Secret armies in Europe Operation Gladio, the Strategy of Tension

Secret armies in Europe

Operation Gladio:
The Strategy of Tension

"These authoritarian plans were part of a sweeping covert strategy developed in the earliest days of the Cold War by U.S. intelligence officials, including [CIA Chief Allen] Dulles, to counter a possible Soviet invasion of Western Europe by creating a “stay-behind network” of armed resisters to fight the Red Army. Code-named Operation Gladio, these secret CIA-funded networks attracted fascist and criminal elements, some of which later played subversive roles in West Germany, France, and Italy, disrupting democratic rule in those countries by staging terrorist acts and plotting coups and assassinations."

— The Devil's Chessboard — Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government
by David Talbot, Kindle Version, location 4968

For a taste of the TRUTH about Gladio, watch this brief clip from the 3-hour BBC documentary, interviewing Vincenzo Vinciguerra in his life-in-prison cell, regarding the bombing in Peteano of which he was the perpetrator.  He explains the motive behind all the bombings carried out during the decades of Operation Gladio:

"When you were on the Right, you were not supposed to attack the State or its representatives.  You were supposed to attack civilians, women, children, innocent people outside the political arena. For one simple reason: To force the Italian public to turn to the State, to turn to the regime and ask for greater security.  This was the precisely the role of the Right in Italy.  It placed itself at the service of the State which created a strategy, aptly called the "Strategy of Tension", in so far as they had to get people to accept that at any moment, over a period of thirty years, from 1960 to the mid-eighties, a State of Emergency could be declared.  So, people would willingly trade part of their freedom for the security of being able to walk the streets, go on trains, or enter a bank.  This is the political logic behind all the bombings."

I would urge anyone who wants to be knowledgeable about the world they live in to watch the entire 3 hours.

It should be noted that, whereas the European version of Operation Gladio faded out in the '80s, it continues in Turkey and Central Asia — Chechnya, Ingushetia, Ukraine, and the like; the actual target being stalked is, of course, Russia, the ultimate prize.

For more information, I recommend the Swiss researcher Dr. Daniele Ganser, who is the recognized expert on the subject.  Here is an audio interview in English, which will bring you up to speed on the subject in large measure.