Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, head of NATO's Military Committee

Cavo Dragone is a naval aviator and served as a helicopter pilot for nearly 7 years, before being transferred aboard frigates such as the Orsa and flew the UH-1 L Bell UH-1N Twin Huey, and the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters. Cavo Dragone initially served as a helicopter pilot aboard the Ardito during the Lebanese Civil War as part of the Italian Forces during the Multinational Force in Lebanon. Cavo Dragone was among the few selected pilots transitioning to flying jets, where he flew the AV-8B Harrier II+ and garnered a total flight time of 2,500 hours.

Cavo Dragone became a flight commander aboard the Maestrale-class frigates 1986-1987, and also served as a commanding officer in various ships in the Italian Navy. Cavo Dragone was placed in command of his first ship, the minehunter Milazzo from 1987 to 1988, before being placed as the commander of the Operations Unit (Reparto Operazioni) of the Italian Naval Aviation twice, from 1991 to 1993 and on 1997-1998.

Cavo Dragone also became commander of the frigate Euro from 1996 to 1997. In 1999-2002, Cavo Dragone was named as the head of the Research & Development Office at the Naval Aviation Department, before serving as the commander of the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi on 27 September 2002, and served as the carrier's commander until 2004.

Following the wake of the September 11 attacks, Cavo Dragone was one of the commander of the GRUPNAVIT I, the Italian Naval Task Force deployed in Afghanistan, and carried out 288 various missions such as interception operations, close air and naval support, and aircraft interdiction missions, where the aerial operations accumulated a total of 860 flight hours. On 2005-2008, Cavo Dragone was appointed as the Navy General Staff Air Warfare and eventually became the commander of the Air Forces Command of the Italian Naval Aviation.

In 2008, Cavo Dragone was appointed commander of the Italian Navy Special Forces Command (Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei) before being appointed as the superintendent of the Italian Naval Academy in 2011 and ended his term in 2014.

Cavo Dragone was appointed commander of the Joint Special Forces Operations Headquarters from 3 November 2014 to 26 June 2016. After his tour of duty, Cavo Dragone became the commander of the Joint Operations Command from 1 July 2016 to 20 June 2019. On 21 June 2019, Cavo Dragone replaced Admiral Valter Girardelli as Chief of the Staff of the Navy and two years later, on 19 October 2021, he was appointed by the Council of Ministers as the Chief of the Defense Staff.

in the footsteps of U.S. CENTCOM Commander General Breedlove ... damn.

The Bloody Years - Lebanese Civil War

The Baghdad Pact was established in 1955 ...

Alliances are like shifting sands in the Sahara ... I wrote a post about the situation of King Abdullah of Jordan ...

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan struggles for survival strategy in shadow of US-Israeli-Saudi axis | Middle East Eye | (MEE)

The "frontline" states to stop Soviet communism were allied in CENTO after the Pact of Baghdad was undersigned during the first Cold War. The Red Crescent states are now part of the Shia alliance through the Islamic Republic of Iran: from Teheran thru Baghdad - Damascus and Beirut. Qatar has failed miserably thru the Muslim Brotherhood alliance with Turkey, Egypt under Morsi, Libya and the Hamas revolutionaries in Gaza. HRC was the darling of Erdogan, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar and by extension the star of Al Jazeera in Doha.

The Sword of Islam [Mussolini and Libya] represented by those states were propped up by the old colonial powers France and Britain with world power US. Western allies proliferated nuclear know-how to Israel and Pakistan: the Jewish and Islam atomic bombs.

Ideological and geopolitical underpinnings of the Cold War | USFP |

U.S. Information Service poster depicting the communist threat to the Philippines, August 1951

Cold War ideology defined a new role for the United States in the world, a new "manifest destiny" for the nation.  Washington policymakers assumed a self-imposed mandate to protect other peoples and nations from "communism" and to lead the world to peace, prosperity and democracy. The Cold War ideological framework drew upon a deeper stratum of "exceptionalist" beliefs in America's inherent goodness and benefic intentions, to the effect that the U.S. could be entrusted with world power because it would always use that power in benevolent and protective ways. America's assumed moral superiority was also transferable to its allies and client-states, exalted as the "free world" by mere association with the United States.

