This collection of around 150 pages of once-classified material sheds light on the ideological and operational origins of the now-infamous Operation Gladio. 'Gladio' is an umbrella name used by commentators and historians to refer to a series of small-scale covert armies active across Europe throughout the Cold War (1945-1990).

These secret armies were originally set up at the end of World War 2 in most NATO countries as a means of resisting Soviet military invasion. Their design was based on the resistance movements who fought against the Nazis in continental Europe during the Second World War. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS - later the CIA) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE - later MI6) were instrumental in establishing them. They consisted of a mixture of volunteers, ex-military men, paid-up spies of various state intelligence organisations and, ultimately, terrorists.

Starting in the 1960s, Western Europe was for two decades the main target of terrorist attacks. What these documents show is not only that the governments of senior NATO countries (primarily the US and UK) were the main instigator of this violence, but also why.

Originally aired on BBC2 in 1992, Operation Gladio reveals Gladio, the secret state-sponsored terror network operating in Europe. This BBC series is about a far-right secret army, operated by the CIA and MI6 through NATO, which killed hundreds of innocent Europeans and attempted to blame the deaths on Baader Meinhof, Red Brigades and other left wing groups.

Known as stay-behinds these armies were given access to military equipment which was supposed to be used for sabotage after a Soviet invasion. Instead it was used in massacres across mainland Europe as part of a CIA Strategy of Tension. Gladio killing sprees in Belgium and Italy were carried out for the purpose of frightening the national political classes into adopting U.S. policies.

 

Excellent documentary about NATO's secret armies that were set up across Western Europe after the Second World War. While these "stay-behind" armies were supposedly intended to help put together a resistance if the Soviet Union invaded their countries, they went on to commit terrorist attacks against their own populations, so as to influence domestic politics.

The documentary describes how, from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, Western intelligence agencies collaborated with right-wing extremist groups to commit false flag terrorist attacks, which would often be falsely blamed on left-wing groups. It features interviews with, among others, Daniele Ganser, author of NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe.

 

"Terror is being used as a weapon to destroy the cherished freedoms of democratic societies."

The recent attack on Libya laid bare the iron fist behind the velvet glove of slogans like "human rights" and "international community." This latest aggression, like the destruction of Yugoslavia and the rape of Afghanistan, proceeds under the cover of NATO.

And what is NATO? Richard Cottrell, author of "Gladio: NATO's Dagger at the Heart of Europe," tells the story of mayhem, murder and subversion behind the "alliance for peace."