In a staybehind operation, a country places secret operatives or organizations in its own territory, for use in the event that an enemy occupies that territory. Smallscale operations may cover discrete areas, but larger staybehind operations envisage reacting to the. Since italy was the country most likely to vote into power a communist government with the communist party receiving up to 36% of the popular vote, being at times the strongest party in parliament, the italian branch of gladio also became the largest nato stay behind organization. The staybehind army was moved in 1967 from the territorial service to the una, the military intelligence agency, directed by divisionar richard ochsner. Gladio stood by the roots of the huge tree and he knelt down to pluck the fully bloomed gardenia i wish you were with me.
An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. You will need to download and install the free adobe acrobat reader to view. Gladio in italy academic dictionaries and encyclopedias. A precise analogue of operation gladio was described in the 1949 fiction novel an affair of state by pat frank. Operazione gladio is the codename for a clandestine nato stay behind operation in europe during the cold war. Natos secret armies operation gladio and terrorism in. It has been suggested that staybehind should merged into operation gladio. Operation gladio wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Richard nortontaylor, guardian, 5 december 1990, page 12 as scandal unfolds, whitehalls response is silence, writes richard nortontaylor a chance discovery by an assiduous italian magistrate investigating a neofascist terrorist attack has unearthed a secret paramilitary network run by units of the armed forces. Based on the italian sources i quickly realised, however, that the socalled staybehind armies had existed in all 16 nato coun tries during the cold war. In 1990, the italian prime minister had confirmed that italys stay behind army, termed gladio sword, existed since 1958, with the approval of the italian government. Operation gladio 1951 gladio, which means sword in italian, was the name the italian government chose for the stay behind network it established in the early days of the cold war.
When the gladio secret armies were discovered across western europe inan unnamed former nato intelligence official explained that though the stay behind operation was officially started only inthe whole exercise had been in existence for a long time, in fact ever since it was born in the head of allen dulles. In the netherlands a secret staybehind organisation was formed just after wwii had ended. Any antifascist should have read that from the start. This 3part series exposes the clandestine staybehind operation sponsored by the cia and nato to counter communist influence after world war ii in italy, as well as in other european countries. Although gladio specifically refers to the italian branch of the nato staybehind organizations, operation gladio is used as an informal name for all of them. Although gladio specifically refers to the italian branch of the nato staybehind organizations, operation gladio is used as an informal name for all staybehind organizations. Its purpose was to continue anticommunist actions in the event of a soviet invasion and conquest.
Gladio death plan for democracy by peter chamberlin. In a stay behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organizations in its own territory, for use in the event that an enemy occupies that territory. Misinformation about gladio stay behind networks resurfaces free download as pdf file. Winterspring 2005 of terrorism of an anticommunist secret army in spain in the 1950s because here. The article concludes that the documents released to the. Operation gladio and terrorism in western europe by daniele.
Richard nortontaylor, guardian, 5 december 1990, page 12 as scandal unfolds, whitehalls response is silence, writes richard nortontaylor. Misinformation about gladio stay behind networks resurfaces. Staybehind operations were prepared in many nato member countries, and some neutral countries. Operation gladio gladio is the italian form of gladius, a type of roman shortsword. The top level consisted of members of the regular military. Ganser is the eminent authority on operation gladio and has done tremendous work in synthesizing the various evidence from nearly a dozen different languages into. Gladio in italy the italian nato staybehind organization, dubbed gladio, was set up under minister of defense from 1953 to 1958 paolo taviani s dc supervision. Operating in many nato and even some neutral countries, gladio was part of a series of. Gladio and its staybehind networks may be one of the most historically accepted or confirmed examples of falseflag terrorism. The gladio network of operatives is alleged to have been involved in various acts of terrorism, trying to influence policies through the means of. While we have a plan to improve the situation, we expect intermittent problems to continue into early next year.
May 12, 2018 it was codenamed gladio, the italian word for a short doubleedged sword gladius. This 3part series exposes the clandestine stay behind operation sponsored by the cia and nato to counter communist influence after world war ii in italy, as well as in other european countries. Although its name was changed a number of times, it is often called gladio by the public. State dept officers recruit a stay behind network in hungary to fight an insurgency against the soviet union after the soviet union launches an attack on and captures western europe. Codenamed gladio the sword, the italian secret army was exposed in 1990 by italian prime minister giulio andreotti to the italian senate, whereupon the press spoke of the best kept, and most damaging, politicalmilitary secret since world war ii observer, 18. Peer henrik hansen, a scholar at roskilde university, wrote two scathing criticisms of the book for the international journal of intelligence and counterintelligence and the journal of intelligence history, describing gansers work as a journalistic book with a big spoonful of conspiracy theories that fails to present proof of and an indepth explanation of the claimed. While the press said that the nato staybehind units were the bestkept, and most damaging, politicalmilitary secret since world war ii, the italian government, amidst sharp public criticism, promised to close down the secret army. And in each case where the stay behind network in the absence of a soviet invasion functioned as a straightjacket for the democracies of western europe, operation gladio was the breschnew doctrine of washington. The cadres were covertly trained in sabotage and guerrilla warfare in britain and at us bases in germany. The official name of the covert programs was gladio.
