (Nicodeme N' Kmh11111a ;\-"Koy/

IA-MONTHLY ment to numbers 1 and 2 of Militare Italian Edition

,. in Chief: 1pe Maria Giovanni RICO ,· '11ent

and

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(a rnra di l:·nrico Magnani J

Sdencl', 'lh:hnolog~· and Training

58 The Female Component. a Precious Re~ource for the t\rmy. ({)0111enico Rossii) 70 The Roar· of the '"l.agunari". (Mario Carano)

Sodolog~

80 Coping Stratcgie~. ( Filip110 /)i Pirm)

l,,v:a-Aome

30 The 01tawa Convention. (Giorgio Srnrchil/ij -tO The Chilean Anny is Ready for the Challeng~s of the future. (Giuseppe Maria Giorcmni Tricarico) 48 In the Service of' the Country and for the Liberty of People,.

.. ..... .;.... ...,,,., ...... nm .........

88 Conscription l)epart,. (Giornnni Cer/Jo) 9~ The Clo~c Relation Bet\\·ecn \tilitary World and Ci\·ilian Society in Germany. (;Waurho S11/ig) Histor~

102 The War That Opened the Doms oi' Asia to the Rising Sun. (Massimo lacopi) 11 0 The Passion of Chri'-1. (Attilio Claudio Borr<'rn) 122 Sommario--Summai·.1-Sonunairt'-lnhalt--Resu111en-S11111a1io Instructions for Contributors: Anyone may contribute. To garantee the highest objectivity of information. Rivista Militare leaves contributors ample freedom. though it does not necessarily share their opinions. The Author is th us solely responsible for the articles which, published unedited and wit11out editorial ties. exclusively reflect hrs personal ideas. Articles must be orrgrnal in thought and should not exceed ten typewritten pages Once the Author receives his fee, he loses all exclusive rights. Rivista Mrl1tare may then pass the article on to other publications and EMPA (European Military Press Association) periodicals. Articles should be accompanied by suitable photographs, illustrations. explanatory tables, together with a photograph of the Author, a brief ··curriculum vrtae·· and a ten-line typewritten summary. Rivista Mifitare reserves the right to change the trtle of articles and choose the typeface deemed most suitable. Rivista Militare is equipped with a computerized system for phototypesetting and videopaging. In order to make the production of the articles more expeditious, it is desirable that the Authors provide, besides the text on o:aOA ;,lsn.tb iuti<:kEUe with..tb.e e)o(U ile.s oJ the article. An s stem and l't'Q? of corn uter can be used.

A REEXAMINATION OF EVENTS, FROM THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL TO THE PRESENT DAY, SHEDS A DIFFERENT LIGHT ON THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY

...

by Antonio Ciabattini Leonardi* The contrasts between civilizations have long attracted the attention of scholars and analysts of geopolitics. Their forerunner was English historian Arnold Toynbee in 1946, with his book "Comparing Civilizations". In 1997, Samuel Huntington, in his book "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the New World Order", prefigured world scenarios characterized by confrontations based on culture and religion. But reality often diverges from our predictions. 2

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f late the clash of civilizations has been a very successful m qdel, continuously evoked by expert;; and laymen within the ge opolitical sphere. Its author, Samuel Huntington, worked on it between 1993 and 1997, first with an article on "Foreign Affairs" and subsequently "vit h a book which was publis hed in many edit ions. Therefore, we are considering the years between the two Clinton administrations, i.e. the hist orical period which followed the fall of bipolarism. The central subject

is therefore the new type of world order after \VWII. Huntington is th-e director of Harvard's "Centre of International Affairs", ,vhich avails itself of the contribution of distinguished scholars, such as Joseph Nye and Stanley Hoffmann. In the past years Huntington has been working out general models of interpretation of international politics Âˇwhich can be of use for both scholars and politicians. This is the purpose of his writings. At t he beginning of the b ook there is immediately an innova-

tive a nd problematic th esis : in the post-bipolar world, internat i onal conflicts and State alliances have ceased to depend on strategies of economic predominance or ideological differences, they now depend on differences of civilization: this is a cultural thesis, which is mainly concerned with the real meaning of "civilization". This theory, like any other, is in a sense an oversimplification, but is a very rational effort made by the author, despite the fact that complex matters like international relations could suffer from sim-

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plification. Nevertheless, in this field, it would be unthinkable to try to outline strategies without having a theory. A theory which should work more or less like a map: a map that reproduced the territory on a 1:1 scale w ould be completely useless. A good map cannot be but an extreme simplification of the territory and this is precisely why it helps in getting one's bearings. A good theory is the same: it is a map that simplifies and can successfully orient us in a geopolitical analysis .

THE "CIVILIZATION" CONCEPT Huntington starts with considering the concept of civilization a word that in its singular or plural form can take on different 4

connotations. vVhen singular, it is a word of ancient traditions in the Western world. "Civilization", d uring the Enlightenment was opposed to "barbarism", but he means the term in its plural form . There are different fundamental civilizations: the Western one, Islam, Sinicism and Hinduism. Then there are the ones less defined from the politicostrategic vimvpoint, which must struggle for their position: the Japanese one, the Slav-Orthodox and t h e L atin -American . The African civilization is considered by itself, owing to the role played by the European colonization (not a single "guiding State" has taken shape, not even in an embryo stage). Huntington a sserts that the growing conflict among different civilizations is the most dangerous aspect of the new interna-

Above. One of the many mosque8 in Baghdad. Right. A view of Istanbul.

tional scenario . But, how can these civilizations be defined? He says that they can be objectively classified following five criteria: language, religion, customs, history and institutions. But this objective element is not enough , because also the populations subjectively identify themselves with this "macrolevel" of civi li zation (the microlevels are ethnic group, religion and nation). This is a first questionable point in his theory. First , he outlines five objective criteria for assigning a given human group to a civilization, then he says that the criteri-

The levels of the clash among civilizations are of two different

mentions four of them: the classic, "realistic or "governmentalist" theory based.-on national States pursuing their interests within a global frame ofinstabili.ty. Such theory would be included within the "clash of civilizations" in that the States, a lthough they do not disappear, after 1989 change and redefine their a l liances on the basis of cultural proximity. This is the "One World" theory, the theory of t he "end of history" and "globalization", which foreshadows the disappearance of the classic actors of international relations. According to Huntington, this could be accepted, but what makes it obsolete is the fact that it envisages a tendency to aggregation, not only in an economic sense but also acco rding to a re-aggrega-

Then t here is the \Vest and Japan against the others: a partial theory that can be retrieved, since also Huntington sees an opposition between the West and China or Islam, not only on a politico-economic basis, but mostly for cultural reasons. Finally, the theory of general political chaos. According to the author, anarchy is only a threat. Actu ally a new order, based on civilization, is now in preparation. As regards regional clashes (microlevel), Huntington introduces the concept of "fault conflict", ,vhich considers the existence of a "limes" between different human groups, with the possibility of clashes, due mostly to religious reasons and - ,vhat is more important - capable of ral-

kinds: a microlevel (regional) and a macrolevel (global). At global level the dange r consists in a head-on collision of two or more great civilizations. At this point the author criticizes the classic theories of international relations which preceded his own. He

tion of blocs of States belonging to the same civilization. The "Two Worlds" theory, envisages a confrontation between the planet's "north" and "south"; the latter being described, with an abstraction, as the most backward place.

lying other States, which would intervene in support of the belligerent considered closer to their cultural identity. A practical example: when writing his article in 1993, Huntington identified the war in Bosnia as a "fault conflict", foretelling Russia's support

on is the progressive and subject ive se lf-identification by the same human groups. Therefore, the author cannot ahvays explain how ,ve can subdivide the world, or rather the world order, according to a scheme of belonging to "civilizations". Apart from the fact that, on the other hand, some important cultures and nations, such as Indonesia, Thai land, Vietnam and Korea are not included in any fundamental civilization. For example, Indonesia, which has a strong Hindu tradition, is the largest Muslim State in the ~rorld.

THE LEVELS OF THE CLASH

Le~.

The outshirts of Kabul.

Right. The Statue of Liberty in New Yorlz.

to Serbia on the basis of the comm o n S l a v-Orthodox identity, while the Vatican and Germany supported Croatia. All this a pparently pertains to reality, but if we take a closer look at what has actually happened in the history of the last thirteen year s, this the ory len ds i t self to some doubts. In the Bosnian case, for example, Russia and the Orthodox authorities rushed t o make great pronouncements in favour of the Serbs , but the only concrete mili tary action was that taken by the United States in support of ihe M uslim culture (the Bos nian s); th e sam e hap pened again in 1999 in Kosovo, wi t h a m a ssive intervention of the whole West. The concep t of "fault conflict" and its automatisms, which should supposedly lead the "guiding States" of the r espective civilizati on s t o inter vene in order to help th eir "brother peoples", shows its limitations: recent history proves that things do not work that way. De clarations of principle are on e thing, but concrete act ions are another matter. In successive writings, Huntington inte rpreted the interven tion of the greatest Western Sta te in fav our of the 6

Muslims as an attempt to appear as the "leading State" of the Isla mic world. In Hun tington's theory, the ''leading State" concept is very important. An other contradictory p oint: when Huntington men tions t he "fault conflict" (keystone for understanding the new internationa l con nicts), he st a tes t hat t h e "third level" States (th e "second le vel" ones arc geogra phically closer to the rival parties) would intervene in order to mediate and to avoid a macro-regional conflict. Then "civilization" as a reason for g lobal conflicts would be reappraised, kee ping its supremacy only in r egional conflicts . The great powers - H untington says intervene on the basis of their economic and str a teg ic-security interests. (i.e . th e classic ones). Consequenily there is a continuity between the classic schemes and those valid for the 2ist Century, and this is a lso the a uthor's opinion. Thus the classic th eory con tinues to be valid . When Huntingto n introduces concr ete cases, such as the Armenian-Azerbaij a ni conflict, his statement is correct, but also pro ble matic in relation to h is model: Tur key a nd Ira n gave

raise to a competition based on historical a nd long-standing reasons, in order to h elp the Azerbaija nis against the Armenian s while, on the basis of t he "cla sh of civili za tion s" the ory, t hey should have supported the Azer baijanis (Mu slims) against the Christian-Orthodox Armeni ans. The medium/long-ter m historical motives cont inue to be very important, a lso after 1989. One cou ld also ask how Huntington expl ain s the close military an d strategic cooperation between Turkey and Israel. Despite the internal dissen t of some political form a tions , the Turkish S tate continues to carry on this policy. The 'lurkish lea ders responsible for t he Countr y's foreign policy actually follow a very classic line and proce e d in tun e wit h the U .S. a nd NATO for security reasons. H unti ngton's sch eme, particularly when he underlines the religious fa ctors, shows its limitations when compar ed with r ecent history.

THE UNIVERSALISM OF THE WEST Th e m ost inter esting pa rt of th e American scholar's reasoning is perhaps his critical a nalysis of the u niver salism of the West, an attitude that may cause conflicts. The liberal and democrati c cul t ure of the West is strongly universalistic, from the philosophical viewpoint more than from the political one, for it contains universal values good for a ny part of the globe, a nd can unleash the strong resistance of cultures still attached to their tradi tions. It is interesting to remark Huntington's distinction between "mod-

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ernization" and "westernization". "While many authors consider modernization an economic notion and westernization a cultural one, he separates the two concepts and maintains that, since the eighties, the latter has been regressing. In order t o bear out this thesis, he produces a great number of data and statistics, for example, on the diffusion of the English language, considered the world's Esperanto. Between the sixties and the nineties, the number of people \Vho had English as their mother tongue went clown from 9.4% to 7.6%. Furthermore, many nations carry out protectionist policies in the cultural field, precisely at the moment when they try to get hold of technological and military innovations of Western/American origin. A dual attitude prevails: Ame;ica

is alternatively a model to be copied or opposed. This is one of the problems which, according to Huntington, will compel the West to think about its occidentalist mentality and its idea of "civilizing mission".

THE CLASSIC THEORY This theory of international relations, which in short maintains that conflicts break out for politico-strategic reasons (re.lated to the security of the State or to power policies that threaten it) and for economic interests (the States try to protect and/or expand th e ir sphere of influence), cannot be easily ch a llenged by a "culturalistic" thesis based on t he differences among civilizations, considered the real

causes that can trigger conflicts after the Cold War and the bipolar era. Nevertheless, the problem of Western universalism introduced by Huntington is also used by the author to tackle the most controversial point of his thesis: the relationship between the West and I slam. He puts forward a very strong thesis on Islam , in disagreement with most observers of international relations who, after rJ/11, concentrate mainly on "Islamic fundamenta lism" which has been greatly expanding since the seventies. In the "clash of civilizations" the problem is not fundamentalism but rather Islam in itself. Therefore, not its politicoideological radicalization, but the Islamic culture as such is a possible source of clashes with the West. 7

The Islamic religion, according to this thesis, is historically defined as a "warmongering" r eligion which, for geographical reasons, has produced a certain contiguity between the Muslim world and the Christian-Western and the non-Islamic Asian worlds. A cultural and religious world marked by a kind of "indigestibility" which has made it impossible for the Nations which suffered its effects to absorb and integTate the huge wave of Islamic immigrntion. Thus this conflict is not based on "fundamentalism" but on the very nature of Islam. This is the thesis which exposed Huntington to the violent attacks of those who do not con-

lack of political power, compared to its demographic strength and economic potential. In this sense, his thesis echoes that of the "North-South" contrast but is reexamined, giving an extreme importance to the religious-cultural factor. His considerations are very sharp, but if one looks empirically at the events and asks about the great conflicts of the bipolar era, it is not difficult to detect the weak points in his reasoning. In 1991 there was the Gulf War; in 1999 NATO intervened in Kosovo; the U.S. went into action in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. There have been regional conflicts in different parts of the world, in Yugoslavia, Kashmir and Africa, but if we ex-

Above. The famous Azadi monument in Teheran.

sider Islam a homogeneous block but rather a more composite reality.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH We can only touch on the Islamic world of today, since a deep analysis would require long reflections. In Huntington's view, Islam is obsessed by the relative 8

amine the main international conflicts, can we say that they were caused by "clashes of civilizations"? This is the question that we have to answer in order to understand if Hun t ington's theory can help us to work out a political strategy for a "new world order". It ,vould be difficult to define the Gulf War of 1991 as "clash of civilizations" since at that time the U.S. created a close

Left. Sarajeuo seen from. the old Turlcish Fort.

net of a lliances in the Middle East and were supported by other Arab Countries against Sa ddam Hussein . Those Countries did not join the Alliance on the basis of cultural or religious motivations, but followed classic foreign-policy guidelines centred on

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•1 ••·••1 111

security requirements and regional interests. In NATO's war against Serbia, in 1999, the West intervened in favour of the Muslim Bosnian people agains t a Christian-Orthodox country. Obviously Russia offered its solidarity to the Serbian people but certainly did not take any military action in favour of its "Orthodox brethren". The question of the war in Afghanistan, in 2001, is much more complex than "civilization", although the cultural aspects should not be undervalued, espe-

cially considering that Country's perception of the West. As regards the conflict in Iraq, nobody dares to forete ll the fu ture of the Country set free from Saddam Hussein's tyranny. Nevertheless, the Americans, with international support, are trying to proceed to the material, political and moral reconstruction of a Nation where an exported guerrilla ·warfare is also being fought, often with fundamentalist connotations . Now, if we ask ourselves what kind of world security the U.S.

must face after the end of bipola risrn, the most appropriate one would seem to be the vision that echoes the theses upheld by Nicholas Spykeman and Harold McKinder, two American experts ,vho looked at "Eurasia" - which they define "heartland", i.e. world-island - as a decisive pivot for controll ing the Earth. Actually the American foreign policy of the nineties and that of the present day, with its attempt at creating a large geopolitical area, which should go from the Atlantic to the Caspian sea, inclucl9

ing in such a Âˇwestern security system also the Russian Federation and envisaging a partnership for the Middle East, offers an approach different from Huntington's "culturalist" one. It is in the West's interest to create a greater politica l, eco nomic and military integration, in order to preven t the States that have other civilizations from exploiting the internal differences. The essential challenge of the present is to win the heart of the masses so that the terrorist networks will not regenerate after one of their knots is destroyed. This is the objective and it is clear enough. Restraining the expansion of the Islamic powers' and China's military capabilities is certainly a traditional concern of the United States, and has a lot to do with the concept of security and balance, but very little with the clash of civilizations. One could add that this scheme seems to be appropriate for explaining the dynamics within some Countries (mostly Western), and it is not by chance that Huntington, in some pages, tackles the problem of mass migra-

tions, which would cause the birth of different "communities" within the same nation. Today, this problem is strongly felt in the West, because it concerns the social life of the individual Countries.

CONCLUSIONS It is not the first time that one tries to interpret the international context in terms of "civilizations". Already in the 20th Century, British historian Arnold Toynbee was doing it in his book "Comparative Civilizations". It seems that in moments of crisis and transition from one order to another, or after catastrophic conflicts, the crisis of cultural identity leads to the assertion of these visions which try to cover a very wide range. But, at the same time, the real mechanisms of international relations remain rather vague. These mechanisms are determined by history, and therefore are not eternally identical; nevertheless they have elements of continuity which can explain international politics better than the "culturalist" theses.

Above. A panoramic view of Tohyo. Left. The famous London Bridge.

After all, the State -Nation model was realized in the second half of the 20th Century, mostly in Countries that, after their decolonisation, copied the European model in a different context, while the 19 th Century ones

in reality were imperial States (France, Great Britain and the newcomers). Precisely as the number of ne,v States was growing enormously, in the West the State-Nation was assuming a new form, the "bloc" (Atlantic Alliance and, to a lesser extent, the EEC and then the EU, in opposition to the Soviet bloc). When some theories tell us about the evolution of the S tates, it is necessary to understand what kind of State we are talking about. They a re not all the same,

globalisation does not have the same effect on all of them. Let us think of the differences between the U.S. and FYROM. What is lacking above all is a description of the in ternal situation of the State: it is never a monol ith, it i.s rather made up of many systems. What is going through a crisis today is the Welfare State, 路w hich has been in great favour for a long time in the second half of the 20th Century. To point out t h e problem in cultural terms means to say

very little about the relation between economic globalization and the national States . the changes in progress will not lead only to future international or internal crises. After the dependence/cooperation relation, typical of the Cold War, it should be possible to aim, more simply, at defending autonomy and interdependence. 0

路路路 Expert in strategic sciences 11

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A Jov1rviey ivi Sv1davi, t~e scevie of t~e loviqest coviflict ivi t~e avicievit covitivievit's ~istory

T~e ivifiviite stor!:'.j of t~e old ~atreds tviat are .batviiviq tvie reqiovi ivi .blood •ERITREA ..,,

Sito a.rcheologico

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N UBA Gruppo ctnico

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Citta fortificat• govcrnativa

Front ior;i tradizionaJc t ra Nord e Sud, fisu ta. da.l govcrno colonialu

brit:rnnico nr.l 1956

Arc.l panial"!cnt C <;pntr ollata dalllE,orcito

popolaro di liberazionc 1Cfol .·Sud;m al 31 ottobr o 2002

VEGETAZIONE

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KENYA

FONTE PER lA VcGETAZIONE, E:ROS OATA CENTER. U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NG MAPS

by Giovanni Bucciol':,

for more t~avi vialf a cevittAry two etviviic gro1,1ps viave beevi covifrovitivig eac~ otvier: tvie Arabs, wviite, M1,1slim avid traditiovial leaders of t~e Co1,1vitry, to tvie viortn, avid to tvie SOIAtVI tne Cnristiavi avid Aviimist bladâ‚Źs wno for years viave .beevi demavidivig eq1,1al rigvits. Tvie recevit agreemevit ovi t~e f1,1t1Are str1Act1Are of tvie Co1,1vitry evivisages a travisitiovial pviase of more t~avi six !1ears, witvi a uovervimevit of viatiovial 1,1viity, followed by a referevid1Am, Tviis is viot ovily tvie first accord .beivig acviieved, it is also a vital opporruviity wviicvi ma~es 1,15 ~ope ivi a peace tviat vias beevi expected for too maviy years. ast year, in June, an agreement was reached in Sudan between the Khartoum Government and the rebels in the south. This should put an end to more than 21 years of fights and grief. The treaty provides for a certain autonomy between North and South, equal sharing of the oil profits, softening of the Islamic law, particularly towards the non-Muslims in the capital, a different monetary system and, in six-years' time, a referendum for the constitution of a national government or the partition of the Country. Sudan is situated at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the vVhite Nile and its territory covers 2.5 million square kilometres, with 25.5 million inhabitants. It is Africa's largest Country, but only 5% of the land is cultivated. The government is republican, ruled by the military, the prevailing language is Arabic, 73% of the population are Muslim, 16.7% are animist and 5.6% are Catholic.

A TORMENTED HISTORY Sudan, or N ubia (1) made itself known to the world with the construction of the Aswan dam in Egypt. Northern Nubia was swallowed up by the water and practically disappeared when Lake Nasser was formed, and with it went an immense wealth of traditions, history and culture. "Lower Nubia" was already mentioned in Augustus' time. Several garrisons were established, chosen mainly for strategic reasons. After the defeat of the inhabitants of Meroe, the Meroites were exempted from the payment of tributes with the treaty of Samos of 21 B.C. and the Nubian1;, were granted free access to the temple of Isis of Philae, whose feast was celebrated on winter solstices. The Romans, in exchange' were free to travel the gold routes of the eastern desert, which surrounds Meroe with its vaguely golden-coloured sands. Indeed, Pliny even assumes the existence of a city "entirely of gold", Berenice Panchrisia. For three centuries the Meroites were loyal allies of the Romans and provided logistic support to the explorers sent by Nero between 63 and 66 A.D. in quest of the sources of the Nile in upper Nubia.

THE PRESENT SITUATION The contrast between the North and the South of the Country started in 1956, when the British considered that the colonial period was over. The declaration of independence compelled the various ethnic and linguistic groups to solve their problems by themselves. While in the South there are countless tribes with their respective languages, the Arabs in the North have joined together. Bloody clashes are therefore a constant problem in Sudan and in 1983 a civil war broke up, and still continues. Under the leadership of the former Commander of the Army, Dr John Garang, the Southern Sudanese oppose the process of Islamization. The whole South, inhabited by a Christian and Animist population, is defended and controlled by SPLA (Sudanese P eople's Liberation Army), which also favoured the armed defence of the people. The Liberation Army is against the Islamic regime directed by Khartoum, which does not accept any form of democracy. The Islamic regime is subjected to the sharia, the Koranic law, to which everything occunÂˇing in the State, in public life and even in private life, must conform. The Koran does not consider the separation of religion and State. The only separation is that between the world of Islam (dar al Islam) and the world of war (dar al harb), an expression which includes all the so-called "non believers", i.e. those who belong to other religions.

Meroe's disappearance and the absence of Rome between the 4 th and 6 th Century A.D. favour ed the settlement of the Blemmes, a tribe settled in the Sah a ra, region between the Âˇwest hank of the Nile and the Red Sea. Bet\.veen the 4 th and the 5 th Century, numerous missionaries came from Egypt and in about 100 years completely evangelized the feuda l states of Nabodia, Makouria and Alodia, which began to decline on the arrival of the Arabs who, in 641 A.D., start14

ed to isolate the Nubian courts from the othe r Christians of the :Mediterranean. The Arab attacks were withstood by Nabod ia, whose monarchy 111.erged wit h Ma kour ia's in the VIII Century, thus ensuring the survival of Christianity until the age of the Mamelukes. The clashes between Moslems and Christians ended ,vith the "baqt", a bilateral socioeconomic pact. On this occasion th e Muslims noticed the military bravery of the Nubia ns and discovered the gold mines. Between

the 13 th and rn th Century the whole Sudan was arabized, after the destruction of the Kingdoms of Nabodia and Makour ia by the M amelu kes and other groups com ing in successive waves from the Arabian peninsul a , and the disappearance of the Kingdom of Alodia which, after the Byzantine immigrations, was repl aced by the Sultanate of Funj . Thus the Arabs gained control of the Upper Nile and brough t almost all the inhabitants of Suda n under the Islamic faith. It is in te r esti ng to take a glance at the birth, development and extinction of the Mamelukes, from "maml?k", a term which in Arabic means "owned" or "slave". In 1230, an E gypti an Sul tan bought 12,000 i\llameluk slaves with th e intent of making a legion of soldiers out of them. But they could not tolerate their condition of serfdom and in 1250 killed the last Turkoman prince and put one of their own on the throne of Egypt, Âˇw ith the title of Sul tan . Their rule lasted 257 years, until 1517, when the last Mam eluk leader, Tu man Bey, was hanged . Nevertheless, the Mameluks became more powerfu l than the Ottoman s . T hey were able to use the British carbines and wore a belt with two pistols and a scimitar. On his arrival in Egypt, Napoleon ma d e them his personal guard, thus keeping them quiet. After his departure, the Mameluks got their strength back. On March l ,1811: l\liehmet Ali Pasha ordered the Albanians to exterminate them. Some flew to N ubia hut, after fiv e centuries, the traces of this people faded away.

THE ITALIANS IN KHARTOUM

After 1830, the Italian doctors, chemists, geologists, engineers and cartographers are joined by priests, explorers and soldiers. As a matter of fact, in 1875, Captain Romolo Gessi, who in Crimea has

Left. Representation of the warrior Goel Apedemah.

Rigâ€˘ht. . Unfurling the sails on. a boat on the Nile.

been a collaborator of Colonel Charles Gordon's, the legendary Governor-General of Nubia, enters the scene. He is given the task of exploring Lake Albert and this earns him the position of "Governor of the Upper Nile" for 4 years. During his explorations, Gessi is joined by Captain Gaetano Casati, in fulfilment of Gessi's request for an officer skilled in cartography, in order to make topographic surveys. In 1876, Casati ventures to the interior of Africa, b ut after many vicissitudes returns to Italy. In 1882, Giacomo Bartolomeo Massedaglia, a Venetian, enlists in the ranks of the Officers of the Anglo-Egyptian Army and participates in the first repressions of the Mahdist insurrections in Sudan. The most important among the missionaries is Father Daniele Comboni, who has recently been canonized . H e was born on March 15 , 1831, of a peasant family, at Limone sul Garda, in the province of Brescia, grew up in Verona and became a priest. At the age of 26 he left for Central Africa "consecrat ing his life to Christ, in favour of the African peoples even until martyrdom". H e does not leave with the paternalistic attitude of a rich epulo who looks down on the poor, he want s to spread the Gospel as a man of his time, a "prophet of cooperation" . In 1864 h e submits his idea to the Vatican: to regenerate Africa through itself, "to save Africa with Africa". Daniele Jarur, a former slave in Sudan, is the first Combonian priest and the first Sudanese bishop . In 1877 Father Comboni founds the Institute of Combonian Missionaries, which in 1882 is also joined by nuns. Its motto is "Negritude or Death". Father Comboni dies

A MISSIONARY'S WITNESS by Serena SartinF

Omer Has:;an Ahmed Al-Bashir, President of' the Republic.

in 1881. In 1883 the Combonian Fathers publish the magazine "NigTizia", the missionaries' most influential voice. Saint Daniele Comboni has been a forerunner of the globalization of solidarity, a concept which is often mentioned by John Paul II, because of its supranational connotation. His sanctity Âˇwas recognized thanks to a miracle for a Muslim woman. On November 11, 1997 Lubna Abdel Aziz is hospitalised to undergo a caesarean section and has a postoperative haemorrhage. The miracle occurs after the prayers said by the Combonian Sister Bianca Benatelli, who had previously asked the permission of Lubna and her husband. The prayer saves the woman.

THE MAHDl'S ERA Muhammad Ahmed ibn 'Abd Allah, or Mahdi (the well guided), was born in th e Dongo la province in 1844. In 1883, with the surrender of the Angl oEgyptian garrison of El Obeid 16

Sudan is striving to come out of a bloody war which has been going on for decades, causing an emergency situation of appalling proportions. Vle are facing the longest conflict in African history. In this situation, the Combonian fathers are trying to assuage the sufferings of the Sudanese. Since 1857 they have never deserted them, they know their history and are therefore capable of understanding and explain their reality, which is so far from our own. It is precisely for this reason that we have interviewed Father Giovanni Antonini. This 68-year old missionary has lived in Karthoum from 1965 to 1980 and again from 1987 until 1995. In Sudan, he worked in humanitarian activities and to provide aid to the populations at the centres and institutes of the Combonian missionaries; thus, he can give us a direct and synthetic testimony. With Father Antonini we discover a world where a daily struggle must be conducted in favour of the weakest, who in such a tragic situation are in need of everything. The problems of the refugees are added to those of the people who shelter them. Thousands of people must be fed and cared for. They are the martyrs of war, who cannot even choose where to live. Incredibly, they were born in a land rich in resources, and are entitled to a better future. The possibility of development depends mainly on the immense oil fields. Nevertheless, the hope of the Sudanese must reckon with those who want to grow rich leaving the situation of the majority unchanged.

