The 1985 Sigonella Incident
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- The 1985 hijacking of the MV Achille Lauro led to an international dispute that almost drew NATO allies into armed confrontation. The History Guy remembers the five hour standoff at Naval Air Station Sigonella.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by THG
#ushistory #thehistoryguy #sigonella
There were few images available in the Public Domain. The documents pictured were from the official FBI report on the incident.
Good to know, crazy stuff brother, I never knew that 2 NATO allies almost had armed conflict twice in 2 days.
Lol
Thanks for this. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence but I was reading this story among others a few hours ago.
My question to you, sir is how many people realize that the B-29 was not the last bomber to fly over Japan that there was a another. Bomber that was in the same field of Technology as it. Thanks for the great channel is always fun and entertaining to learn history. .
@@patrickmcglonejr8163 I suspect that with Turkey becoming an Islamic dictatorship and meddling in Syria, that we may see (or may have already seen) a lot more of that. Turkey was supposed to be NATO's southern bulwark against Russian expansion, especially into the Mediterranean, but the Russians have leapfrogged them (possibly with their connivance) and are now ensconced in Syria, making Turkey of much less use to NATO, not to mention their unreliability as we confront Iran. It'll be very interesting to see how this all realigns in the next years.
You know you're getting old when "history that deserves to be remembered" is covering events that you remember like they were yesterday.
34 years ago...
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel I agree with Minute Man ... it's like it was yesterday.
As Bill Gaither says I thought getting old would take longer than it did
Was thinking the same thing!! lol.. I'm 70, groan
was thinking the same thing!! I'm now 70..groan...
“Pilots in the US and Italian jets exchanged colorful epithets.”
Of course they did. Oh what I would do hear to hear that tape...
edited?
@@SiliconBong porbably a grammar mistake he corrected
same, there should be a movie.
haha: "I wave my private parts at your aunties, you cheesy-leather, second-hand, electric donkey bottom biters."
@@NVRAMboi "You lying dog face pony soldier!"
Mr. Klinghoffer was a client of our brokerage firm, you've shed a lot of light on this, thanks.
I was a Jet Engine mechanic while I was in the Navy, and I was stationed at Sigonella when this happened. None of us knew exactly WTH was going on, but we knew it a helluva lot more than what was being told on TV because there were some MAD officers running around. Thanks for this video. It was excellent, as are all of the others you do.
I think every story that hits the news hasa helluva lot more than on the TV. The News is just the story they are trying to sell.
I was at NAS 3 when it happened. And, yes, there actually was a NAS 3. It was a remote HF transmitter site.
Wow, I never actually thought someone here did experience it at the base
Situations develop, escalation to war is preventable in carefully selected scenarios.
America must not negotiate with terrorists, we put them out of businesses…
Mad officers? Sure there where Americans who should not be there!
I never enjoyed history at school but as an old man (65), I can't get enough. Ignore history and you're destined to repeat it...
If only you had a twin to teach journalistic ethics...
It is difficult to present nationally, ethnically, racially, politically, religiously, or otherwise emotionally charged subjects in a fair and objective fashion. Thank you for consistently shining the best disinfectant while providing informative and entertaining content.
Agreed! TheHistoryGuy, always does a great job of presenting all the known facts of a particular story without adding his own opinions; or worse, presenting only some of the facts in order to skew opinion or create a false narrative. Great job TheHistoryGuy!
What an excellently fitting comment.
Imagine a world where it's not normal to just tell the truth. Oh, we live here, and this guy is the outlier.
Indeed, tHG consistently presents accounts of events without favor, Acknowledges areas of dispute regarding conflicted interests, and yet does so with passionate engagement. Journalism as it is disseminated on a "for hire" commercial basis seen the past fifty or so years has devolved into solely opinion/editorial sensationalist brands competing for hits rather than striving to uphold any sense of integrity. The History Guy as a brand is more accurate in reporting, though a bit delayed 😉, than the lion share of mass marketed "news" content across any platform. Students and future journalists should take note.
@@LegendLength - Aside from FOX News, the #1 leading cable news network for years, the media is dominated and controlled by the complicit, leftist/liberal/socialist/Democrats and has been for years. Sick.
I am a wheelchair user and this story is the main reason I will not get on a cruise ship. I remember watching horrified at the news reports about some poor soul tossed off the ship in a wheelchair - and this was just over a decade before I was injured. Since a motorcycle accident paralyzed me from chest down, I've been invited to join several cruises and each time I recall the Achille Lauro event and pass. Paranoid? Yup! I'm too easy a target.
I hear you but the odds of
1.the odds of Pirates overtaking a carribean or Alaskan cruise ship is nill.
2. The oddd of them choosing you, out if 5000 cruise passengers is also nill.
You should reconsider!?
@@LaGrandeBayou Nah, I'm OK w/o going on cruises. My second biggest reason for not going, besides the afore mentioned, is the uncleanliness of those cabins/rooms; I don't like staying in motel rooms for the same reason - I'm a bit of a germ-aphobe. As for pirates catching up to and boarding a cruise ship - easy peasy. I witnessed it happen in the Caribbean, while on a deep sea fishing boat out of Barbados. Me being in this wheelchair makes me a prime candidate, as I stand out, somewhat, from the other passengers. But you enjoy yourself on whatever cruise you take.
@@v.e.7236 44 magnum in a chest rig. But check to see if libtareds run the state first or you will land in jail!
@@savage22bolt32 LOL!
@@v.e.7236 ❤
It's really cool that you posted your original comment 2 yrs ago, and you saw my reply 2 years later.
Great stories involve pirates. But even better ones have F-14 Tomcats.
Yeah it’s like VF-103 the jolly Rodgers
@Romans 13:4 yes. When they flew tomcats they were featured in the movie "the final countdown". "Proceed flight. You have permission. Splash the zeroes. I repeat SPLASH THE ZEROES!" That clips floating around on TH-cam somewhere lol.
Yes like the time the USS Nimitz went back in time to Dec. 6th 1941 and took on the IJN! Splash the zeros repeat splash the zeros! Oh, that was a movie.
@@dragonsword7370 I was commenting nearly the same thing. See below in replies.
@@dragonsword7370 "Splash the Zeros." ~ Kirk Douglas (December 9, 1916 - February 5, 2020). He had a good innings.
On board the Achille Lauro when she caught fire in 1994 was entertainer Moss Hills, who was also onboard the Oceanos which sank three years prior. During the Oceanos disaster, the crew abandoned ship and Moss and the rest of the band helped evacuate the passengers. He was also helping with the evacuations three years later during the Achille Lauro disaster as well. Another bit of history, that deserves to be remembered.
Not true!
@@ThirdEye...It is very much true
I remember the Achille Lauro incident well as it was covered extensively on the news but had no knowledge at all of the Sigonela incident, none at all. Wow. Thanks for sharing.
