ROME -- Italy has given the United States permission to fly armed drones out of Sicily in the military campaign against Islamic State in Libya, sources said on Tuesday.  This permission, however, came without the necessary discussion in parliament.  The airbase in question is Sigonella, not far from Mount Etna.

 Whilst this agreement was made in January, it was only brought to light on Monday by the Wall Street Journal.  Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told radio station Rtl 102.5 that “Authorisation will be on a case by case basis.  When it comes to action against these terrorists then there is a close relationship between us, the Americans, and other allies.  As a result we are in full agreement with our international partners.  The priority is always that of a diplomatic answer.  Then, if there is any evidence that there are potential attackers who are preparing, Italy will do its part along with the others.”

 According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials stated that the Italians have only granted permission to use the drones defensively, in the protection of U.S. special-operations forces in Libya alone.  Up until now, the unmanned U.S. drones that have been flying out of Sigonella have only been used for reconnaissance missions, therefore have not been armed, though the Americans have been trying to convince the Italians to allow them to use the drones for offensive missions against targets such as the Islamic State training camp they attacked near the Libya-Tunisia border last Friday.

 This new permission to allow armed drones, however, comes at a key time for the Obama administration who are discussing their continued strategy in Libya, though the American Defence Secretary Ash Carter assures that the “parent tumor” of Islamic State is in Iraq and Syria.

 The Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni has also assured that the requests will only be granted on a case-by-case basis by the Mister of Defence, though added that, “the use of the base does not require a specific parliamentary conference.”

 Sigonella is also used as a NATO and Italian air base, whilst U.S. Naval Air Force have been based there since 2011 though until last month they only carried out unarmed scouting expeditions.  Currently those involved in the fight against I.S. are waiting for the outcome of talks in Libya, which could result in a unity government, which is a necessity for them to be viewed as a viable partner in this struggle.  If this were to be the case the Italians have said that they could consider sending in 5,000 troops for stabilisation efforts, whilst the French and British have hinted that they too would contribute to a mission in Libya.

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