How many missionaries are there in Sudan? The Combonian Fathers in the North are 54, and the Combonian Sisters 81. In the South they are respectively 37 and 38. Then there are about 100 missionaries from other religious institutions. Besides we ,nust not forget the local clergy: 130 Sudanese priests just in the North, and they are growing, both in quantity and quality. This makes the Sudanese more mature and capable of assuming direct and responsible functions. As a matter of fact, our task is actually that of supporting the local priests, who later will have to operate autonomously on the territory.

What is the situation from the viewpoint of humanitarian assistance? The work carried out by the Church has changed throughout the years. It decreased in the south, since the war changed the needs of the population which, being on the run, moves continuously and has no chance of getting systematic, long-term jobs. The primary emergency is hunger, which is a real weapon of mass destruction. This does not depend on the land or the people's inability to work. Hunger is an effect which is tragically wanted by the conflicting factions. The missionaries and the Church, particularly in the south, have a first-priority problem to tackle: feeding thousands and thousands of Sudanese. In the north the situation is slightly different. It is tense and difficult, this is true, but it has improved, since now it is possible to work more systematically, even if the policy of the Khartoum government goes against the missionaries' activity. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that the Sudanese are trying not to make the situation worse with restrictive laws. I can see concrete steps forward in this direction.

For instance, in the early eighties the Catholics in the Khartoum Archdiocese were about 150,000. Now they are over a million. The increase is due mainly to the immigration of enormous crowds from the south and the constant systematic aid provided by the clergy, especially in the schools.

What are the initiatives carried out by the missionaries? Our main concern is that of creating the minimum structures for the survival of the population, by providing food, shelter, water and medical assistance. A s missionaries, we have the structures which permit us to implement these projects and provide a minimum assistance. But, for example, as far as food is concerned, our policy is that of buying locally the victuals with funds coming from abroad, thus encouraging the local production. Our activity concerns food, medical aid, social assistance and work. In short, the primary needs.

What are, in your opinion, the negative factors which drag on in the conflict and the knotty problems to be solved? In Sudan, the most disquieting element is the fact that a unitary State was built without the existence of a united Country. The State is there, but there is no national conscience. First of all, because the State consists of ethnically and culturally different peoples. Secondly, because the government is formed by an "Arabized" cultural group which does not recognize to other cultures the fiÂˇeedom and the dignity of existing. With the unification, therefore, an Islamic conscience would be forced on the whole territory. This unleashes the reaction of the Christians and also of the followers of the African traditions, together with the reactions of the Moslems in the south, who do not accept the Islamic model that the government wants to impose. To say that this is only a war of Moslems against Christians is not the whole truth: more than a religious conflict, it is a clash of cultures, languages and customs, with economic and political elements, which have produced further complications. Altogether, it is a boiling mixture. The Khartoum government is formed by an oligarchy which controls economy, bureaucracy and power, supporting a strong unitary State with an Islamic constitution. The South wants a federal constitution. Thus the_various religions of the Country would be guaranteed equal autonomy, together with the liberty of choosing the type of constitution they prefer.

How do you see the peace agreements? Today there are greater prospects to reach them, since now the international community is deeply involved. The majority of the Khartoum government want the readmission of Sudan in the assembly of Nations and in the international diplomatic system, in order to enter the economic I financial market and to develop the Country' assets, especially as regards oil and mineral resources. But there are still many problems to be solved: first of all, the type of State wanted. Secondly, the legitimacy of the law on the "Sharia", which is only recognized in the north. Then there is a debate on the statute of Khartoum: as capital and centre of the Country, should it accept the Islamic law, or not? If the answer is "yes", will it become a city of Moslems only? It would not be fair. In conclusion, it seems that there is still a long way to go. * Researcher of History of Civilizations

/,#>

Mustafa Osman Ismail, 111inister uf Foreign Affairs.

after a siege of six months, he takes possession of a rich booty. He is considered the new prophet, bearer of justice a nd peace into th e world and, with his charisma, he recruits a very large number of men, a kind of ragtag army, not devoid of a certain bravery. Their number increases continuously and a hierarchic structure becomes necessary: 3 Caliphs are in command of several Emirs, who keep the relations \Vith the subordinate tribes. El Obeid brings him luck, since - following the example of the Czarist armies, which let Napoleon advance into Russia, setting "General winter" against t he French - he counters Colonel William Hicks, Com mander of the Anglo-Egyptian army with "General desert", lets him advance, loaded with weapons and increasingly short of food and water, and defeats him. Then the Mahdi decides to leave the desert, where he cannot be caught and routed, in order to take Khartoum. On February 18, 1884, the British Government sends General Gordon,

former Governor of the city from 1873 to 1880. The Mahdi blocks the fluvial traffic and cuts the telegraph line, thus putting a strain on the enemy's nervous system . At the beginning of March, the Mahdi starts the siege of Khartoum ,vith 30,000 Dervishes and, on the 20th of the same month, sends a letter to Gordon, inviting him to "surrender, convert and join his army". On August 8, London's Government sends an armed expedition which stops at Debba, 200 km from Khartoum, while the provisions of food are running short. On September 10, Colonel Stewart, the expeditionary force 's deputy Commander sets sail towards Egypt with a small escort, with the intention of saving the European community. He also carries a message to the Pope from Gordon, but the flight ends at Berber. On November 12, the Mahdi positions the artillery seized from Hicks and on January 26, 1885 launches the attack. Khartoum falls within six hours and Gordon is killed. Two days later, the capital is reached by l'l'iajor Kitchener's vanguard, which has been marching towards Khartoum under Lord Walseley's orders, but the British are pushed back by the Mahdist forces . The following day the Mahdi moves to Omdurman, but on June 22 he dies in mysterious circumstances. The city, with 150,000 inhabitants , becomes the capital of Mahdia. The independence lasts 13 years. But Great Britain does not renounce its possessions and does not tolerate the defeat of 1885. In 1898 it sends Kitchener, now a Colonel, with 20,000 men and 100 cannons . On September 1, Omdurman is taken (2) . The British overcome a disorganized and poorly armed enemy. The ioll is 48 British dead against 11,000 Mahdists. Omdurman is razed to the ground, the Mahdi's mau soleum destroyed and his re 18

Water wells are lunclamental for i;urvival in the dei;ert.

mains dispersed. The joint British-Egyptian rule of Sudan continues until 1922. The longed-for independence, for which the Mahdi had been fighting, arrives on January 1, 1956.

THE PRESENT The military junta, in power since 1989, after having overthrown the last democratically elected Government and exiled the moderate Islamic parties, after the events of 9/11 has become softer and, also to come out of the international isolation, has decided to participate in the war against terrorism. After this decision, the U.S. lifted the economic embargo which had been hard on the Country. The sanctuary given to bin-Laden and Carlos in luxury villas in Khartoum's outskirts are now an ugly memory. In October 2002, the Government and the SPLA, with the American mediation, agreed on a ceasefire which, except for a few cases of small account, seems to hold. The reason: a 1500 km oil pipeline going from the Muglad basin in the south, with a wealth of 3000 billion barrels of crude oil, to Port Sudan. The rebels control the territory and the Government controls the oil. They need each other. Some fear, perhaps wrongly, that the oil profits will never fall into the pockets of the people. But the recent easing of tension seems to be eradicating the ancestral root s of hate and violence between the Arab masters from the north and those who have always been considered the African serfs from the south; between the northern Moslerns, Christians and followers of traditional cults, and the farmers and shepherds of the entire territory for the control of water wells and pastures. The

cease-fire has blotted out tlie guerrilla warfare almost completely, but the recurring draught, hunger, raids of slave traders and the mortal diseases, such as AIDS (3) and leprosy, are unfortunately the cruel evils which the Government is trying to cope with, and which cause the cries of pain from a part of mankind where a child die s every seven minutes. Oil does not provide certitudes of a better fu ture to the tribes and seems anything but a unifying factor. Until recently the U.N. used to para-

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chute food and medicines, because Khartoum did not welcome the presence of observers and foreign operators . The majority of SPLA wants full independence from the North, but the leader of the rebels insists on a "united and secular" Sudan, free from Khartoum's theocratic regime. In the South, the Government is building a number of roads, but its opponents maintain that they are realized to meet the requirements of the oil trade with nor respect for the needs of the population. In any case, the oil wells are

surrounded by 5-metre high embankments, floodlit and protected by Government soldiers, in order to prevent and repress the rebels' attacks. At any rate, no major oil company is drilling in Sudan. In the early nineties, when the U.S. included Sudan in the list of the Countries that gave shelter and cover to terrorists, all American companies left the Country. Today there are engineers from China, Malaysia, Canada and some Islamic Countries, and they are attempting a "brand new" globalization experiment in the pla ins of

Sahel. They form the "Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company" which pumps 240,000 barrels of crude daily. The Government expelled 3000 persons suspected of being terrorists, freed all political prisoners and let the opposition parties "take a breath". Apparently, for some time, t he split has not been between north and south, but between centre and periphery. This is main tained by some top-level intellectuals, who also say that the war is over and the Southerners have co m e to the north to join the

Arabs, towards whom they show no hostility since by now they are half-breeds . Oil, they say, is a blessing which will keep Sudan united. In any case, north of Athara the pipeline is patrolled by Mujahidin, also because the area is claimed by the Beja rebels. In the economic and financial sector, the growth rate has been very low in the period 1965-1980, and even negative in the eighties. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the industrial Countries have insisted that the African economies, lately including the Sudanese one, should undergo structural reforms that would enable them to exit from a twenty-year period of political and economic failures. The aid started to be reconsidered and linked to the reduction of the public sector, but with no positive results so far. Everybody knew that, in a context of uncertain legal norms and frail institutions, strong market economies could never develop. In the name of "good governance" the recipients of foreign resources - such as Sud;.r n - \vere asked t o proceed to structural changes in the economy and to reform the administrative and political systems. In Sudan's case, hopefully the present "pacification" period will continu e and become a real peace. After all, also this Country, just as the Countries which enjoyed deco lonization after Âˇwwn, was thrown into the wide sea of democracy hoping that it Âˇw ould learn how to S\Vim. The rules of a good democracy, being ne\\, to them, have made many of these Countries ungovernable . Rather than governing for the people 's good, the new r ul ing classes had very different and more urgent concerns. They partly failed in their duty to create a national sentiment in Countries where the bonds of tribal and religious loyalty were pre-eminent. Furthermore, they neglected the development of resources - especially oil - w ithin their nation, 20

and the socio-economic modernization necessary to make up for lost time . The democratic and economic developments must proceed together.

THE UGLY SITUATION INDARFUR As we said the recent peace treaty, which provides a l egal form to the ceasefire achieved in Khartoum, in October 2002, between the Government a nd the SPLA, puts a stop, "almost" completely, to more than 21 years of tragedies . I n this case, rather than "peace" it is a treaty of "pacification". The Italian diplomacy participated with great dedication, and succeeded in keeping together a quarrelsome meeting. The document's fault is that it does not consider the need to disband t he Janjaweed militias, which for more than a year have been slaughtering the populations of Darfur, the western part of the Country, inhabited by black people, most of them Moslems. The "Human Rights vVatch" denounces the genocide and declares that the U.N. Security Council does nothing but "mon itor" the situation. Those poor populations - 120,000 of them are refugees in Chad and almost one million who have fled to the Sudanese countryside, with no water and food, are protected by two guerrilla movements . The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees installed hospitals, reception camps and fooddis tri bu tion centres far from Chad's borders. But the Janjaweed militiamen get there all the same and terrorize the exiles. In southern Darfur there is a lso an Italian cooperation organization which, after t he end of the Government 's prohibitions, im ported a shipload of medicines, tents, generators, food, water tanks and blankets. As usual, not all parties concerned arc present at the negotiations table. In the

Right. 1-Vatering dromedaries.

specific case , the Government and the SPLA were present, as if the dispute were between North and South, but the representatives of SLA and JElVI deserted the meeting. Also for this reason the accord cannot be considered a real peace agreement.

CONCLUSIONS Sudan's is a democracy which has difficulties in taking off but, with a serious commitment in favour of freedom, equality and dignity, its development will be possible. A "humane" globalization can be promoted through example, assistance and a dialogue leading to an accord. Globalization, being a wealth-producing system, poses the problem of redistribution and utilization of resources and while, at national level, this task is assumed by the S t ate, at international leve l there is no precise reference point. It should not be forgotten that Sudan, which risks to become richer but not very developed, is a mostly Islamic Country. As such it suffers from a certain deficit of democracy. In 1986, John Paul II, who in his ecumenical travels has not neglected Khartoum, at the inauguration of a number of intercon:fessional meetings, said that the "identity passions" (5) are the greatest danger. It is precisely owing to the social nature of the religions that the collective life generates and promotes the idea of force, unfortunately meant not as moral strength but as political power. In this case it is essential that the representatives of all religions share the "sense of the divine", as was stressed by the Pope in Assisi on January 24, 2002, against hatred, war and fideist terrorism. The Sudanese

authorities are duly taking note of this. Finally, Khartoum will have to reconstitute a generation which, from 1983, has been seriously reduced. Since then, in consequence of the civil war, at least 20,000 children have lost contact wi th their families. Many of them ventured on a travel through East Africa, also on foot, eating leaves and roots , and r eached the refugee camps of Ethiopia and Kenya. Some died of starvation and dehydration on the w ay, or were torn to pieces by l ions . Within a project of "permanent resettlement", 3600 children have been r eceived in the United States. But after 9/11 the attitude towards the refugees is changed. The fear of terrorism caused a sharp reduction of the resettlement quotas . Before, the Americans alone received about 70,000

refugees a year, absorbing 70% of the entire contingent fixed by the United Nations.

* Major General (ret.)

NOTES (1) Territory of the N ubians, people of Central Africa, who in the 3 rd Century A.D. settled in the land of the "people with a burnt face" . The writers of ancient times called all the regions south of Egypt "Aethiopia", that is "lands inhabited by individuals with a burnt face". (2) vVinston Church ill, a young officer at the time, reported: All of a sudden the darli line which, seen from a distance, looked lihe ci de fensive wall, began to move. They were men, not shrubs. All a/, once

another huge mass of men ap peared on the ridge and the whole side of the hill seemed to start nwving towards us. (3) According to a research conducted by ISPI, Sudan is immersed in Su b-Saharan Africa, where 253 million people have AIDS (70%1 of all adults and 80% of all children. 15,000 new cases occur in t h e area every day, 95% of them in the developing Countries. (4-) The term has been borrowed from "sustainable devel opment". According to the Brundland Report (UN) of 1987, this is a developme nt capable of meeting the needs of t h e present generations wi thou t jeopardizing the futu re generations' possibility of satisfYing theirs. (fi) The manifestation of the need to recog11ize ourselves, often mixed with a longing for power which tend to use a religion as an instrument of hostility towards other religions.

-, A comprehensive view of the Black Continent, rich in indigence and full of immeasurable resources

In the future, with a wise distribution of aid, Africa might indeed give a valid contribution to globalization

The African problems are also at the root of an often illegal immigration, which swarms daily into the West. The commitment of the most advanced Countries, if wisely directed, could solve many difficult situations. Europe, for its part, could take advantage of the proximity of a Continent, which is potentially capable of providing, in the near future, numerous useful opportunities in many different ways. Starting precisely with the correct use of its immense human and natural resources. Which are more and more indispensable for the welfare of the world.

eriod of colonization (from 1880 to 1960) and forty-four years of independence, the Black Connt is confronted by a future full of uncertainties. It looks as if Africa has no hope of achieving a cio-economic development capable of guarenteeing a peaceful and prosperous future . Africa, which n for centuries a conquered land and repository of cheap labour, seems to draw all the evils of our upon itself. In addition to poverty, famine and disease, Africa has become a \var land that the UN canpacify. One can mention, for example, what happens in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the cont, sparked off by the downfall of the Mobut u regime, has been going on for about eight years. Other cases e those of Sudan, where th e slaughter of the Southern peoples continues, and the Ivory Coast, where the ections have produced an explosive climate.

RICA'S DEVELOPMENT PASSES THROUGH EUROPE e Africans t end to identify colonialism with t he root of this critical sit ua tion, whereas the Europeans atte this stat e of things to the absence of a stable political system, able to govern in a democratic Âˇway and transparency, and also to the difficulty of providing for the vital needs of its people. In practice, nobody w: ts to assume the responsibility for the stagnating socio-economic situation pr evailing in most of the connent. The days of colonization are but a memory and, after forty-four years of independence, we would expect a gTeater capability of self-management, but this is quite far from reality. Therefore Europe and the United States must renew their interest towards Africa, so as to promote a stable socio-economic development and overcome the several conflict s that pervade the Continent. In particular, Europe has a special relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa, which dates- back to the colonial presence of France, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Portugal and Italy. Thus, in this sense, the European Union is the heir of ancient bonds and, better than others, can conceive a new way for the integration of the Black Continent which, in collaborntion with the excellent job done by the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and private enterpr ises operating in Afbca, could improve the cooperation already established after the independence. The European Union, busy with other issues, such as the enlargement to the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, tends to push to the ba ckground the role of Sub-Saharan Countries, already beset by a

drop in foreign investments and the decrease of their market shares. In this sense, the lesser attention given by the media and public opinion to the African prob lem s afte r the end of t h e segregation regime in South Africa, which attracted the internation al interest for quite a while, h as ha d , paradoxically. negative results.

THE MANY UNCERTAINTIES We could ask ourselves why Sub-Saharan Africa and the African governments fail to solve these situations by themselves . The answer cannot be ready and immediate. Black Africa is troubled by a poverty ind issolubly connected with a state of war that in many

nations is endemic. Lack of respect for huma n rights, absence of transparency in managing the general good, public health, population increase, food and education give a complete picture of a situation that - following a long series of debates a mong the Countries of the Black Continent - originated a n im portant agreement between the Euro pean Union and 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific Coun tries, which was signed at Cotonou, the capital of Benin, on June 23, 2000. This agreement, which took 18 month s of intensive talks, replaced the h istorical Lome Convention - twenty years old - and ratified the ado ption of a new model of cooperation, under the influen ce of the liberalization of trade, in order to solve the many

existin g p roblems and allmv- the int egration of th e African Countries in the world economy, respecting the goals of a sustaina ble d evelopm en t. On the e con omi c level, they stressed public and priv ate investments t ogethe r w ith macro-economic and str uctural reforms , as well as the development of commerce and industry.

O n e s pon taneously wonders wh ether these proj ects were imple mented and t o w h at exten t and what is the balan ce. The E uropean Union h as at it s disposal the will and the means t o cope w ith this situ ation and, besides t he gradual w r i tin g -off of t h e poorest Nations' debts, it s upp lies a bout half of their financial sup-

port. Bu t we m ust t ake in to con sideration that the E .U. is interested, first of a ll, in the solution of the p roblem s concernin g its members, since ruling means preven tion and capabilit y of plannin g a ccording to one's own capacity, in order t o be able, afterwards, to provide for the necessities of othe rs . T his is a r ule of

good government that Africa should make its own. Even though it needs the help and support of the other Continents, it cannot found its development, its economy and its hope for a better future only by relying on others' help. This may be useful when it is placed on the foundations laid by one's own means. Africa needs the international solidarity especially on the occas ion of natural disasters, wars, and when it is driven to ruin by the blindness of some of its rulers. Faced with these situations, the European Union never stood back, on the contrary, it was ahvays ready to intervene, involving its members, But what is also needed is a development originating from Africa itself, with important investments for socio-economic development and for the production and trade of its

products on the international market . This aspect is the hinge of the African problems, because without investments on human capital and infrastructure, and the strengthening of its Institutions, nothing durable and solid can be achieved. But the Black Continent's deficit between savings and investments has to be blocked. In fact, indebtedness is a plague that does not permit t o take off, eats the resources and prevents any future growth. To begin Âˇwith, capitals are needed to fill the gap in public debt, and to invest on the improvement of human and material resources. In order to better understand the situation suffice it to consider the data concerning the \vorld quota of export of goods from the Continent, which went from 6.3% in 1980 to 2.5% in 2000.

Africa exports less but imports more. It suffered bad results in terms of annual rate of expor t gro,vth (6.3 %) compared to Asia (13.6 %). From 1980 to 2002 the prices of typical African products, such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, coconut oil and cotton remained unchanged. For example, as far as cotton is concerned, there was a drop and \1 great instability in price, which is today half of what it was in 1980. As for sanitary problems, thy can be solved only thanks to the help of the international community. Ther e is no other \Vay to defeat the many epidemics which chose the ir domici le next to African poverty and destitution. The famine problem could be solved by turning to private in vestments coming from abroad and targeted to the development of the agricultural sector. But first there is an essential problem to be solved, something 28

we take for granted, i.e. drinking water.

CONCLUSIONS If on the one hand t h e European Union recently made it known its intention to transfer to Africa more t h an 3 billion and a half euros each year, on the other hand it is n eces sary that th is amount be truly available. r-.f any resources destined to the African Countries are kept froz en for years because sanctions, war or bad management prevent the allocation of funds, as there is no guarantees that. the people will truly benefit from them . The dilemma, therefore , is between giving help to those who can best use it, or hel p everybody. In the second case, one acts in the hope that some money reach es its destination in a reasonabl e time,

wherea s in the first we demand that 100 % of the aid has a successfu l result, but ,ve have to r eckon wit h a long time, while dealing with peop le who cannot afford to wait. In short, sometimes the African problems may appear at first quite far from our reality, but on a second thought we realize that they are not so distant. Let us just think of illegal immigration and the many daily attempts at clandestine landing. In this respect, the E uropean Union, and Italy in particular, need to stop what could become a real exodus of

millions of people, via Maghreb, towards the Old Continent . A strong commitment in Africa could solve also this situation and Europe could take advantage of t he proximity of a continent which has enormous human and natural resources, whose availability will be essential in the n ear future.

â€˘ ,:, Teacher of French at t he Army School of Foreign Languages and "S. Pio V" Univen;ity of R ome 29

The meeting reexamined the decisions made in Ottawa in 1997, agreeing on a working plan for the successive four years. The initiatives served to synthesize the main initiatives undertaken by the participant States in the first five years of activity; illustrate the plans for clearing operations in the Countries where the presence of anti-personnel mines is reported; produce evidence of the number of incidents caused every year by those devices; discuss and approve the ''Nairobi Action Plan 2005-2009". The Conference found that a great progress has been made on the reliability of information. It is envisaged that in the next five years the arsenals not in line with the Convention should be destroyed, proceeding, at the same time, with the clearing operations. mong the subjects co nn e cted with a rm amen t s control and limitation, as time went by t h e ban on mines h as been acquiring a greater and greater emphasis, with the consequ en t formulation of p r oposals within s p e cial F oru m s est a blished t o p r eve n t, in particu lar , the d iffu s ion o f anti-personnel mines. The origin of t h e production of la rge qua n tities of la nd m i n e s goes back t o the recent past. In fact, most of the mines e xist i ng today were conceiv ed a n d prod uced during W\ÂĽ II. That conflict brough t abou t t he large-sca le use of l a nd mines, made wit h the dual-purpose of e stablishin g an active obstacle limiting th e enem y movements and protecting one's own forces . In particular, in th e post-war period - betw een 1950 a nd 1980 the grov.ring opera tional r eq uirements caused t h e r a pid d evelopment of these d evices and th eir spreading systems, including airplanes a nd helicopters. Therefore, the improved em ployment systems and the large quantities available led t o the diffusion of m illion of m ines, used in the numerous conflicts w h ich

m a r k e d t h e se cond part of t he 20 th Century . As a result, if on the one hand the most industrialized Countries produce d most of the mines now i n circulation , on the other m any d eveloping C ou n tries used them in r egional and local conflicts, in wh ich g overnm ental armies and p a r a m ili t ary t roops o ften confron ted each other. At the end of the eigh t ies the considerable att en tion of th e media towar ds th e pernicious conse-

quences of t he diffusion of t hose d evices, especially against t he civilian population, started to awaken w orld p ublic opin ion an d the international commun ity. The Ott aw a Conven t ion is th e conclusion of the p rocess condu ct ed with in the "Conference of t he St a tes P a rties in the Conven tion on C ert a in Con ventional Arms" (Protocol II on i n h u mane weapons) h eld in Geneva in May 1996. Until that moment the issue of a nti- pe rsonnel m i nes h a d been dealt with th rough limited agreements which only envisa ged res traints in their em ployment, b ut the accords wer e not sufficie n t , con sidering the difficult conditions of the Count ries involved in the conflicts. Therefore, in the mid-nineties s ome Governments (inclu d ing Italy), and tl1e m a in governmental- and n on-govern me n ta l organizations took a diplomatic initiative which led to a treaty for a total ban on a n ti-per sonnel m ines, ca lled "Convention on the Prohibition of t h e U se, Stockpiling, P r oduction a nd Transfer of Antipe r s onnel mines a n d on The i r Dest r uction". The final meeting w as h el d in Oslo in S eptembe r 19 97 and the signatur e of t he Docu ment by the first 119 Coun-

tries took place in Ottawa on 3 and 4 December 1997. The Convention came into force on March 1, 1999. It is very important no\v to examine the results of the first fiveyear period of the activity, the envisaged Action P lan 2004-2009, the content of the conclusive Declaration of the Nairobi meeting, and Italy's role within the convention.

THE CONVENTION If compared with other treaties on armaments control, the Ottawa Convention is rel atively short. It consists of only 22 articles and is written in a simple and effective language. The preamble clearly points out that the treaty aims at ...put an end to the suffering and casualties cau1Jed by anti-personnel mines, that kill or maim hundreds of people euery weeli, mostly innocent and defenceless civilians and especiall;y children, obstruct economic deuelopment and reconstruction, inhibit the repatriation of refugees and internally dis32

placed persons, and have other seuere consequences for years after emplacement. The Convention specifies what is meant by anti-personne l mine .. .designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, i1~jure or kill one or more persons. i.Vlines designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a vehicle as opposed

to a person, that are equipped with anti-handling deuices, are not considered anti -personnel mines as a result of being so equipped. The main obligations deriving from the treaty can be summed up in the pledge by the States Parties not to use, develop, produce, acquire, store and sell antipersonnel mines and in the prohibition to provide help or back-up to the activities forbidden by the Convention. Furthermore, Art. 7 "Transparency measures" provides for the destruction of those devices, excluding those employed for the development of techniques and

training activities aimed at detection and clearing. As any other treaty on armaments control designed to promote mutual cooperation and total transparency, the Ottav:;a Convention prom otes the exchange of information among the States Parties through a Genevabased control Agency. The first pieces of information were exchanged 180 clays after the enforcement of the Treaty (March 1, 1999). Every year the Agency informs the U.N . about d epots and number of mines stored, kept for training and/or research, position and limits of mined areas, programmes for the destruction of surplus mines and clearing of areas, technical characteristics of the mines and measures adopted in order to protect t he population. A system is also envisaged for settling disputes b etween the States Parties of the Convention, which provides for the possibility of asking explanations directly to a State or through the Assembly of the States Parties. The Treat y is supervised and administered by the United Nations. Up to now, 75 % of the States have joined and 144 have ratified and applied the Convention in full. As for the main accords on disarmament, the Treaty has an unlimited duration and is open to all N ations. The activities to be carried out collecti vely within the Treaty have been determined 0;1 the occasion of the First Conference of the S tates Parties (lVIaputo, 3-4 May, 1999). In this circumstance the signatory States agreed to create five Committees of experts, tasked with the examination of the operational possibilities on the subject (general notions and operations, access to information on mines, destruction of mine lots, technology and assist ance to victims) . At the same meeting it was further decided to hold two plenary sessions every year and a revision Conference

five years after the Convention's coming into force.

