Report on the growing threat of a Soviet blockade of Berlin, the focal point also of a meeting of the Atlantic Council in Paris in December, 1961.

The report concerns the meeting of Ministers of Defense - recently held in Paris - and the various topics addressed within (strategy of defense, long-term planning, "selected committee").

The report examines the evolution of the Atlantic Alliance and the uncertainty of the current phase, which consists of forces not always appropriate to its cohesion. Alessandrini analyzes both the transformations in the international context and those inside NATO, the issue of political, economic and military consultation, the debate about the multilateral force and ANF. The conclusion underlines - despite all the current problems - the positive results of the history of NATO, an alliance that represents to date not only the deterrence against possible Soviet threats, but also the most important interlocutor in an eventual East-West dialogue.

The document is part of a broad series of "Informative Reports" drafted by RICA and sent by Alessandrini to Andreotti (Minister of Defense), concerning the forthcoming meeting in London of the Atlantic Council at a ministerial level.
With regards to the Defense Planning, Italy claims (together with Germany) that it is absolutely indispensable to have available a well-balanced both conventional and nuclear arsenal, to preserve the SACEUR's credibility, on a political level too.

The document is part of a broad series of "Informative Reports" drafted by RICA and sent by Alessandrini to Andreotti (Minister of Defense), concerning the forthcoming meeting in London of the Atlantic Council at a ministerial level.
With regards to nuclear problems, the document hopes for a gradual way out from NATO's current paralysis, through a process of integration, rather then the attempt to solve also these problems by mere coordination among the Allies.

Alessandrini reports a personal conversation with Cleveland, concerning the forthcoming meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Defense of the Alliance, recently proposed by MacNamara. Italy's position should be considered positively because it seems flexible and well-balanced.

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The document is part of a broad quantity of material prepared by the Italian Permanent Delegation at the Atlantic Council in Paris, and forwarded from Alessandrini to Andreotti (Minister of Defense). It is a group of several briefings (8 in total), drafted by the RICA, in view of the next Atlantic Council meeting at ministerial level, which will take place in L'Aja. The briefings are divided according to the topics that will be addressed in that meeting.
This document sums up the state of the negotiations for a Multilateral Force. The negotiations are now in their 7°month. Here there is a focus on Italy's position, which puts Italy in its current state of isolation with regards to this project. The document presents various reflections about the future prospects of this project."

In view of the Ottawa meeting, Alessandrini analyzes the current situation of NATO's conventional forces, in accordance with the new drastic measures which were formulated - but not yet validated - by the Council. Alessandrini stresses that the problems related to armaments - both nuclear and conventional - can't be solved by "separated and independent" solutions.
Furthermore, the document deals with the risk that NATO could define interests of "priority defense" and of "minor defense", using an approach that could probably ignore - for example - the interests of Italy.

Alessandrini's report to PM Piccioni and Minister of Defense Andreotti discusses current questions of defense that will be brought up in the upcoming Ottawa session. According to him, NATO should focus on its internal organization and in particular, developing a common nuclear force, despite the technical and political challenges of such project.

In this report to Foreign Minister Piccioni, Alessandrini addresses the key problems with NATO, focusing on the lack of internal cohesion . He names the German problem as the most important issue of the alliance, but touches also on De Gaulle's politics and European integration.