Gladio in Italy

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While "stay-behind" networks existed in all NATO countries, the Italian branch of Gladio was the first one to be discovered. Prime minister Giulio Andreotti publicly recognized it on October 24, 1990. Vincenzo Vinciguerra, a far-right terrorist, had already revealed Gladio's existence during his 1984 trial.

Gladio was involved in "la strategia della tensione" during the "lead years", which started with Piazza Fontana bombing in December, 1969. Thirty years later, during a trial of right-wing extremists, General Giandelio Maletti, former head of Italian counter-intelligence, claimed that the massacre had been carried out by the Italian stay-behind army and right wing terrorists on orders of the CIA in order to discredit the Italian Communist Party (PCI).

In 1964, Gladio was involved in a silent coup d'état when General Giovanni de Lorenzo in Operation Solo forces the Italian Socialists Ministers to leave the government ^{[#endnote_ETHChronology]}.

In 1974, a massacre committed by Ordine Nuovo, during an anti-fascist demonstration in Brescia, kills eight and injures 102. The same year, a bomb in the Rome to Munich train "Italicus Express" kills 12 and injures 48. Also in 1974, Vito Miceli, P2 member, chief of the SIOS (Servizio Informazioni), Army Intelligence's Service from 1969 and SID's head from 1970 to 1974, got arrested on charges of "conspiration against the state" concerning investigations about [it], a state-infiltrated group involved in terrorist acts. During his trial, he reveals the NATO stay-behind secret army. In 1977, the secret services were reorganized in a democratic attempt. With law #801 of 24/10/1977, SID was divided into SISMI (Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Militare), SISDE (Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Democratica) and CESIS (Comitato Esecutivo per i Servizi di Informazione e Sicurezza). The CESIS has a coordination role, led by the President of Council. General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa's murder, in 1982, by the mafia in Palermo is allegedly part of the strategy of tension. Alberto Dalla Chiesa had arrested Red Brigades founders Renato Curcio and Alberto Franceschini in September, 1974, and was later charged of investigation concerning Aldo Moro, assassinated in 1978.

Avanguardia Nazionale member Vincenzo Vinciguerra confessed in 1984 to judge Felice Casson of having carried out the May 31, 1972 Peteano terrorist act, in which three policemen died. Until Vinciguerra's trial, the Red Brigades were accused of having carried it out. Vinciguerra explained during his trial how he had been helped by Italian secret services and fled away to Francoist Spain after the Peteano massacre. He was abandoned by Gladio as soon as he started talking about it, declaring for example during his 1984 trial:

"with the massacre of Peteano and with all those that have followed, the knowledge should now be clear that there existed a real live structure, occult and hidden, with the capacity of giving a strategic direction to the outrages. [This structure] lies within the states itself. There exists in Italy a secret force parallel to the armed forces, composed of civilians and military men, in an anti-Soviet capacity, that is, to organise a resistance on Italian soil against a Russian army." ^{[#endnote_Ganser]}

After the discovery by judge Felice Casson of documents on Gladio in the archives of the Italian military secret service in Rome, Giulio Andreotti, head of Italian government, revealed to the Chamber of deputies the existence of "Operazione Gladio" on October 24, 1990, insisting that Italy has not been the only country with secret "stay-behind" armies. He made clear that "each chief of government had been informed of the existence of Gladio". Former Socialist Primer Minister Bettino Craxi claimed that he had not been informed until he was confronted with a document on Gladio signed by himself while he was Prime Minister. Former Primer Minister Giovanni Spadolini (Republican Party), at the time President of the Senate, and former Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani, at the time secretary of the ruling Christian Democratic Party claimed they remembered nothing. Spadolini stressed that there was a difference between what he knew as former Defence Secretary and what he knew as former Prime Minister. Only former Prime Minister Francesco Cossiga (DC) confirmed Andreotti's revelations, explaining that he was even "proud and happy" for his part in setting up Gladio as junior Defence Minister of the Christian Democratic Party. This lit up a political storm, requests were made for Cossigua's (Italian President since 1985) resignation or impeachment for high treason. He refused testifying to the investigating Senate committee. Cossigua narrowly escaped his impeachment by stepping down on April 1992, three months before his term expired^{[#endnote_GanserPSA]}.

In addition to preparing for a Soviet invasion, the stay-behind also was to act in case of a communist government being elected in Italy. Since Italy was the country most likely to vote into power a communist government (with the communist party receiving up to 25% 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.

In November 1995, Neo-Fascists terrorists Valerio Fioravanti and Francesca Mambro were convicted to life imprisonment as executors of the 1980 Bologna massacre, for which Gladio's direct influence has been accused; Licio Gelli, headmaster of P2 and former OSS/CIA operative, received a sentence for investigation diversion, as well as Francesco Pazienza and SISMI officers Pietro Musumeci and Giuseppe Belmonte. Avanguardia Nazionale founder Stefano Delle Chiaie, who was involved in the Golpe Borghese in 1970, was also accused of involvement in the Bologna massacre ^{[#endnote_Repubblica]} ^{[#endnote_Lemonde]}

1969 Piazza Fontana bombing, which started Italy's anni di piombo, and the 1974 "Italicus Expressen" train bombing were also attributed to Gladio operatives. In 1975, Stefano Delle Chiaie met with Pinochet during Franco's funeral in Madrid, and would participate afterward in operation Condor, preparing for example the attempted murder of Bernardo Leighton, a Chilean Christian Democrat or participating in the 1980 'Cocaine Coup' of Luis García Meza Tejada in Bolivia. In 1989, he was arrested in Caracas, Venezuela and extradited to Italy to stand trial for his role in the Piazza Fontana bombing. Despite his reputation, Delle Chiaie was acquitted by the Assize Court in Catanzaro in 1989, along with fellow accused Massimiliano Fachini (as yet no convictions have been made for the attack). According to Avanguardia Nazionale'' member Vincenzo Vinciguerra: "The December 1969 explosion was supposed to be the detonator which would have convinced the politic and military authorities to declare a state of emergency" ^{[#endnote_Repubblica2]}

Notes

↑ ↑ ↑ http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/chronology.htm ETH Zurich chronology]
↑ ["Terrorism in Western Europe: An Approach to NATO’s Secret Stay-Behind Armies" Acrobat file] ETH Zurich research project on Gladio directed by Daniele Ganser
↑ [Daniele Ganser April 2005 paper]
↑ [Translated from Bologna massacre Association of Victims Italian website]
↑ ["Le Monde" quote from "L'Humanite" November 29, 1990]
↑ [Piazza Fontana anniversary] in La Repubblica

Gladio in Italy

Notes

See also