THE CONVENTION FROM 1999 TO 2004 The first Conference for the review of the Convention was held in Nairobi (Kenya) from November 29 to December 4, 2004, with the participation of 120 States Parties, a number of observers from non-member States and several representatives of governmental- and nongovernmental organizations. On that occasion, the work carried out in the first five years of im plcmentation of the Accord was analysed. It was generally acknowledged that the objective of ending the suffering caused by anti-personnel m i nes had not been achieved yet, despite the enormous progress made through the synergy between the humanitarian measures adopted and the actions aimed at destroying the devices in excess or scattered. Among these measures there is the cooperation and assistance of the States Parties, transparency through the exchange of information, and actions aimed at contrast ing the activities forbidden by the Convention. Listed below are the main results reached by the five-year cooperation, unprecedented for the commitment and unanimous participation of the parties concerned . As regards the adhes i ons , on December 3 and 4, 1997, in Ottawa, and then up to the coming into force of the Convention (March 1, 1999), 133 Countries signed the Convention on the basis of Art . 16 (which, in order to foster the universality of the Treaty, envisages the possibility of joining even in absence of a signature and/or ratification), by expressing the intention of ratifying it with a national law. 33

Subsequently, until December 3, 2004, eleven more Countries joined, bringing to 144 the number of Countries will ing to destroy the mines not used for training and research, and to proceed to the complete clearing of their territory . The results of these agreements led to a drastic reduction of anti -personnel mines. Of the 50 Countries which had been producing those devices before 1977, thirty-three are States Parties and, in compliance with their pledge, they have stopped to produce or market mines. Also some non-signatory Countries, such as the U .S., China, the Russian Federation, India, Pakistan and North Korea, although they did not sign the Convention as States Parties, have de-facto adopted the criteria of the ban on the commerce of anti-personnel mines. Since 1999 the employment of mines has been going down sensibly; nevertheless some non-mem-

ber States continue to produce, keep and employ these explosive devices. Today we can see the first results of the Convention, which in the Preamble declares that the destruction of the existing anti-

personnel mines is a fundamental principle. For the State Parties the deadline was four years after the entry into force of the Convention, therefore the destruction sho uld have been completed by February 2003. Nevertheless,

even if the majority of the signatory Countries completed the disposal of their mines within the set time limit, for a to~al amount of about 37 million devices, 17 States Parties, O\ving to financial problems, still have to dispose of about 11 million mines and presumably will not be able to destroy them before 2012 or 2013. Much larger is the probable number of mines in the hands of the non-signatory Countries. According to the "Land Mine Monitor Report 2004" of the ICBL (International Campaign to Ban Landmines) the anti -personnel mines stored in those countries could be around 180 million. Another point was the situation of the search and clearing of the mines possibly located in the territories of the States Parties. In this regard, there \.vas a review of the Nations' notifications of the mined - or possibly mined - areas , the type and quantity of the devices and the measures adopted to safeguard the population. At the present time, 46 Countries have notified the presence of mined areas; their clearing programmes are expected to be completed between 2009 and 2014. Many of these programmes, though, depend on the funds made available on the basis of Article 6, according to which the Countries that do not have the resources for clearing the areas under their jurisdiction can ask for the assistance of the States Parties, which must contribute according to their means . Since 1999 approximately 1150 million dollars have been set apart in favour of the neediest Countries. For example, Bosnia Herzegovina received 10 million dollars from various European Countries for clearing operations, whil e Afghanistan obtained about 75 millions between private contributions and aid from Western Countries. Iraq, whose mapping shows the presence of mines and UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) on about 8000 square kilometres,

needs - according to reliab le sources - an appropriation of around 350 million clollars, a sum Âˇw hich, in any case, would not permit to complete the clearing activities before 2009. In short, since 1999 only 3 of the 49 Countries controlled have ended the clearing activities (Costa Rica, Djibouti and Honduras) while the r emaining 46 are still working. It must be stressed that in many of these Countries there have been fights over the last decades (Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bosnia, Congo, Mozambique, Eritrea, Iraq), but also in

concept allowed many States Parties to intervene in emergencies for medical care, rehabilitation, psychological support, economic aid and the adaptation of the respective la,vs. Furthermore, the Convention envisages the implementation of specific programmes aimed at informing the civilian population on the danger of anti-personnel mines . Between 1999 and 2003 about 30 million people have been taught about the risks represented by the mines and the need that the dangerous areas be appropriately marked.

Nations like Greece there are mines that were laid during VvWII and, in some areas, both in the north and in the south, there are fenced and marked areas. During the Conference there was also a discussion on Article 6, Âˇwhich provides for the assumption, by the States able to do it, of the burdens connected with the assistance, care and rehabilitation of those injured by mines. From 1999 to this day the concept of victim was extended to include not only those who suffered physical damages, but also to the psychologically hurt. This widened

The importance of these measures is obvious, considering the very high number of incidents caused by mines and unexploded ordnance which, according to the "Landmine Monitor Report 2004", in the five years after the Convention's enforcement, have been about 42,500 . In this regard, it must be noted that this number includes only the incidents reported, but presumably the yearly total varies between 15,000 and 20,000 . In particular, it is important to point out that, in 2003, twenty-three per cent of the recorded incidents 35

involved people less than eighteen years old .

Annual average of victims caused by land mines 1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

no data

llO

no data

llO

1800

1200

data

no data

llO

data

no data

191

data

no data

llO

no data

270

data

Bosnia

632

290

149

100

Cambodia

4301

2293

2148

1155

862

828

833

755

Colombia

122

143

268

627

666

Croatia

124

121

Mozambique

211

130

134

Nicaragua

Senegal

167

198

Yemen

no data

llO

data

no data

data

Afghanistan Albania Angola

llO

THE ACTION PLAN 2005-2009 The Nairobi meeting discussed and approved the "Nairobi Action Plan 2005-2009". The 70-point document sketches the common lines and the goals to be achieved within the next five years. In particular, it was agreed that during that period the States Parties would undertake to support the universalization of the Convention, especially through the par t ici pation of non-party States, destroy the surplus mines still stored inside the States Parties and non-member Countries, assist the victims, improve the exchange of information, the cooperation for training and financial aid . As regards t he first objective, eight activities were singled out. All parties concerned would have to implement them in order to involve the Nations which have not joined yet (25% of the world total). Such actions are a clear spur to the St ate Parties to promote the validity and the necessity of the Ottawa Convention's dictates in every existing forum, including the regional Organizations engaged in armaments control. The second goal, which con cerns the destruction of stored mines and clearing of mined areas, was summarized in twenty activities aimed at achieving the primary objective of getting rid of all the existing lots and proceeding to the indispensable clearing of th e areas concerned. Th e removal of the mines is also essential for utilizing large areas which belong to the de veloping Countries. The other goals, listed in 22 poin ts, concern the assistance to the victims . The remaining actions are centred on the increase of trans parency and cooperation among

the States Parties. These actions are unanimously considered the real success of the Treaty and, for the next five years, will constitute the mainstay of tlie Com,ention. Within this framework, very precious will be the contribution of regional, governmental- and non-governmental organizations (Emergency, Halo Trust, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, etc.) which, through a precise action of coordination aimed at achieving an effective cooperation, will be able to facilitate the realization of the goals of the "Action Plan".

vis-a -vis the preceding trend, already in 1993 there had been a turnabout which,·· in t he first months of 1994, had led to stop the production and export of such devices . Later, La\v 374 of N ovember 3, 1997 (Norms for t h e Ban of Anti -Personnel Mines) regulated the matter within our Country. On January 1, 1999, Italy poss essed about 7 million mines, a number not very different from the average i n the European Union. vVith a programme started in February 1999, the destruction of these devices ,.vas completed in November 2002, four years earli-

At the moment, on the basis of the proviso of Art.7 of the Convention, the Armed Forces hold a little over 800 anti personnel mines, for training and research only. This amount is far lower than it is permitted by law. Italy is one of the States which, in conformity with the Cornrent ion, provides the appropriate support to the UN bodies dealing v,,ith aid to the Countries affected by the mine problem, honouring the principles of the Convention. In 2002 t he national appropriation was about 9 million and 5 million in 2003 .

er than decided by the Comrention and in line ·w ith the legal measures ,vhich followed Law 374/97 (Law 1.06 of March 26, 1999 - "Ratification and Implementation of the Ottawa Comrention and Modifications t o Law· 374/97" and the Decree of August 1, 2000 "Regulations on the Destruction of Stocks of Anti-personnel Mines"). This activity \vas carried out at the Military plants of Baiano in Spoleto and Noceto di Parma.

Also many governmental and non-governmental organizations, together with several institutional bodies, are present in a large number of Count ries affected by the min e problem , where they carry out the activities connected with mine clearing and assistance to the populations . With in the Italian Armed Forces, the Army has given a remarkable contribution carrying out countless clearing operations with its Explosive Ordnanc e

THE NAIROBI DECLARATION The Conference ended with the Nairobi Declaration signed by the highest attending authorities (for Italy, the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, S en . Mantica). This conceptual document sums up the goals achieved and those still to be reached and points out the pledge by the States Parties to pursue the universalization of the Convention for the total ban of anti-personnel mines, renewing their efforts aimed at: destroying the exceeding m i n es and those possibly stockpiled in their depots; clearing mined areas w·ithin th e territories under their jurisdiction; assisting the victims; contributing with personnel, equipment, and financial resources to the aid programmes in favour of the poorest Countries; condemning the production, retention and employment of mines.

ITALY'S PLEDGE Italy signed the Ottawa Convention on December 3 1997, ratified it on April 23, 1999 and became a State Party on October 1, 1999. Actually Italy is one of the Convention's forerunners . In fact,

Clearing Teams - employing also especially trained dogs - in all the crisis areas where our units were engaged, taking also initiatives aimed at training local personnel. In Afghanistan alone, 3500 antipersonnel mines have been found and destroyed. The Ministry of Defence is the National Authority for the enforcement of Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention ("Trans38

parency measures" and "Facilitation and clarification of compliance").

CONCLUSIVE REMARKS By way of conclusion, we can make some comments concerning the difficulties in the irnplemen ta tion of the Ottawa Convention.

First of all, the desired universalization, i.e. the degTee of participation of States, regional governmental and non-governmental Organizations, where there are obvious contrasting signals deriving, on the one hand from th e great progress made thanks to the new adhesions and, on the other, from the persistence of significant absences. As a matter of fact, if the high percentage of signatory States (75%) corresponds to "only" 25% non-members, it must be said that that the latter have a non-negligible specific weight . Suffice it to say that three of them are permanent members of the U.N . Security Council (China, Russia, and the U.S .). Furthermore, it must be pointed out that some non-signatory Countries are parties to other Treaties concerning the limitation of armaments and, in particular, have signed international agreements dealing with similar aspects, such as the "CCW-Certain Conventional Weapons", ,vith the intention of providing, albeit in another forum, a tangible contribution to world disarmament. This is the direction of the economic undertaking of the U .S., which has announced its probable participation in the ban ofland mines from 2010, expressing its intention of increasing its annual budget in favour of mineinfested Countries from 117 to 164 million dollars. On the contrary, t he involvement of the Regional Organizations (OSCE-Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; EU -European Union; MERCOSUR-Common Market of the South, an international organization for economic development formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) GOs (Governmental Organizations), NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) that can be considered the global-l evel im plementing bodies of the norms of the Convention, is really very deep.

Another critical element is clearing the areas where the presence of anti-p~rsonnel mines has been notified. It is quite clear that in this sector the Âˇ titanic effort just been started requires large resources that not every State can afford. The realization of this effort necessarily implies the preparation of accurate financial medium-term progTammes. Besides, the objective,

in order to make public opinion aware of the danger and supportive of the initiativeÂˇs under \vay. The main objective is the definition of the extent of the phenomenon through the survey of the communities damaged by the presence of mines and the categories affected by them, both physically and socially. Ot her goals are those of providing an adequate medical assistance,

personnel and the necessary resources, one has to face the difficulties inherent in the coordination of organizations which, albeit interrelated in the achievement of common goals, are actually structured in different ways, especially as concerns the procedural aspect . " A Mine-free World" is the final goal set in Nairobi and this implies the universalization of

legitimate and understandable difficulties connected with the clearing activities clash with the legitimate interest of the developing Countries to speedily reclaim the cleared areas , to the advantage of the economy and welfare of their people. Finally one should also point out the difficulties encountered in assisting civilian populations and mine victims. Here the efforts are also centred on prevention, using the mass-media's contribution to instruct people on how to recognize these devices,

carrying out appropriate programmes of physical and psychological rehabilitation, reinstating in the economic life of the community the social groups and persons that have been hit, establishing, moreover, laws and norms aimed at safeguarding the rights of the stricken populations and particularly the victims'. This complex field of action involves a number of Institutions, such as Armed Forces, regional Administrations, GOs and NGOs and international Forums. Therefore, besides finding specialized

the Ottawa Conference which, through transparency, mutual trust and global involvement aims at widening consensus, particularly in the direction of a public opinion whose attention is also attracted, day after day, by other very serious and often unsolvable emergencies. 0

Colonel, Chief, Armaments Control Office, Army General Staff

Interview with Lieutenant General Juan Emilio Cheyre Espinosa Commander in Chief of the Army

THt CHILEAN ARMY 15 READ)! FOR T!HE CHALLENGES OFT~!£ f~RE Sv1ddevi cviaviges ivi tvie sceviarios ca1,1se sevisible opera•• @La Paz Cutaba ~rur ;. · ~ ~-:_;(·.---,-> tiovial variatiovis ivi tvie wiili'0 "se nt9ic .,. J.Sucre., - - - "' , \Np E 7e mpo ~nde<il _ B~ tary ivistr1,1wievits. We are vio . n"',ag_aste_ .' . L i\ ~•,·, l 'SA~ .,.. more facivig ovily a covivevi,;rop.1c.o cl•l c.apncorno ,. ,> .. ~ : : .. ' - C tiovial tvireat, .b1,1t we viave to _.-1· . Salt.i · - '·@'\Sunci6n Sen Mu;iuel de iuCIJman(lj . .._ ._ • J;-- _ 1-- , • i • _. CHAro·/' • ·, covifrovit 1,1viforeseeable ris~s San Fernando del Valle de c 9t!1111ar1,a -.,•0 t' . _ .·; - ",..,.,P.os;ed<is..,. J • ·· 0• ·. San ,a's!o·.r La Seren~ ;.,, ·. /;.-.de l!Es•e, o /""1-· ...... •. 1 wviicvi, over lovig avid 1,rndeSenp 11an •, :- :·[i C6'rdoti~,✓>· ..._:, ...,0 ,; .,,; . 1!J : -Si,; termivied periods, cov1ld ta~e Sa nt iag ~~ · : }·-. ~ Ro~rio ·,. • , ..-:.<,,:, • • . .... .. diverse avid gevierally asywiNO PACIFICO ~ o;,.-; B,ue.r:o.o.s- ·Alrf "oo . Talca,. / ,J . :...... j_ : / ~ rntev ide o metr i c forwis. Terroriswi, • · "•.· AR6ENTINA Temuco ~ ' :Ne;uqu,,'n 0 wviicvi vias cowie pressivigly ;,--;.,; .:® ·· ·c; ~ ar del Plata ~ "..._. ·"'RJO"'NECiRO.'-r-l ~ cf ' • ,r- , ovi tvie forefrovit of tvie politii rr········J·· ca 1, ecoviomic avid military ' .._-·•:!, qtUBU!., tTr4:!lew -0 scevie, is viot tvie least of Coiha Cj tnodorq Rivadavia tviewi. Today's armies are evi1 ~ 1 ! ! _ ~~la do . OCEANOAT. gaged ivi a process of ad4renas{ ~ jv1stmevit beviefitivig frowi ivi·,ti'. -~Rf I Gra nde ~~~~ 1. terviatiovial cooperatiovi avid collaboratiovi wiHiout excl1,1divig, ovi tvie otvier viavid, by Giuseppe Maria sevisible tecviviical avid ivid1,1strial cvioices, also ivi covisideratiovi of tvie view "Stabilizatiovi" avid "Recovistr1Actiovi" operaGiovanni Tricarico * tiovis, covid1,1cted witviivi "Natiovi 13uildivig" programmes ivi foivit avid m1,1ltiviatiovial evivirovimevits. Let 1,15 see viow tvie Arwiy vias tac~led avid solved tviese pro.blewis ivi Cviile, a Co1,1vitry of avicievit traditiovis, very close to Italy ivi virt1,1e of vi1,1wiavi avid c1,1lt1,1ral bovids. Limai::>-"I •

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The conflicts which in the last decade have characterized the world scene have transformed and widened the tasks of the national Armies. As a matter of fact, it is not enough to prepare an instrument able to operate in high-intensity environments against a well-defined enemy, but it is also necessary to conduct post-conflict operations of "Stabilization" and "Reconstruction". In addition to knowing how to "win the ,.var" we must above all '\vin the peace".

An example of this is the present situation in Haiti, where our troops intervened under UN mandate. In my opinion, the most important and transcendent aspect is the worli of the Engineer company, which operates over there building communication facilities, restoring infrastructure etc. while the Infantry Unit is canying out security missions. Did this new reality entail any change in the Army's organization'? Will there be any transformation in the future?

NaturaL!y. Of course the fiuiclarnental role of the Army is the defense of the national sovereignty, but the missions abroad of our Service will continue with a greater and f?reater commitment. It is well known that Chile is strongly engaged in favour of international stability, which is considered an important part of its interests.

In the present context the Army, tof?elher with the other Services, participates in "Stabilization" operations decided by the UN. These rnissions are part of the strategic role of "International Cooperation" and have had a remarkable increase in the last years. At present, we participate in UNIFICYP in Cyprus, SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina and MINUSTAH in Haiti. In order to meet these challenges, and also to play other strategic roles, the Army, for sorne 41

years, has been going through an improvement and transforma tion process aimed at acquiring a more modern, technical and flexihle force, strategically very mobile, with a rapid deploy ment-capability and able to participate and interact with other forces in a wide range of military operations, both on our own territory, in defence of our sovereignty, and abroad, in favour of world peace. In practice this situation has been considered du.ring the process of institutional modernization and concerns the rem'f{anization and restructuring of' the force. Among other things, we are taking the ftrst steps towards the employment of professional soldiers, in order to have them participate in this type of operations abroad since, according to our Constitution, conscripts cannot be employed for that particular duty.

some cases the situation is made even worse by catastrophic natural disasters. These problems haue different dimensions, and normally require diverse and often simultaneous responses. In theory, it would seem ideal to intervene at first with a military force to separate the flghting parties or control the armed threat, and then fight hunger and diseases, in order to start a physical and moral recrmstruction. Nevertheless, often facts do not conform with our plans, and ivhat becomes necessary is a harmonious interaction of the various components of the mission, since the Armed Force::; do not - and should not - have all the capabilities required for a humanitarian mission. Multifunc tionalism requires coordination and interoperability, not only among military forces , but also among these and the different civil functions . As the situation

A land military instrument, in order to be able to meet the future challenges, must have a wide range of capabilities and complementary and specialist assets to be employed for all CRO (Crisis Response Operations) activities, including the "Stabilization" and "Reconstruction" missions, typical of a post-conflict phase . What do you thi nk about it?

As a matter of fact, a land military instrument, in order to meet the new challenges, must have a wide range of capabilities and complementary resources. During our intervention in Haiti we continue to make important experiences which help us in imple menting these elements. Today the crisis situations are characterized by chaotic scenarios where a r med conflicts between factions mix with humanitarian crises, crimes, interrup tions of productive capacity, infrastructure deterioration; in 42

moues towards stability, the military strength must make way for civil institutions, so as to consolidate the reconstruction. It is obviously up to the people to recreate their sovereignty and work for their own development. Further-

more, the preparation and integration with the forces of the nation hit by a crisis is vitally important for the achievement of the objective. We must always work with them and never against them.

The main international analysts agree in considering the fight against terrorism as the new "world war". Do you think that, in order to win this war, we only need an outstanding intelligence service and a good police, or that the Army could be useful as well?

The response to terrorism, as is the case with most asymmetric threats present in today's strategic scenario, requires a multifunctional solution which includes the interaction of several elements whose conduct will have a different intensit_y, depending on the threat. In Chile, threats such as terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and other asymmetric ones, are mainly confronted through the coordinate action of' the Police forces, but the Army m,ust always be on the alert in case its collaboration is requested. The quantity and lethality of' the means employed by terrorists today, and the determination guiding their

actions, can strike an unlimited number of citizens. In these circumstances, the Government will use all instruments and capabilities of its Institution, coordinating them in order to face the threat. In view of this, even though this is not its main mission, the Army is ready to provide the Country with various operational capabilities, such as logistics, clearing of mines and other explosive devices; detection, control and decontami nation from chemical agents. Moreover, it is important to consider that the institutional infor1nation agencies are integrated and provide a permanent contribution. The modern operational scenario is characterized by more and more unforeseeable threats which compel the Armed Forces to carry out many different tasks and, as a consequence, to acquire new capabilities. The military in43

struments of today must curtail costs, thus reducing their capabilities. Can this quantitative cutback be offset by an improvement in quality"?

The achievement of greater capabilities with less resources is a challenge common to all modern Armies. The instrument's modernization and transformation process pursues, among other things, the imperative of shaping units which, albeit smaller, must be more flexible, rapid and strong. We are reaching this objective, first of all by introducing an appropriate technology. This does not mean replacing soldiers with robots, but rather improving our operational capabilities with the help of technology. Jn our Army this pursuit of a new effectiveness is also supported by an appropriate didactic and military culture, which includes education, specialization, instruction and training and is based on modern strategies, centralized planning, decentralized execution and intensive use of simulation. The men and women in our Army are our most important wealth. They have been - and still are - the motor of the transformation aimed at serving the Country in the best possible way. The quality of the personnel has been our first priority for quite a time, but we do not neglect the technical aspect. Well trained and motivated soldiers are irreplaceable, and provide fiexibility to the whole organization. Finally, in the context of international operations, it is necessa,:y to look for the highest level of integration with the other institutions of national defence, as well as with our allies in the region and other parts of the world, and create the necessary synergies in uiew of obtaining increased capabilities.

Until a short time ago, the Armies often used to conduct autonomous Research and Development activities on

new military technologies. Today they are so complex and costly that they need the participation of' large industrial groups. What is the synergic relationship between the Army and the defence industry in your Country?

The development of these relations is made rather complex by two characteristics of our sector. The first one is the small size of our Armed Forces: they are a rather limited market for the firms investing in research and development. The second characteristic is that there are no great conglomerates of similar industries capable of using their lmowledge also in favour of defence. However, in the last years there was a significant increase in the number of national firms ioishing to acquire the capabilities needed for meeting the military requirements, thus joining the State-industries which normall_y <:any out these functions. (FAMAE, ENEAR, ASMAR). An example of this are DTS and SISDEF. These two state-controlled /tnns deal with research regarding special solutions, including adaptation of products to a customer's specific needs. Furthermore, it is well known that the development of military talents and the establishment of multidisciplinaJ)' worhing groups with members fi'O!n Armed Forces and Universities, have given rise to great impulses and widespread creativity. The transformation from conscription professional Army is considered one of the main requirements of the modern Armed Forces, in order to meet the present and future challenges in an effective manner. This is an advantage, but involves also difficulties in the recruitment and a progressive ageing of the Service. Do you agree?

For this and other reasons, the Chilean Army has opted for a profframme wlled "Professional Soldier" (SLP) which, for economic reasons, envisages, for a start, the recruitment of 2000 professional soldiers for a four-year term,. This will enable us to complete almost entirely the units covering the crucial areas of the territory. The programme will allow u,s to get round the recruit ment and ageing problem by calling into service reservists and conscripts (SLC) of the year, who actually did their military service, and have them can carry out their functions, in determined 1mits, for a non-renewable period of four years. No legal status has been created for the call into active service, we have applied the current laws. The difference lies in the goals and in the rules applied to the call-up. In practice, the non-renewable four years could seem disadvantageous and not interesting to those called into active service. But some incentives have been created in order to enable the candidates to overcome their fear of wasting four years ol their lifi?. During this period, for instance, 45

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they will e,~joy a number of facili ties for tahing up or completing technical or university studies. In fact, out of the first 500 recruited SLPs (5 00 of them will be re cruited each year, until they reach the nnmber of 2000 in 2007), about 100 are registered in technical schools and universities, where they attend courses which last exactly four years. The whole system is coordinated by the Commanders of the operational units, who get easier terms in order to contain costs, and organize the facilities in favour of the students. Facilitations are also envisaged for those who want to join the NCO School. Actually they only attend an academic year, instead of the normal two-y ear course. This must be done before the end of the second year of duty, because those who are admitted must be replaced according to the yearly selection process which is carried out through the establishment of quotas for the operational units,

in order to give all candidates the opportunity of participating in the SLP programme. The pay is reasonable . T he salary of an SLP reaches about 1.90,000 pesos, similar to the salary of a Corporal, and he enjoys the same rights. We must underline that those who are called on active duty are considered professional soldiers, but they are actually Corporals in the Reserve, as provided by the current regulations. At the present time, at the peah of the selection process for the callup on active duty of the second group of 500 SLPs, the results are encouraging, with an annual rate of resignations of about 20 out of 500. Approxirnately 3500 candi dates participated in the selection process, which is decentralized in order to give equal opportunities to SLCs and reservists. This means a ratio of 1 to 5. The system adopted by th e Chilean Army intends to remedy the said problems (difficulties in recruitment and ageing of person -

nel) and it works well in our reality, since it can reconcile conscription and SLPs. The Modern Armies need personnel willing to be highly mobile in long periods of outof-area employments, and also a high standard of life. How can these requirements be harmonized?

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The formation of the Chilean soldier has always been based on a mainly vocational model. This is why, despite the fact that he has a good standard of life based on several benefits granted to the family as an institution - housing, medical assistance, schools - he is morally and spiritually willing to make sacrifices. An incentive to

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this fighting spirit and stamina is the awareness that the institution will always take care of the maintenance of the standard of living of his family through a complete system of welfare and assistance. Another commitment of the Army is that of improving the cultural level of its personnel. As far as conscripts are concerned, schooling, specialization as well as assistance when they return to civilian working life, have been promoted and this proved to be an important incentive. Similarly, those who whish to continue their military career have also the opportunity to attend professional courses abroad. Multinationalization is a constant factor in today's operations. In the past it was diffi. cult to find multinational Headquarters at tactical level while now we see, in several Theatres, coalition Commands even at level lower than Brigade. What are the preparations and initiatives adopted in your Service in order to raise the level of interoperability of the Command structures?

As I said, the Army tries to integrate its capabilities with those of the other forces of national defence and those of other Armies in the Region. Within this frameworh, it develops programmes of evaluation, formulation of common procedures, schooling and training. These interoperability projects acquire a regional dimension through special studies on integration, carried out with other Countries of the Southern Cone ofAmerica. Finally, they are strengthened through a project called "Pursuit of interoperability in peace operations" which started in 2004 and is still under way within the "Conference ofAmerican Armies".

* Colonel, Editor-in-Chief of "Rivista Militare" 47

lviterview wit~ Lie1Ateviavit Cevieral Peter Leavi~, Cviief of Staff of t~e AIAstraliavi ArVVI~

~M ii ~~~t~ ~ it~ C~~1mf~Y ~~~ ffi~ i11 l~~~~1JY ~ ~~flE

by Enrico Magnani*

Australia seems far away, btAt is acttAally YVIIAC~ closer t~avi we imagivie. It is ivi~abited by protAd avid deterVYJivied people avid cavi cotAvit ovi expert avid brave soldiers w~o participated ivi vi1AVY1ero1As YV11Altiviatiovial operatim1s, distivigtAis~ivig t~emselves for t~eir professiovialism avid sevise of dtAty. DIAr coviversatiovi wit~ Lt. Gevi. Lea~y provides IAS wit~ a great deal of iviforVYJatiovi ovi t~e efforts of t~e CotAvitry towards a str1Act1Aral, operatiovial avid tec~viological reorgaviizatiovi of t~e VYJilitary ivistrtAVYJeVJt,

General, could you describe the Australian Army of today to the readers of "Rivista Militare"? The Australian Army is a m odern, balanced force compris ing reservists and permanent soldiers. Today the Army's strength is approximately 45,000. We deliver our fighting power through combined teams which include ele ments of infantry, armour, engineers, aviation and signals supported by a range of combat support and combat service elements. vVe are already \vcll equipped but expect signif~ icant improvements to our capabilities with the introduction into service of the European Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter. We have also decided to acquire fifty-nine MlAl Abrams tanks, which will improve our firepower and protection . Our troops are currently serving all over the world. We have conducted a range of peace support operations in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years, in Bougainville, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. These deployments have been highly successful. Most of these troops have nmv returned to Australia. We have maintained a contribution to the Coalition operations in Iraq and we also provide a ,vide range of support to UN Operations in Africa and th e :M iddle East.

