A ‘Meloni Doctrine’ Takes Shape as Italy’s Premier Insists on Coupling Diplomacy With Armed and Muscular Deterrence

Can Giorgia Meloni’s realpolitik steer the world away from a planetary nuclear confrontation?While President Macron was busy burbling mistaken geopolitical nostrums, Prime Minister Meloni conferred with President Trump in a bilateral meeting of consequence.Prior to his hasty departure from the G-7 summit in the Canadian Rockies, the 47th president sought Signora Meloni’s counsel regarding the state of the world.From burgeoning regional conflicts to illegal immigration to tariffs, the duo engaged in a substantive exchange that the mainstream media largely ignored.Both leaders are keenly aware that the Russo-Ukrainian war and Israel’s clash with Iran are powder-kegs that could ignite a global war.And the planet could stumble into an unnecessary conflict reminiscent of World War I — one that could go nuclear if Russia and Communist China enter the fray.Signora Meloni may have a solution that is laborious yet actionable.Italy’s premier maintains that Western solidarity and humanitarianism must be coupled with a sinewy, no-holds-barred diplomacy. Military might must be wedded to a cogent strategy for ending conflicts.Yet there are certain objectives that the West must uphold.“We all agree: Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon,” Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said.Yet Signora Meloni acknowledged: “The negotiations by the United States to reach an agreement ending the Iranian nuclear program have not yielded results due to Tehran’s unwillingness to do so.”Indeed, she averred that Iran remains the “principal source of regional instability and terror.”“The best possible scenario would be one in which the oppressed [Iranian] people rise up and overthrow the regime.”Still, Iran’s mullahs are an intransigent and fanatical lot who will not easily relinquish power.At the close of the G-7 summit, Signora Meloni — who had spoken to Prime Minister Netanyahu as the aerial hostilities between Iran and the Jewish state began — reiterated her unwavering belief that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”A regime that has vowed to wipe the Jewish state off the map is a pariah.Signora Meloni has also reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to ending the immense human suffering in the Gaza Strip that Hamas unleashed.Once a cease-fire or a cessation of the war there is achieved — a goal Signora Meloni is tirelessly pursuing — Rome is prepared to assist in the reconstruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, hospitals, and schools.Nevertheless, the crisis in the Gaza Strip has receded in the global consciousness due to the outbreak of the war between Israel and Iran.And this is a conflict of unprecedented volatility.Signora Meloni is acutely aware of the warning by the chief of defense staff, General Luciano Portolano, that the strikes on Iran “open a new chapter, adding elements of tension,” and carry “the risk of conflagration and extension of the conflict to neighboring countries.”Decode39 reported that General Portolano’s interview with Corriere della Sera “highlighted the multidimensional nature of modern warfare — nuclear diplomacy, shifting alliances, resources and rivalries — that all parties must strive to contain.”The general underscored the complexity of “the new faces of today’s wars: surveillance drones, kamikaze drones, satellites, electronic and cyber warfare, AI, disinformation, special‐forces incursions, and mercenary militias.”Mr. Tajani believes in order to cope with the heightened risk of a global war, “our main task is to bring diplomacy and dialogue back to the fore.” To that end, the Meloni government has appointed Italy’s former envoy to the North Atlantic Treaty, Marco Peronaci, as the Magic Boot’s ambassador to Washington.Like Signora Meloni, Signore Peronaci is a polymath — fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Japanese.And like the prime minister, Ambassador Peronaci is a tricolore Atlanticist whose commitment to strong U.S.-Italy relations is ironclad.Moreover, he is an advocate of what can be called the Meloni Doctrine: a belief that a commitment to de-escalatory diplomacy must be coupled with an armed and muscular deterrence.Stand united and ready to defend the West, but deter a catastrophic war before it begins.Mr. Trump has long been enamored of the Nixonian “madman” theory of geopolitics.Will he therefore take out Tehran’s secret nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow with a 30,000-pound “bunker buster “bomb?In advising Mr. Trump, Signora Meloni can paraphrase Machiavelli: “Deterrence and discipline in war count more than fury.__________Correction: Decode39 is the name of the publication that reported how General Portolano’s interview “highlighted the multidimensional nature of modern warfare.” An earlier version misstated the name.

A ‘Meloni Doctrine’ Takes Shape as Italy’s Premier Insists on Coupling Diplomacy With Armed and Muscular Deterrence

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