Can you do an episode on the 1971 Solar eclipse chased by a newly designed Concorde prototype, which was fitted with scientific instruments and outran the rotation of the earth to stay in the path of totality for 74 minutes? Its something that will likely never be repeated as it was a confluence of a bunch of unique events
Yeah, I think it will be interesting
@The History Guy, I too believe I am Intrigued by the premise of this story.
@@paulsilva3346 check it out! I remember reading about it when the 2017 North American eclipse was in the headlines and was fascinated. Never again will there be an opportunity for a Mach 2 airplane, big enough to house half a dozen precision scientific instruments and a dozen scientists, which required extensive modifications to the airframe and a very flexible and helpful coalition between two countries who had heavily subsidized the aircraft design, right when an eclipse with a path conducive to supersonic flight.
@@juniorloaf12 It would be cool if NASA were to obtain a few B-1B bomber when the USAF retires them in the years to come; they have great speed and payload capacity anyway.
@@RCAvhstape yeah the Lancer is an amazing rig... And the USAF had a history of giving NASA its decommissioned planes. Not quite fast enough, Mach 1.25 IIRC. Maybe the Valkyrie or Vulcan? Not sure what the Vulcans top speed is
I vaguely remember this incident, but had no idea of all the complexity involved. Thanks HG for rounding out my understanding of a moment in time that could have changed history. TG for "cooler heads".
I also appreciate this and all his videos . Funny thing is these things happen all the time from one degree to another we have no idea about .....
Yes, I clearly remember this incident and saw a booth at a air force base open house selling shirts. One of them a airliner surrounded by F14s "you can run but you can't hide." I remembered when the Italians released the leader of the hijackers and the complaints, but even in 1985 it was clear Italy could have been a close target for terrorists. Unlike the US which is an ocean away. However, I had no idea how close US and Italy were in a shooting war about the same time my favorite actress Gina Lollobrigida appeared on Falcon Crest (the only time I watched one of those Dynasty type TV shows because Gina was a guest star). Unthinkable both these countries would be at war with each other. Yes, I second that thank God for cooler heads.
I find it extremely interesting that most Italians only remember the confrontation between US and Italian troops of the whole Sigonella incident, while from most comments it seems that in the USA that episode inside the whole crisis was not known.
So the murder of Leon Klinghoffer meant nothing to them. *That is history that should be remembered.*
That is because, the Italians are, well, Italian...
@@dovbarleib3256 EXACTLY!
Why bother? How many innocent Palestinians etc did Israel kill that day? Or today for that matter.
What do you mean by that? Sounds anti-Italic.
09:35 I'd like to know how being surrounded by Italian carabinieri armed with SMG would have resolved in the Americans winning.
Sti americani se devono guardà meno hollywood e giocà a meno call of duty..
@Pierre LeDouche Carabinieri is not just a police or gendarmerie force, back then it was a proper armed force with the same heavy military equipment of the conventional Italian army (or, in many cases, even better). As a matter of fact we also deployed armored cars armed with .50 cal HMG on the airstrip.
But even if we just had M12s, SEAL and Delta are not invulnerable bullet-proof supermen, they were so close to our muzzles that they would have been torn to shreds if we opened fire. Or do you believe that war is like a Rambo movie?
60 seals surrounding 60 Italians, in turn surrounded by 450 Italians from 2 different battallions, armed with tanks and heavy machine guns mounted on armoured vehicles (notice that a battallion is 500 to 1000 men, so probably another 500 or more soldiers were on hand, not to count that on Italian territory, and with no way for their planes to take off again, the Americans would have had nowhere to go in any case). If the selas fired they would have been annihilated. Americans think Hollywood movies are real. And unfortunately our well-dressed host doesn't seem immune from it
@@albertoamoruso7711 it wasn’t just back then. The Carabinieri are still a superbly trained special force, that deploys in almost every Nato war. Italian Special Forces are no joke.
@@lukarancini1630 😂😂…ok…
I was on the flight line that night in Sicily, working on C-2's and T-39's for VR-24. The Delta force had come in 2-3 days earlier and crews assembled H-53's if I remember right. The Delta force commandos had taken over my hangar and set up their cots and proceeded to clean and lube their weapons and gear. Some time on the evening being reported, my Senior chief came out to the flight line and told all of the night shift to put our tools down and go to the ready room on the second floor of our hangar NOW!. we did.
We were left in there for the remainder of the event. One Delta force guy came up during the early part of the evening and told one of my airman to call the base hospital and tell them to prepare for gunshot wound treatment. Our T-39 was indeed used by the General to keep track of where the Italian were going. The Italians tried to close the runway and not let our T-39 take off, but the General ordered our to pilots to use a service road adjacent to the runway and he then followed them to mainland Italy.
SIDE NOTE:The picture shown of the T-39 was from VRC-30(VR-30) at the time, the actual squadron designation should have been of a T-39 with VR-24 marking and squadron designations.
This report was spot on!! It was an interesting time to be sure, during the Reagan years. Especially since Carter had us run every time there was an engagement.
AMH1 Haynes USN(ret)
former member of VR-24
@harry b do you know anything about military history are about history itself and you would know that US special forces went after the people that killed our troops in Lebanon I know my husband spent 6 mounths tracking them down
That's good to know, never thought two people were there and would be in this comment section
The bluejackets tell the real stories, like you. CTR2
Awesome details from eyes on.
Thank you for your service!
@chrishaynesusa Did you have a visual on the Egyptian aircraft from the hangar? Some have reported three "rings" of armed forces: Italians surrounded the plane, Americans surrounded the Italians, and a third ring of Italian surrounded the Americans. Do you have any recollection of that?
Please do John Manjiro (John Mung). One of my favorite, and important, historical figures who gets very little attention outside of Japan. He was a Japanese fisherman castaway that was saved by a whaling ship, transported to Boston, educated, crossed the US in the gold rush, got wealthy enough to buy his own ship, returned to Japan, was made a samurai, became an influential court translator, became a naval navigator and captain that had a huge influence in naval tactics in the lead up to the Russo-Japanese war. Cool dude, and he deserves to be remembered.
Dolph says do it
That guy sounds like a badass I'd like to hear his story
I support this topic for a video inclusion. Please history guy, hear our plea!
that sounds like an interesting story, kind of like the story of the black samurai.
Andrew Hall Wow! I concur!
Funny how the US special force's commander talks about his "fear about a mistake that would lead to a lot of italian casualties" when, in fact, they where the one surrounded by an overwhelming italian force with even light tanks by its side...
The cowboy must have seen too much western movies.
Hundreds of Italian cops would’ve died in a actual firefight….so yes it’s a valid concern politically.
@@33moneyball They were not "cops" but Carabinieri, which is an elite army corp, they surrounded the us soldiers and had machine guns and light tanks to their disposal...