Few people know that, even excluding the two World Wars, the Australian Army was involved in a number of complex and tough milit a ry campaigns, like Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, alJ completed with very good results. What l esson s were learned from these campaigÂˇns so different from each other? The Australian Army has a distinguished history in fighting beside its Allies in every m ajor conflict of the t\vent ieth century. Au stralia is a remote, island-continent, so every time we go to war we are reminded that logistics and training are th e ingredients of success. Our people have n ever let us down . Our soldiers are resilient and 49

very versat ile. But , in peacetime, we have sometimes lost sight of the fact that we need to be able to rapidly deploy w ell away from our bases. Fortunately, we have n ever had to fight a b a tt le on our own soil. Nevertheless, secu r ity issues of various types have dem anded a response from us over the years. In addition to Vietnam and Korea, we have provided troops to m ajor U N missions in Cambodia, Somalia and Rwanda. The lesson is that we must maintain readiness and deployability.

Australian and Italian soldiers worked together for the first time in East Timor in 1999. What can you say about this experience, which showed Australia's dramatic capability of organizing and leading a "coalition of the willing" in a few days? What are your comments about this cooperation, considering that it was the Italian Army's first operational experience in a tropical a rea? Our East Timor experience Âˇwas very important. Since the Vietnam War we h a d l argely been planning to conduct operations on Australian soil. For this reason, a major off-shore operation - especially as lead -nation of a Coalition - presented us with a ve ry large challenge. vVe were successful, but this emergency highlighted some deficiencies in our deployable logistics and our strategic agility. These problems have been addressed by the Government, with t he resul t that we are a more agile and more potent force t h an we were in 1999. The evidence that we had absorbed the lessons of E ast Timor came with our rapid deployment of forces as lead-nation in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). As th ey always do, our soldiers performed extremely 50

Âˇw ell. Their individual skills and professionalism ensured that some d eficiencies i n equipment did not u ndermine the success of the mission . We were most appreciative of the support provided b y the Italian Army during the IN TE RFET deployment. Many Australians can trace their ancestry to Italy and therefore we were able to find liaison officers and interp r e ters very easily from among our own people. Your troops acquitte d themselves v e ry well . It meant a great deal t o us Australians to see troops from as far awÂˇay as Europe ,villing to undertake a risky operation in our region . Today we are serving together again in Iraq. I know that this w ill deepen the ties between our Armies.

Looking at Bougainville, Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq, we can see that the Australian Army was deeply engaged in different kinds of regions. What was the experie nce made in those peculiar operational profiles that went from mountains to jungle and deserts, from peacekeeping to high-intensity operations? The high tempo of diverse operations has taught us very important lessons. The k ey lesson of all our recent experience has been the importance of the Joint and Coalition Operations . As a medium power, Australia has real limits on its ability to project force . In the Global vVar on Terror (GWOT) we have develope d very effective t echniques for operating in Coalition with the US. This is a huge benefit to Aus t ralia. Likewise, the Army has been reminded t hat we n eed the s upport of our Nav y a nd A ir Force to deploy, sustain and r edeploy ourselves. Joint support is v i tal to in crease our reach

An "Iroquois 649" helicopter of the Austra lian Army.

back to fire support also. This has b een a n important force multiplier in both Ira q an d Afghanistan. Finally, the ability to conduct war fighting and peace operations from th e tropical islands of the South Pacific to the deserts of the Middle East and the snoVi-;Y mountains of Afghanistan, reminds us that resilient, adaptable, highly trained soldiers are the most important component of our Army. Our soldiers have per formed superbly in the las t decade and we must continue to train and equip them to maintain their winning edge.

Since the end of WWII Australia has been in the front line in peacekeeping operati ons i n the Middle East,

Africa and Asia with different organizations. What is the record of the participation in these missions?

As I mentioned above , Australia takes its responsibilities as a founding member of the U nited Nations very seriously. We have provided support to UN observation missions in the :Middle East for over thirty years. We also had long-standing commitments to the UN mission in Kashmir. Recently, Australia was a major support er of the UN missions to Cambodia, Somalia and Rwanda. vVe have estab lished a reputation for fairn ess and decency in the conduct of such operations. Successive Australian Governments have regarded the UN as an important force for the world's good and we have punched above our Âˇweight in terms of willingness to support the military operations of the UN.

Looking at the past, the peacekeeping doctrine is deeply changed. What could be the future of these operations?

I believe we entered a n age of great complexity in the land env ironme nt. The Australian Army has ackno,vledged this through the adoption of a concept t e rmed "Complex 'iVar Fighting". Essentially, the convenient boundari es between peace operations and war fighting have eroded . The USlVIC reache d this conclusion a few years ago, through the concept of the "Three-Block War". However, the emergence of highly lethal non-state actors, the proliferation of hand-held anti-armoured/an ti-air weaponry and the phenomenon of state failure have all coalesced to radically alter the threat environment. These provide the elements of complexity to which I alluded earlier. In 51

Left. Preparing for a decontamination operation.

Right. Special forces on training.

the Australian Army we have always asserted that the bes t peace-keeper is a highly capable warrior. It is possible to step dovm from war-fighting t o peacekeeping. But the reverse does not apply. The UN mission in Somali a demonstrated how rapidly the nature of a mission may transform . Th ese changes i n th e threat environment will make peace operations more dangerous and will demand t hat arbitrary distinctions between war fighting and "Operations Other than War" break clown. The force packages that deploy into humanitarian crises will need a high level of protection and survivability in order to be able to exercise discretion and nuance in the escalation of the use of force .

We have spoken on the Australian Army of yesterday and today. Wha t about the Australian land force of tomorrow? How will it be organized'? What wi11 be the relationship betwee n man and technology? Our Army is currently engaged in a maj or modernization pro gramme. My directive is that the Army is to be "hardened". In other words, I ,vant it to be harder to hit and harder hitting. This will entail transforming from a predominantly light infantry army to a light armoured Army. This will also entail a degTee of cultural change. The "h ardened" Army will be more robust and agile . It will also be networked. It is my intent that these changes be implemented by 2012 as a milestone to the "Seamless Force

2020". This will be the fully networked Australian Defe nc e Force, which wi ll link sensors and shooters seamlessly throughout the battle space. Ultimately, the individual soldier wi ll become a "node" of this network system. Historically the Australian Army has always had strong ties with the ground forces of the other English-speaking nations, such as the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand. What is the level of cooperation with these Countries? In particular, what can you say on the origins, the present and the future prospects of the ABCA programme?

The ABCA (US , UK, Canada and New Zealand) arrangements are of deep historical as v:ell as practical significance to the Australian Army. In particular, our close relationship with the United States gives us access to technology and doctrine that would be beyond our reach as a medium sized power. We maintain an active standardization programme with the ABCA powers, also through the placement of reciprocal exchange officers in one another's nations.

The Australian Army, also due to its massive engagements, has recently reinâ€˘ forced the role of the reserve, a bridge between the Armed Forces and civil society. Australian reservists for the first time have been engaged in the Timor operations. How do you evaluate this experience? Do you plan to continue in this direction?

'l'he role of reservists has always been very important to the Australian Army. For most of our first century as a nation, we pre-

dominantly relied on reservists. The Australian Regular Army \vas only created in the aftermath of the Second World vVar. So the history and ethos of the reserve is central to our identi ty, as a nation and as an Army . The vast mobilizations of men in the two global conflicts of the last century were essentially comprised of citizen soldiers. In recent times our reserve system was based on the old Cold War paradigm and envisaged the reserve only playing a significant role in the event that another nation launched a massive invasion of Australia with conventional forces. Since the East Timor crisis v,,e have sought to make t he reserve more relevant to the complex environment of the 21st Century. The law has been changed to make reservists available for overseas dep loyment . Rather than providing a "surge" of mobilization capability, we now want them to provide skills that are not readily available in the regular force. For example, many of our surgeons on recent operations have been reservists. We also rely 53

on the reserve to reinforce and round out our permanent units on operations. Recently we have raised the readiness of components of our reserve forces to assist in Homeland Security Tasks. Your question referred to the deployment of a company of reservists with one of our regular battalions in East Timar. This was definitely a success . The troops served very well with their regular counterparts. We also hosted a visit to East Timor Right. A column al "Leopard" tanks waiting for embarlwtion. Below. Ceremony for the Native Troops Centennial.

many of their employers , and they were very impressed at the skills their people were developing in their m ilitary service.

The new threats to international stability forced many nations to strengthen their capability to respond . The Australian Army, together with the other Services, the intelligence community and the federa] and Joca] police forces, has recently upg-raded its non-conventional answer capabilities, beginning with the SAS Regiment. Please, allow me a provocative question. Do you think that the recent worldwide emphasis on special and e]ite forces risks to reduce the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces? No. Every Army will need to maintain a balanced force struc54

and also manpower to conduct stabilisation operations after the enemy conventional forces have been destroyed. All of this suggests that we will require "mass and weight" for the foreseeable future .

For years the Australian Forces have had the strategic task of defending the continent. Some years ago, however, Canberra has opted for a more active presence in the region, demonstrated by the increased presence of Australian soldiers abroad. How did these choices influence the Australian Army's doctrine and mentality?

ture. vVe have enhanced our Special Forces and we are moving towards multi-agency task grouping with police and a r ange of other agencies to expand on our joint synergies. Over time, I predict that some of the skills that are currently the monopoly of the Special Forces will be dispersed more \'iÂˇidely throughout the conventional forces. In particular, as we nehvork the Army, I envisage a future in which individual soldiers can orchestrate the effects of air and space platforms and reach back to fires from a range of assets. Our SF people have already acquired these skills. Over time I think that this will become a routine land force capability. Because of the increase of the lethality of weapons, I believe that there will be an enduring requirement for the combat weight of conventional forces. Furthermore, as Iraq has demonstrated, there is a need for combat weight

Our primary mission is the defence of the Australian nation and its interests. We now live in an era when our geography alone does not provide us ,vith security. We n eed to be able to operate both on our o,vn soil and - where necessary - to deploy away from Australia. Our Army has a joint and deployable culture. We rely on our RAl'J and RAAF comrades do deliver us into the Area of Operations, to support us with fires and logistics and to get us home. As events in East T imor and the Solomon Islands have reminded us, we cannot be a secure nation in an insecure neighbourhood. As a result, our Government has directed us to maintain the ability to conduct operations within our immediate neighbourhood. The Defence Vvhite Paper released in December 2000 formally directed that the Army be capable of simultaneous deploymen t of a Brigade and a Battalion Group within the immediate region. We have remedied the deficiencies in our deployability and sustainability, which were experienced during the INTERFET deployment. I believe our doctrine for Manoeuvre Operations in the Littoral Environment (MOLE) is

sound. The evidence of recent operations, such as the RAMSI in the Solomon Islands, is that we are headed in the right direction. The current Defence Capability Programme is enhancing the Joint Capabilities to enable joint littoral manoeuvre. \r,,Te are satisfied Âˇwith that.

What are your future programmes? I refer to what appeared in the specialized press about MBTs, AFVs, Artillery, helicopters and logistic assets.

The amended Defence Capability Programme details all of these plans for the next 10 years. Key enhancements to our land forces will be achieved by the procurem en t of the replacement MET, and the upgraded AFV/APC fleet. This will con tribute to my end state of a "Hardened Army". Our Armed Recon Helicopters are entering service and the AIR 9000 project ,vill deliver additional 56

troop-lift assets. All of this will be underpinned by networking, to enhance the situational awareness and communicat ions of the individual soldier and to link us more effectively into the joint team.

Speaking about the Australian military perception, we could not avoid remarking the "spe cial relationship" with New Zealand. However, WelJing"ton seems to be taking different decisions in its defence and security policy . How are these differences affecting the historical interoperability between Australian and New Zealand units?

The bonds between Australia and New Zealand are very dee p. They will not be affected by differ ent emphasis in our force structure. The Kiwis have made different strategic choices. That is valid. They face an entirely different range of challenges and a dif-

Landing eraf"t on exercise.

Lieutenant General Peter Leahy was born in Melbourne on October 30, 1952. After secondary school, he attended the Royal Military College. Assigned to the Royal Australian Regiferent environment. \,Ye do a lot ment as Platoon Leader, he was later Deputy Commander of of collaboration with them and the 5th Mechanised Regiment and Commander of the 8th Inthe cross-fertilization amongs t fantry Regiment. From 1981 to 1982 he served in Hong Kong as our people is very important to Operations Officer and Company Commander of the both Armies and occurs at every "Princess Mary's Own" 10th Gurkha Regiment". level. We maintain a high degree From 1997 to 1999, Gen. Leahy commanded the 3rd Brigade of interoperability with the New and the Rapid Deployment Force in Townsville. Zealand Army. In a ver y recent He was an instructor at the Cadet Officers School at Portsea, region a l contingency, we have and a teacher of Tactics at Singleton's Infantry Centre. In 1987 he worked very effectiv ely w i t h was assigned to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff at them. Fort Leavenworth, where he remained until 1999 as an instructor of Combined Operations and Counter Revolutionary Warfare. In 1993 he was named Military Assistant to the Army Chief An article published some of Staff and, from 1994 to 1995, held the position of Director, months ago on the "Interna' Army Research and Analysis Centre, In 2000, after a period as tional Defence Review" said Chief of Staff of the Australian Theatre Command, he was apthat the Australian Army is pointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. on th e way to become like the Gen. Leahy attended Staff Courses in Australia, the United USMC in terms of combat States and the United Kingdom, and is a member of the Ausforce projection capabilities. tralian College of Defence and Strategic Studies. In 1974 he Could this model really be graduated in Military Studies at the New South Wales Univervery similar to the Australian sity and, during his stay at the U.S. War College, graduated in Army of tomorrow? Military Art and Sciences. In 2002, Gen. Leahy was promoted to Officer of the Military I have always believed that the Division of the Order of Australia, of which he had been a USMC h as much to t each us in member since 1975, in recognition of his distinguished service terms of littoral manoeuvre. They as Director of the Research and Analysis Centre. For his achave a similar emphasis on inditivity at Fort Leavenworth, he was awarded the U.S. Army vidual training and a small-team Medal for Distinguished Service. ethos . However, it is not a valid On June 28, 2002, Lieutenant Leahy was appointed Chief of comparison to state that we can Staff of the Australian Army. "project force" in the same way that a Superpower can. That is not the guidance that our Government has given us and our capabilities stop short of entry by air and sea into a hostile environment at this stage.

In the past, du e to the geostrategic position of Australia, the naval and air forces were pr evalent in the definition of the national defence policies. Is this still the case or, in consideration o f the most complex situation in the region and in the world, is the re more balance among the Services'?

I th ink every modern sophisticated Defence F orce now understands the importance of joint

synergies . I have insisted that my people bring a joint perspective to every thing that we do. For a period after the Vietnam Wa r there was a tendency to consider the Defence of Australia in terms of sea denial by the RAN a nd th e RAAF. Even during this period the Army was heavily engaged in operations away from Australia: I have already mentioned Cambodia, Somalia and Rwanda. These were predomi nantly land force deployments. Regardless of the absence of the threat of invasion, the Army was heavily involved in operations. I tl1ink this raised the avvareness among the Government and policy communities that t h e land

forces are a very flexible instrument of national power. Moreover, the post Cold War Period has expanded the demands that are placed on the ADF. Our curr ent assessment is t hat a direct conventional attack on the Australian continent is very unlikely. But as East Timur, th e Solomon Is lan ds and the GWOT h ave demonstrated, regional and global contingencies can arise vvith very little warning. In evitably, the Army seems to be called on a s the force of first resort in these situations.

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Fi~e years ha~e passed since the first enlistments, and the contribution of wo

to the Seriice has been outs~ ..

Law no. 380/1999 has gradually opened the military to women, without precluding them from any task and career, through an annual quota set by the Minister of Defence with the advice of the Equal Opportunities Commission. At the same time, an infrastructural adaptation is taking place, for the safeguard of the national architectural obligations. Within 2005 the enlistment of 2350 female Volunteers for a one-year prefixed term (VFP 1) is envisaged. The presence of women has been essential in the Theatres of Operations, and proved quite precious in the relations with the local populations.

rom 199 9, w h e n Law n o . 380 was is s u ed, allowing women to j oi n t h e Armed Forces, up t o t he presen t d a y , long steps h ave been m ad e t o fully integrate t h e female personnel from the point of view of r ecruitment and employm ent and, by now, this in tegration is a fact de v oid of a ny kind of discr imination. In t ime, the wom en 's p r esen ce in t h e Army h a s been increasing, owing to t he greater number of r egula rs included every year , a n d as a consequence of t h e profess i o n ali za tion process of the Armed Fo rces, Âˇwhich a llows wom e n to enter every c ategory a nd role. At present, t h e w omen

EVOLUTION OF MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE QUOTAS FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL

2002

2003

2004

20%

(V.a. â€˘ TRAMAT)

2005

20%

OFFICERS ACADEMY

100%

100% Corpi OFFICERS DIRECT ASSIGNMENT

100%

NCOs

20%

100 %

30%

Cone. Str.

VFB/VFP4

VFA/YF'l'l,

COMPETITION VACANCIES

Total Men Women Total

APPLICATIONS

Men Women Total

ADMSSIONS

Men

2002 243 195 48 5.578 4.410 1.168 243 226

2003 198 158 40 6.519 5.250 1.269 198 185

2004 191 121 70 6.806 5.528 1.229 191 175 16

Recruitment trend and evolution of the Highest Percentage Quota System

DIRECT ASSIGNMENTS "~

COMPETITION VACANCIES

THE RECRUITMENT

OFFICERS 2002

2003

2004

374 226 148 34 31 3

301 206 95 25 22 3

346 227 119

Total Men Women Total

APPLICATIONS

Men

Women Total ADMISSIONS

Men Women

in the Army are 1392 and represent 1% of the regular strength of the Service, as will be shown in detail further on. So, le t us look at the main points regarding this interesting subject and the developments related to recruitment in particular, examining th e data of the last three years, and the growth forecast of the highest percentage quotas to be assigned to female military personnel; women's integration within the military organization ,vith regard to their positions, be th ey operational, training or logistic, with a mention of th e lessons learned from the operational employ ment at home and abroad; infrastructural issues and their predictable developments; an overall analysis of the professionalization process and how it affects the fema le component of the Army.

Competition being held

Law no . 380/1999 prescribes that, yearly, a Ministerial Decree should fix, for each Service, the categories and roles for which the female personnel will be recruited, and the percentage quota of their enlistments. So, the first en listments for the Military Academy took place in September 2000, following the timely notice of the first recruitment, and they follo,.-ved each other according to a functional p lan aimed a t consti tuting prioritarily the cadres (Officers and NCOs), and then at recruiting the troops, whose number is higher. On the basis of the analysis of the data referring to th e trend of the competitions, two different t ypes of considerations arise. In the first place we note that, considering only the year 2000, the number of applica-

tions ,vas so great that it could nearly be equated to that of the male personnel , wi t h no comparison with the sit.nati on in the other European Countries . That can be ascribed to the innovati on represented by the first recruitment open t o women and to their expectations, which had been repressed till that 1110m en t. In the fo llowing years, the number of applications was essentially steady, until it lev elled off at a medium val ue, which varied, according to the typology of the competition, between 1/5 and 1/7 of the applications submitted by male candidat es; therefore these values proportionally reflected the percentage quotas of the recruitm ent concerning the above mentioned categories of personnel, which had previously been fixed at 20 % and 30 % respectively of the competiti on vacancies an nounced by the annual Ministerial Decree. Secondly, it was noticed that, with respect to the femal e positive reaction to the announcements of competitions, the number of women lat er admitted to attend training courses at Instit utes of education and training Orga nizations was definitely inferior to the vacancies. In particul ar, leaving out the year 2000 that, as ,ve sa id above, does not really count, on the basis of the analysis of the data referring to the remaining years (2001, 2002 and 2003; data for 2004 are to be confirmed) we see that the percentage of positions held by female personnel, compared to the positions avail able, statistically amounts to 30 % for Officers; 20 % for NCOs and 40 % for Short-Term Volunteers. If we get to the heart of these data, we notice, as a key factor common to all the typologies of competitions mentioned above, the presence of a considerabl e gap betv,1een the applicants and the number of candidates for the first selective exami nation (cul-

NCOs WARRANT OFFICERS 2002

2003

2004

Women

163 131 32

132

Men

175 140 14.206 12.195

17.717 15.000

19.993 17.737

2.011 175

2.717 163

2.256 132

165 10

161 2

125

T otal

VACANCIES

Total APPLICATIONS Men Women Total ADMISSIONS Men Women

95 26

â€˘

TROOPS SHORT TERM VOLUNTEERS 2002

2003

2004

3.500 2.450 1.050

8.500 7.540 960

6.398 5.458

Men Women

5.508 4.242 1.266

29.934 25.294 4.640

48.583 41.059

Total

3.500

8.500

7.524 6.398

Men

3.196

8.270

5.954

Women

304

230

444

Total

VACANCIES

Men Women Total

APPLICATIONS

ADMISSIONS

940

FEMALE PERSONNEL CURRENTLY IN THE ARMY CATEGORY

NUMBER

OFFICERS

97 35

CADET OFFICERS

(19 del 185° e 16 del 186° corso)

WARRANT OFFICERS

CADET WARRANT OFFICERS

(4 del 6° e 4 del 7° corso)

SHORT-TERM VOLUNTEERS

915

CADET SHORT-TERM VOLUNTEERS

(6° eonc. - 1° bando)

319

MILITARY SCHOOLS RECRUITMENT RESERVED FOR MEN @m:sl~ ' m I D ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ tsft·mm ~~ ~~~

INFRASTRUCTURAL

LEGAL

Adaptation of building taking into account restrictions due to their historical and artistic character

Linked to the presence of personnel under age (Advice by Military Prosecutor's office is pending)

tural test), i.e. -41 % for Officers, - 56 % for NCOs and - 34 % for Short-Term Volunteers (VFB). However this did not significantly affect the statistical distribution of women in the single list envis aged for t he admission t o the following test, as the same situation prevailed for male personnel. A more significant percentage drop of fema l e part icipants, compared to males, was noticed in the subsequent physical selection aiming at ensuring th e r espect of the minimum stan dards of e mp l oyment. In fact,we should take into consideration the negative imp act that both gymnas t ic/sports tests and m ed ic a l selections have on female personnel (both cause a higher percenta ge of exclusions among women t han in men) . Such a drop is detrimental to the personnel that had a lready passed the cultural tests, and w h ose temporary list, instead, contains a female compon ent in line with the estimated quotas . The situation \Vill have to be analyzed again with regard to the changes made to the recruitment quotas by the Ministerial Decree for 2005 . In particular, this regulation envisages, for the femal e t roop component a percentage of 20% VFBs and 10% VFP ls. F or the other categories of military personnel (Officers and NCOs ) the system was changed by totally opening the r ec r uitments . As to the above mentioned percentage set VFPls ( 10 %), it sh ould be un derlined that, t hough it migh t se e m qu i te reductive at fir st glance, it will allow the inclu sion of no less t han 2350 women in a single year, i.e. about double the current female presence in the Army. As far as the infrastructural facilities for female personnel are concerned, we can say that this aspect has up to now caused th e gradual inclusion of the female

troops in the mili t ary instrument, but it has not affected influenced the recruitment of fe male Officer s and NCO~, because their educational course (identical to that of the male personnel) has given us enough time. On the whole, t h e elim ination of this last remnant of the current system of "blockage" is imminent, and this will allow the Services to come into line with the other European armies.

Military Schools The attendance of Military Schools (N unziatella in Naples and Teulie in Milan) is not compulsory by 1a w, as i t cannot be compared to a real recruit ment, but the Army intends to allow women to attend them as soon as possible, because by attending these schools they would be entitled to benefit from a reserve of spaces in the competitions for becoming Officers. The attendance of those Schools is also considered a good qualification in the recruitme nt of NCOs. For this reason, the infrastructure of these schools is being adapted, albeit t a ki ng into account the architectural restrictions regarding their ancient buildings.

INTEGRATION OF THE FEMALE P ERSONNEL Employment in Operational Activities The female military personnel are deployed at home and in all the most important Theatres of Operations where the Italian Army is present. Within the national t erritory, they are regularly employed in the surveillance of crucial points (Operation "Domino"). In this, as in all other circumstances, the female Volunteers gave good opera-

EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL IN OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES OUT OF AREA

IN ITALY

Employment Operation "DOMINO" Surveillance crucial point

in all THEATRES

:11

EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL IN OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN ITALY

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EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL IN OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES OUT OF AREA

ILESSONS LEARNED I There are no conceptual contraindications to the operational employment (they were extremely useful during searches/interactions with local

EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL IN OUT-OF-AREA OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

ILESSONS LEARNED I

tional results , without causing any serious problem. Outside the Country, the fe male personnel a re is being employed everywhere, with the exception of Albania and FYROM. The box on the left contai ns all the data regarding t he strength of each contingent of the Army a s of November 1, 2004. In this respect, the absence of fem a le personnel in some operations was not the result of a choice made by the Service, but it was caused by accident a l situations, such as, for exampl e the fact that some "low-intensity" Theatres of Operations a t "low intensity", have been up to now manned by Units made of One -Year Volun teers . These personnel consist of men only, as it is made up exclusively by young men called up for conscription (which is not apply to women). At present, if ,ve consider that the criteria by ·w hich task s an d training courses are assigned to personnel do not depend on gender, we can say that the operational employment of male and female military personnel does not differ at all. Generally, our data show t h at t he inclusion of fema le personnel in the contingents employed in operations abroad, and also in very risky missions and in degraded envi ronments , did not s top our units from achieving excellent results . Wom en di s played an excellent capability of settling, performing the duties deriving from thei r tasks without showing any behav ioural difference i n comparison \Vith their male coll eagues . In particular, the presence of female personnel was essential during Civ il-Military Cooperation (CIMIC J and humanitarian activities i n favour of peoples whose cul ture and h abits are considerably d ifferent from West' s. Su ffice it to thi nk of the Afghan an d Iraqi societ ies, within which it was possibl e to talk to the female

world, w hich othenvise would have been inaccessible . N evertheless, t h ere were some operational tasks where the employment of fema le personnel presented objective limitations clue to the specific physical capabilities required (paratrooper, rifleman), or was considered i nap propriate in cases of reduced or poor logistic support (prolonged activities, escorts to convoys) . Hop efull y, for t h ese needs a minim um equal standard will be established for operators of both sexes.

EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL IN I OPERATION "ANTICA BABILONIA" I Easily integrated also thanks to previous missions

Opport~nity of selecting personnel fli'am a eli'i~sieal poir:i:t a:fi y,iew, re~vdless aifr g~~,r (l'the fr'i!!ljrli~ ~

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Lessons Learned As mentioned above, the emp loyment of femal e personnel proved to be essential as regards the operations carried out in the environments where there was a culture complete l y different from the Western one. The possibility of conducting activi ties precluded to the mal e co lleagues, such as searches and investigations in local \~lomen's circles helped to increase the consideration of the national Contingent as a whole. During Operation "Antica Babilonia", the most r ecent in chr onological order, where women were largely employed, the integration was e asy, often thanks to the expertise developed in previous out-of area missions. It is necessary to examine the possibility that under particular circumstances, characterized by a considerable numerical minority of women compared to men, the cases of female solidarity and complicity could grow, or that the female personnel could become more turbulent and com petitive, with mark ed manifestations of seniority claims (to t he detriment of younger coll eagu es) and a supposed superiority of branch, rol e or task. Furthermore, a nother possibility is being monitored: the fact that, given the numerical exiguity which

EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL IN OUT -OF-AREA OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES

IOPERATION "ANTICA BABILONIA" I It is being studied in depth: 1. Competit iveness instead of solidarity among women in small female contingents

2. Be~q_v:io.,U}l< d..li!r>(Pg fri~ tlt)g qe:::tj,~i~ . ~~tl!}; tl:t~ ~~~e~s o;fii ~1Âť9 !):9te-11IiaH~ ll~ponsjjJ~ fo.J)' q~~:OJ;IS: ~â€˘~ eo.,111b;f dAte..rit,J!le t,!ii~ d'e.4tlJI oi ~~ IJpJ;Jt;-itei. l:\l!IJD~ll~

NEGATIVE EVENTS Disciplinary measures for events/accidents rare and isolated, had no negative influence on the integration process

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CRITERIA ADOPTED 1. ABSOLUTELY EQUAL TREATMENT 2. "PRIVACY" ONLY IN QUARTERS 3. ASSIGNMENT OF FEMALE PERSONNEL TO UNITS ON THE BASI S OF AVAILABLE SEPARATE BEDROOMS

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PROBLEMS YEAR 2005 1. ENLISTMENT OF 2350 FEMALE VFP1 VOLUNTEERS 2 . IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY OF 1350 BEDS

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FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS ADAPTATION PLAN FOR BUILDING DESTINED TO BECOME COMMON QUARTERS FOR VOLUNTEERS (BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE)

END OF' CONTRACT WOR.9

characterizes the female person nel at present, there could be the beginning of attitudes marked by the manifestation of a boasted capability of being always up to the assigned task, without any psychological break-down, in view of the ovenvhelming attention from male superiors and colleagues. Finally, the attitude displayed by female personnel during combat activity is being tested, in order to determine the onset of attitudes that could give rise t o questions or doubts about the necessity of replying to the enemy fire or on the awareness of being potentially responsible for actions which could cause the death of other human beings, even if they are identifiable a s hostile.

