Nato and 21st Century Piracy

First published October 17th, 2012

Piracy, which has taken place in the Mediterranean since antiquity, was considered legitimate from the 12th century, when it was transformed into a belligerent race sanctioned by sovereigns.

Although officially abolished in 1856, it continues to be practised through novel justifications and techniques. These parallel the methods deployed by Nato, whose war ships are authorized to board «suspect mercantile ships» in international waters and to confiscate cargo, and whose fighter planes can even intercept “suspect civil airplanes” in international air space, and force them to land.

Accordingly, Nato considers Turkish action which, using F-16 bomber fighters had forced an airplane of a Syrian Airline (Moscow to Damascus), to land in Ankara, entirely legitimate. After retaining passengers, including Russian citizens with children, the Turkish authorities searched the plane without witnesses, and declared they had found and seized “military material and ammunition”.

Moscow assures that on board, there were only radar components, provided regularly, under a trade agreement. It asks for them to be returned. But Washington sides with Ankara and declares that it does not have “any doubt that there was important military material on board” (that could be now exhibited as “evidence”, swearing to have found it on the airplane”). The Turkish Prime Minister, Erdogan, instead of being called to respond to air piracy, is transformed into laying charges against the United Nations, accusing it of “negligence, weakness and injustice” that have prevented international action against Syria.

Erdogan, the champion of international law, does not say that the real traffic, both of arms and of the armed, passes from Turkey to feed the war in Syria, a country with which Erdogan previously had good neighbourly relations. A policy now derailed.

The 900 km border between the two countries where Turks and Syrians have common cultures and advantageous trade relations, has been transformed by Ankara into an outpost of the war in Syria. Syria, now accused by Erdogan of violating the border. Behind all this is Nato that declares that “all the necessary plans to defend Turkey are ready”, that is ready to send armed forces. This is what pirates used to do when they would disembark to pilfer.

Today’s booty is an entire country, Syria, where we prepare to intervene by creating from Turkey “buffer zones” within the Syrian territory. The same thing was done at the Jordan-Syrian border, an operation begun in May through the Eager Lion operation, under US command. Italy also participated in this. At the end, a contingency of US war specialists remained in Jordan to create a «buffer zone» in Syrian territory. The manoeuvre, in tenailles, is closed from the Israeli side, where on 21 October the Austere Challenge 12 begins, a massive three-week US-Israeli Missile operation to prepare the “response for simultaneous Syrian and Iranian attack”.

A “response” that also provides for the use of nuclear weapons. Heading the operation is Nato’s Supreme Commander, J. Stavridis, who will arrive and who will guarantee that it is ready for a European Union war (already initiated through EU sanctions against Syria and Iran). He has been honoured with a Nobel Peace Price for his work promoting “brotherhood between nations”.