Cavo Dragone: 'The war is in our homes, now we must defend our children'

"The war has entered our homes." Clear, direct words that leave little room for interpretation. They were spoken by Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, President of the NATO Military Committee, already COFS Commander, in a speech given to the Senate three months after his inauguration. An intervention that did not go unnoticed, for the decisive tone and the urgency of the message: Europe's security is no longer an abstract issue, but a concrete and shared responsibility.

Cavo Dragone, head of the Atlantic Alliance's military summit, spoke as a man of experience and a privileged witness to the changing strategic balances. His warning is clear: «We can no longer think that someone can do it in our place. The Atlantic Alliance is our true Shield». And in recalling that in 75 years not a single centimetre of NATO territory has been lost, he forcefully relaunched the value of cohesion among the allies.

No US withdrawal, but Europe must do more

The speech also had the merit of debunking a commonplace often agitated in political debate: the alleged disengagement of the United States. "I can assure you," said the admiral, "that there is no trace of disengagement in NATO's planning." Indeed, he recalled how the United States was the only one to activate Article 5 of the Atlantic Treaty after September 11, involving all the allies in the global fight against terrorism.

But the American request for a greater European commitment remains on the table. And, according to Cavo Dragone, it is more than legitimate: The United States spends approximately 15% of its military budget on the security of Europe. Now it is up to the Old Continent to bridge the gap.

The Axis of Threats and the Illusion of Distance

The war in Ukraine, he explained, has highlighted the need to prepare for a symmetrical conventional war scenario. And it has reawakened in Europeans the perception of a direct threat: "The fear of being attacked and not being able to defend oneself has reached very high levels, especially in Eastern countries." A feeling that has burst into everyday life, which manifests itself in the need - once unthinkable - to talk about security also in schools, families, and the media.

In this scenario, the “bloc” of autocracies – Russia, China, North Korea and Iran – it is not a think tank theory, but a reality”fearfully looming”, as confirmed by the Secretary General of NATO during his visit to Japan. And the confrontation is played out not only on the military level, but also on the economic and technological level. The countries of the BRICS bloc, with China at the forefront, are building an alternative financial system to the Western one. «The threat extends to the heart of our stability».

Multilateralism is not dead, but it needs to be relaunched

One of the most relevant passages of the speech concerns the role of multilateralism, often considered dead. Cavo Dragone does not deny the crisis of instruments such as the United Nations, put on the ropes by the Ukrainian conflict. But he also glimpses signs of vitality: there is talk of a UN interposition force, of a European defense, of "willing countries" ready to support peace.

"It took two world wars to give birth to the United Nations," he recalled, "it would be unforgivable to underestimate these tools in an era so poor in innovative solutions." The way out of the war still passes through multilateral diplomacy, which must however adapt to a world where balances are rapidly and chaotically evolving.

Cavo Dragone's final appeal: let's not let our children pay

Cavo Dragone's final message is not a military bulletin, but a civil appeal. Security - he explained - is not an expense to be postponed, but a moral duty towards future generations. «If we don't think about safety today, the first to pay the price will be our children.».

And while the pendulum of History swings between regression and hope, between the “dynamic immobility” of The Leopard and the lofty vision of De Gasperi, the admiral recalls the words of President Eisenhower: “Behind the clouds of war there is humanity hanging from an iron cross.” It is up to Europe – and each of us – to decide whether to remain spectators or become responsible actors in a world that no longer allows indifference.

Condoralex

Born Alessandro Generotti, C.le Maj. Parachutist on leave. Military Parachutist Patent no. 192806. 186th RGT Par. Folgore/5th BTG. Par. El Alamein/XIII Cp. Par. Condor.
Founder and administrator of the website BRIGATAFOLGORE.NET. Blogger and computer scientist by profession.