THE INFRASTRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT As far as the solution of the infrastructural problems is con cerned, the lines of a pproach of the Service - confirmed by the directive of the Army General Staff concerning the planning of logistic support for 2004 and 2005 have as their objective to put the "servicewomen" in the same conditions of their male colleagues, trying to avoid ad-hoe solutions, which could seem forms of unpopular privilege. Therefore, it was decided to realize appropri ate conditions of privacy only in the sector of quarters. The assignment of female personnel to the various bodies and units is not subordinate to the presence in the barracks of bet ter-quality rooms in comparison with men's, but to logistic possibility. This concept assumes a greater validity for the lodging during the out-of-area opera tions, where "equal treatment" has t o be pursued and necessarily harmonized with the need to

make the best us e of all t h e available rooms, considering that the number of beds has to be planned on the ha.s is of t he strength of the unit deployed. As a consequence, this issue can only be specifically evaluated by the Commanders - for each cantonment - with regard to the actual situation. Within this context, a nd following the issue of Lm-v no . 226 of August 23, 2004 (called "Professionale 3"), the spotting of premise s for the organizations and units which are going to be manned by VPFls over the year 2005 is now under way. It is clear that the requirements will be met in 2005, with the execution, if necessary, of suitable infrastructural works. In the future , however, the issue of female personnel's quartering will find a solution within the ·wider context of the programme already under way, concerning the adoption of the buildings to be used as Vol unteers' collective quarters, an adjustment which is of great importance for the Army, as it paves the way for the improvement in the living standards of the quartered personnel. In particular, within thi.s programme, it was envisaged to contract ,vithin2008 all the works needed to adjust the Volunteers' quarters, adopting an "optimum" living standard for an indicative percentage of 60 % of the strength, with independent doubl e rooms and a separate room for study and leisure time, a cooking area and a bathroom; a "medium" standard for an indicative percentage of 40 % of the personnel, with independent rooms (with a maximum of 6 beds each) and shared bathroom, properly restructured and improved (it was also decided to i mprove the functiona lity and comfort by installing po,ver sockets and light spots near each bed).

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OPTIMUM

MEDIUM

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40 % of StreJJgth Indelil,~d~t roo,ms wH!h s~ Beds

PROGRAMME DEPENDING ON AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES

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Hov.rever, the pursuit of this goal is strongly affected by t he well-known scarcity of the infrastructure budget of the Service.

VOLUNTEERS QUARTERS PROJECT OPTIMUM STANDARD (RESIDENTIAL U NIT FOR 4 VOLUNTEERS)

FINAL REMARKS

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The conclusions we can draw from the presence of female personnel in the Army, five years af~ ter the first enlistments, are quite positive, as shown by the very good results achieved in the various Theatres of Operations where the Service is deployed. The choice made by the legislator ,vith Law no. 380/1999 was an essential one. It allowed a gradual inclusion of the female component in the military instrument, according to quotas which are to be set yearly by a Decree of the Minister of Defence, upon previous agreement with the Equal Opportunities Commission. So the Army could concomitantly and gradually adjust its infrastructure in order to guarantee some privacy, also in buildings under particular architectural restrictions, due to their historical and artistic value. The positive experiences acquired also allowed to eliminate the quota for the recruitment of Officers and NCOs. In the short and medium term, this goal ·will be reached as for the Troops. This wise policy of recruitment was successful on the plane of operational employment at home and abroad. It should be remem bered that in the Italian Army, unlike other foreign Armed Forces, women serve on an equal ity basis, with no restrictions about the assignment to branches or combat specialities. Particularly in the Theatres of Operations, where the employment situations are promiscuous and quite stressing for the personnel, there was no problem in the interrelation between sexes, neither for enlisted men and \\,omen nor along the chain of command . As for operational employment, there were no preclusions even in the most risky Theatres, while the pres-

o·f women. . em:e very positive • , proved in lll th unifo C . Im es_p ecially as re ,. e IMIC sector ,,v1th tl1e 1ocal · gards the relat·ions' e the empathic p op~c, t hanks to male of the In person ne lquahties . · £.econclusion of female perso' the _recruitment proved . be vitall nnel .m th e Army . . to this pecu11· ar his to.· Y 1mporb11t . . . c m characterized b ncctl moment an entirely pr;f!~e. transition t~ n:ient, thanks to ths10nal instrunch ment in ter , e- ensumg · enand h uman resoms of eapab'ihties •. urces. 0 iVla1or · Head, L*egal & EGeneral . ··, A . . c?nonuc ffau s Dwisio . n, A rrnv ., General Staff

orkin. g under the banner of the winged Lion of St Mark, in the last two years they have been en gaged in numerous activities, both in Italy and abroad, and lately in Iraq, with results which - in the words of the Army Chief of Staff, Lt Gen. Giulio Fraticelli, at the Meeting of the "Lagunari" , held in Mestre on 30 and 31 October - show without doubt the professionalism of Cadres and instructors, the high quality of the volunteers and their distinc tive reliability and rigour. The "Lagunari" are Venice's Fusiliers, the heirs to the "Fanti da Mar" of the "Serenissima", the Most Serene Republic of Venice. Proud of their traditions, aware and convinced of the transformation involving the whole Service, the "Lagunari" have left their traditional role of sentries of the lagoon and now - Gener al Fraticelli stressed - are performing the tasks typical of the modem operational contexts, in iuhich the A rmy is 1nore engaged, answer-

ing to the growing need of longdistance projections. I t is in this context that the Army General Staff is conducting a number of studies and investigations aimed at strengthening the capability of joint amphibious projection, to be achieved through the implementation of the necessary synergies of resources between the Army and the Navy. It is a long and exacting task for which, considering the financial resources available, it is necessary to make every efrort in order to eliminate or avoid the useless duplication of assets which are already present in the Services. This entails new tasks for the "Lagunari", one of the m.ost specialized and es teemed Regiments of" our Army. It is matter of transforming a Regiment, whose employment was mainly the defence of the n ational territory, into a rapidly projectable and technologically advanced instrument, capable of intervening in the various crisis areas. Actual ly, today there are approximately 7 5 00

so l diers dep l oyed in I raq , Afghanista n and the Balkans, whi le 4500 more are engaged every day in the activities of Operation "Domino". These tasks Âˇw ere a lso pointed out by the Chief of Staff of Defence, Adm. Giampaolo di Paola, in his message to the Meet ing wWithin the ongoing process of transformation of the Armed Forces, the "Serenissima" Lagunari Regiment will shortly be called to acquire a direct synergy with the Navy's "San Marco" Regiment, in order to constitute an operationally joint Landing Force, which is f{oing to be one of the strong points of the high -readiness projection capabilities of our military instrument. This was certainly a vary high recognition for t he "Lagunari" who, despite being the youngest special branch of the infantry, have been capable of writing extra ordinary pages, in Italy and abroad, also with the supreme sacrifice, in Iraq, of Captain Massimo Ficuciello a nd 1st, Corporal Matteo Vanzan.

The "Lagunari" - added Adm . Di Paola - have given extraordinary proofs of courage, authority, professionalism, sense of responsibility and humanity, which ob tained many acknowledgements and attestations by our allies as well as the local populations. From the assistance to the victims of the floods in Poles ine (195 1 , 1966, 1976) and the refugees from the earthquake in Friuli (1976) and Irpinia (19801981), to the public-order operat ions in Sardinia (1992, Operat ion "Forza Paris") and Sicily (1993-1997, Operation "Vespri Siciliani"). From the participation in "Mission T" on August 29, 1953 before the return of Trieste to Italy (the "Lagunari" were deployed between Marano Lagunare and Villa Vicentina, in the

province of Udine, and Ronchi dei Legionari, in the province of Gorizia) to the operations in Bosnia Herzegovina (1 998 "Constant Forge"), Kosovo (1999-2000 "Joint Guardian", 2001 "Consistent Effort", 2002-2003 "Decisive Endevour") and Iraq (Operation "Antica Babilonia", 2003-2004). The "Lagunari" have belonged to the Army since 1877, \Vhen they became part of the 14th Sapper Company of the 2 nd Engineer Regiment. In 1883 they were incorporated into the two companies of the "Lagunari" Engineers of the 4 th Pontonier Regiment. Adm. Di Paola and Lt Gen . Fraticelli announced their synergic employment with the Navy as landing troops. This entailed the operational reconfiguration of the Regiment as a light-infantry

unit with both land and amphibious capability in any environment. Traditionally, their origin goes back to the "Fusiliers of Venice", recruited by Doge Enrico Dandolo , in order to have them participate in the 4 th Crusade for the conquest of Byzantium (Constantinople), ,vhich was taken for the second time in 1204 (the four horses that still adorn St Mark's Basilica bear witness to that victorious expedition). These forerunners of the "Lagunari" (and of the American Marines) \Vere stationed at San Ni colo di Venezia Lido, in the "Quartiere Grande" or "Soldier's Palace". In 1591, Doge Vettor Pisani (1324-1380) ordered to construct, precisely behind the Abbey of San Nicolo, quarters for the 73

troops - there were 40,000 men in the 4 th Crusade - and stables for the horses (the so called "Serraglio") which became later the "Guglielmo Pepe'' barracks (after a Calabrian general from Squillace, who had been Commander of Venice's Army and died in exile in Turin in 1855). The Pepe barracks became the historical home of the "Lagunari" Regiment Headquarters, before its transfer in 1999 to the "Edmondo Matter" barracks (a captain of the 5 th Infantry Regt, "Marche" Brig, who fell during the capture of Oppacchiasella on September 16, 1916 and ,vas posthumously awarded the Gold lVIedal for Military Valour). The "Matter" barracks used to be the home of some units of antiaircraft artillery, had been a convent in earlier times, and during WWII had quartered some German units. Today they are a state property and there are several plans about their future use, including an international university structure. If t he amphibious role of the Lagunari were emphasized, i.e. that of marine assault troops, landing forces in particular, one could discover that they can be descended from the "Fanti da Mar", i.e ., in a ,vay, from the forces embarked on the fleet of Consul Caius Duilius, who in 260 B.C., in the waters of Mylae, defeated a Carthaginian fleet of 120 quinqueremes, twenty more than the Romans'. Caius Duilius' victory was probably due to the testing of a new type of combat, half naval battle and half land fight - one could call it amphibious - which introduced the technique of "boardint' through the use of "grappling irons" which grappled the enemy ships, enabling the assault forces to fight as they did on land, handto-hand, a kind of combat where the Romans usually prevailed. In fact, as many as 45 Carthaginian ships were sunk, 31 were captured, 4000 enemies died and 7000 were taken prisoners. At the 74

Roman Forum the battle is commemorated by the "Rostral Column", decorated with "rostra", or grappling irons of the Roman quinqueremes. Thus the Romans preceded not only the "Lagunari" but also the lv.larines, whose history begins in 1775 with a meeting of the Iavy Committee at the Turn Tavern of Water Street (in the port of Philadelphia) that set in motion the constitution of the Corps, which was ratified by the U.S. Congress on November 10 of the same year. Also the Marines, who had developed as an amphibious force, have had to adapt to the changing operational scenario, with new and more flexible structures of employment. But let us go back to the "Pepe" barracks. Built on a square plan around a large courtyard, the structure is, for the "Lagunari", a symbol of the ideal continuity of line which makes them ,vorthy trustees of a glorious tradition, born with the "Fanti da Mar" and supported by the "Cacciatori del Sile" (light infantry), the Royal Ships Regiment of the Kingdom of Sardinia (established in 1821 by Carlo Felice) and the Bourbon Royal Corps of Marine Infantry, a lready employed since 1806 as fusi liers and in boarding and landing operations. The "Fanti da Mar" distinguished themselves for their valour, in particular in 1570-1571 at Famagusta; during the Candian war (1645-1669); in the attempt to forc e the port of Venice (on April 20, 1797) carried out by three French Âˇw arships (a casus belli for the fall of the "Serenissima", decreed by the Maggior Consiglio on the on the successive May 12, in order to avoid the sack of the city; in the extreme defence of the Republic of Venice during the siege of 1848-1849, with the participation of the "Cacciatori del Sile", a Venetian Corps of volunteers of about 500 men, organized by the cities of Treviso and Padua, who were the protagonists of a daring coup de main against

the Austrian positions on the Cavallino. The valiant Venetian defence ended with the intervention of Marshal Radetzky who took the city back under Austrian rule . The "Fanti <la Mar" survived in the Sardinian and Bourbon Armies. They were not in-

eluded in the new Army of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1877, but reappeared with the Lagoon Engineers until 1933 and, in the defence of the Lower Pi ave (June-July 19 18) deserved three Silver Me dals and six Bronze Medals for their military valour.

At the same time, the Navy had been continuing the traditions of the Marine Infantry, establishing - in 1861 - t he Royal Navy In fantry Corps, -..,vhich was disbanded in 1878 but maintained a number of special units within the crews of the ships . They were

trained for land operations, and in the capture of Tripoli (1911) earned the title of "Garibaldi ans of the sea"; the Gold Medal for Military Valour was awarded to their flag, which later became the Navy Flag, which is kept aboard the flagship of the Fleet.

In October 1917 a battalion of distinguishing itself at Tobruk, sailors from the bases of Monfal- in Tunisia and at Cassino, and cone, Grado and the Lower together with the paratroopers of Tagliamento took part in the de- the "Nembo" - in the \Nar of Libfence of the Cortellazzo bridge- eration, before reversing to bathead, near Venice, and the same talion level (the "San Marco") year became a iVIarine Regiment within the "Folgore Division". which participated, with its The Army, for its part, recreatthree battalions, in the defence ed its amphibious branch and, on of the Lower Piave. Its flag, do- J anua ry 15, 1951, in the "Pepe" nated by the city of Venice on barracks, the Lagoon Forces SecMay 19 18, was awarded the tor was constituted wit h three Kni ght's Cross of the Military Coastal Lagoon Battalions, fo r Order of Savoy and a Si lver the defence of the Upper AdriatMedal for Military Valour. On ic. The Sector was subordinate to November 3, 1918 the Marine P adua's 5 th Territorial ComRegiment landed at Trieste with mand for training and e mploythe Bersaglieri of the 7 th and ment , and to the Upper Adriatic 11 th Regiment, carrying the Ital- Autonomous Maritime Command ian Tricolour also to Istria and for disciplinary matters. Its first Dalmat ia . On March 17, 1919, Commander was Rear Admiral the Marine Regiment, on Giorgio Ghe. On O ctober 15, Venice's request, took the name 1951 the "San Marco" battalion of "San Marco" and adopted t he joined the Lagoon Forces Sector badge with the winged lion, the for what concerned training and centuries-old symbols of the city. disciplinary matters, while reAfter the war it was reduced to a maining under the "Folgore" Dibattalion, but at the beginning of vision for its operational employWWII beca me a regiment again, ment.

The "San Marco" \Vas organized like an infantry battalion, but its personnel belonged almost entirely to the Navy. On January l, 1952 the Lagoon Forces Sector which meanwhile had constituted its new "l\!Iarghera" and "Piave" coastal battalions - passed under the exclusive command of Padua's 5th COMILITER (Territorial Military Command) and, on January 1, 1953, became subordinate to the 5 th Corps, which had been established on !\fay 1, 1952 . On January 1, 1955 the L anding Craft Group was constituted on the island of Sant'Andrea (Vignole), formed by Navy personnel. On J anuary 15, 1956 this group was renamed Naval Craft Group. On July 1, 1957 the "San Marco" bat talion was transformed into the "Isonzo" battalion, with personnel and m aterials from the Army. On September 1, 1957 the Lagoon Forces Sector, which since 1956 had been commanded by Army Colonels, was renamed Lagoon Regiment and, on October

25, 1959, in St Mark's Square, received its combat flag. In 1963 the existing battalions became mechanized/amphibious and, in 1964, the Lagoon Support Unit turned into a tank battalion, equipped at first with "Sherman" tanks and then with M/47s. This was the 22nd "Serenissima" tank battalion of San Vito al Tagliamento (Pordenone), heir to the 22 nd tank battalion which, together with the 4tl1, 23 rd and 24 th , had formed the ;33 rd "L Tank" Regiment, constituted in Parma in 1939. On May 24, 1964 the Army reorganized the branch and created the "Serenissima" Lagunari Regiment, while the Navy reconstituted the "San Marco" battalion which on the 10 th of June of the same year received its Combat Flag during a ceremony held in the waters of Naples aboard the cruiser "Garibaldi".

On October 20, 1975 the "Lagunari" were reorganized again, becoming the "Amphibious Troops Command", subordinate t o the "Folgore" Mechanized Division, sta tioned in Treviso. After the disbandment of the "Marghera", "Piave" and "Isonzo" battalions, the Amphibious Troops consisted of the l 8t "Serenissima" battalion and the "Sile" Amphibious battalion, whose spearhead was the Scout battalion. In 1975 the "Isonzo" battalion was mechanized and became the 4l8t "Modena" mechanized battalion, while the 22 nd "Serenissima" tank battalion became the 22 nd "Piccinini" tank battalion, and both units joined the "Gorizia" lVIechanized Division. Furthermore, the Amphibious Transport company became an amphibious battalion, the "Sile". The "Piave" batta lion, in its turn, ,vas mechanized and

became the 1st "Serenissima" Lagunari battalion. On June 25, 1984 the "Lagunari" were recognized as a special Branch of the Infantry as of.January 9, 1951. On August 26, 1984 St Mark the Evangelist was proclaimed Patron of Lhe Amphibious Troops and of the whole Branch. On October 13, 1992, within a further reorganization of the Army, the First Battalion lost its autonomy and the following clay became part of the reconstituted "Seren issima" Lagunari Re gi ment, which incorporated also personnel from the disbanded "Sile" amphibious battalion. Today the Regiment is organized as follows: Headquarters and HQ Company, stationed in Iviestre, Matter Barracks; 1 s l "Serenissima" Lagunari Battalion at Malcontenta's "Bafile " barracks, and Naval Craft Company 77

on the island of Sant'Andrea. The Regiment belongs to the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" Cavalry Brigade, a Major Unit of the Defence Forces HQ in Vittorio Veneto (Treviso). It is also interesting to see how the "Lagunari Association" was born. On June 17, 1985 the "Amphibious Lagunari Troops Association (ALTA) was granted juridical status. It had been constituted in Venice on June 15, 1983 in the wake of the "Italian Lagunari National Association", founded in Udine in 1972 by a group of "Lagunari", both in service and retired. I n the ,vords of the current President, Dr Francomario Colasanti, ALTA does not only intend to heep alive the memory of the distant days when, united by toil and conimitment, our mernbers contracted a bond of solidarity which will unite them forever as "brothers in arms", but also wants to be the synonym of a social activity based on the experience gained in those days . The Association has 33 sections in Veneto and others in Bergamo, Novara and Rome, with more than 3000 members who, every two years, participate in a National Gathering.

Last year's meeting was held in memory of Massimo Ficuciello and Matteo Vanzan and also to welcome the Regiment that had just returned from Iraq, after a four-month assignment in support of the civilian population. The "Lagunari" performed their mission with a professionalism and humanity which were highly appreciated by the Iraqi people, thus keeping high the name of our Country. The next meeting, the seventh, will take place at Jesolo. As regards the synergy with the Navy, the F leet avails itself, among other things, of a "Landing Forces Command (COM FORSBARC) located in Brindisi, which controls the "San Marco" and "Carlotta" Regiments as well as the Landing Craft Group. Besides COlVIFORSBARC, the Navy has another tactical-level Command in charge of the amphibious sector: COJ'vIGRUP NAVIT (Assigned Forces Naval Group Command) located in Taranto and mainly responsible for the naval aspects connected with the conduct of amphibious operations. COlVIFORSBARC is mostly tasked with the conduct of ground

operations . The activation of a European amphibious force has been recently decided in order to participate in EU and NATO operations. Its members are the Countries (Italy, Spain, France, United Kingdom and Holland) participating in the "European Amphibious Initiative", which has recently improved the al 78

ready existing amphibious cooperation with S IAF (Italian-Spanish Amphibious Force) and UKN LAMPHIFOR (Anglo-Dutch Amphibious Force) . The European Amph ibious Force (discussed since 1999) enters into action when required. Italy participates with the National Amphibious Force, consisting of the "Garibal-

di", "San Giusto", "San Giorgio" and "San Ivlarco" ships, the helicopters of the Amphibious Combat Unit and the Landing Force ("San Marco" and "Carlotto" Regiments). The European Amphibious Force will have to be capable of deploying about 5000 men , i.e. a Brigade, with the naval and logis-

tic support necessary for its aut onomy. The Force Command will be multinational. After the envisaged Army-Navy synergy, a l so the "Lagunari" will participate in this force.

u * Journalist 79

A body of strategies that can be adopted in order to remarkably reduce the negative consequences of external events

COPING

fiTEGIES

In a profession, and obviously in everyday life, it is important to make use ofcognitive, emotional and behavioural capabilities in order to deal with problematic and stressing situations

In this way one can assess the individual reliability in terms of employment and organize readjustment programmes after long periods in high-intensity Operational Theatres, so as to ensure the efficiency of the personnel, also from the psychological viewpoint, and safeguard their inner sphere. ,

he operational engagements in which our Service has been involved for some time inevitably entail a greater exposure of the personnel to critical events that can be very Âˇ damaging from the psychological viewpoint, and to extreme situations where, quoting Bruno Bettelheim's definition: we are suddenly catapulted in a number of conditions in which our adaptation mechanisms and our former values are no longer applicable and some of them could indeed endanger the very life they were

supposed to protect. Thus we find ourselves devoid of all our defensive system, are hurled to the bottom and, in order to reemerge, we must build a new set of behaviours, values and ways of life suited to the new situation. This is nothing new, and one can understand that, if the task of our organization is "to defend", the exposure to risk and the management of critical situations is inevitable. Reading again an old but interesting book by Major Cesare Agostini, MD, a neuropsychia tri st engaged in

Carnia during the First World War, we find some cues for interesting reflections. In May 1917 Major Agostini was operating in an area which included the border Camic valleys which at Creta Verde, Pal Piccolo and Timau, on the mountains of Dogna and in Canin faced an Austrian pass strongly fortified on the opposite peaks.

Major Agostini had the opportunity to observe and study the soldiers who, during these combats, suffered neuropsychiatric problems. The operations were taking place in an area characterized by narrow valleys, surrounded by almost inaccessible mountains, with roads often closed by snow, where it was impossible to conduct large scale operations. Due to the almost immediate contact with the enemy, there were frequent duels of small ar-

tilleries, hand grenades and rifles. Night surveillance was continuous; resupplying, patrolling, observation and life in the trenches were very wearying. All this entailed an uninterrupted trickle of dead and wounded, together with the wearing out caused by the protracted toil and extreme mental tension. The doctor, in a passage of his study, writes that "Very nu-

merous and interesting are the acute and transitory cases directly caused by the new and difficult conditions of this kind of war in predisposed and constitutionally emotional individuals. I say ''predisposed" because in the family anamnesis of these subjects it is generally possible to find notes of neuropath. ic inheritability in a broad sense, together with numer- Âˇ a.u s, evident dysmorphic and psychic forms of precocious imbalance, both sentimental and volitional. The number of soldiers struck by emotional psychoneurosis is particularly high among the young recruits exposed to combat for the first time, and increases

Self Image

Life roÂˇect

BEHAVIOURS

in the fights preceded by heavy shelling". Having made the appropriate considerations about the nosological definition of a psychiatric illness and its etiologic aspects which, in any case, should be read within the psychiat ry of the times, it is interesting to note that not only the context of the employment (war event and combat) and the living conditions (difficult and often desperate) were taken into account, but a lso the man was consid ered, with his emotional, affective and distinctive components which make every individual unique in his reactions and in his ways of responding and facing risky and critical events and situations . The predisposition and emotionality described by Agostini are a reference to the personality and psychology of each individual and characterize his emotional endurance, and his response to critical and stressing situations. Quoting a thought by Carlo Levi, "the future has an ancient heart", Âˇwe can say that this part of history somehmN represents the "ancient heart" of our present; also today, despite technological

progTess and new equipment, soldiering is still characterized by the great commitment requested of man as such, who plays a determinan t role in facing and managing critical situations. The military now engaged in the various operational theatres are exposed to risks and difficulties which must be kno,vn and understood, since the ways of facing them are different.

In this sense, the Army is making a radical change in its organization, with the constitution of streamlined and dynamic units, with more professional and better trained personnel, very unlike t he "entrenched" ones mentioned above. As a matter of fact, the soldier is rcq u este d to operate in highly critical and unst able scenarios which entail efforts of adaptation and tolerance of situations caused by various physical and psycho logical stressors, that can be very intense and protracted . Another important aspect of the deep change in the military organization is represented by the recent suspension of conscription. This implies a different type of personnel no

more consisting of citizens "removed" from their reali ty , against their will, for the duration of conscription. Therefore, recruitment and replenishment of the unit s must a lso be different . Today the service must open itself and offer opportunities of training, growth and employment to the young citizens, men or women, who approach the military organization and

ask to join, taking with them their history, motivations and expectations. This ,vill obviously affect the selection of the personnel, who must bÂˇe chosen with care, t a king into account the vario us prospects of em ployment and stay in the Service, keeping in mind that, in order to be able to rely on an efficient and effective organi zation, one should invest primarily on the individu al, in training and educative terms, with t he objective of having personnel that can perform tasks requiring not only a specific technical and professional preparation, but also a consta nt an d purposeful t raining which can also provide a high level of psychological efficiency. Therefore, today the entire military organization is characterized by volunteer and professional person nel; more complex and composite training cycles; ope rationa l employment in high-intensity theatres ; greater exposure to critic al situations; increased emotional commitment. This means t hat one of the qualifications required is an appropriate p sycho lo gical atti tude, according to the foresee able operational engagement, which should consist of the cognitive, emotional and behav ioural capabilities that an individual can put into practice in order to confront problematic and/or stressing situations involving a certain e xposure to risk. The nature a nd quantity of the resources, together with the capabi li ty of using the m properly, are in fact important and decisive in order to bear the emotional efforts deriving from the employment in operations (operational fatigu e) while maintaining the psychological ba l ance and mental health, in the perspective of the concept of "resili ence", i.e. the capability of facing and overcoming t he adversities of life, coming out s tre ngthened or

eve n transformed (Gro tb erg, 1996). In other words, it is the possibility of reacting to difficulties in a positive manner, succeeding in using the experience in order to build the future through a behaviour sho\ving the w ish to figh t and come up with all the energy necessary to resist the stressing situations. Resilience is not a simple a nd single quality, but rather the result of different factors which, as a \Vhole, form an homoge neous structure: the simultaneous presence of t hese factors permit s t o go through stressing circumstances without physical or mental impairment. Among them we can single out: commitment, control, taste for chal lenges as an incentive to grow, perceiving them as spurs and n ot threats, with the open mind an d th e flexibi li ty which allow to resist even in the most adverse conditions . On the other hand, these factors also make the individu als different since, given the same stressing situation, the available resources and the ways of organizing them in a functional way can either limit, or cause, the risk

of a psychological discomfort and worsen, or alleviate, a crisis. This is nothing new, since in the military the human and psychological components have always been taken into account by th e Commanders. Clausewitz, in his book, "About vVar", wrote: "If we talw a general look at the four elements that form the atmos phere into which war ,naves, i.e. danger, p hysical toil, uncertainty and chance, we will easily see that a great strength of character and intelligence is necessary to penetrate safely and successf"ully into an element so diflicult to master. This strength follows the various chct11.f;es deriving from circumstances and, in the words of writers and reporters of military events, takes the name of energy, firmness , willpower and strong character. The first question that com.es to mind is what we mean preci8ely with thi8 expression. Obviously not a violent display of feelings nor a rapture of passion, since this would contradict our normal language, but rather the f'a.culty of continuing to follow reason, even i n t he midst of the strongest excitement, the most violent storm of passion".

