Sources in Rome and the U.S. told Reuters that the Italian government is committed to buying 90 F-35 fighters despite pressure for more cuts.
“The right number (of jets) for Italy to have the industrial role it wants is 90,” the source said. “Respecting the contract is in line with the various parliamentary resolutions and 90 is a number that allows us to ensure the country’s defense needs.”
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“Sources in Rome and the U.S. told Reuters” magically becomes “Italy remains committed” through the miracle of modern-day “journalism,” which mainly involves pandering to large corporations like Lockheed-Martin.
In this case, Thomson-Reuters is a profit-oriented Canadian financial house which repeatedly has “exclusive” access to information on Lockheed’s F-35 which is dutifully reported as “news” and has increased Lockheed’s stock price 32% in the past year, a year of frequent F-35 failures especially with its engine. It’s a victory of propaganda over facts.