Though presented in "fairy tale" terms of good and evil nations, Cold War anti-communist ideology played an important strategic role in the U.S. quest for global predominance. U.S. leaders conflated a variety of challenges to U.S. global interests and influence into a larger-than-life, monolithic "communist threat" [Joe McCarthy and fascism] that appeared to be everywhere on the rise.  This overwrought threat perception, in turn, allowed U.S. leaders to justify U.S. intervention in every corner of the world.

The NEW Generation and the FEAR of the Red Scare ... again!! 1984 keeps returning and cash on reruns for each generation ... PROPAGANDA.

• Mitigating the risk of US surveillance for public sector services in the cloud | Open Access Review - 30 Sept 2021 |
• American software and European privacy: a dangerous combination? | July 2025 |

You ain't seen nothing yet ... wait for full-fledged AI to live in the delirium sphere.

The New Red Scare? Historian on McCarthyism and Parallels to Today | Amanpour and Company - 25 Mar 2025 |

In the White House, a 73-year-old legal statute is being used to defend the Trump administration's crackdown. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 was passed amid anti-communist fears during the early Cold War. That period of history is the focus of the new book "Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America." Author and reporter Clay Risen joins the show to discuss past political hysteria and what it can tell us about the present.

Russian diplomat advises NATO to rein in 'escalatory' talk about preemptive strikes | TASS |

Moscow considers the statement by NATO Military Committee head Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone about potential pre-emptive strikes against Russia to be an extremely irresponsible step that promotes escalation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The diplomat pointed to Giuseppe Cavo Dragone's recent interview with the Financial Times, in which, discussing the bloc's response to alleged Russian hybrid attacks, he said that "a pre-emptive strike could be considered a defensive action." Allegedly, it is time for NATO to act "more aggressively," the diplomat explained.

"We consider Giuseppe Cavo Dragone's statement about potential pre-emptive strikes against Russia to be an extremely irresponsible step, demonstrating the alliance's readiness to continue moving toward escalation," Zakharova emphasized. "We see it as a deliberate attempt to undermine efforts to settle the Ukrainian crisis. People who make such statements should be aware of the risks and potential consequences, including for the alliance members themselves," she noted.

According to the diplomat, NATO's true goals and intentions became evident long ago. "At the same time, the bloc's leadership has the audacity to accuse Russia of `bellicose nuclear rhetoric,' intimidation, and notorious hybrid attacks without any evidence of our involvement," she stated.

Zakharova stated that "against the backdrop of the anti-Russian hysteria being whipped up by the alliance and the fearmongering about an `inevitable attack' by Russia on the bloc's member states, such statements not only add fuel to the fire, but also seriously escalate the already existing confrontation."

"Brussels likes to repeat the mantra about the 'purely defensive' nature of the alliance. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone's self-revealing statements about 'pre-emptive strikes' show that narrative is untrue," she concluded.

Giuseppe Cavo Dragone successor to Rob Bauer, close friend of Mark Rutte ...

Siamese Twins @NATO - Bauer and Breedlove | 4 Apr 2024 |

Failed US foreign policy embedded in the person of Senator/VP/President Joe Biden ... listen to the war propagandists I have warned about .... War doesn't security make ... Peace does ... lessons for Middle East, Israel and Palestine and the lesson not learned in Ukraine.

General Breedlove was poison for security in Europe ... by extension Rob Bauer is continuing the insanity.

No surprise I caught both of them in a single program.

Message on #NATODay of Chairman of @NATO's Military Commmittee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer https://t.co/77utJajFh1

— Netherlands at NATO (@NLatNATO) April 4, 2022

NATO military committee officer: 'It's not a given that we are in peace' | News Nation - On Balance |

Rob Bauer has a daily podcast on Dutch television ... war is a-coming whether you like it or not. Bad Russians.

[...]