Therefore we must look at the personnel with a different eye , with an experience enriched and integrated by newÂˇ knowledge and knew objectives, oriented towards the enhancement of the human person, v.rithi n an organization that requires well supported sound motivations and specific attitudes that can translate into capabilities, skill and, as a consequence, into efficient performances, since the val ue of the Service is measured precisely through the operational effoctiveness and efficiency it is able to express. If we think of the different elements that determine an effective behaviour and a good performance, we note that the personality and the capability of managing one's own emotions are determinant factors, especially when facing critical situations which resound strongly on the emotional plane.

COPING This framework also includes the concept of "copint', a common term in modern psychology mean-

ing "to face", "to stand up to", "to fight successfully". The notion associate with it was introduced in 1966 by Richard Lazarus, but also other authors have taken an interest in it, like Folkman, who in 1986 defined "coping" as the complex of cognitive and behavioural efforts aimed at managing the internal and external demands made by the person -environment transactions which, in the person's eualuation, weaken or exhaust the resources possessed. In 1997 Sica, Novara, Dorz and Sanavio describe "coping" as "the non fully explored whole of capabilitie8 and skills from which the indiuidual draws in order to face problematic and potentially stressing situations and to plan, develop and gradually implement his own strategy for the solution of difficulties". More recently, in 2002, Goodyer, another researcher, defined "coping" as "the complex internal responses to external events, whose functions aim at reducing the probability of negative consequences". It is easy to understand ,,.,hy the concept of "coping" finds its right and correct place in mi li-

tary psychology and psychiatry, oriented t owards the maintenance of the efficiency and safeguard of both the individual and the community, in that the capability of employing the strategies suited for tackling critical situations is important not only in terms of operational effectiveness, but also for the individual and the group. Thus "coping" becomes a strategy involving certain behaviours which can be more or less functional and effoctive for facing critical situations and managing the resulting emotional impact. The determining factors of the coping strategies are : capability of solving problems, control of the situation; how the circumstances occur ; manner in which the circumstances take shape. In fact, together with the individual capabilities, one should also consider the context, and therefore the person's relation with the situation. In any case , a cognitive and emotional commitment is necessary in order to control it, and at time this can turn out to be unachievable, being beyond any human possibility. On the other hand, also the manner in which the circumstances take place are a strong conditioning ele ment of the approach and the more sudden and unforeseen they are, the more they test the capability and skill of the i ndividual. A coping strategy, therefore, on the one hand involves the person with his own characteristics and skills and, on the other, situation, environment and circumstances, in a sort of interplay between person/mind and environment. Still, it is always the individual the element who does everything possible to reduce as much as possible the risks connected with critical events, either acting on the event or on the problem itself (strategy focused on the problem) or intervening on h is own emotional response and i ts possible

negative effects (strategy focused on emotion).

COPING

COPING AND REACTION TO EVENTS According to a recent defini tion, "coping" is a process that, once analysed, can be divided in two sequential phases: evolution and execution . The first is more typically centred on the cognitive processes of attributing a meaning to the stimulus; the second is the executive phase, selectively focused on the operational behaviour adopted and expressed by the subject. Therefore an event triggers a series of activations before organizing a strategy in response to the

event. The occurrence is perceived, evaluated and compared with events previously experienced, then a mental response is organized, starting an efficient behaviour aimed at reducing the risks deriving from the event. Referring to a scheme proposed recently (in 2002) by Goodyer, we see a reaction structured as follows: processing of the immediate emotional response; evalu-

Ce.l··iu·,;ii;.)Utoi tendencit~s: prepui~ing ~;-c, ,2ct cn1d going to\','ai"ds surne·thlnq, i°-'r e1\1t>fding it , or beii"!S ccr·.zful , ccn'f'rc!ling , e'i"c ... A "mental action".

Non explicit behaviours, but "impulses to act". ,v- Confrontation.

<Yr

,,,,The action can be inhibited if the evaluation of control made by the individual have a negative result (i.e. insufficient resources, little chances of success).

ation of the importance of the experience through its ackno,vledgment and comparison with preceding experiences; organization of a mental strategy in response to the event; synchro nization of the sensitivity and performance functions in order to reduce the risk of the event's negative effects on oneself. Then coping becomes a "style" by which an individual faces a

critical and emotionally important situation, a kind of "wellthought behaviour" upon which an action will be structured later. Coping, therefore, can be defined as a behavioural tendency, a preparation for an action, to go tO\vards something or avoid it, to be careful, to control; a "mental action"; an "impulse to act" rather that explicit action; a confrontation. At the same time, an action can be inhibited if the individual's evaluations have negative results (inadequate outcome, little chances of success) . In all th is it is important to keep in mind the active character of the emotional response which, as ,ve said before, can go in the direction of the sol ution of the problem or towards an emotion, i.e. the control of the negative effects of a too intense emotional reaction which, in some cases, can direct towards dysfunction a l strategies, such as withdrawal from action and refusal of the problem. These ideas support the coping strategies, i .e . the behavioural tendencies and spurs to act mentioned above. lt is precisely these points that charac85

INSTRUMENTS FOR THE EVALUATION OF COPING STYLES

'-. ~~

• Skill in "probl • Controllability • Modality of occurrence of circumstances

terize the different responses typica l of t he differences among individuals . After all, this is the core of the subject. If some coping s trate gics ar e functional for an effective perfo rm ance and containment of risk, of both the individual and his group, there ar e oth e r s which are dysfunctional to t he point of becoming very risky in certain circumstances. Obviously t h e effectiveness of a strategy depends also on the context in wh ich the event takes place and on the objective to be achieved. La zarus and Folkman ( 1984) have singled out some possible coping s trategies, such as: accept the confrontation (keep one's o\vn stand and act with determin ation, in order to reach the goal; negotiate and convince the other si de to change its mind, find new arguments); take a distance (continue as if nothing had happened and a void thinkin g it over) ; apply self-control (check your feelings, do not let your difficulty be noticed); look for social su ppo rt (expound your difficulties to those who can help, accept the support and understanding of-

In order to study an d appraise th e coping strategies, a number of instruments have been p repared . The "Way of coping questionnaire" (Fol k m an and Lazarus, 1988) is based on the personal reports of the respondents and singles out eight possible coping str a tegies . "Confrontative coping", ·when the problem is directly tackled by th e subject; Distancing; Selfcontrol ; Search for social sup port; Acceptance of responsibility; Escape/Avoidance; Problem solving(when the in d i v id ual p l ans his intervention strateg ies); Po sitive re -e v a luation.

1. RELATIONAL AREA • participation and openness in interpersonal relations • willingness to accept hierarchical relations and refer to them • communication capability • willingness to acknowledge and share norms and rules 2. MANAGERIAL AREA • aim at results 3. MOTIVATIONAL AREA • willingness to improve oneself within the military organization fered); accept responsibility (assume a self-critical attitude and acknowledge your part of responsibility); avoid fleeing and trying to r elieve your malaise by escaping the problem turning to drinking, eating and smoking, waiting for the problem to disappear; p lan for a sol u t ion; revaluate yourself positively, trying to find again self-confidence and esteem .

COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems E xperienced - Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989) is a questionnaire through which respondents are asked to estima te the frequency \Vith which the subject applies a given coping modality, selected among 15 differen t ones, in difficult and stressing s i tuations : activity, planning, suppr ession of competition , containment,

search of information, search of understanding, emotional outburst, positive reinterpretation and growth, acceptance, humour, denial, behavioural de tachment, mental detachment, use of alcohol and drugs. "Coping inventory for stressful situations" (Ciss). It is a self report investiga t ing the frequency ·with vvhich a subject applies certain behaviours to face stress , and aims at measuring three general coping capabilities: problem-oriented coping, emotion-oriented coping, avoidance strategies. These instruments are obviously a useful aid for studying and assessing coping and can be profitably integrated by an interview that, with a direct rela tion with the person concerned, a review of the information contained in the questionnaire, and the collection of data on the individual, his history, his experience and his behaviour vis-a-vis different and critical situations which can be part of his past, permits a more complete and reliable appraisal of the coping strategies, a lso in terms of predictions within the selection of personnel.

COPING STRATEGIES (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) 1. ACCEPT CONFRONTATION • keep your position and act with determination in order to achieve your objective • negotiate, convince the other to change his mind, find new subjects, etc. 2. KEEP AT A DISTANCE • proceed as if nothing had happened and don't think about it 3. CONTROL YOURSELF • try to control and contain your feelings, don't let it be known that you have a problem. 4. LOOK FOR SOCIAL SUPPORT • explain your difficulties to those who can help you, accept support and understanding 5. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY • assume a self-critical attitude and acknowledge your responsibility 6. AVOID • trying to mitigate your discomfort by evading the problem, turning to drinking, eating, smoking, waiting for the trouble to end 7. PLAN A SOLUTION • strive to realize a solution plan

CONCLUSIONS Today the modern soldier is called to operate in very emotional high-intensity contexts, destabilized and destabilizing. Concepts like coping help to wards a better understanding of the individual's ,vays to manage fatigue, stress and the difficulties he can run up against, and advance forecasts about t he possible answers to critical events. This is important for assessing employment reliability and also for organizing - after long tours of duty in high-intensity operational theatres - "rehabilitation" programmes aimed at ensuring the avai lability, at any time, of efficient personnel, psy-

8. REVALUE YOURSELF POSITIVELY • strive to regain respect and confidence in yourself cho l ogically enri ched and strength ened through the positive elaboration of experiences which had demanded a great effort in terms of personal re sources. It is essential to select and recruit personnel who can give an adequate response to these stimuli, and the evaluation of the coping strategies can certainly be consid ered a good opportunity t o interface the requirements connected with selection and employment orienta-

tion with the need to avoid inadequate and dysfunctional responses prompted by emotions and consequent behaviours - in the conviction that selection is precisely the first great preventive moment.

* Lieutenant Colonel, MD,

Recruitment Office, Army General Staff

The law recently approved by Parliament, concerning the suspension of conscription and the system of rules for the volunteers with a fixed term of service, besides meeting the requirements of the military inc,n.._,......ent, is also the ~m-.netric interpretation of a wish for change felt by society in the last decades. An era is closing, with the end of an ''institution" which marked the long and difficult progress of our Country d Âˇ its social, cultural, democratic, technical and scientific growth. 88

ALOOK IN RETROSPECT The birth of mass conscription goes back to Republican Rome, with the application of the "conjuratio" principle, according to \\1hich it was the people's duty to

by Giovanni Ce:r~-

: : : ====================:::!J "respond to the Consul's summons when the motherland was in danger". Leaving aside Machiavelli's doctrinal considerations which theorized the formation of people's militias for the defence of the State, we can say that cons cription was concr etel y r eal -

ized for the first time in France during the Revolution and then, vvith the advent of a bourgeois society and the ack nowledgment of the concept of "Nation", was sprea.d through a ll the European States of the 19 th Century. The new recruiting systems finds a fertile ground especially with the Prussian milit ary class, engaged in the transformation of the old feudal army into an efficient instrument, capable of supporting Bismark's power policy. Thus, the concept of "armed nations", based on mass conscription, begins asserting itself. Overcoming the bounds of the Jacobin thought, still anchored to a revo1u tionary enthusiasm, the new idea also aims at more ambitious goals, namely the civic and moral education of the young and, in general, the support of the national society. The P russian model is acquired by many continental Countri es, including the young Kingdom of Italy, where the principle of "armed nation" is initially applied on the basis of the recruiting law of the Sardinian Army, supported by Minister Lamarmora and approved in 1854, in order to meet the strategic requirements of the moment. The Country has just been unified and is u nderstandably conquered by a strong impulse of renewal. There are many endeavours, especially on t h e part of the democratic left - which ins p i red also Garibaldi and Pisacane - to counter the idea of a "permanent army" with that of a "militia". But the heavy setback of Mentana convinces the Ar my staff to lay aside any innovation and confirm its idea of a l arge -structure instrument based on conscripti on, which was to be very selective, socially discriminating and with very long terms of service.

In 1875 a new law, inspired by criteria of greater fairness, sanctions the principle that the military obligation is general and personal, repeals the institution of "repl acement" and, for the first t ime, introduces the "exemption for family reasons" . Those who are able-bodied and not exempted are drawn into two categories: the first category is enlisted and the second receives only a basic training and is dis90

charged, to serve as a complementary reserve. The term of service of the first category is 3 years ( 4-5 for the cavalry) and the Minister can discharge 1/5 of the enlisted strength for budgetary reasons. Still in 1875 a third category is established: it comprises the men exempted for family reasons who, although n ot obliged to serve in peacetime can be mobilized in time of war.

More legislative measures are adapted in 1881 and 1888 , increasing the number of the cases which entitle to an early dis charge, exoneration and exemption. The duration of the service is reduced only in 1910: a new law (Spingardi Law) reduces it 18 months. In order to favour the amalgamation of the young men coming from the various Italian regions and to meet the new technical and strategic requirements connected with the use of the infrastructure and the defensive covering of the whole territory, the recruitment is based, as regards the selection of the place of duty, on national criteria. Sole exception are the Alpine t roops, who are recruited regionally. During the First \.Vorld War there are continuous changes in the norms on conscription, which are aimed at sustaining an army of about 3 million men. During the following 20 years, the courses for reserve Officers are s t epped up (they were al ready employed during the war). T anks to them it is possible to: cover the deficit of regular Officers for the organization of the units; meet specific technical/logistic requirements (medical officers, veterinarians, chemists, technicians); favour university studies; cream off the excessive number of conscripts; ensure the availability of Cadres for the mobilization of the discharged force. The military obligation ends aL the age of 55 until 1946; in that year it is reduced to 45. During the first period after the Second World War, the General Staff of the Services do not hesitate to defend the conscription system, for they still consider iL the only source of recruitment capable of meeting the new requirements of the organization (this opinion is shared by the Con stituent Assembly). The flow of conscripts is also balanced by a considerable nurn-

ber of "long-term specialists". Unfortunately, this initiative immediately turns out to be a failure, due to the poor retributive and normative conditions envisaged for these personnel. For about forty years, conscription is the object of a lively debate underlining its inefficacy, both for the good r easons connected with the ineffe ctuality of the instrument and for the demagogic actions conducted by various political quarters which, little by little, succeeded in convincing the Country that the constitutional precept is obsolete and, at this point, conscription is only a useless waste of time for the young Italians. The effects of t his campaign arouse a great deal of interest at parliamentary level, producing a "florilegium" of norms whi ch cause a dreadful deterioration in the qua lity of the contingents. This is also due to the proliferation of t he exemptions and the growth of the phenomenon of conscientious objection.

This complex s cenario leads, s lowly but inexorably, to the decis i on of transforming t he Armed Forces into an entirely professional organization . The process starts Âˇwith law 33 1 of Nove mber 14 , 2000 and goes on through a progressive reduction of t h e strength , with the necessary gradualness in order to avoid structural im balances. Professionalism becomes an objective of the present government, which suspended conscript ion as of January 1, 2005 , instead of 2007 as originally planned. On July 26, 2004 the Chamber of Deputies approves the Government Bill "Martino" (a fter the Minister's last name), concerning the anticipated suspension of conscription and the regulation regard ing t he fixed -term volunteers. Thus , we are now at the final stage of an epochal event: the end of an "institution" which accom panied the history of our Country in its process of social, cultural,

democratic, technical and scientif~ ic gro-wth.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A ROLE Beyond the extent of the consensus obtained, conscription, for more than 140 years, has been a powerful instrument of moral aggregation, socialization and cultural progress. At the dawn of March 17, 1861 two peoples culturally very difieren t, suddenly find themselves unit ed (and they do not even speak the same language, since at everyday-language level there is almost complete incomprehension). Two peoples who are different even as regards religion, albeit sharing the same catholic creed (in th e south there is a fanatic practice close to superstition, while in the north a strong anticlericalism is gaining ground). Sea and drought to the south, mountains and rivers in the

north, with antithetic agricultural characteristics. In the north, a growing industry and handicraft prevail; in the south, feudalism and autarchy. The enormous task of unifying the Country from the social, political , moral and spiritual viewpoint falls to the Army, through the conscription system. Generation after generation, the inhabitants of Italy start recognizing one another in the ranks of the units stationed on the whole territory and begin to speak - or at least to understand - the same language, acknowledging Italy as their common motherland. The battlefields of the First Worl d War do the rest, making all soldiers feel that they are defending the same nation: no village of the peninsula and its islands, not even the smallest one, remains without its war memorial, with its long list of fallen soldiers. For many Italian young men the barracks are the first masonry house, the first mess with tableware and regular meals and sometirnes euen the first pair of shoes. 92

Luigi Settembrini, in one of his works, said that the Army was the iron wire which sewed the Country together. But, besides being an iron wire, the military conscription was also an ink wire. In the just proclaimed Kingdom of Italy there are 21 million in habitants: 75% of them are illiterate and most of the others can barely read, write and count. After 120 years, the census of 1981 shows that of 57 million inhabitants only one million and a half are illiterate, i.e . 3% of the population , most of them over seventy. Pasquale Villari writes on "II Politecnico", a review founded in 1866 by Carlo Cattaneo: "the Army has assembled all Italians under the honour of the same Flag and is the most effective of all the moral, unifying and civilizing forces of the Count,:y. Our A rmy is miracle ofthe Italian conimitment and valour, since the distance that separates it from the best in Europe is infinitely less than the difference betiueen our Nation and the more civilized ones.

And then he adds : Within our Country there is an enemy, more powerfitl than Au.stria: owÂˇ colossal ignorance. It was not the four-sided stronghold of Mantova, Verona, L egnago and Peschiera that bloc/wd our way, but the quadrilateral of 17 million illiterates and 5 million "Arcadian.c;". Yes, it ,vas precisely the Army that, with its conscription, began the difficult task of diffusing literacy among the masses. The "Regulation of Military Disciph ne" of 1872 reads : "Any soldier who does not learn to read and write will be liept under the Flags, even if his contingent is discharged". The Army's work for the cultural improvement of the masses ,vas as commen dable as it was exclusive, if one considers that only in 1911 a new law gives a real impulse to public education assigning to the State all t h e elementary schools which , until then, had been entrusted t o the benevolent care of some religious organizations. Bene d etto Croce's deare st pupil, Luigi Russo, who was a teacher at t he "Nunziatella" Military College and b ecame Rector of "La Normal e" University in Pisa, in his work "Military Life and Discipline", written during the First World War, when asked to give a series of lessons for the Cadet Officers of the Reserve (among them future politicians Palmira Togliatti and Antonello Trombadori, who bear witness to the literary and pedagogic value of those lectures) wrote: the Army is a school, a vast school, which also operates against another tJÂˇpe of illiteracy, which involves also the cultured classes: ciuic illiteracy. Military education is a highly moral education: we need to be fully aware of this idea in order to see in the Army not only a war machine, once the war is de clared, but also a uital body where the citizen diuests him.self of his civilian guise and wears the uniform. of a militant in the

cial life, to the point of stimulating in the conscripts the virtue of saving, as is proved by a circular issued in 1883 and signed by the Minister, encouraging the conscripts to deposit their pay in postal saving books, not only in order to benefit from the interests but also to spread the knowledge of that advantaf{eous instillltion in the countryside, after their return to the places of origin.

â€˘

CONCLUSIONS

Country's active service. All our life is a life of militancy, in the sense that our whole life is a struggle and this implies obligations, discipline and efforts. Also in this perspective, I believe, the Army is very educative, for it accustoms us to the idea that the struggle is a fundamental form of the human spirit and is intrinsic in all our life; because the virtues taught by the A rmy are the ones needed by man, the tough soldier of manliind. Because this is what we want: that the soldier should never be so much a soldier as to become less of a man. The Army is a school a/public spirit, but also a school of humanity, since militaiy life?, in its ideal meaning, is not the pmfession of those who wear a uniform for a few years, but is simply the "nioral uniform" of all those who are proud of being men. Some years after the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, Defence Minister Della Rovere issues a decree for the discharge of all the Neapolitan soldiers who were compelled to march in 1857. The Commanders were urged to ex-

hort the discharged soldiers to behave, in all respects, as is becoming honest citizens and honoured soldiers..., not to many before receiving the necessary authorization .. . , and heep in good order their personal belongings. These precepts, which appear anachronistic today, \vere issued in an extremely backward social context, such as that prevailing in t he southern provinces at that time, and are further proof of the educational effort that the Italian Army, with the application of conscription, has been making since the very first years of its existence. T.n 1863 the same Minister organizes the smallpox vaccination of all conscripts who enter the barracks. It is the first mass-vaccination, an operation never seen before the union, aimed at preventing a deadly type of epidemic. In those difficult years, the Army (and the other national military institutions, albeit at different times and in different forms) engages in a difficult educational activity involving all aspects of so-

Probably the short comments expressed above describe the fundamental importance of conscription in the social, political, cultural and democratic life of the Nation, better than more complex and subtle argumentations. Conscription leaves us after more than one hundred and forty years of an educational and character-forming activity which was undoubtedly extremely important in the history of our Country. The Armed Forces of today, setting aside all emotional implications, look at the future Âˇwithout und ervaluing the risks of this epochal change but they are sure that they can rely, also in the new context marked by the presence of professional soldiers, on the authentic feeling and respect of the Italian people, who are fully aware that they represent an irreplaceable stronghold for their security and continue to be an extraordinary school of civil virt ues, humanity and solidarity. The old soldiers and the honest daydreamers may perhaps feel a bit of sad nostalgia. Yes, this can certainly happen. But there will never be a doubt that the coming of the professional soldier could e ver d im in th e military t he memory of their ancient values. D 1 '

Brigadier General (ret.), former Editor-in-Chief of "Rivista Militare" 93

he very concept of democracy includes the idea that security is a responsibility of the people as whole. The citizen's willingness to defend his Country is an indis-

pensable prerequisite for the defence of the rights and freedom of every man. This is stated by the Constitution (Grundgesetz) of the Federal Republic of Germany, which thus

assimilates the will for peace and the capability of defence. The deriving burdens and duties imposed by the State on its citizens for the equipment and training of the Armed Forces, as 95

a little time to the examination of the "link and communication" factor in the most populous Country of\'lestern Europe.

THE LINKING FUNCTION

well as the institution of conscription, whose preservation is not under discussion at the moment, make it indispensable to carry out a widespread and qualified action of communication and osmosis Âˇwith society as regards the problems connected with the Country's defence and security policy, particularly towards the young who are approaching the age of conscription. These essential activities of linkage, osmosis and communication are performed, with excellent results, both by organizations which, in different manners, take upon themselves the task of representing the Armed

Forces towards the "exterior", and directly by the Bundeswehr, through the institutional (and characteristic) figure of the Ju gendoffizier. Considering that in Germany the relationship between citizens and Armed Forces is particularly close and direct, that conscription is still the primary form of recruitment of all regular personnel (most highranking officers , particularly in the Army, started their career as conscripts, becoming professionals during their compulsory service) and that Defence in all its aspects is seen as a subject of public interest open to debate, it does not seem unfitting to devote

Considering that the Bun deswehr refuses to acknowledge any possible historical or tradi tional connection with the Wehnnacht, the Rei.chswehr and even the Armed Forces of the time of vVilhelm II, in Germany there are no legally recognized ex-servicemen's associations, nor are there associations that could be compared with the Italian Veterans' Associations, oÂˇwing to their role of gathering former members of a specific branch of the Armed Forces. The role of relation with society, promotion and information is performed, in different measures and modalities, by the "Kameradschaften", local organizations of former members of specific units ; the "Verband der Reseruisten", a legally recognised national association related to the Federal Ministry of Defence, which assembles reservists of the Armed Forces; t he "Bundeswehruerband", another national association, legally recognized, which acts as spokesman for the Armed Forces' personnel with publ ic opinion and the politico-military leadership, as regards wage, social, service and operational issues and is somehow similar to the Italian CO . CE .R.; the "Forderhreis Deulsches Heer" a private association assembling eminent members of the Armed Forces and the politico-industrial world.

THE "KAMERADSCHAFTEN'' These are local organizations assembling the former members of a specific unit and aim at keeping and strengthening a relation of acquaintance, respect and mu-

tual trust with the local communities. In order to better understand the mutual relation of knowledge, confidence and trust binding the local communities to "their" units, it is necessary to remember that since the time of the great reforms of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (the real founders - during the past post-Frederick's crisis and the Napoleonic wars - of the people's army) in Germany the military service has a lways had the regional character that in Italy, until recently, was an almost exclusive prerogat ive of the Alpine

equipped, trained and employed according to common standards and subordinate to t,he Empire's central authority. It was normal, within this framework, for the units to develop a strong sense of belonging to the respective garrison cities and vice versa. The relationship still persists today, particularly in the Lander of the former \i\Test Germany. It is usual, especially in the small towns, for most notables to have done their military service in the unit quartered in their home tm-vn. In this picture, the Kamerad schaften perform an intense and

tions. The reserve personnel hold very different positions, also at high level, in politics and industry (even if they do not reach the same levels attained in the Kingdom of Denmark, where the present Minister of Defence, Soren Gade, is a Reserve l\fajor in the Jutl and Dragoon Regiment) . :M any are Lieutenant Colonels or Colonels in the reserve and command non-active battali ons or Regiments. In fact, in the Armed Forces' structure, particularly in the Army, there are "framework" units whose personnel consists entirely of reservists, who under-

troops. Furthermore, at the end of WWI the Second Reich was still formed by the federation of 4 Kingdoms (Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Wi.irttemberg), 3 Imperial Cities (Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck) and 8 Dukedoms , Margraviates and Princedoms (Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, lVIecklenburg-Strelitz, Anhalt, Braunschweig, Schaumburg,Lippe, Lippe and Waldeck) each with its own armed forces, albeit

well-deserving role vis-a-vis the local administrations, in favour of the unit to which they refer, supporting and participating in opendays and ceremonies concerning the Unit .

go periodic recalls and are enrolled in organic units, taking part in exercises with Cadres and troops. These personnel are assembled in the Verband der Reservisten, which has 137,000 members and about 2000 local sections that develop and conduct activities of information (security and military policy), and promotion (sports and social matters). Furthermore there are approxim ately 200

THE VERBAND DER RESERVISTEN In Germany the institution of the Reserve has very old tradi -

unit s a nd formations, and participation in sports and military contests. The philosophy of the Verband der Reservisten is to employ and strengthen the voluntary willingness of retired soldiers and other citizens to commit themselves in favour of the State and the Armed Forces, also as a pressure gToup. It is worth noting that the Verband is indepen dent and politically non-partisan; it r egards itself as a part of the Arm ed Forces; it represents all reservists and offers favourable terms in the provision of certain services (credit cards, telephone cards, etc.).