No doubt some of that carbinieri's would have died but... unless the americans had invulnerable skin to bullets... energy fields around their bodies... or any other superhero BS 😅 it would have been a MASSACRE for the american soldiers
@@darklight6013they had a whole air craft carrier as qrf and there where us jets on the other side of the airport since it was a nato air port
Something I noticed is partially missing in this video, probably because there aren't many international documents about it, is the role of italian foreign office in the negotiation. Their intervention probably avoided a massive blodshed on that ship.
I wish I had done a Med Cruise.
We were trained differently specifically because of this very incident.
Italian did what they had to do, the US military and government acted as Italy was one of their colonies!
@@ThirdEye...This better be a joke.
My late Father was stationed at USN base in Naples as a SIGINT Chief Petty Officer. He co-ordinated the air to land/ air to sea communications here. I visited him there, the winter of '85-86. Thank you for this side of that story sir.
I am blown away by this story! I am a naval veteran and a history nerd, how have I never heard of this????? Once again THG has knocked it out of the park! Well done Sir!!!!
A friend of my uncle, Massimo, still remembers that 12th of October like It was yesterday, 35 years later.
At that time he was a 19 yrs old doing the draft, stationed at Syracuse.
It was a saturday, their day off, so you have to imagine him and his section returning at their barracks half drunken and expecting to be punished because they were late. Instead they found their ncos screaming at them, saying they had to be ready in full equipment in 10 minutes. About an hour later they were at Sigonella blocking the entrances to the American sector of the base.
What had happened was unexpected: the two tower operators had realized that the Americans where only telling half the story, only the civilian plane and the four f14s where authorized to land, the moment they saw two more planes landing, those carring the Seals, they informed their officer, who had the Egypthian plane parked in the italian sector and immediately informed the Commander of the base, the VAM (the security force of the base) and the Carabinieri (serving as military police). The rest Is history.
Interessante avere anche il punto di vista italiano, grazie
@@ECHOFOXTROT289 di nulla
When we had a prime minister who was able to teach Americans that they are not the masters of the world and cannot do what the fuck they want, especially in the home of others.
@vachiefno they don't lmao
@@filippodifranco8225 Ignorant boy, America let you live. you know what Seal Team 6 & Delta Force would have done to an Italian army? lololol
7:40 FYI When a land based plane fails to make a landing it is called a "go around" not a wave off. That is only for planes landing on a carrier.
A go around is not a big deal. In fact they happen quite often for any number of reasons. Most pilots will perform a go around even while still in training, aside from a preplanned practice go around.
Yeah, I was in charge of the remote transmitter site that handled all of the fleet communications during this. It was a harrowing experience and the crew ran their butts off keeping transmitters on line and tuned to often called for frequency changes. We all received a letter of commendation from SECDEF for out support.
Way to go, hollyfoxThe. Looks like you all did your jobs very, very well. Thank you, sir!
@@johndufford5561 Thank you.
Be shame on yourselves on how you acted! Deliberate invasion of a allied country!
Amazes me that a people on youtube are consistently able to make videos about little known, very interesting , well produced shorts like this, while major broadcasters fall short.
Manipolate dad is side! Not true at all!
I remember when this was happening back when... fascinating to learn of all the details!
My question is: Why do people find so much entertainment in shallow movies and brainless television series, when there is more 'real' material to learn from history? Investigating and studying episodes like this would foster an understanding of how things really work (not fiction), and lead to a better informed citizenry.
One of your best, yet. As a teenager at the time, I remember that event well but had no idea it was as tense as it was. Amazing content, sir.
Well. That was a hell of a clusterfuck.
1
And
Yes, It is a reminder that the USA will bend and respect allies.Even if they competely disagree.
Whatever that might mean. (Can you speak English?)
60 Italian soldiers surrounding the plane, then 60 from the delta force surrounding them and 500 to a 1000 Italian carabinieri surrounding the Delta force. In such a close range whoever thinks the Americans could have won is deluded, special forces or not.
Interesting note about the fear of the lack of discipline on the part of the Italian troops. You showed the symbol of the Carabinieri as you said that, and from my own experience seeing them in action (even in a professional setting), I'd say that they're the most disciplined "regular" forces the Italians field.
Crazy story... You presented it magnificently.
Mate, as a Brit Italian, check out the Colmoskin, Italy were the first to have SF and are very underrated because people are ignorant and think of the 2ww. But Italians are second to no one, trust me.
@@Happy-wb8gicapisci
@@Happy-wb8gi
It's called 9° Reggimento Col Moschin and it's part of the Folgore Brigade which took part in the WWII Battle of El Alamein, Africa.
The Folgore Brigade received the honor of the arms from the allies because they kept fighting till they had only stones left to use against an enemy which was better equipped and in greater numbers.
If you really want to be impressed then you should check out the COMSUBIN (Comando Subacqueo Incursori) which is the Navy SF and has a long and impressive tradition.
@skeeter honey
Well said and I totaly agree with your statement regarding the discipline and professionalism.
I wouldn't consider the Carabinieri as "regular" forces though since they have an important place in the Italian history which brought them today as an indepedent Armed Force completely separtated from the Army to which they belonged in the past.
The Arma dei Carabinieri is a very rich and powerful resource which has been used throughout the centuries to control the entire Italian territoty.
If you think about it in every town in Italy, even the smallest one and less known you will always find three important figures:
The Mayor (Sindaco), the Priest (Prete) and the Marshal from the Carabinieri (Maresciallo dei Carabinieri).
Every Italian citizen has a file which is kept in the hands of the Carabinieri, if you need to have information on any local citizen you need to ask the local Carabinieri station (Stazione dei Carabinieri) and you can be sure that they'll pull out a file on whatever person you're looking for.
Last but not least they are very well equipped and totaly independent and can carry out operations by land, sea and air without any problems.
@@Noname-xi7xi Carabinieri files have dirt placed in them, just like here in America…
Thank you for this memory. It’s an excellent point that the “Achille Lauro” was of Italian registry, and under the Law of the Sea, these crimes occurred in Italy!
I wonder if Italy would've prosecuted the PLF "negotiator" if the U.S. and Italy hadn't gotten into a dick measuring contest.
Some of the crimes happened while in an Egyptian port. I don't know if this matters or not. But I would guess, and it's only a guess, that the law of the sea wouldn't apply.
Edit: I just looked it up and it appears that Egypt did indeed have responsibility for criminal activity while at port in Egyptian territorial waters.
UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA
www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part2.htm
They murdered an American
Period.
The only real issue I have with American actions was the forced landing of the airliner in Italian territory without clearance.
Alexander Strickland: International law applies to Americans, too!
@@sandrastreifel6452 - In theory. In practice, military and economic might make right.
