"NATO's Secret Armies" chronicles the West's continent-wide military operations against the Soviet Union
- Operation GLADIO was a covert network established in the late 1940s by the CIA and MI6, under NATO's guidance, to counter communist influence in Western Europe and serve as a stay-behind insurgency force in case of a Warsaw Pact invasion.
- The operation involved secret armies in various countries, such as Italy's "Gladio," Denmark's "Absalon," and France's "Plan Bleu," trained and equipped by the CIA and MI6. These forces were managed by the Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC) and the Clandestine Planning Committee (CPC) under NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).
- The secret armies were initially intended to resist Soviet invasion but soon engaged in acts of terrorism and human rights abuses. In Italy, the 1972 Peteano bombing, falsely attributed to the Red Brigades, was later linked to right-wing extremists and Gladio, exemplifying the "strategy of tension" aimed at discrediting the political left.
- The operation's influence extended beyond Italy, with involvement in the 1967 military coup in Greece, the 1977 Taksim Square massacre in Turkey, and investigations into secret armies in Belgium and Germany, where former Nazis were implicated.
- The exposure of Operation GLADIO revealed the manipulation of democratic institutions by clandestine forces, often with the approval of high-ranking officials. It highlighted the need for transparency, accountability and vigilance in intelligence agencies and underscored the ongoing struggle for truth and justice in democratic societies.
In the late 1940s, as the echoes of World War II faded, a clandestine operation emerged, shrouded in secrecy and steeped in Cold War paranoia. Known as Operation GLADIO, this covert network was orchestrated by the United States'
Central Intelligence Agency and Great Britain's
MI6, under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The operation's main goal was to counter communist influence in NATO nations and to act as stay-behind insurgents in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion. The operation and its many terrible activities were meticulously researched in Daniele Ganser's book "
NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe." Ganser helped expose a web of covert activities, terrorism and human rights violations that lasted decades and spanned continents.
Operation GLADIO was born in the tense environment of the Cold War, with the United States and Great Britain spearheading efforts to prevent the spread of Communism in Western Europe. The operation, which took on different code names in various countries — such as "Gladio" in Italy, "Absalon" in Denmark and "Plan Bleu" in France — was a network of secret armies trained and equipped by the CIA and MI6, with the British and U.S. Special Air Service and Green Berets playing central roles. These forces were ostensibly prepared to resist a potential Soviet invasion, but their activities soon extended beyond that mandate.
The operation was coordinated by the Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC) and the Clandestine Planning Committee (CPC), which operated under NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). These bodies managed the secret armies, ensuring they were well-trained and well-equipped, with hidden arms caches scattered across Europe.
Operation GLADIO’s trajectory took a chilling turn as the secret armies became entangled in
acts of terrorism and human rights abuses. In Italy, the 1972 bombing in Peteano, initially blamed on the left-wing terror group the Red Brigades, was later revealed to be the work of right-wing extremists linked to the Italian military secret service and Gladio. This pattern of false-flag operations, designed to discredit the political left, became a hallmark of the operation.
This "strategy of tension," as the far-right's campaign was known as, called for a campaign of terrorism that would create enough fear and instability to further shift public opinion away from left-wing parties and toward conservatives.
Vincenzo Vinciguerra, a fascist terrorist involved in the Peteano bombing, admitted, “The reason was quite simple. They were supposed to force these people, the Italian public, to turn to the state to ask for greater security.”
While this strategy was most well known for how it was implemented in Italy, it was a central feature of GLADIO's activities in other nations.
In Greece, former Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou exposed his country’s secret network’s role in the 1967 military coup. In Turkey, the country's GLADIO branch, known as the Counter-Guerrilla group, was implicated in massacres and torture incidents, including the 1977 Taksim Square massacre. Belgium and Germany also saw investigations into their respective secret armies, with Germany’s scandal involving former Nazis in the network.
The exposure of Operation GLADIO revealed a disturbing truth: Democratic institutions had been
manipulated by clandestine forces, often with the tacit approval of high-ranking officials. The operation highlighted the challenges of parliamentary oversight and the need for accountability in intelligence agencies.
The revelation of Operation GLADIO exposed the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of transparency in democratic societies. As Europe confronts the
legacy of this covert operation, the question of how such abuses of power persisted for so long looms large. The story underscores the need for vigilance and underscores the ongoing fight for truth and justice.
Watch this video discussing Daniele Ganser's book "NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe."
This video is from the
BrightLearn channel on Brighteon.com.
Sources include:
Brighteon.ai
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