Italian defense minister says NATO ‘as it is’ has no reason to exist

He doesn't want to face the Russians. They helped his party get into power.

It's just insane though, Italy is a major defense manufacturer. Europe would be paying *them*.

Well, NATO was pretty much built to counter a Soviet invasion of Europe – so even though Art. 5 does cover the US (and they're the only ones to have invoked it so far to justify their bullshit war in Afghanistan) since they're a member state, the organisation has always been more geared towards keeping Russia from invading Europe.

Europe AND North America.

Nuclear war was as much a threat against North America as it was against Europe.

USA was also attacked by Japan in WW2, so USA too could conceivably be attacked again.

EU was to created in huge part to maintain peace in Europe.

Maybe he means "try invading Ethiopia again"?

"Italian defence minister outs himself as Russian asset"

Member of one of the few openly, explicitly fascist parties in Europe.

“If NATO was created to guarantee peace and mutual defense, it must either become an organization that takes on this task by engaging with the Global South — and thus become something profoundly different — or we will not achieve the goal of having security within rules that apply to everyone,” he said.

It was created to guarantee peace and mutual defense _in Europe_. Why would NATO have to "engage with the Global South" (whatever the fuck that means in this context) to do that?

What's Italian fo"Remember the rope goes around the feet."?

It really seems like he doesn't understand what a "defense alliance" is meant to accomplish.

He just doesn't want to pay the 5%.