As a 12 year old British kid at the time I remember this incident, especially vivid was the name of the ship. I didn't realise there was so much to the story of this hijacking, and how close Italy and the US came to "disagree". Thanks for this, I hope to see more videos of incidents from my youth
There's the incident of Checkpoint Pasta, in Mogadisciu, one year prior of the battle the americans fought and lost in Somalia.
I was 15 and remember the news sighting the ship’s name but was completely oblivious to the politics of it, it was a time when hijackings and terrorism were all over the place and sort of desensitized me, only to be shaken by it as i grasped its gravity growing older. From 🇨🇾.
Wow, I was an enlisted sailor on the USS Saratoga when this went down... very dicey time !.... experienced the interception in realtime in the Combat Information Center working as a Data Systems Tech
Ended up being quite the clusterf#!k
One of my neighbors in NC was a Delta operator on that "job"
His description wasn't far off of this
@@mwhitelaw8569 Not to belabor the point (Delta Dude was spot on).....Italy was just a few years distant from the Aldo Moro incident and the activities of the Red Brigade (the Red Brigade was on the ropes but Italian authorities were afraid of a RB and PLO "convergence")....Italian leadership at the time totally wussed out....At the end of my career I was stationed at Sigonella (during the second Iraq war) and we couldn't take a pee without the Italian's permission....total BS
@@goobfilmcast4239 Come on ! The Red Bridage scare was a false flag US/NATO project , part of "Operation Gladio". There was a parliamentary investigation in italy on that. The NATO created special stay-behind forces in case of a Russian invasion;). As none was coming (how unkind of teh commies ;)and the security jobs could not be lost these trained killers were used by you know whom to dicredit the strong communist movement in western Europe by staging false flag operations like kidnppings, killings, bomb attacks etc. and ascribing them invariably to the communist units created ad hoc be the US/NATO brain trust. It was a bloody lie but it did work ...until the investigations found out the ugly truth behind the swinery organized by Uncle Sam. Of course , nobody was punished, jailed and executed for the NATO crimes ...
Try to check things heard from the massmedia before believing anything.
@@januszkowalski5345 I am not a "conspiracy person" but there was a botched Kidnapping by the RB of a US General Named Dozier....hmmmm.....food for thought
@@goobfilmcast4239 Do more research. It was not "botched". The RB actually grabbed BG Dozier, and held him for a while (I'm sure the length is easily found on the internet). Eventually, the Italians located them and an anti-terrorism unit raided the apartment and freed Dozier. FYI, a few years later I met Dozier at a reception at Ft. Knox.
I had no idea the Italians were so ballsy. Bravo.
"Pilots on board the US and Italian jets exchanged colorful epithets over the radio about their respective intentions, family heritage, and sexual preferences." Wikipedia - Achille Lauro hijacking
I remember that incident; or at least the little we were told about it in Australia. Great explanation. Thank you.
James Lukac - your memory appears to be failing. We were constantly informed of the events unfolding!
@@mandywalkden-brown7250 Yeah my knees are also failing. I remember the constant coverage of the ship side of things, and a little about the flight, but this is the first I have heard about the stand off between the US and Italian military; or for that matter the political tensions which accompanied the matter.
All while Emmitt Brown was finishing his modifications to his Delorean.
and he broke his deal with the lybians
@@killian9314 Where did the Lybians get the plutonium in the first place?
@@killian9314
Lybians??
I only recently discovered your channel. I absolutely love it. I binge watch it all the time. Thankyou for putting intellectual content on the web.
What an incredible real story that was! Many times, sequence of international events becomes better story than any novels. The dramatic twists and turns are so good and even seem comical. Thanks for the story. Surely to be remembered.
ANOTHER EXCELLENT TUTORIAL !
Trivia: My husband was a member of Saratoga's crew that year. When the crew returned home from that cruise many had T-shirts stating
" U.S.S. SARATOGA : When it absolutely positively has to be their overnight."
( I sure wish I knew what happened to it ! His sister was supposed to put it in a shadow box frame as a memento.)
That was certainly for us another scary time in the history of my sailor's career.
you must work awful hard to come up with some of these stories! You never fail to amaze me.. thanks very much for all you do.. carry on!
Omg as an Italian I'm happy someone finally covered this
@Libs Hate Montesquieu "sucking off". Yeah how about no. They stood up for ther sovereignty and tried the terrorists
@Libs Hate Montesquieu terrorists who killed an american wheeled man, who cares?
@Libs Hate Montesquieu you have to understand that allie doesn't mean slave, if the prime minister said that you could not have the guy, then you don't get to have him
The main thing to remember about this incident was that the US had absolutely no jurisdiction in this case. The fact that Leon Klinghoffer was an American was 100% irrelevant. He was killed on an Italian ship which means that Italy had full jurisdiction in this matter. Under international law a ship is considered a part of whatever country owns it or registered under. Since this ship flew the Italian flag, it is as much a part of Italy as Rome, Venice or Palermo. If an Italian citizen gets killed in the US, the US has jurisdiction, not Italy. Is that clear? The clumsy, illegal way that the Reagan administration handled this greatly hurt US Egyptian Italian relations. And it almost lead to a shootout between US and Italian troops. Sending US jets to follow Italian planes and jam their communications was highly illegal. The highhandedness, might makes right of the United States is why America is hated throughout the world. This incident could have been handled so much better. The US has a done a lot of good things in the world but this matter was not one of them. And intercepting that Egyptian plane in mid-air wasn't so smart either.
That is because, the USamerican are, well, USamericans...
The US tends to act unilaterally at times which is not always the best choice.@@extremathule982
In Italy the modern special forces OF THE NAVY were born: WE WERE THE MYTHICAL BOLD PEOPLE WHO IN ADDITION TO STABING AND THROWING HAND GRENADES AT THE AUSTRIANS IN THE TRENCHES, AND ENDING UP GREATLY: THE VIDEO OF THE SUNK BATTLESHIP IS FAMOUS, NOT FROM GUNNEADS 380MM, BUT SURROUNDED BY 6 TORPEDO BOATS (MAS), CHASED BUT HIDDEN BY THE MASS OF THE VAVE 30K TONNES!! THE MAS WERE MADE OF WOOD AND ALUMINUM AND WITH A PIECE OF SMALL TORPEDOES ON BOARD. IT WAS ESCORTED BY CRUISERS. TO MAKE A LONG LIST, THE SERAKE TWILIGHT COVERED THE ATTACKERS. AT A CERTAIN POINT THEY FANLED OUT TO HAVE THE OBJECTIVE IN SIGHT: GONE 1 THEN THE 2ND AND SO ON EVERYONE, GOING TO SIGN 3 0R 4, HOWEVER THE LUCK WAS GREAT BECAUSE TO HIT HER OK, TO HIT HER DEADLY EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE TO ABLE TO ESCAPE... A MIRACLE. IN THE VIDEO, IN 2 HOURS SHE WAS GONE. THINK WHICH IN THE DOCUMENTARIES PROPAGANDA OF HISTORY CHANNEL, BBC, THE ANGLO-SAXON WORLD, ONLY FRANCE, EVEN IF IT EXAGGERATES ITS EXPLOITS IT IS NOT PATHETIC LIKE THE OTHERS. THIS IS TO SAY THAT IN A DOCUMENTARY THEY ELECTED THE MOST BRAVE MOTOR TORPEDO BOAT...THE ONE WHERE THERE WAS A KENNEDY YOUNG.WHY? HE BROUGHT A PAOP OF BOYS TO SHORE, OK NOTHING BAD. BUT THROWING DOWN A 30 THOUSAND TON BATTLESHIP WITH PRACTICALLY 6 BOXES. THIS IS
I remember this event as 1985 holds a particular significance to me, it was the year I got married. Thank you so much for shedding light on an issue that seemed to hold more components then the people of authority were letting on. Your work is invaluable in this age of misinformation. Take care and God Bless from Florida.