THE BUNDESVEHRVERBAl'lD

provincial and regional "centres" at Land level, for coordinating the subordinate levels and the liaison with the local civilian and military authorities. In addition, the association has a central structure a t federal level. It is also interesting to note that, in addition to the military personnel , ret ired or in service, any citizen can join the Verband. The tasks of the association are: to guide the activities of the voluntary reservists, integrating the typically training ones a lready carried out by the Armed Forces; spread the knmNledge of the problems related to defence and security; act as a link between Armed Forces and society. 98

Among the association's numerous activities we can note: the promotion and support of the Armed Forces' image in schools, also in parallel with the Ju.gend Offiziere assigned to the area ( \ve shall talk about them later on) and through the const it ution of Junior Groups; care of the inter ests of its members, through reports and points of view expressed by the Managing Committee to Parliament, Government and - if necessary (through th e Secretary General) - to the Defence Minister; maintenance of close r elations at international level; organization of conferences and seminars on subjects related to the security policy; visits to

The Bu.ndesvehruerband (Federal Armed F orces' Association) is politically and economically independent. It represents the interests of approximat e ly 220,000 members (conscripts, active-service and retired personnel) of all ranks, as well as their families. The association was founded in 1956, together with the Bundeswehr, after the principle of the "Citizen in Uniform", who basically has the same rights and duties of all other citizens. The institutions acknowledge the association as a reliable and representative counterpart as regards service regulations and social conditions of the milit ary perso nnel: within this framework it has a direct influ ence - or at least it pronounces its opinion - on the decisions made by Parliament and Government. A recent political success of the associations is the new and more favourable set of norms concerning the personnel employed in operations. Another important measure was the voluntary access for women - Âˇw hich unti l recently had been limited to the Medical

and Music Corps - to all Branches and Special Corps of the Armed Forces. The appeal made by t\venty-three year old Tanja Kreil, an e lectrnnics Âˇgraduate from Hannover, against her nonenlistment in the Maintenance Branch (/nstandsetzungtruppe) vrns supported by the Verband until the E uropean Court of Justice delivered a favourable judgement in January 2000. Also the law providing for the servicemen to appoint their own representatives for the discussion of all measures concerning social protection and assistance carries the "mark" of the Bundeswehruerband. At present the association, firmly in favour of conscription , is very act ive in the debate on th e

reorganization of the Armed Forces. The Bundeswehru.erband is a member of the European Organization of Mili tary Associations (EUROMIL), Âˇw hose President is a Colonel in active service, and is organized on 3 levels : the base, represented by 161 Standorthame radsc hafte n and 519 Trup penkameradschaften (garrison or unit-level groups) plus 163 Kameradschaften, associated with an equal number of reservists and 308 independent groups (these Kameradschaften should not be confused 'with those mentioned above: they have only the name in common); the second level, consisting of 4 L andesverbande (each of them responsible for 4 Lander), subdivided in 34 Bezirke (d is-

tricts): the top is represented by the Federal Council, with Officers in Bonn and Berlin.

THE FORDERKREIS DEUTSCHES HEER

Relatively small as regards the number of its members but extremely influential as a lobby, the "Fi.jrderkreis Deutsches Heer" (FKH) - German Army's Association - was founded in October 1995 as cooperation forum "for all those who fee l close to the Army". Within this picture, it aims at encouraging and keeping alive a dialogue between the German Army and the distinguished members of the German society invested with political,

military or industrial responsibilities. This triple reference is reflected in the FKH objectives and charter as well as in the composition of its steering committee a nd the extraction of its members, who come mainly from politics, the Army itself and t he armaments industry. The association in tends to increase the weight and voice of the Army in the democratic dialogue and to foster t he understanding and awareness of the importance of its problems, in order to secure a

fence and armaments. As regards th e security policy, the defence of the Nation 's territorial integrity and the integrated defence of the Alliance (which are cle arly men t i oned also in the new "Ministeria l Directives on Defence and Security Policy as the Bundeswehr's major duties), their practical implementation falls mostly to the Army, in that - in Germany - they imply the availability of considerable Land Forces and the r e course to the mobilization of trained r eserves .

ering that 80% of the conscripts serves in the Army, the FKH believes that Government and Parliament should pay particular attention to the conditions of these personnel. As concerns the armaments policy, the FKH insists on the appropriations necessary for equipping the Army Âˇwith modern systems, adequate to the missions, produced either nationally or by international consorti a vvith German participation. Th us the m a in object ive that th e FKH intends to achieve (and

wide and influential support to the Service's legitimate requests and needs. Therefore, in conferences , debates and seminars as well as through the press (a lso with its own bimonthly newsletter), it covers all th e subjects related to the policy, security, de-

Germany, owing to its geopolitical situation, is a classic land power; also within the P eace Supp ort Operations (P SO ) in Âˇwhich the German Armed Forces participat e under U .N. or NATO aegis, most of the burden falls on the Army. Furthermore, consid-

n ormally it succeeds) is to inform public opinion of these important chara ct eristics and needs of the Army, pointing out to P arliame nt and Government the consequences deriving from their decisions on these particular issues.

100

A GERMAN PECULIARITY: THE JUGENDOFFIZIER We have already Ul).derlined that the German Armed Forces believe, for reasons of image and consensus, that the problems concerning the defence and security policy and the relevant burdens and obligations, should be discussed and clarified mainly with the young, both as social group primarily concerned by conscription and as recruitment pool. One of the basic elements of this communication activity is the Jugendoffizier I Unteroffizier (Officer/NCO detailed to the youth). He deals with civics (an important subject in all school cycles) and is a reference and an interlocutor for questions and inquires about security and defence policies. In fact, the typical subjects that the Jugendoffizier deals with are: general notions on defence and security policy; German activities within the international Alliances and armaments control; NATO tasks, functions and strategic concept; the Armed Forces as a peacekeeping instrument, their duties, structure, equipment and capabilities; moral, ethical and legal foundations of the armed service; relations bet\veen Armed Forces and society; Armed Forces, conscription and professional service; events concerning the Armed Forces. Al though the Jugendoffiziere I Unteroffiziere do not carry out an institutional activity of promotion of recruitment, obvi ously the subject is regularly tackled during lessons and manifestations, especially as regards obtainable specializations, participation in operations, career possibilities and salaries. At present the German Armed Forces have at their disposal 94 Officers with the exclusive task of Jugendoffiziere (Captains, Navy Lieutenants) with a provincial responsibility, flanked by a dualtask Officer/NCO in every battalion-level unit (1st Lieutenant, 2nd

Lieutenant or Warrant Officer). These personnel attend a threeweek specific course, centred on the subjects mentioned above and on communication techniques. It must be underlined that the interlocutor must be able to perceive that under the uniform there is a young man and this favours a more open, participative and spontaneous debate. The exclusive-task personnel intervene part icularly at secondary schools, as "specialists" on specific subjects connected with the civics programme. On the other hand, t he Jugend.offiziere often meet youth organizations (scouts, volunteer groups, student societies) or cultural associations, as well as Bodies/Organizations from the Ministry of Education, the Teachers' Unions and groups supported by the Protestant and Catholic Churches. vVithin this framework they offer their collaboration whenever there is a request for information on Germany's defence and security policy or for contacts with the Armed Forces. This cooperation is normally carried out through the participation in lessons, seminars or projects conducted by those schools and organizations, the offer of specific seminars/lectures and with t he Âˇw illingness to participate, as experts, in conferences and debates. In this connection, it must be stressed that the Jugendoffiziere I Unteroffiziere are at the schools' disposal upon their request (albeit the invitation could be the result of contacts or offers from the military) and as specialists on specific subjects. The dual-job personnel from battalion-level units deal mostly with the organizations of visits to military units and installations.

one of the primary functions assigned to the State by the social contract and must fit in with the principles inspiring State and Government, i.e. the expression of the people's democratic will. But since communication is a "one-to-one" process, the Armed Forces and t h ose close to them work in order to offer the citizen t he opportunity to know and widen his knowledge, debating with those ,vho wear a uniform. All this is obtained by fostering contacts and debates, by "acting" rather then "reacting". lVIost of a ll , the Jugendoffizier solution adopted by the Bun deswehr in order to communicate with young people, arousing and maintaining their interest and knowledge of the military world, as well as its "employment procedures", is in line with the times and, considering the number of interventions (in 2003: 3792 conferences, 739 seminars, 1926 visits to units and formations, with a total of 162,535 participants/visitors) are certainly a "winning" approach. In particular, the activity at the schools permits to stimulate both the students' interest towards the military world (getting rid of stereotypes and prejudices) and to present the opportunities it offers, thus creating a basis for the future improvement of the average level of the personnel. Furthermore, the constant contact Âˇwith the young population permits - and this is not a secondary factor - useful returns in terms of interests, "gTey areas", doubts, aspirations and restraints connected with the perception/acceptance of the world in uniform by young people, on which to base or adjust the messages and the rul es of communication.

CONCLUSIONS In Germany, defence is really seen and experienced as a subject of direct interest for all citizens, whether in uniform or not . 1t is

* Colonel, Army Attache, Italian Embassy, Berlin

101

From February 8, 1904 to September 5, 1905, the powerful Russian . and Japanese Empires clashed obstinately for supremacy in the East

THE WAR THAT OPENED THE DOORS OF ASIA TO THE RISING SUN The Japanese victory began a long expansion period that culminated at the end of the Second World War

In spite of several recognitions coming from the victory (such as the territories acquired in Manchuria, the protectorate on Korea and the control of the southern half of Sakhalin island, the 80.000 fallen in action and the 450.000 wounded), the Japanese considered derisory these advantages. Besides, ,Russia did not pay Japan any war damages for a conflict that had cost as much as six years of national product. Thus Japan, since then, and until the bitter end of the Second World War, pursued with firmness the expansion of its already vast empire.

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From February 1904 to September 1905 two eqi_pi~~ £..Oll.frontep jn the Pacific na.tMiS .K rhe:>~ IU'l:EfuYeij was a t stake. The Russian-Japanese combats were characterized by a brutality that had never occurred before, and anticipated the cruelty of the First World War. These fights ended by leaving many open issues that would have a tragic epilogue in the century that had just begun. At the dawn of February 6, 1904, a fleet of 55 Japanese warships left the base of Sasebo, in Kysushu Island. The military objective was Port Arthur, a Russian naval base in the Southern tip of the Liadong Peninsula, in China, seat of the Pacific fleet. During the journey, a part of the Japanese army sailed to the Korean harbour of Chemulpo, near Seul, the capital. The two landingplaces were exposed to the first Japanese attacks in the night between the 8 th and the 9 th of February. On the 10th , Japan and Russia went officially to war. This conflict was the point of arrival of a deep and old rivalry between the two empires. Since the end of the eighteenth Century, Russian sbp?s t<l_uchep._the N,prth coasts of Japan tryO ib~ta' Rt&l&B §~ercial relations with the Empire of the Rising Sun that at those times was partially closed to th e trade. The envoys of the Tsar, whose territory at that point fronted the Nipponian Archipelago, met with a flat denial from the Japanese, who had perceived that initiative as a menace for their autonomy and their interest.

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THE JAPANESE ACCESSION Japan began to open outwards in 1868. The policy of Nipponese imp erial power b egun in that year, aiming to exclude any interference in Korea that was consider ed as "the first defence line of the Archipelago". With the 1894-1895 vrnr, the Japanese managed to eliminate the Chinese presence from the Korean Peninsula, but they had to face a lmost immediately a much more dangerous antagonist: Russia. The Tsars' Empire, since the end of the Chino-Japanese war had been strengthening considerably its influence in Korea, managing to impose a pro-Russian government. The Japanese, trying to eliminate such interference, in 1896 ordered the murder of Queen Min, who was a predominant figure in the Korean court and a leader in matter of foreign policy. The action did not get the desired results but produced the contrary effect, because King Kojong, after the loss of his wife, 104

fearing the precipitation of events, took refuge in the Russian legation in Seu!, staying there for almost one year. Tokyo and Saint P etersburg considered convenient to come to a compromise so as to reconcile their interests, and subscribed an agreement in 1898. With that document, the two Empires bound themselves not to interfere in the home affairs of Korea. Particularly Russia undertook to respect the Japanese trade interests in the Peninsula.

RUSSIA'S STRATEGY The indifference of the Tsar towards the Korean Peninsula depended on the success attained in Manchuria. In fact, the Russian Emperor managed to obtain from China the authorization to build a raih,.ray crossing the Liaodong Peninsula, and the concession of the towns of Dalian and Port Arthur. The latter had become a formidable advanced military base, and permitted to operate in

all seasons (in winter, the waters of its gulf do not over), offering to Tsarist Russia, together with the railway, a permanent access to the Pacific Ocean, with the consequent possibility to keep Manchuria under its exclusive zone of influence. Therefore, Ja pan benefited by an agreement that gran ted its success in Korea but - as the ac-

Le~. Russian artillery emplacements in Port Arthur. Below. Port Arthur Bay before the conflict. Right. One of the 280 nun. murtors placed by the .Jap1,utf!.~{1 in front of Port Arthur. Lower right. The effects of a large-calibre Japanese gun on the "Orel".

cord didn't contain any real advantages - humiliated it, putting the Country in the condition of a loser in the dispute for the control of the area. Such a setback and the consequent Russian advance in Manchuria put greatly in danger the possibility to maintain a significant predominance in Korea, ,,.1hich became more exposed to

the Russian supremacy. The fears of the Japanese were confirmed when Russia, profiting by the "Boxers, Revolt" in China, sent 80.000 men to Manchuria.

THE PEACE ATTEMPTS From 1900 until 1903 Japan and Russia tried again, in several 105

situation, Japan could not r e nounce the advantage of availing itself of the alliance with a western power, in an anti-Russian function. With the Anglo-Japanese alliance, ratified in London in January 1902, the interested States warranted their neutrali ty in case of a regional conflict involving one of the subscribers. Nevertheless, if one or more States had attacked one of the two allies, the ot her would automatically give its military support. This swept away the menace of the dreaded French military intervention in

Left. Aerostatic balloon used by the JapaÂˇ nese Army .

Below. Japanese infantry camped near Port Arthur. Right.

Scheme of the Tsushima battle.

occasions, to settle their disputes pacifically. Intense diplomatic contacts took place be tween the two Countries and different opportunities were considered: the partition of the Korean peninsula, the neutrality of Korea under international guarantees, the Russian recognition of the prevailing Japanese interests in Korea and the contextual Japanese accepta nce of the Tsarist influ ence in Manchuria. Unfortunately, no one of these proposals found favour with the par ties, above all because of the ne,v alliance between Japan and Great Britain. In fact, a lso London feared the Russian aims on the region and the British didn't have at their disposal in the area effective means for a direct opposition. The bulk of the British troops in East Asia had been moved to South Africa because of the Anglo-Boer war that had begun in 1899. In that 106

the East on the side of Russia, because Paris had no i nterest to make war against Great Britain to succour the Rus~ian ally ·wrestling with the Japanese. Such a situation allowed a conflict restricted to the two regional contenders. Even though Tokyo had made choices going towards a war against Russia, however it was in doubt about the advisability of carrying out the project. Russia \•ms a giant of 146 million people with an army of more than 2 million men. Ja pan counted merely 46 millions people and 1 million military. The comparison bet ween the two Countries' Sea forces was even more unfavourable for ,Japan. The human and financial cost of a clash with the Tsarist empire was likely to be huge and the results of the enterprise could be taken for granted. That's why further negotiations continued with Saint Petersburg, even if discontinuous and unsuccessful, until the end of 1903.

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IT'S WAR The Japanese public opm1on, educated to patriotic spirit and excited by the interventionist propaganda, pushed for war. At the beginning of February 1904, Japan decided t o attack the powerful Russian empire and opened the hostilities some days later. The Russian, overcoming the surprise clue to the first unexpect ed Japanese attacks, managed to

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JAPAN

lead Japan to fight on a ground much more favourable to Russia: an unprecedented war of wear and tear. Trenches, iron-wire, machine-guns became customary and usual elements in the siege of Port Arthur, which vvent on for eight months (from February to September 1904) and anticipated hugely, ·w ith its brutality , the combats of the First World War. More than 15.000 Japanese lost their lives for the conquest of the 107

town, and the titanic battl e of Mukden, in March 1905, gave the victory to the Rising Sun at the cost of enormous sacrifices. The Tsar, in spite of the defeats suf~ fered in Manchuria, still h oped t hat the conflict could take a t urn in his favour. Therefore, he decided to t hrow in the battl e t h e Baltic fleet . The ships undertook a long and very tiring journey to reach the t h eatr e of operations but, in May 1905, made the mistake of being caught by the crossfire of Admiral T ogo's ship s, in the Korean-Japanes e Straits of Tsushima. The epic battle ended by the total destruction of the Russian naval formation. Above. A 12 inches Russian battery in Port Arthur. Left. Sunday }dass in a c:hurc:h wa!{on of the trcms-Siberian railway.

Right. In JV!osc:ow, in front of Saint Basil c:hurc:h, a.n immense crowd participates in a "popular prayer for Russian uictury".

THE CONSEQUENCES The t wo opponents , both exhausted, at th at point accepted to undertake further negotiations that, thanks to the good auspices o f United States President Theodore Roosvelt, had success and led the two em pires to subscribe, on September 5, 1905, the Portsmouth P eace Treaty. The Tsar was polit ically weakened by the comedo,vns suffered during the conflict with Japan, and plagued by an internal pre-revolutionary situation that he h ardly managed to contain. Therefore, he made great concessions to the Japanese Empir e, recognizing to 108

Japan the territories it had won on the battlefields in Manchuria and the legitimacy of its political, economic, and m ili tary inter ests towards Korea. Moreover, Russia s urrendered to Tokyo the Southern h alf of the Sakhalin Island, to the North of the Japanese Archipelago. Despite the success obtained, the Portsmouth Treaty instigated a deep resent ment in the Japanese pu blic opinion, that h ad largely supported the conflict. The sacrifice of human lives and enormous r esources weighted heavily on the population, that considered the war result de facto "w1dersold" by politicians. J apan obtained adv antages t hat the people judged

derisory: the mobilization had subt racted from t he national economy and the community as many as 1,300,000 men, of whom 80.000 dead in action and 450,000 wounded. Besides, Russia was not obliged to pay to Japan any war damages for a conflict that had cost like six years of national product. In such a crucial situation, the Japanese nationalism appeared strongly frustrated in its aims and the popular rage spread since the day of the signa ture of the pea ce treaty. Several revolts broke out in Nibiya and Tokyo. The crow d wreaked i ts r esentment against anything it considered the symbols of the r uling class' defeatism. Police stations, government newspapers, ministries were attacked and set on fire. Then the fights expanded rapidly to the whole territory and on September 7 the Govern-

ment decided to declare the state of siege in the main cities of the Country. Public order was restored some weeks later, but the consequences of the revolt continued for a long time. For the first time, the disciplined Japanese people, with such a mobilization in the streets, appeared loudly on the public scene of a Country which ,vas based upon a feudal system until a few· years before, expressing their dissent towards the government, which they judged guilty of betraying the Nation, underselling the national honour and offending the Emperor himself with political compromises alien to the Japanese will and mentality. But the consequences of the conflict soon produced repercussions also abroad. The defeat of the Russian colossus by small Japan awoke the national pride almost everywhere. From the Jew·s in Russia to the Arabs in the Ottoman Empire, from the Indian Nehru in India to Sun Yat-sen in China.

CONCLUSIONS The unexpected victory of the Rising Sun aroused enthusiasm in the crowds and in the leaders all over the world and, above all, conveyed a breath of hope to the numerous subject populations. The Empires, notwithstanding their muscles, appeared vulnerable and the liberation of peoples could be considered as a realizable dream . The conflict, in short, had vast consequences . From a military technical point of view , it was a useful test bench for ne,v weapon systems like rapid-fire guns, machineguns and smokeless powders, and also for the new tactical schemes imposed by the wear and tear war. Politically, the conflict contributed to crack the authority of the Tsar, especially inside his Empire, where the peasan ts ,vere more and more exhausted by their very hard conditions. The alliance mechanism

will take the Russian Empire to the First World War from which, in 1917, will get off militarily beaten and, above all, upset by the revolution broken out in October of the same year. Japan, and particularly its Army, winners but still unsatisfied by the conflict which had just finished, will pursue for a long time the complete domination of Asia. In fact, Japanese imperialism starts its course in this historical moment. I n November 1905 Korea became practically a Japanese Protectorate, before being simply annexed in 1910. Since then, and until the bitter conclusion of World War II, Japan will have only one objective: to keep and expand its Empire and its alliances will be decided, each time, exclusively in function of that objective.

• * Major General (ret.)

109

Also from the purely historical vie"'rpoint Jesus' sacrifice is bearer of a timeless universal greatness

The more the times, the juridical and social aspects and the study of the Holy Shroud are analysed in depth, the more the words and values expressed by the Holy Writ are confirmed The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, for over two thousand years has been one of the most studied events in history. It is precisely comparing the historigraphic perspective with the texts of the Gospels that confirmations continually emerge which involve scholars and bellievers, unfailingly providing substance for reflection that can cross the centuries and assume always topical moral and ethical significance

he Roman Empire stretched on over 3,300,000 square kilometres, i.e. almost the entire world known at the time. From the Pillars of Hercules on the west, to Asia Minor on the east, from Britannia, on the north, duwn to the sands of Numidia and Egypt on the south. In particular, the area where the events narrated by the Gospels took place is the historical region of Asia Minor called Palestine. The Greek translators of the Bible used to call by this name the region inhabited by the Philistines, on the Medite1Tanean shore, bordering with Phoenicia to the north and with the Egyptian territories to the south. Therefore Palestine means "land of the Philistines. At the time of the patriarchs it was called Canaan, i .e. "traders' land". The region inhabited by God's people was also called by

Epigraph of' Pilate.

110

ed to be killed, ordered the ferocious Slaughter of the Innocents. On his death, in 4 B.C., his descendants started struggling for the succession to the throne. In this clim ate of family disputes, the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, divided Palestine into four tetrarchies entrusting them to some of Herod's sons: Idumea, Judea and Samaria where assigned to Herod Archaelaus; Galilee and Peraea to Herod Antipas; Gaulanitides, Auranitides and Traconitides to Herod Philippus; the fourth region became a possession of Salome, sister of Herod the Great. Naturally this decision of t he Roman Emperor was prompted, more than by the wish of pleasing Left. The crucifixion on Mount Golgotha.. Below. Jesus with Pontius Pila.te.

other names: "land where milk and honey flow (Zacharias 7,14), "promised land" and "holy land" (Zacharias 2,16). This region is very important from the historical and particularly from the religious point of view, since Jews, Christians and Moslems take the root of their religion there. At Jesus' times it included: Idumaea, with the city of Masada, Judea, whose main cihes were Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Arimathea, Jericho; Galilee with Nazareth, Capernaum, Cana; Samaria; Peraea, Âˇwith the city of Bethany; Decapolis; Gaulanitides, Auranitides and Trachonitides. In 42 B.C., after many ups and downs and fierce fights against other royal dynasties, Herod the Great succeeded in having himself elected King of Palestine. During his despotic and cruel rule, the Magi, who were coming from the east, naively asked him where the little King of the Jews was born and he, not knowing which was the baby that he want111

Herod's heirs, by the famous saying "divide et impera.". The first of Herod's sons to lose power ,vas Archaelaus in 6 A.D. He was dethroned by the Romans and exiled to Vienne, in Gaul. Augustus decided not to entrust the tetrarchy to another member of Herod's family and turned the region into a Roman province assigned to a praefectus (procurator). The decision was not appreciated by the Judeans who considered it particularly negative since it imposed upon them the rule of a pagan. The first procurator sent from Rome was Proconius, ,vho was succeeded by Marcus Ambibulus (9 A.D. ), Annius Rufus (12 A.D.) - during whose rule Augustus died and was succeeded by Tiberius (14 A.D.) - Valerius Gratus (15 A.D.) and, from 26 A.D. to 36 A.D, by Pontius Pilate.

PONTIUS PILATE Legend has woven many t h ick embroideries around Pilate's name, but \vhat history says about him is more than enough to make him a real character. Since ancient times he has been a symbol: the man who "washes his hands" of something, who condemns an innocent despite his acknowledging him as such. Very little is known about his life . A meagre information about his existence comes from Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus (1) who, in a passage of his "Annales" writes: Christians derive their name from Christ who, under Tiberius Caesar Augustus' rule was condemned to death by order of procurator Pontius Pilate". In 196 1, furthermore, a memorial tablet was found in Caesarea on a building dedicated to Emperor Tiberius. The meaning of the inscription, dated 31 A.D., is : Pontius Pilate procurator of Judea had this building erected in Tiberius' honour. These are th e only secular memories of the man responsible for history's most tragic miscar112

riage of justice. Certainly Pilate could not foresee that his fame would be assured precisely by the Galilean that he had condemned to the cross on a spring morning. Billions of men \Vho have believed and will believe that the crucified man was the son of God, remember in their profession of faith - the "Creed" - the name of the Roman procurator who is thus th e only personage of ancient times assiduously remembered through the centuries. In 26 A.D . Pilate had landed at Caesarea of Palestine, the administrative capital of the Roman province of Judea, as procurator of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome. He was probably not enthusiastic about the assignment to a faraway province of the Empire . Furthermore Pilate, a shrewd politician who harboured a strong dislike for the Judeans, knew very well that he was goi ng to deal with the country's moral and religious capital, Jerusalem, and with the Judeans, proud of their numerous privileges. The Romans, in fact, were ruling the provinces with highmindedness and moderation, and were satisfied with the honours paid to them while respecting the local laws and religion. For example, the Jews were dispensed from the cult of the Emperor and from military service, had the right to collect from their fellow-countrymen scattered all over the Âˇworld a tax in favour of the Temple of Jerusalem, and even the Roman citizens were condemned to death if they dared to cross the Temple's fence. The procurator was the Emperor's representative and ruled \1vith full powers, including that of life and death but in practice he intervened only in exceptional cases, leaving an ample decision-making power to the local authorities, in both civil and penal matters. The real leader of the J ewish nation was the High Priest of Jerusalem, who presided over the Sanhedrin, the supreme religious

tribunal. The Roman procurat or was accepted v-ri.th reluctance, since he was considered the high watchman of a foreign master who was also a pagan, and as such was disliked by the Jewish people, who only recognized God as their King, linking their Messianic hopes to th e dynasty of David, the most glorious King oflsrael, who had received his investitme directly from God. THE TRIAL

It was Easter Day of 30 A.D., a feast which, according to the Jewish law, was celebrated to commemorate the liberation of the people of Israel from th e age-long Egyptian slavery and, like every year, the Roman procurator had gone to J erusalem for the celebrations . Some m ight consider it strange that we mention 30 A.D. while, according to the Catholic tradition, Jesus died when he vrns 33 years old. In fact, there are many contradictions about the date of Jesus' birth, and even Evangelists Luke and Matt hew place the Nativity in two completely different historical moments. The explanation is well known. The presen t dating is wrong because Jesus was born at least four years earlier than is generally believed. The misca lculation was done by Dionysius the Small, a Scythian monk who lived in Rome in 496 A.D. , and was entrusted ,vith perfect ing the computation for dating Easter, in accordance with the decisions of the Council of Nicaea. The monk set the date of the Redeemer's birth in the 754th year after the foundation of Rome. This was not correct, since we know that Cluist was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who lived in ,Jerusalem u ntil 6 B .C. then moved to Jericho, ,vhere he died a few days before the eclipse of March 13, 4 B.C., a little before Rome's 750th birthday. Therefore, historians take 6 B.C. as the reference year for furth er investigations. On the other hand Matthew the Evangelist describes a great

Palestine in Christ's time.

shining star which guided the Wise Men coming from tl~e distant East. The astronomers have explained that it was not a star but an astronomic phenomenon: the conjunction, i.e. the approaching of two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in the constellation of Pisces which gave the impression of a tmion into a single very luminous star combining the brightness of both planets. This phenomenon recurs every 854 years but, according to neoBabylonian observations made by the ancient astronomical school of Siffar, deciphered in 1925 by German scientist Schnabel, the extraordinary event happened as many as three times in 7 B.C. Another historical event must be added, albeit not accepted by everyone. Luke writes in his Gospel that ,Jes us ,vas born during the census called by Publius Sulpicius Quirinus, governor of Syria, and immediate superior of the praefectus Romanus and of Herod's tetrarchs. Some historical sources, including Flavius Josephus, mention a census decided by the Romans in Palestine for clearly fiscal purposes, but that \.Vas only in 7 B.C., while other sources say that Quirinus held two censuses: one in 7 B.C. as governor of SyTia and another in 6 B.C. in his capacity of high official, together with Santius Saturninus. On the eve of the celebration, Pilate was informed that the distinguished members of the Sanhedrin had brought an accused, a Jesus from Nazareth, outside his residence. The procurator had to accept to come out of his palace since the Jewish notables could not enter it, in order to avoid becoming unclean, which would exclude them from the Easter celebrations. The first a p proach w i th the Sanhed rin's not able s Âˇwas rath e r polemic, then J esus was accused of inciting the Judeans to disorder, preventing them from paying

their tribute to Caesar and aspiring to messianic kingship. Pilate, aware that Emperor Tiberius was very willing to punish Iese-majesty, could not disregard the question but, not trusting the Sanhedrin's zeal, decided to interrogate the accused personally. During the interrogation , J esus explained to th e procurator that his kingship was not of this world a nd , as reported by John's Gospel, he had come to giue testimony to the truth. Pilate then asked a question that, on his lips,

sounded not so much as a wish for light but, perhaps, as an expression of scepticism: Quid est ueritas? (\i\That is the truth?). Pilate ,vas a symbolist par excellence (also the gesture of washing his hands was nothing but a symbol) and, had he anagrammed the letters of that sentence, he would have been enlightened: Est vir qui ades (it is the man present here), because that man was really Jesus. N eedless to say, t he Roman procurator, being a pagan, was not interested in a speech about 113

