The high price of US 'military protection'

247 - By Manlio Dinucci - A columnist for the newspaper Il Manifesto denounces that the Donald Trump administration will impose on its European allies not only the payment of all costs for US military bases, but also an additional 50% quota to compensate for US 'military protection'.

It's not just the mafia that demands a price in exchange for "protection." "The rich countries we are protecting," Trump warned ominously in a speech at the Pentagon, "are all warned: they will have to pay for our protection."

President Trump – Bloomberg reveals – is about to present the "Cost Plus 50" plan, which establishes the following criteria: allied countries that host US forces on their territory will have to fully cover the costs and pay the US an additional 50% in exchange for the "privilege" of hosting these forces and thus being under its "protection."

The plan stipulates that host countries will also pay the salaries of U.S. military personnel and the operating costs of U.S. aircraft and warships in those countries.

Italy should therefore pay not only the salaries of approximately 12 US military personnel stationed here, but also the costs of managing the F-16 fighter jets and other aircraft deployed by the US to Aviano and Sigonella, as well as the costs of the Sixth Fleet based in Gaeta.

By the same criteria, we should also pay for the management of Camp Darby, the largest US arsenal outside the country, and the maintenance of the US nuclear bombs deployed to Aviano and Ghedi.

It is unknown how much the United States is considering asking Italy and other European countries that host its military forces to pay, because it is also unknown how much those countries currently pay. This information is covered by military secrecy.

According to a study by the Rand Corporation, European NATO countries bear an average of 34% of the costs of US forces and bases present in their territories. However, the exact annual amount they pay to the US is unknown: the only estimate – $2,5 billion – dates back 17 years.

The amount paid by Italy is therefore kept secret. Only a few items are known: for example, tens of millions of euros to adapt the Aviano and Ghedi airports to the US F-35 fighter jets and the new B61-12 nuclear bombs that the US began deploying to Italy in 2020, and about 100 million euros for work on the US naval air station in Sigonella, also the responsibility of Italy.

In Sigonella, only NAS I, the administrative and recreational area, is exclusively funded by the USA, while NAS II, which houses the operational departments and is therefore more expensive, is funded by NATO, that is, also by Italy.

However, a researcher at Rand Corp predicts that with the "Cost Plus 50" plan, the cost for the allies "will skyrocket." There's talk of a 600% increase.

These costs will be added to military spending, which in Italy reaches 70 million euros per day and could reach around 100 million, according to commitments made by Italian governments to NATO. This is public money, which comes out of our pockets, subtracted from productive investments and social spending.

It is possible, however, that Italy could pay less for the US forces and bases deployed to its territory. The "Cost Plus 50" plan actually provides a "good behavior discount" in favor of "allies that align closely with the United States, doing what they ask."

Surely, Italy will enjoy a strong discount because, from government to government, it has always remained linked to the United States. Lately, sending troops and warplanes to Eastern Europe with the motivation of confronting the "Russian threat" and favoring the American plan to bury the INF Treaty (on short- and intermediate-range nuclear weapons) in order to deploy nuclear missiles aimed at Russia to Europe, including Italy.

Since this is the target of a possible retaliation, we will need other US forces and bases as "protection." We will have to pay, but always at a discount.

Translation Jose Reinaldo Carvalho to Journalists for Democracy