My family was stationed in Sigonella when this happened. I remember it well, especially since my father was leading the team of NIS Agents when they forced the Egyptian airliner down in Sigonella. Good job covering this! I never knew if the US public was aware of all that went on with this incident.
Sigonella at the time was an Italian Base, not even a NATO manage! So, before telling craps on us Italians, we had our rights and acted normally! You all should be ashamed on how USA acted!
Just sat down with my morning coffee only to see a video published 1 minute ago. Must be my lucky day!
I was stationed at NAS Sigonella for three years. Great duty! Awesome food, wine, people.
I was in Sig for two years, 2000-2001. Loved it! Best two years in the Navy.
ben dowden I just missed you: I deployed with VP-11 to Sig in 1993; then 95-98 pcs’d to TSC Sig. then I went to CVN 71 USS TR and did a Med cruise in 99. Then deployed with VP 16 in 2002 to Sig. just couldn’t get away. Now I’d like to go back!
@@JimmyDickens1 Nice! I was with PWD I was a Seabee 99-07. Left Sig and went to NMCB 133.
ben dowden Outstanding! A good friend of mine was a Seabee: CAPT Alex Stites. What I remember most about the Sig Seabees was their three-legged dog that ran loose around the base. I don’t know his real name, but we all called him Tri-dog!
Yes it was. Was Momma Mias still outside the gate?
Ah, the curse of living in interesting times! I remember well the hijacking of the Achille Lauro but I didn't know at the time just how complex an international incident it sparked. Thanks!
Remember the incident, but knew none of the facts. You make me realize how far modern journalists have sunk. Thanks for making journalism great again.
Many of your stories happened in my lifetime, and yet time and time again I find myself asking….why haven’t I heard about this before now? Good job on covering historical events, as I wholeheartedly subscribe to the adage that “those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” In an age where history is actively being obscured and judged by standards that did not exist at the time of the event…it’s refreshing to hear the story told with factual honesty and explained intelligently.
this is by far the best history channel on youtube
The first time I heard about the armed stand off was from the book “Rogue Warrior” by SEAL Team 6 Founder Richard Marcinko in 1992. He described some detail about it but I never realized the magnitude of the incident and big picture until now. Great clip and breakdown of the incident.
They should have been on martial court, occupying military an Italian airport ; shame on arrogant USA
That bow tie is bloody brilliant.
Not everyone can wear a bow tie. This gentleman wears it well.
Reminiscent of Mark Russell.
Excellent episode. Thank you for a great, concise run through an episode that truly demonstrates the extreme complexity that all too often is glossed over in contemporary news reports and in histories written many years after the fact.
Fun fact, the Aquila Lauro was the former Willem Ruys, which was the ship on which my mother sailed to Indonesia in 1948.
Your ability to refrain from editorializing is impressive.
That's why we have the Comments Crew. :}
He did editorialize - the same sneaky way Walter Cronkite would criticize Reagan and still call it journalism
The Italian government was very upset that they could not close Sigonella to air traffic. While it is nominally an Italian base the US controls most of it including local air traffic, the airport tower, most of the aircraft ramps and the crash crew. Subsequent to the Achille Lauro event the Italians based an armored Carabinieri unit in Catania, near Sigonella, with the express purpose of rolling armored vehicles on to the runway to prevent aircraft operations if required.
Ease an Italian base controlled by Italy, not even a NATO one , as it is now! So, stop acting as Italy is and was one of your colonies!
I was in the Navy, on station in Beirut during the hijacking of TWA 847 in June of that year. We had to stay there a very long time, and it was hot as hell itself.
Thanks for your service buddy! JJ VF-142 75-79 AE3
(The History Guy) You are the BEST history teacher I have ever heard of!! Your delivery is spot on and just watching you tell the story. Your face lights up, even with a smirk on it.. Thank you for all your effort and time in these stories.......
Thank you, I vaguely remember this hostage incident. I very much appreciate the uninvolved manner in which you presented the facts. It is rare to hear an unbiased report on a historical event. And thank you again for bringing to our attention the significance of the countries involved.
What an absolutely crazy incident. I was too young at the time to be aware of any of it, so thanks for helping us remember!
I remember the incident on the News at the time. nice to know the full story! Thanks !
Coming to this after watching the pilot of the lead F-14 (who spooked the pilot with his lights and forced him to turn to Sicily) tell his story. Probably should have watched it the other way around, but it was cool knowing just what he knew, then learning the whole story.
Doing what ever you wanted to on Italian territory? Thanks god us Italian didn’t shot down your planes flying on Italian territory!
Although I was aware of this hijaking I had no idea of these fascinating and complex machinations behind the scenes. Thanks for all your careful research and entertaining delivery.
I absolutely love these stories. As a retired Firefighter, SAC and Gulf War Veteran, I appreciate all these forgotten pieces of history. Some of which I’ve been part of. Thank you sir.
You are absolutely right, thanks for this video.
At the time the geopolitical situation in the Mediterranean sea was really complicated.
Italy was a kind of "pillow" between NATO, USSR and the Arab world, was targeted by many terrorism acts in the decade and the political and international tension was high.
5 years before the Sigonella affair, an italian civilian plane with 81 people on board crashed in the Med sea in circumstances that are still not fully clear, very close the CV60 while she was in Neaples gulf. Nobody saw it, nobody listened to it, nobody spotted it on the radar screen, nobody has told the truth about it. In the early eighties investigations came with the idea, later confirmed by several sentences and by the wreck recovering, that the plane was shot down by an air to air missile in an apparent dofight between NATO and Lybian planes, most likely by mistake. A crashed lybian flogger was found on a muntain nearby.
Because the very critcal international situation, nobody has told what really happened that night. Apparently the NATO decided not to reveal facts to the public opinion.