A Roman flagrum.

truth, but \vhat he heard convinced him that the Nazarene was harmless, and this \Vas enough to make him proclaim Jesus' innocence. Besides, his public activity was well known to Pilate. When the procurator expressed his opinion to the Sanhedrin, his statement was received with a storm of renewed accusations against the Nazarene. Pilatc coul d not understand \vhy Jesus, despite his insistence, did not defend himself. Still being convinced of the Sanhedrin's envy, was not ready to give in. vVhen he heard the crowd's yells, according to which Jesus had commenced his seditious activity in Galilee, he took advantage of the presence in Jerusalem of Herod Anti pas, tetrarch of the region, and sent the prisoner to him, hoping that the Judean prince, with his expertise in Jewish quarrels, could dampen the Sanhedrin's r a ge . But his hope was frustrated. Before the man who had not hesitated to sacrifice the head of John the Baptist for a dancer, Salome (3), Jesus was impenetrable and silent. Herod found nothing better than dress him with a flashy tunic to make him look like a farcical king and sent him back to Pilate. The procurator, who was more and more convinced of Jesus' innocence, in order to avoid provoking the chiefs of the Sanhedrin even more, was ready to deliver the Nazarene to the floggers to inflict only a punishment on him . But then he had a brainwave. Since it was customary for the Roman authority to release a prisoner during Easter time, he submitted to the people the choice between Jesus and a m urderer named Barabbas, certain that the cro,vcl would not dare to prefer the latter. But he had not considered the Sanhedrin's craftiness, which convinced the mob to ask 114

for the liberation of the assassin and the cross for Jesus. Meanvvhi le th e Pilate's wife, Claudia Procula, warned l1im to be very careful about his deci sions, since she had had a bad dream about that ",Just Man" who had been described to him as a criminal. The Romans were superstitious and still remembered how Calpurnia, ,Julius Caesar's wife, the night before the fatal ides of March had had a dream about her husband riddled with stabs and had begged him in vain not to leave the house. After a nev-i and threatening demand for Jesc1s' death, the procurator declare d, publicly and solemn ly, that according to Roman law nothing could justify a death sentence and, with a gesture endorsed by both J uclean and Roman custom, washed his hands saying: "I am innocent of this blood, it is your concern". Then, when he presented Jesus, bruised and bleeding, to the crowd and said: "Here is the A1an" in an extreme attempt to overcome the Sanhedrin's obstinacy, the real charge came out: "Jesus has made himself the son of' God and according to our law he must die". Pilate, scared by these words, realized that he was in a blind alley. It was religious charge which he was unqualified to judge and on which the Sanhedrin had already pronounced its opinion. The procurator knew from experience that when their lawÂˇs were involved, the Jews were ahivays capable of supporting their case before the Emperor. The final accusation of Iesereligion advanced against Jesus could not be judged by him. When Pilate reproached Jesus for not helping him in his attempt to save his life, he said : "You 1.oould have no power on rne if' it had not been conferred upon you fiÂˇom high above; because of tln:s he who delivered me to you has a greater guilt. The Jewish and Greek linguistic practice of the time give these last words a precise meaning: who was

The flagellation.

really responsible for what was happen ing \Vas the Sanhedrin, which had involved Pilate in the hope of convincing him to condemn Jesus on political grounds. Pilate was therefore entangled in the trial: the Sanhedrin could not execute a death sentence, for which it needed his signature, but he was not qualified to judge the real accusation for which the Jewish notables wanted Jesus' death. The procurator was more and more decided to release Jesus , and only yielded when he was a ccused of not being a "friend of the Emperor's" who, in many ways, had ordered him to respect the inviolable Jewish laws. As a consequence, Pilate acted more as a po1i tician than as a magistrate. H e had done everything possible to make the Roman justice prevail, but his path had been crossed by the technical justice of the Sanhedrin's men. He delivered Jesus to them, not before having let his irony and impatience weigh on them. After Jesus' death, th e Sanhedrin persecuted, arrested and put on trial his apostles because they attributed to the Jewish tribunal the responsibility for the sentence. In 37 AD. Pilate was recalled to Rome, history lost track of ,Jesus' judge and legend got hold of him, making the procurator a damned soul or a saint. According to E usebius from Caesarea, a historian and theologian who lived between 260 and 340 AD. , Pilate took his life, overcome by remorse. According to others, he was converted to Christianity and was martyred under Emperor Nero. The latter version has been accepted by the Coptic Church, which venerates him as sai.nt on June 25. African lawyer Tertullian (4), an eminent jurist, at the end of the second century wrote that Pilate had sent a report to the Emperor on the strange case oc-

curred on that Easter morning, proclaiming himself in favour of the man he had been forced to condemn. It seems that a copy of this letter, written in Greek, and whose authent icity has never been ascertained, is kept at the Vatican library.

THE FLAGELLATION

It was the atrocious torture with which P ilate deluded h imself he could move the hearts of those ,vho wanted J es us' death and therefore enable him to save the lVIessiah from the death penalty, but that was in vain. The oldest description of t he wounds impressed by the "flagellum" on J esus' body, is made by the Clarisse nuns of Chambery

who, with their painstaking work of restoration of the Holy Shroud, damaged by the fire broken out in the night between the 3rd and 4Lh December 1532 in the convent where it was kept, could observe for a time longer than anyone else the holy sheet. On Lhe report made by the nuns on lVIay 2, 1534, at the encl of their work of restoration, one can read verbatim: "the bruises caused by the strokes of the "flagellum" are so many, that hardly a spot of the size of pinhead can be found exempt from strokes ... they always cross each other and spread along the entire body. The shoulders are entirely lacerated and contused by the strokes of the iuhip, which appear everywhere .. . the diversity of the strokes shows that they made use of variou.s kinds of flagellums ... ".

115

Jesus is talwn before the Sanhedrin.

Today on the basis of deeper medico-legal studies it is possible to reconstruct, with trustworthy approximation, the modalities of this flagellation. The man of the Holy Shroud suffered a considerable number of blows. The skin of the torso presented more than a hundred excoriated ecchymoses, approximately 120, consisting of rounded and paired figures, two centimetres long, visible a lso on the lower limbs. Therefore, for this torture they did not apply the Jewish law, which provided for a maximum of 40 strokes, but the Roman law, which envisaged no limitation. The precision and the direction of the strokes , which spared almost no skin zone, bear \lvitness to the systematic nature of the torture. The lesions were also caused by the flagrum, a Roman instrument of torture, consisting of a wooden handle to 116

which two or three leather straps were fastened. Little handlebarshaped lead pellets, paired by twos, were fixed on them . The pellets were often replaced by little animal bones in order to cut more atrociously into the flesh of the victim. The Man of the Holy Shroud \vas naked \vhen he was flagellated, because on the glutei and the lower limbs the lesions of the flagrwn are very visible and, quite probably, he vv'as hit while standing still, bent forward and probably tied to a low column. Finally, the flagellation was inflicted with cold determination and as a punishment in itself, and this confirms once more that, by flagellating him, Pilate tried to avoid inflicting Jesus the death penalty. The head, moreover, presents numerous wounds, disposed as a halo, up the to occ i pital cap, which seem caused by a cap of thorns placed on the head. The

crudely realistic description of the blood flow makes us understand of \vhat it consisted: it was not a little ring set around the head, as one can see in the representations of western artists, it was a cap of thorns which covers the entire head, very similar to the royal crowns of the Eas t , worn on the head as a mitre. The torture incl uded also an even more macabre aspect which, in different forms, is repeated through the centuries: the humiliation of the prisoner. "The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium (5 ) and gathered together, around him, the whole cohort . They stripped him and put on him a scarlet cloak; and plaiting a crmvn of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed into his right hand; and bending the knee before him they mocked him saying: Hail, King of the Jews! ... (Matthew 27, 27-31). ,Jesus was therefore ironically dressed and adorned with the fittings of a king: the purple robe and the golden crown. In Christ's case the purple was replaced by the sagum, a square mantle of raw wool worn by the Roman soldiers. The cro,vn was not made of golden laurel leaves, but of plaited thorny branches. The gesture of the sarcastic tribute mimicked the "Ave Caesar" due to the Imperator, while th e reed makes us think of a kind of sceptre.

THE GOLGOTHA After the torture, Jesus was dressed again with his poor clothes. It was about noon when a gloomy and varied procession moved from the praetorium. Jewish priests, citizens of every class of the Holy City, foreigners from far-away regions, Levites (6) and Scribes (7), guards of the Sanhedrin, Roman soldiers commanded by a centurion (8), women of

The head of the Baptist is pre;;ented lo Salome.

various ages were slowly and silentl,y making their way out of the city, through the Ephraim Gate, to the northeast of the city, to-wards a rise nearby, bare of trees and shaped like a skull. Among them a man, frail and meek, bent under the weight of the patibulum, the horizontal beam of the cross (9). Even if most pictures of religious inspiration show the entire cross carried on one shoulder, act u ally a accurate examination of the image of the Hol y Shroud persuades the scholars to confirm that the quadrangular-shaped ecchymoses, which appear in the right upp er scapular and left scapular regions, were made only by the pa.tibulum. which \Vas carried by the condemned man transversally over his shoulders. Jesus proceeded wit h difficulty under the weight of his pa.tibulwn, because of the scourging, and his extreme weakness made h im fall, causing a violent impact of the knees on the paving of the road. Also these signs of sufferi ng have been confirmed by the examination of the Holy Shroud. In fact both knees show abrasions, very probably due to falls, because in these zones, like on the soles of the feet, fragments of earth-like material have been found. "And they forced a certain passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to take up his cross" (Mark 15,21). It is what is technically called an "imposition". The Gospels use the Greek verb a.nga.reuo, a word of Persian origin which means a forced service without remuneration. Simon, whose sons are also mentioned by Mark the Evangelist and who later became Christians, was compelled to carry the patibulum. The folk tradition, besides, adds another woman to those following the mournful train: a ,voman who

is not mentioned by the Gospels, but has been worshipped particularly in the Christian memory and piety: Veronica. The woman, seeing Jesus going by her house with his face swollen and covered in dust and blood, approached him and, although scorned by those who abused him, wiped his suffering face with a clot h. Veronica and Simon the Cyrenaic offer us the exemplary figure of those who find the courage to showÂˇ compassion towards the poor creatures abandoned a t the bottom of misfortune. The procession reached the place of the execution, the summit of a rounded h ill, shaped like a skull, from which it derived its Latin name of Calvariu m. and the Assyrian-Chaldaic

name of Golgotha. This was the place of the crucifixion.

CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS The Evangelists describe only the Crucifixion of Christ and add that, after h i m, two evildoe rs were crucified at his sides. One must therefore turn to paga n sources to know the practical and juridical modalities of this kind of death penalty. Crucifixion was considered a terrible and extremely cruel torture, deserved by those who, for their wicked deeds, had lost the right to be called and regarded as men. Ancient peoples employed it onl y to punish the most terrible 117

Left.

Jesu8 11.Jilh the crown of' thorns.

cranes. We find the use of crucifixion in Greece's history only after the conquests of Alexander the Great, who discovered it among the Persians. Also tl1e Carthaginians employed it intensively. Apparently the Romans had learned its use from the latter and had initially applied it.. only in wartime, against rebels, pirates and brigands. Subsequently, it became customary for punishing slaves and, in extreme cases, the Roman citizens who had commit ted particularly repugnant crimes. In the imperial period it became a torture usual for slaves, great evildoers and soldiers who deserted, while in the provinces it was destined to persons of low condition guilty of sedition. In history there are many examples of m ass -crucifixion: after Spartacus' revolt (73-71 B.C.) (10) under Licinius Crassus, 6000 crosses flanked the road from Rome to Capua. The legate of Syria, Quintilius Varus (11), when H erod the Great died, had 2000 seditious Jews crucified. According 118

to Flavius Josephus ( 12) testimony, during the siege of Jerusalem (70 A.D.), under Titus, the Romans crucified up to 500 Jews every day. The cross was a kind of scaffold formed by two wood poles, one upright and the other transversal, on which the condemned men were either bound or nailed. The standing, or vertical, part was called stipes crucis. The transversal, or horizontal, part which was fixed on the stipes was called patibulum. As regards the stipes crucis, tv..-o categories of crosses were in use, according to the height of the stipes: the short crnx hum.ilis (humble cross) and the long crux sublim.is. The latter was reserved for the condemned men that the authority who delivered the sentence wanted to be in evidence . Normally the humilis ,vere the most employed for they had a two-fold advantage: they allowed the animals launched in the arena to easily dismember the crucified men and simplified the ,vork of the executioners in case of mass crucifixion. The patibulum

was, as we said, the horizontal arm of the cross, which the condemned man was forced by the tribunal to carry to the site where the stipes ,vas driven into the ground. It was generally carried on the back of the neck, with the arms stretched out and t ie d to the pole, so that the man could do no harm . The patibu.lu.m was fixed on the stipes in two ways: inserting it in to one side of the latter and thus we have the crux immessa or capitata, which is the normal Lat in cross, or by inserting the patibulum on the top of the stipes and thus we have the crux com.missa or patibulata. In Christian art one can see in every epoch the two forms, al though the "1"'-shaped cross appears to be older. The cross on which ,Jesus was crucified is certainly the crux capitata or im.messa, because on his head they placed a sign with an inscription repeated as many as three times. Besides the two types men tioned before, there were also other forms of cross such as the crux decussata, the so-called St An drew's Cross, on vvhich, according to the religious tradition, Apostle Andrew was put to death, and the crux qua.drata, which is the Greek cross, which has arms of the same length, used in the Oriental art. In some cases they fixed a seat in the middle of the front side of the stipes, a kind of horizontal support which passed between the thigh s, on which the man could support himself, suffering perhaps a litt le less but certainly for a longer time. The presence of this support can be inferred from three passages in Seneca's "Epistola e Morales" where a sedere crur;e and acuta sedere cru.ce are mentione d , as if this were a sharp-edged support, like the medieval torture-trestle. Some artists have represented Jesus on the cross with h is feet resting on a slanting shelf, called

suppedaneum, on which the feet were n ailed. However, there is no mention of this support in the ancient literature or iconog raphy, therefore one can surmise that it was not normally employed. We know of two ways of fastening the condemned men to the cross: with nails or ,~rith ropes. Believably n ails were th e most habitually employed , also be cause the term used by the Greek language to indicate the action of crucifying is precisely "to na il". The crucified person agonized one, two, or even t hree days, naked, exposed to the ravages of tim e an d t h e abuses of men, nail e d and contracted on the wooden post, the wounds of the wrists lacerate d by the body's weight, motionless, devoured by fever , flushed with thirst, martyred by the full and intact consciou sn ess of his suffering. He was nailed to the cross with h is arms stretched out at a right angle. As time went by, because of its weight and the stretching of muscle s and joints, the body slowly sunk. In this new position, the chest came to be under the incessant inspirator y pressur e, caused by the atrophy of the big pectoral mu,;cl es; as a cons equence there was no air exchange in th e lungs and no blood oxigenation and, therefore, a slow but certain suffocation followed. Then, how could the crucified man manage to temporarily escape this asphyxia and survive a few hours or even two or three days? Forcing on his feet nai led on the stipes, h e lifted his body and therefore brought back his arms towards the horizontal position. The traction on his h a nds was thus very much r educed, cramps diminished and asphyxia temporarily disappeared with the restarting of the breathing movements. But the weariness of the lower limbs in terve ned , com pelling the crucified man to sink, and asphyxia came back again. Therefor e the agony went on in an alterna t ion of s inking and

THE HOLY SHROUD If we examine seven particularly significant characteristics of the Man of the Shroud, deduced from the image impressed on the sheet, we find them contemporaneously present in the evangelic narrations of the passion and death of Jesus Christ. The e nve lopme nt of the corpse in a s heet. The Man of the Shroud, after his death, war wrapped in a sheet. This is a fact very uncommon in ancient times. In the majority of cases, the corpses of the crucified men were left on the cross to be prey of wild animals or, at the most, buried in common graves. J esus, after the crucifi xion, was wrapped in a sheet bought by J oseph of Arimathea (Mark, 15, 42-46), (John, 19, 39-40). The wounds on the head of the Man of the Shroud seem produced by a cap of thorns. This fact is really exceptional and there are no documents that relate of such a custom, neither with the Romans nor with other peoples. Moreover , J esus, before being crucified, was crowned with a crown of thorns as a mockery. (John, 19, 2). The carrying of the cross. The Man of the Shroud has carried on his shoulders a heavy burden which has caused two wide abrasions and which cannot but be the patibulum on which he was nailed. Also J esus, during his ascent to the Calvary, has carried the cross on which he was crucified. (J ohn, 19, 17), (Matthew 27, 32). The crucifixion with nails . The Man of the Shroud was fixed to the cross with nails. Also J esus was fixed to the cross with nails in the hands and feet. (Luke 23, 33), (Psalm 22, 17-18). The wound in the chest. The Man of the Shroud has a wound by a cutting tool on the right side of his chest , inflicted when he was already dead, and there are no fractures in his legs . Also Jesus has been hit in the chest with a lance when he was already dead, and his legs were not broken (John 19, 33-35). The h asty and temporary burial. The Man of the Shroud was wrapped in a sheet as soon as he was taken down from the cross, and the corpse was not washed and anointed. Also J esus was wrapped in a sheet and put in a sepulchre immediately after the deposition from the cross, due to the necessity to perform this operation before the evening, i.e. before the beginning of the J ewish Easter, during which no man ual labour could be don e. Th e mixture of aloe and myr rh brou ght by Nicodemus had only an antiseptic and anti-putrefaction function. The definitive burial was to be made by the women two days later . (Mark 15, 42-46), (J ohn 19, 39-40). The corpse remained in the shroud only a short time after the burial. Also the Man of the Shroud remained a short time in the sheet. In order to produce the image, the corpse had to remain in the shroud for at least 24 hours, while if the body had stayed for more than two or three days, the image would have been destroyed by the decomposition process. Also J esus was wrapped in a sheet immediately after the deposition from the cross and, after a lapse of tin1e not longer than 40 hours, in the sepulchre watched by the guards only the shroud was found, because the body was no more there (J ohn 20, 3-8).

straightening, of asphyxia and breathing. The Romans could protract or shorten thi s agony . ln t h e first case they added to the cross the

"seat" mentioned before, which prevented the unfortun ate ma n fi:orn sinking. In Lhe second they applied the cruri/1Âˇagium, which consisted in breaking the victim's 119

legs in such a way as to prevent him from lifting his body by push ing on his feet nailed to the wood. The method employed for Jesus' torture can be analysed by referring once more to the studies made on the Holy Shroud. The man of the H oly Shroud has his hands crossed and resting on his lmver belly. The left lies on the right wrist hiding it. Therefore only this shows us an oval wound, referable to a lesion by a sharp tool, such as a nail, on wÂˇhich a traction has been exercised. Particularly interesting is the location of this wound, which is not on the palm of the hand, according to the traditional iconography of the Crucifixion, but on the wrist, exactly in a free space between the bones of the carpus, called "space of Destot". The experiments, performed and described with scientific rigour, have confirmed that a nailing on the palm of the hand ,vould not permit the tissues to bear the weight corresponding to that of a man. The fact that the nailing of the upper limbs of the crucified men was not made in the palm was also confirmed by the unearthing, near Jerusalem, of the skeleton of a crucified man of the pt Century. Another element is that in the imprints left by the hands on the Holy Shrouds the thumbs are not visible. Scholars find the explanation of this in the fact that the nails, in piercing the wrists, injured the median nerve, causing the bending of the thumbs. The latter remained in such position also after the extraction of the nails because by then t h e r igor mortis had intervened. The Man of the Shroud was nailed on the patibulum while lying on the ground and was subsequently lifted on the stipes. Above Jesus' head a sign \Vas affixed with the title of his judgement: ",Jesus Naz arene King of the Jews" . it was written in three languages: Hebrew, Greek and Latin. H ebrew was the national language, Greek the universal lan120

guage spoken at that time, and Latin t he executive and judging power's official one. It was employed here precisely because of th e official character of the event and not for t he gi:eater publicity of the inscription, since the Latin tongue was spoken only by Pontius Pilate's personnel. Pilate dictated th e inscription which enclosed a last sarcasm against the detested Jews. They understood , and said to the procurator: "Don't write King of the Jews, but that he has said I am the King of the Jews". Pilate, however , in sisted on the teasing irony, answering with a hint of irritation and weariness: "'What I wrote, I wrote". It was a Jewish custom to give the condemned men an anaesthetic and narcotic drink to calm their suffe ring and weaken their intelligence. This solace was also offered to Jesus, but he refused it, for he wanted to encounter death fully conscious. According to one of the Evangelists, it was wine mixed with gall, or with myrrh (13), as lVIark the Evangelist says. Jesus on the cross, tormented by a burning throat, accepted only to moisten his lips with a sponge, fixed on the top of a reed, soaked in a vinegar drink. In fact the Roman soldiers were accustomed to quench their thirst with a kind of light wine with a very low alcoholic content ,~,rhich, mixed with water, tasted like vinegar. This mixture was called posca. According to a Roman custom, attested by r egulations subsequent to Emperor Adrian's time, the spoils of the condemned men (pannicularia ) belonged always to the material executors of the sentence. This occurred a lso in the case of Jesus, whose vestments were probably the taleth, the tunic, the cloak , a be lt and the footwear. The four soldiers charged with the execution, having divided thes e garments among them by casting lots, sat down next to the three crosses to keep watch on them.

Normally the crucified men h ad a long and t r emendous agony . Origen , the philosopher and theologian of the Christian School of Egypt (14), says that it was not unusual to see th e crucified men survive th e ,vhole night and the following day. A Jewish text affirms that in 1247, in Damascus , a crucified ma n had stayed alive for two days. As regards the three men put to death on the Golgotha, the Jews went to Pilate and asked that his death be hastened by means of the crurifra.gium. This request was motivated by two reasons: first, because their tradition did not permit to leave a corpse hanging on the scaffold over the evening and also because th e Saturday could not be disturbed by such a display. The soldiers therefore broke the legs of the t w o criminals but when they went to Jesus he was a lready dead. "To certify he was dead, and therefore allo,v his burial, one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and ,vater" (John 19, 34). "He had been on the cross since the third hour, i.e. since nine in the morning" (Mark 15, 25) and an entire sequence of abuses had accompanied the terrible torture of crucifixion and the subsequent death. As evening came, Joseph of Arimathea, an influential member of the Sanhedrin and J esus' disciple, courageously went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' corpse. Pilate was surprised that Jesus had already died and, having asked a centurion if Jesus had been dead a long time and having had this confirmed, he delivered Jesus' body to Joseph. Helped by Nicodemus, Joseph lowered it from the cross and, having wrapped it in a sheet, laid it down in a sepulchre dug in rock. Nicodemus had brought a mixture of aloe and myrrh and so they wrapped J esus' body with bandages with the aromatic oils, after the Jewish burial custom.

NOTES

CONCLUSIONS In this exposition we have often referred to the Holy Shroud, this linen shroud which has ·certainly enveloped the dead body of a scourged man , crowned with thorn s, crucified with nails, and ·w hose chest has been pierced by a lance. This is neither the moment nor the proper place to discuss about the authenticity of the Shroud, we only want to quote an answer that Professor Pierluigi Baima Bollone, a scientist and professor of forensic medicine at the F aculties of Medicine and Law at Turin University, who has worked for years on the Shroud, has given to a journalist of the daily "11 Giornale". To the question "VV/wt is the main euidence of the Shroud's authenticity ?" he has answered, with simplicity and efficacy, that there is none against it, that is, none that can demonstrate its falsity. Pope John Paul II has given many definitions of thi s sheet, among these: "The Holy Shroud is

a unique witness; it is the mirror of' the Gospel, it is the image of suffering". If we reflect on the sacred linen sheet, we cannot avoid considering that the image imprinted on it has such a deep relation with what the Gospels relate about the passion and death of Christ. There is a perfect coincidence between the narration of the four Gospels about the passion of Christ and what can be observed on the Holy Shroud. To understand even better the mystery of this atrocious passion and death, one must have in mind with what serene will and supreme dignity Jesus accepted and suffered them.

• ''' Brigadier General, C hie{ o/ Staff, Southern Region i'Wilita,y Command

(1) Publius Cornelius Tacitus, 55-120

A.D., Latin historian. He spent most of his life in Rome where he had a n excellent education and stood out as orator. He was ,Julius Agricola's sonin-law and made a brilliant political career. Besides his public offices and law practice, he was engaged in an intense literary activity, to which he devoted h imself till his death. His greatness as a writer and artist is unquestioned: in a proverbially concise style he created portrayals and scenes which are unforgettable in their dramatic immediacy (2) The Sanhedrin was the supreme national Jewish tribunal, wi th pol it ico-judicial functions which had j urisdiction over all of Palestine. It consisted of 71 elders chosen among the priefits, the Scribes and the representat ives of the most important families. It had its own police, was very powerful and had tasks of court of last resort, albeiteven if the death sentences had always to be ratified by the Roman authority. (3) Salome was a Jewish pri ncess, daughter of Herodias and Herod Philip, brother of Herod Anti pas. According tu the Gospels, during a feast for her uncle's birthday she danced so suggestively that he promised her, as a prize, anything she wanted. Incited by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist, who was in prison for having publicly reproved the unlawful Lrnion between Herudias and her brother-in-law Herod Antipas. According to an old legend, Salome paid for her sin by being beheaded in her turn by a slab of ice which broke up while she was crossing a frozen river. (4) Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullian, who lived in Carthage from 156 to ea. 220, was an eminent Roman jurist. The son of a centurion, as a young man he led a dissolute life which, nevertheless, did not prevent him from acquiring a high literary, philosophical, historical and juridical culture and from making a name for himself as a lawyer in Rome. Around 195 A.D. he was converted to Christianity and some years laler took the Holy Orders. He was one of the founders of \VosternLatin theology as well as a very original writer. (5) The residence of the governor of a province. (G) J\fombors of the tribe of Levi, Jacob's third son, entrusted with the religious service.

(7) Jewish scholars, followers of Pharisaism, a politico - religious movement which theorized an ex tremely strict observance of the Mosa ic Law and exhibited a severe moral rigour, bu t were more con cerned about appearance than about substance. (8) Officer of the Roman Army who commanded a century (100 men), comparable to today's captain. (9) Name of the bar used to close the door of the house at night. (10) Spartacus, Thracian gladiator, led a revolt against the Roma ns. Escaped from a well-known Capuan gladiator school together with Crissus, another gladiator, he soon gathered a great number of fugitive slaves and repeatedly routed the Roman legions sent to confront him. In 71 B.C. he was defeated in Lucania by Licinius Cr ass us, corn mander of the operations. Spartacus died fighting desperately; his companions who were taken prisoners were crucified. ( 11) Roman politician and General, 46 B.C. - 9 A.D. After the proconsulate in Africa, he was appoi nted l egate to Syria and intervened promptly and vigorously in order to repress the rebellion tha t had broken up in ,Judea at the death of Herod the Great. Appointed legate of the Roman Army on the Rhine, on his return to summer quarters with three legions ho was l ured by Herminius into an ambush in the Toutoburg Forest and, faced with a desperate situation, killed himself. (12) Jerusalem, 30 AD. - Rome, 95 AD. Jewish historian from an aristocratic and sacerdotal family. In 66 A.D., during the Judaic uprising, was appointed Governor of Galilee. Despite his obvious partiality, he is considered the most important ,Jewish historian, and one of the greatest or ancient times. (13) A gum resin extracted from a plant, used in the past as a perfume. Today is employed as a dye. (14) Philosopher and theologian of Alexandria's Christian School (Alexandria, 1.85 A.D. - Tyre, 253 A.D.). Shortly after his priestly ordinat ion, he was accused of heresy and his ordination wa s annull ed. He moved to Caesarea in Cappadocia , continued to teach and founded a school which soon became famous. He died as a consequence of the tortures suffered during the persecution unleashed by Decius, Roman Emperor from 249 A.D. to 251 A.O. A prolific author, he wrote about 800 works, most of thorn lost.

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