Il libro "La guerra dimenticata. Il conflitto Iran-Iraq, 1980-1988", di Andrea Lombardi, recensito sul "Secolo d'Italia" 
Who remembers most the conflict between Iran and Iraq?
Adriano Gentile - 04/03/2011
Between 1980 and 1988 the two countries fought a bloody war with not a few Western interference: an essay reconstructs the events Recent winds of revolt coming from the Maghreb reproduce, despite the urgency more immediate intervention, the need for a rethinking of the role of Italy and Europe in the world. The classic mixture of delay, misunderstanding, indifference and cynicism on the one hand, profiteering, interference on the other shows on these days all its limitations. For those wishing to reconstruct the history of this striking presence / absence of Europe and the West on the global arena comes therefore particularly welcome the wise by Andrea Lombardi, The Forgotten War. The Iran-Iraq 1980-1988 (Cultural Association of Italy, 262 pp, 182 color photos, € 32,00). The youngest of us is in fact a very vague recollection of those events, but were not exactly a backyard skirmish. The war saw the Iranian and Iraqi nations involved, led by two charismatic leaders Ruallah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein, was in fact the longest conventional war of the twentieth century. Began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran September 22, 1980, the conflict ended with the acceptance of Resolution 598 of bilateral UN Security Council July 20, 1988. The war cost a million people and 1.19 trillion. Even before the outbreak of hostilities between Tehran and Baghdad all contributed to heighten tensions: Shiites against Sunnis, secular fundamentalists against, each other's territorial claims, cross complaints about alleged interference in its domestic policy of live across. And, last but not least, the staff even open hostility of the two political leaders: Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam. Today the two leaders are gone, dead in his bed the ayatollah, who was hanged after a controversial process, the rais. Yet instances, dreams, hopes, goals, ideas which became carriers still dominate the scene. Just as today there is the ambivalent attitude of a West that wants to bearer but that seems capable of civilization, more than anything else, to speculate on the misfortunes of others without knowing how to propose, on the other hand, visions of any really decisive conflict. No coincidence that the essay by Andrea Lombardi ends with a special section devoted to the responsibilities with respect to armament ultra-modern western armies in Iraq. We speak of 86 German companies and researchers, including Rhein-Bayern, Daimler-Benz, Siemens and Thyssen, 18 British, 17 Austrian, 10 Swiss, 8 Belgian industries but also Russian, Chinese, Swedish, Brazilian, Japanese, Dutch and Yugoslav . Do not miss dozens of U.S. companies, including the American Type Culture Collection, still in full activity, distinguished itself for having sent to Iraq at least 70 shipments of germs that cause anthrax. And Italy? There are nine companies involved in the resetting of the beautiful country of Saddam: Audiset, Montedison, Technit SNIA, SNIA Bpd, Euromac, Danieli, Ilva, Technipetrole and the American branch of BNL. Valsella, Misar and they provided Tecnova mines that Iraq is Iran. Are known, also the pressure from Ronald Reagan to Giulio Andreotti in Italy for use as a base for supplies to Saddam. Past episodes on which there is still no mature reflection and conscious, in our country. There would be no need, especially given the current climate in the Mediterranean. To not make the same mistakes today than yesterday.
Mayor Petrotto never ceases to surprise us: after having turned the "seven churches" to replace our Councillors who have resigned because they did not share its new location on the right and the delay in the implementation of agreed administrative In December 2009, here is a cylinder that extracts from his new surprise. 