The only clear thing was an intense fighters movement around the civilian plane. All with transponder switched off, but almost all recognized by the NADGE system as not-foe.
For the public opinion an involvement of US or french planes was pretty evident, and the idea that NATO was doing "nasty" and unknown things above people heads during peacetime, was not welcome by many.
So the Craxi government was stressed by a number of factors. At first was the need to keep the country in peace, keep good realtionships with neighbor countries on the north african coast and mid east, avoid terrorism, enforce commercial deals, preserve the role in the north atlantic organization, but also take care of the growing internal public skepticism around those relations.
That's why Bettino Craxi decided to enforce the international law in the Sigonella affair. This was the absolutely best things to do at the moment. In my opinion he had no other choices.
Ciò che succede in territorio italiano verrà gestito dalla giustizia italiana
Kudos for even mentioning this, I was aware of the fact but there were details I did not know about!
Great job on bringing the story to life! Your narrative made me relive the actual event!!
Superb overview of the Sigonella incident. An excellent video illustrating the complexities of diplomacy.
Diplomacy? You tell things totally wrong and on US sides!
“Nobody doesn’t like”... The History Guy. 😉 Great episode!
Wouldn't it had been better if u said "Everybody likes the History guy", now wouldn't it?
@@rickvelocity5578 He was making a reference to the Reagan tax reform slogan
Except the 13 wankers, at this point, that gave this presentation a 👎.
You should cover the USS Liberty Incident
Second the motion.
Probably demonetized.
That was fully investigated by the IS Navy as a friendly fire incident.
Only antisemetic haters mention that alot as if it was done on purpose.
Iran flight 655 was a similar incident.
Why you mention that?
I would really like you to cover the USS Liberty Incident as it's something that should not be forgotten.
boilerman61 - Actually, from everything I’ve seen in the Liberty Incident, you probably don’t -
www.thelibertyincident.com/yerushalmi.html
www.gtr5.com/evidence/yerushalmi.htm
www.thelibertyincident.com/docs/israeli/yerushalmi-report-en.pdf
www.nsa.gov/Portals/70/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/uss-liberty/chronology-events/attack-sigint.pdf
historynewsnetwork.org/article/39936
www.haaretz.com/us-news/but-sir-its-an-american-ship-never-mind-hit-her-1.5492908
www.amazon.com/Remember-Liberty-Almost-Sunk-Treason/dp/1634241088
Remember, LBJ lied about the Gulf of Tonkin...
@@TraditionalAnglican the Israeli land thieves mercilessly attacked the USS Liberty, rearmed & attacked her again & again. Killed or wounded hundreds of US sailors.
Israel never apologized, and the POTUS was a puppet of Zion refused to take action.
Rich Brockmeier - I assume you know Egypt, Syria & other Arab nations committed 4+ Acts of War & threatened to annihilate every Jew in the ME in the 3 weeks before the 1967 “6-Day War” -
www.history.com/topics/middle-east/six-day-war?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjYm5X9y-joAhVPeKwKHU3tC_8Q9QF6BAgBEAI
www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War
Records from the time indicate 10 were killed & 100 wounded during the Liberty Incident, & the Israelis apologized that day & offered to pay compensation to those sailing on the USS Liberty within 48 hours of the attack.
www.thelibertyincident.com/yerushalmi.html
www.gtr5.com/evidence/yerushalmi.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident
Ask any of the Brits on board the HMS Sheffield (Light Cruiser) about misidentification during wartime - They were attacked by SLOW MOVING Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers that had mistaken it for the BB Bismarck.
uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/1181.html
@@TraditionalAnglican every trespassing land thief from Europe calling themselves "Jews"... I've NO sympathy for thieves.
Has it ever been covered?
I love your videos: expert, concise delivery, brief but not lacking depth due to that brevity, and your personal deliver are all excellent. Thank you for your work.
I remember the Achille Laro highjacking but never knew about all the other drama you detailed here. Well done, history guy! Keep up the great work.
I love this. I missed much of this type of news during the 80's. I was more into heavy metal and punk rock, and most of my political news came from punk rock songs, which of course I now realize was often very biased. But obviously, this story was nearly hidden, and almost forgotten by all. Thanks History Guy.
Unfortunately, the 'news' was always extremely biased as well. We've been brainwashed for decades.
Punk rock was for musicians who weren’t intelligent enough to learn their instruments, and weren’t intelligent enough to know what they were rebelling against . Thank god you came out alive and didn’t get killed soaked in human waste at a GG Allin concert 😏
I sustained a traumatic brain injury in 1988, so that decade is basically not part of my experience. I'm grateful for reminders like this that yes, while I was growing up and learning how to think again, the world was still happening, and it does deserve to be remembered.
@@andytaylor1588 Op mockingbird.
I lived both worlds as an Air Force brat in my late teens. The world to me turned on a single pivot point on October 23, 1983 when the Marine Barracks in Beirut was bombed. Most of the bodies passed through the Air Base dad was stationed at and every weekday for almost 3 weeks I walked right past the hangar where the corpses were being ID'd before being returned to the US. I was 15. If not for music I think I would have lost me freaking mind by time I graduated in 86. Airport massacre in Vienna, Achille Lauro, Beirut at least every other day, being irradiated by Chernobyl fallout, an airshow crash at the same base. It felt like an endless cycle with no rhyme or reason. War is brutal and completely sucks, but this terrorism bullshit was just mind boggling!!!
The F14s may not have been carrying missiles but the magazines for their Vulcan cannons were certainly loaded.
Kevin Storms in fact, with all tracer rounds. One issue that has still not been clarified is whether they had been authorized to shoot the plane down.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel
I'm sure a few warning bursts ahead & across the the nose of the airliner, of 20mm could've been allowed, or plain ignored and overlooked if needed due to the craft making a sudden movement...
Even if the 20mm rounds were inert practice tracer rounds, are still more than to damage an civillian bird, if not outright cripple its flying ability outright.
Luckly as it was indicated he/it was 'boxed in' seemed enough for the pilot - let alone stop the oboard terrorists/activists not attempting to take over control of the 'craft itself from the pilot.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannelHaving all tracers would make for one hell of a light show (with implied threat) for the pilot of the plane carrying the terrorist.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel This is Reagan we are talking about here,,, authorization would have been known by the ships captain already and I think we all know what would have been the answer if it came to letting the terrorist go or knocking the plane out of the sky. Ask the French ambassador to Libya......
You beat me to it! 20mm cannons go through commercial airliners like tissue paper if authorized. Great show, presenter and channel. Thank you!