In an article about the gladiostaybehind networks and us army field manual 3031b they stated, ganser treats the forgery as if it was a. The unholy alliance between the vatican, the cia, and the mafia. Operation gladio and terrorism in western europe contemporary security studies 1 by ganser daniele isbn. Gladios stroll took him pretty far, and the sun was beginning to set. Furthermore, the us state department published a communique in january 2006 which, while confirming the existence of staybehind armies, in general, and the presence of the gladio staybehind unit in italy, in particular, with the purpose of aiding resistance in the event of soviet aggression directed westward, from the warsaw pact. Jul 09, 2016 in 1990, the italian prime minister had confirmed that italys stay behind army, termed gladio sword, existed since 1958, with the approval of the italian government. May 21, 2000 stay behind personnel were recruited in all major european nations from anticommunist groups. Operation gladio, bbc timewatch 1992 a fascinating documentary on the little known stay behind networks meant to act as saboteurs in the event of a soviet invasion of western europe. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading operation gladio. These so called gladio networks are another excellent example of what chalmers johnson coined blowback. In the early 1970s, italys communist support was growing, so the government turned to. The dutch staybehind organisation during the cold war in the netherlands, a secret staybehind organisation sbo was formed just after wwii had ended, in 1946 or 1947.
There is some evidence of a staybehind in sweden, but i guess most of it is still classified. Operation gladio and natos staybehind armies introduction after the cold war had ended, then italian prime minister giulio andreotti confirmed to the italian senate in august 1990 that italy had had a secret staybehind army, codenamed gladio the sword. The archive may occasionally be slow or unresponsive due to ongoing issues with our elasticsearch servers. Pdf ar ett populart digitalt format som aven anvands for e bocker. Further research led me to conclude that of the 16. Apr 25, 2016 although gladio specifically refers to the italian branch of the nato staybehind organizations, operation gladio is used as an informal name for all staybehind organizations. The unholy alliance between the vatican, the cia, and the mafia kindle edition by williams, paul l download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The documentation, the resolutions, confessions, and convictions all confirm that gladio is much more than the media or government would have you believea mere conspiracy theory. The counterguerrilla was operative throughout the cold war and carried out some of the most sensitive missions of the turkish military. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement or act as spies from behind enemy lines. When the gladio secret armies were discovered across western europe inan unnamed former nato intelligence official explained that though the stay behind operation was officially started only inthe whole exercise had been in existence for a long time, in fact. Gladio ostensibly a secret network of nearly 50 underground armed squads that would have organized resistance to an eventual soviet invasion of italy, gladio a gladio was the short, double edged and pointed sword used in ancient rome by the infantry historical dictionary of modern italy.
Operation gladio, bbc timewatch 1992 a fascinating. As for gladio being behind the wilson plots, of that there is no evidence at all. A complementary service to the international relations and security network isn, the php is run by the center. Some, inevitably, such as germanys gehlen organization, had former nazi ties. Pdf the italian staybehind network the origins of operation. Interwoven with these bizarre affairs is a third intrigue that remains one of the most fascinating cold war mysteries operation stay behind, or gladio sword as it is known in italy. The executive agents in the creation of the staybehind networks were the. The official cover story and its original purpose was that these rightwing paramilitary units were stay behind forces, which were created as copies of the french underground resistance, to be activated upon a soviet conquest and occupation of europe. This disturbing expose describes a secret alliance forged at the close of world war ii by the cia, the sicilian and us mafias, and the vatican to thwart the possibility of a communist invasion of europe. Daemons would be out on the prowl in area soon, and probably another pesky treant to join in the fun. Operation gladio is the codename for clandestine staybehind operations of armed resistance that was planned by the western union wu, and subsequently by nato, for a potential warsaw pact invasion and conquest of europe. It changed its codename to special service, which was made up of three hierarchical levels.
Based on the italian sources i quickly realised, however, that the socalled stay behind armies had existed in all 16 nato coun tries during the cold war. The name gladio is the italian form of gladius, a type of roman shortsword. When evidence of the nato staybehind army gladio in italy. Operation gladio and terrorism in western europe and includes it as a key document on his website on the book. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of staybehind units in many european countries consisting of five thousand to fifteen thousand military. Publications revealed the defense intelligence agencys support of the revolting french generals. This story about gladio organization is being told from point of view of a deceived insider, and an exspecial forces lt.
According to still fragmentary evidence, cia chief allen dulles, britains secret intelligence service mi6, and a number of european leaders, created a top secret organization from 19471952 called stay. Daniele ganser, author of the seminal book natos secret armies. Nato on april 4, 1952, a secret staybehind army was set up in the country under the codename counterguerrilla. In case of a soviet invasion of western europe the secret gladio soldiers under. Operation gladio is the codename for clandestine staybehind operations of armed resistance that was planned by the western union wu, and subsequently by nato, for a potential warsaw pact invasion and conquest in europe. Since the history of gladio explains a lot about where the. Operation gladio is used as an informal name for all staybehind. The parallel history project on cooperative security php, the former parallel history project on nato and the warsaw pact, provides new scholarly perspectives on contemporary international history by collecting, publishing, and interpreting formerly secret governmental documents.
Parallel history project on cooperative security php. Operation gladio hard evidence of government false flag. It was codenamed gladio, the italian word for a short doubleedged sword gladius. It has been suggested that stay behind should merged into operation gladio. Operation gladio project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. For example he says of mrs thatchers defeat of edward heath for the leadership of the tory party in 1975. Jan 28, 2020 in an article about the gladio stay behind networks and us army field manual 3031b they stated, ganser treats the forgery as if it was a genuine document in his 2005 book on stay behind networks, secret armies. The strategic rationale to protect nato from within cannot be brushed aside lightly. In the early 1970s, italys communist support was growing, so the government turned to a strategy of tension using the gladio network. Nato command would have formed a socalled staybehind network operating. Operation gladio is the codename for clandestine staybehind operations of armed resistance. Staybehind armies the whitehead journal of diplomacy and. In an article about the gladio stay behind networks and us army field manual 3031b they stated, ganser treats the forgery as if it was a genuine document in his 2005 book on stay behind networks, secret armies. There is some evidence of a stay behind in sweden, but i guess most of it is still classified.
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