“The CNI is not a bunch of undocumented immigrants or ‘kill you’, and if it has done its duty it should not be punished,” says the author of ‘No One Ahead’.
dry. “We have been at war since the beginning of the 21st century, which started on 9/11 when everything collapsed, but we Spaniards have become used to sitting in the back, not feeling the threat of bombs, bullets and missiles.” Says Lorenzo Silva (Madrid, 55), who in his new book ‘Nobody Ahead’ (Destiny) puts himself in the shoes of those who lived through the war on the front lines and suffered in its clutches. With the invasion of Ukraine, the risk of a global war is increasing, although Silva believes that “the threat of the nuclear button is more rhetorical than real”. It also defends that if the CNI has fulfilled its duty “it should not be penalized”.
“With every new book, it’s like I have to come up with a format, and these aren’t chronicles or stories,” says the author of some texts inspired by events experienced over the past two decades by Spanish soldiers “who revel in those uneasy In a place where they do not, no one is left behind; who wage war and suffer and record the devastation. A war “with a thousand faces, which is being waged simultaneously today on the front lines of Afghanistan or Syria, on the Ramblas of Barcelona with Islamic attacks , and on the networks, with ‘fake news’, propaganda or espionage”.
To “roughly” construct a “very real” fiction, Silva resorts to testimonials from officers and soldiers of the Special Operations Command (MOE), active in actions such as the invasion of Perejil (2002) or the evacuation of the Kabul airport (2021). ), via Najaf, Badghis or Al Anbar. Some military actions “that most Spaniards lived very backwards and that little was told.”
Spies on the ground
Silva was on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan and saw first-hand the work of the intelligence services supporting the Spanish troops. “The CNI is not a gang of ‘mataos’ or undocumented immigrants,” he says hours after the government claimed and fired the intelligence chief Paz Esteban to appease opposition anger over the spy scandal. with the Pegasus. system.
“If those spied on with this software were based on evidence that they had links to violent actions by groups trying to severely destabilize through urban guerrilla warfare, infrastructure blockades and threats to people’s integrity, allegedly linked to information services of a foreign power hostile to the EU and therefore also to Spain, such as Russia, the CNI has fulfilled its duty,” argues Silva. “And no one should be punished for doing their duty,” he adds.
He acknowledges that the Pegasus scandal “may be discredited” but believes the CNI “will continue to have a good poster.” “We know of recent failures, such as the days before the referendum in Catalonia in 2017, but the CIA or the Mossad also make mistakes,” he notes.
A dozen Spanish soldiers died in Iraq and more than a hundred in Afghanistan. But the war wheel doesn’t stop turning. The penultimate episode of this incessant war is Ukraine, a “rare” conflict for Silva. “It’s an asymmetrical war, very sophisticated on the one hand, with drones locating and shooting down Russian generals when they call their wives, along with more rudimentary combat.” “Traditional warfare is only carried out by backward armies like Putin’s, who almost resort to the trenches to face much more agile and dynamic troops,” he says. “Putin has ruined it by engaging in conventional warfare, but the Russians are good at manipulation, cyber-attacks, lies and propaganda.”
There is the threat of an extension of the conflict, a recourse to the nuclear arsenal and the unleashing of World War III. “I see all-out war as difficult. Using the red nuclear button is a weapon that is more rhetorical than real. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but if Russia did it, it would be suicide,” the writer says. “It doesn’t interest major powers like China, which already regrets resigning itself to the intervention in Ukraine and economic crisis it has caused, which is already having an impact on its GDP.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