I remembered Leon klinghoffer & the Cruise ship incident.... I never heard the rest of this story till I saw this
I'm amazed the Mossod didn't kill these terrorists, years later
Ya know, I think your(The History Guy) the first TH-camr I'm gonna buy merchandise from! I think your taking a subject that most grade school kids find boring and turning it into an educational form of entertainment. That's huge. I wasn't interested in history until I was an adult...around 22. Your format makes it far more interesting because you give brief yet informative descriptions along with great pictures and clips. Thank you for that!
Good job
I would like to point out the role played by Michael Ledeen , then a consultant in Italy for the Reagan administration, later in a neocon tink tank.
It was present during the telephone conversation between Reagan and Craxi, inserting himself into the simultaneous translation of the conversation, bypassing the official translator Thomas Longo Jr who protested strongly.
Years later Ledeen boasted about it on Italian national television
I was in Sigonella Sicily during this event. Was also deployed on an emergency ready 2 launch to help in the capture of the Achilles. You got all this correct. It was a very tense time there.
You were not suppose to do all that! Not your territory, not was even the base!
If I remember right they rolled that guy in his wheelchair overboard to kill him by drowning.
Yes. A cowardly act.
They shot him twice, then threw him over.
@@rutabagasteu how should they have done it less cowardly?
Speaking of Italian incidents you should talk about the Ustica incident in 1980 where a civilian flight was shot down in misteryous circumstances
They should talk in general about the political violence of the early 1980s in Italy. Including the Bologna Train Station Bombing. The details of that period are still murky and controversial, with some nasty right wing groups involved in false flag operations.
@Ken Hudson All that, plus the nebulous Masonic Lodge "P2" that tied into (allegedly) the Vatican Bank Scandal.
I heard a theory that a MiG-23 was hiding under the plane and the pilot mucked up and was spotted by military radar, and was shot down, bringing the passenger plane with it.
@@commander31able60 That's the most common theory about the whole situation
@@petergray2712 the years old lead here in Italy were grim. It was basically Russia and CIA using Italian extremists for a proxy Civil War
I was part of the Marine Amphibious Unit (later called MEU'S) deployed to the Med when this incident took place. Most of the MAU and other US Naval ships were in port at Naples, Italy at the time. Our ship was hard down due to engine and stack problems. I remember coming back from the Naples Air Station by taxi and the road overlooked the harbor. A sailor was sharing the cab with us to cut costs and he cried out, "that's my ship underweigh". It was an eerie and odd sight to see all of the US Naval ships steaming out of the harbor joining the chase for the Acilli Lauro, all of them...except for the ship I was attached to.
All acting as Italy was one of your colony, shame on USA!
This one was frustrating.
But you did a great job telling this bit of history.
Thanks for all the hard work to bring this channel to the air. Great job folks!👍
Quando gli italiani lo misero, militarmente, nel deretano agli statunitensi.
I'd love ro hear your interpretation of the death of PC Yvonne Fletcher AND the Iranian embassy siege which occurred earlier. Love your stuff HG. Keep it coming.
Ah, good ol' American military.
"We're surrounded; all attempts to avoid combat will be taken, opponent casualty rate would be unfortunate."
"We're surrounded by the enemy. We got them right where we want them." -- Delta Force or SEAL Team 6, probably
Baylor Blackwell Most likely, all statements were exactly true.
"We really dont want to wipe out all these spaghetti benders...so tell them to behave."
...not even their "opponent"...they were worried about their Allies, the Italians...that they might have to hurt them
i spent 2 years in 89 and 90 in sigonella working with the italian military, He wasn't lying they would of massacred the Italians, they were a joke.
This was VERY interesting. Things are rarely as clear cut as they appear and this seemed to explain clearly. Thank you.
EXCELLENT, a much needed and well described explanation of the incident, Well Done. 73 - KV4WM A US Navy Nuclear Submarine Veteran and FCC licensed Radio Operator. P.S. Thank You for the format change, so much more professional, we do recognise and use your support vendors.
My favorite memory from this incident was months later seeing T-shirts with the Egypt Air 737 surrounded by F-14's captioned "You can run, but you can't hide".
Also, let's remember that hindsight is 2020...before being too critical of the U.S. decision makers, remember there were a lot of world events that would make those decision makers skeptical about if those involved would ever be prosecuted. There were a lot places these guys could have ended up that wouldn't have had the will, ability or guts to prosecute.
There's a few interesting incidences of US forces ignoring their supposed allies sovereignty. To name a few:
- US wiretapping of German government officials, 2013 (Germany ultimately kowtowed)
- CIA kidnapping of Khaled el-Masri in Macedonia, 2003 (he was released as innocent after being tortured, German officials again kowtowed)
As a side note, there were a few such incidences from the eastern bloc states too. East Germany did kidnap a suspected 400 people from west Germany. Lawyer Walter Linse in 1952, French spy Friedrich Böhm 1958, the kidnapping and subsequent execution of an escaped east german border patrol soldier (sorry can't find the name).
While I am only familiar with incidents that happened in Germany, I am sure many such incidents happened all over the world by various factions. Using the military in a high-profile fashion as with the Achille Lauro is probably less common.
Going off on a tangent, if I recall correctly, a severe military incident in 1984 (I think, might be off by a year or two) also led to the establishment of the famous "red phone", direct line between the USSR and US presidents. It's not well known just how close to WW3 the world was in that year. A European NATO maneuver that included evacuating government officials in western Europe set the USSR and its allies on edge, to the point where nuclear bombers were readied and waiting on the runway for the order to take off. There's a news report about Ronald Reagan riding on his farm - this was specifically broadcast to alleviate USSR fears. The idea being if the US president was on vacation, there was no imminent war. The entire episode was pretty well kept under wraps. The details of the whole incident are rather fascinating and had far reaching consequences.
(edited for proper formatting and some spelling errors)
wombatdk - I understand the “Red Phone” direct line the Kremlin was established in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis at the request of both Kennedy & Krushchev. This is shown in the 1964 movie “Fail Safe”.
Pretty sure The History Guy has a story about that. Just can't remember the title.
@@TraditionalAnglican That might well be, I could have messed that up. It's been a long while since I looked into the details of either :) I'm not remotely a historian btw, just someone entirely too curious.
When I was I kid I kept hearing "achille lauro" on the news on TV that my father was watching. Only the name of the ship stuck in my head. Now I know the whole story.
Great video - no one delivers a history lesson like The History Guy!
I recall the murder of Leon Klinghoffer and the Achille Laura incident but was unaware of the military standoff until THG posted this. Amazing, the things that go on behind the scenes and go unreported. Thanks Guy for educating those of us who lived through these testy times, oblivious to the reality of events surrounding them.
Americans never had respect for us Italians.
I can show you a long list of "incidents" occurred with US personnel that have actually killed italian civilians in multiple occasions.
The worst of this cases was the Tragedy of Cermis.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Cavalese_cable_car_crash
I was in college when they hijacked that ship and killed that man. I remember it .
Didn't they shove his body overboard while still in his wheelchair?