Trump Watches as Frogs Jump the Bucket

ATTENTION‼️

Reader Oldbert @MofA pointed to the fact this is an AI generated FAKE of Prof. Jeffrey Sachs based on today’s narrative in the news. Damn 🥹

Russia's reaction to NATO: Is the US secretly supporting NATO's first-strike doctrine? | Prof. Jeffrey Sachs |

This explosive geopolitical analysis breaks down NATO’s shocking “pre-emptive strike” controversy after Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone suggested that a first strike could be considered an act of defense—triggering immediate outrage from Moscow. Based on official reporting from Reuters and the Financial Times, this 5-part narrative reveals how Washington, Brussels, and the Kremlin are navigating one of the most dangerous moments since the Cold War.

We uncover whether this statement is a hidden military threat to Russia, how the U.S. may secretly shape NATO doctrine, who truly holds the advantage in a Russia–NATO confrontation, and how the Kremlin is preparing to respond. This is a tense, high-stakes story about hybrid warfare, nuclear doctrine, and escalation in real time.

Official Statement: In light of fake and AI-generated videos circulating online, please note that only videos published on this official website and verified SDSN or Columbia University channels are authentic communications from Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs.

Outstanding comments @MofA

The top diplomat made the remarks on Sunday to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, who asked whether Europe was within its rights to "outrageously" push for a role in negotiations to settle the Ukraine conflict.

"We proceed from the premise... - which I believe is obvious to everybody - that Europe has already removed itself from the talks," Lavrov said.

Europe long ago "used up its chances" to have a say in the settlement process, the top diplomat said, pointing out that it has repeatedly derailed efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis since its very beginning, when the 2014 Maidan turmoil culminated with a coup and the overthrow of the democratically elected president.

"Europe spoiled the initial deal of February 2014, when it acted as guarantor for the formal agreement between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. It did nothing when the opposition seized all government agencies the morning after the agreement was signed," Lavrov said.  

Posted by: Jo | Dec 1 2025 12:32 utc | 184

Another tanker is sinking. This time off the coast of Africa. How should we respond?

Turkish journalists are reporting that the oil tanker M/T MERSİN is in distress off the coast of Senegal (that's West Africa, in the Atlantic). It flies the Panamanian flag but is owned by the Turkish company Beşiktaş Denizcilik. Local media speculate that it was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones three miles off the Senegalese coast. In August, the vessel called at the Russian port of Taman, which apparently gave grounds for classifying it as part of our so-called "shadow fleet."

There are three important signals here if the tanker was indeed attacked by the Ukrainians.

• perpetrator received permission from the highest authorities in London to attack ships of any nationality and belonging to any owner. Even if they are from a NATO country.
• evidence Kyiv has gained the ability to carry out such terrorist attacks outside the Black Sea. And theoretically, this poses a threat not only to our Black Sea Fleet, but to any Russian naval base.
• it appears that Ukraine is using civilian vessels to launch drones. It's unlikely that drones can pass through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus on their own.

Ultimately, it all boils down to the fact that Ukraine must be deprived of the use of its seaports. Without ports, Ukraine will lose billions of dollars in revenue and the ability to access the world's oceans, both with its own products and with the cargo on board grain carriers. Therefore, it's high time to decommunize Ukrainian ports along with the energy sector.  Delvos 700. 🤝 @Slavyangrad

Posted by: Jo | Dec 1 2025 13:06 utc | 185

A ship carrying Russian oil begins to sink off the coast of Senegal after drone attack

Erdogan calls Black Sea attacks on merchant ships a 'worrying escalation' | TRT World |

"The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has clearly reached a stage where it threatens the safety of navigation in the Black Sea," Turkish President Erdogan says.

Ankara closed the straits to most warships shortly after Russia's invasion and later brokered, then watched the collapse of, a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain by sea. It has tried to keep working relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, selling drones to Ukraine while importing Russian gas and coordinating on energy and tourism.

The latest strikes also come after a separate Ukrainian drone attack damaged infrastructure at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in Novorossiysk, a major outlet for Kazakh and Russian oil.

Kazakhstan and Turkey have both voiced concern that Ukraine's campaign against Russian energy infrastructure and shipping could hurt their own economic and security interests in the Black Sea region.

Erdoğan said Turkey would continue to warn all sides that attacks on commercial shipping in its exclusive economic zone are unacceptable and risk a wider escalation of the conflict at sea.

Zelensky and the Terror State Ukraine | 13 Mar 2025 |