@@kevinaustin5342 yes
I remember it also. I really couldn't care less if some Italian or Egyptian politician gets bent out of shape over it; those bastards murdered an American citizen and I'm fine with the Navy and other services hunting them down and bending the rules to do it. We must never forget, and they must have no safe haven.
Sounds like you are close to my age so I'm sure you remember Robert Dean Stethem.
Frederick Gundlach
We must be the same age because I was in the Army at the same time it happened.
I think the History Guy's primary source for his research is the Pirates' Encyclopedic Compedium of World History.
Well all good pirate stories should be told when they're an Arrr in the month.
@@bigblue6917 Somebody should suggest he replace his bow tie with a clip-on shoulder parrot.
@@rickoshay6554 eye patch
@@stevedietrich8936 Right on. And with a peg leg and a hook. He probably already owns the hat.
Because 😎Don't ALL good stories include pirates😘
As an Italian, and one that has always been pro USA and conscious of how much of our well being was built on the support of and alliance with the USA, I always wondered at the stance assumed by Craxi. My first instinctive reaction at the time was negative and leaning toward the impression that Craxi's action was influenced by the anti-America part of the public opinion (those were the days of cold war, and while Italy was in the western side a very non-negligible part of its people, euphemistically speaking, would have preferred the other one). But I was wrong, as demonstrated by the fact that these facts did not hurt the alliance to any relevant extent. My opinion on Craxi's action today is in a grey area, and reflecting about it I think this is not unexpected, indeed it would be naive to think that decisions on how to manage such entangled situations would turn out to be outright good or bad, there are simply too many factors and interested parties to balance out.
Overall, I think Italy's leadership handled the crisis better than the USA's one.
Both Italy and the USA had the reason and the claim to pursue the terrorists. Italy's claim of jurisdiction was substantial, I believe, and prevalent respect to that of the USA. Craxi was a shrewd politician and by all means not a meek one, one that based his political career on having no qualms about going against opponents that should have been larger than himself and coming out a peer when not superior (he was also a thief and endowed Italy with the largest public debt of Europe... so, try to answer "was he a good politician?" as black and white, in light of that). I guess that his first approach in pursuing Italy's claim was aimed at having a bargain chip toward the "big ally", on one side, and to affirm an influential position as "a fair partner" (arbiter) toward the Arab nations (relations with them was a very relevant factor in Italy's, and Craxi's, policy), on the other. On the latter point, contrast Egypt's "let me wash my hands" policy to that of Italy. I think this hypothesis looks very much in character. The expectation from this stance would have been that the Reagan administration would have had to deal with Craxi's government which would have pursued the terrorists on both's behalf (while pursuing its Arab policy...).
But the USA administration acted as the one who has the means to pursue its will irrespective of what is fair (if not legal) and of what other wants, and furthermore does not care a dime, aka a bully, and did so by disregarding the Italian claim and abusing Italian jurisdiction on Sigonella. At this point, if You think that a Craxi would go "yes, do as You please with our things" is only because You have not spent enough time to come to know him. That is, instead of resolving the claims into a joint interest, as peer allies should have done, the USA went "I'm the big guy, so I do as I please", which was the perfect stage for Craxi's "sorry mate, but now I really have to remind You that I am Your ally, not Your puppet". Because all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players, that means now they have to run through the crisis. If all goes well (no one on the ground goes nuts and pulls the trigger) at the end of it we are just as allied as before, but with better comprehension of each other's role, so to say.
As a final note, remember the context of this crisis, a context which was extremely heated (of course not Cuba-missiles or Able-Archer lever of heated!). There was the Euro-missiles crisis ('79 to '87), the Sidra Gulf tension/crisis ('73 to '86, including a launch of Scud missiles toward Italian territory, though later than the Sigonella affair), the "Ustica massacre" and the Libyan MiG23 crashing on the Sila mountains in Italy ('80, note that, irrespective of what really happened, it is, and was, very prevalent in the Italian public opinion the theory that the Itavia 870 was shot down, killing 81 people, during a covered-up clash between western, either American or French, pick Your preference, and Libyan fighter jets, and "of course" it was a western fighter that shoot the Italian plane... there is also the claim that the MiG23 was downed during that fight, though it happened about a month later... but of course that is what a conspiracy would tell You, right?!). In all of these crisis USA and Italy were not perfectly aligned, when not in direct confrontation, and Craxi and Reagan were there most of the time.
PS: that the terrorists did not serve their entire sentences is not indicative, in fact it is simply the standard in Italy that the initial sentence is automatically reduced afterward.
PS: Craxi was PM in two consecutive governments, form '83 to '87, which by the Italian standard of the time was exceptionally long. I think it is unlikely that the Sigonella crisis of '85 had any role in its end, the dominant dynamics were very much domestic, as far as I understood them, but I might be wrong.
PS: the minister of defense was Spadolini, the same who, as MoD, said that the MiG23 on the Sila was linked to the Ustica massacre, so I really don't know what to make of him...
@Libs Hate Montesquieu The feeling is mutual.
@Libs Hate Montesquieu Two Reasons alone should give you an Idea: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution(Fake, so War in Vietnam), Weapons of Mass Destruction(Again a Fake, leading to the Shitty Situation nowadays in the Middle East). You "Americans" are seen as War Lovers/Mongers, and that´s the Reason why I never again will Trust a Politician from Washington. The US Government was seen as a "Hero" in the 50/60 here in Europe. That Changed after a Lot of Lies, like the 2 Mentioned above. For us here it seems that the US like´s (needs?) War.......so, why don´t you fight on your own Soil? You forgot the "Price" of War on your own Soil, and don´t come up with the Civil War from 1861-1865. If you want to fight Terrorist, why do you "create" so much of them? Just imagine: Your Kids have their Wedding, some of your Guest shoot your local Purchased M4 into the Air......only to be "wiped out" by a Hellfire Rocket from an Predator Drone. How would you react? Wouldn´t especially you Americans try to Revenge them? Well, a Pakistani or Yemen Citizen would....so, he takes the only Path open to him: Terrorism. Just think about it.....and after that and NOW you can talk me down with your Hate as much as you like. I don´t give a Fu....
I was studying US foreign policy during the Achille Lauro tragedy. We all were already up to our noses in current events; it was a busy autumn that was capped with the revelations that led to the Iran-Contra Scandal in December.
When the news of the forced landing made it to us we all cheered and posted the headlines on our dorm room doors. We were unusually aware of the political implications since we were meeting with many people who were directly involved in this and related events. Later we heard about the SPECIAL OPERATIONS team “magically” showing up at the Italian base to surround the plane with no advanced permission.
It was quite an amazing tale even then!
Thank you for spelling out the details!!!
My man, you provide an incredible service to this platform.
keep doing what you do, it holds true informational value.