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Operation Gladio was the codename for a clandestine NATO post-WW2 “stay-behind“ False Flag operation in Europe during the Cold War. Its purpose was to galvanize public opinion against the Radical Left and provoke armed resistance in the event of a Soviet invasion. Operation Gladio formed part of the 'Strategy of Tension', which was a theory that Western governments during the Cold war used tactics that aimed to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions in order to achieve their strategic aims. The theory began with allegations that the United States government, the Italian government, and the Greek military junta of 1967--1974 supported far-right terrorist groups in Italy and Turkey, where communism was growing in popularity, to spread panic among the population who would in turn demand stronger and more dictatorial governments. Although Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATO 'stay-behind' organizations, “Operation Gladio“ is used as an informal name for all 'stay-behind' organizations. The name Gladio is the Italian form of gladius, a type of Roman short sword. Gladio False Flag far-right terrorist operations occurred in many NATO (and even some neutral) countries in order to blame communists and reduce any potential support among the general population. The role of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in sponsoring Gladio and the extent of its activities during the Cold War era, and its relationship to far-right wing terrorist attacks perpetrated in Italy during the “Years of Lead“ (late 1960s to early 1980s) and other similar clandestine operations, is the subject of ongoing debate and investigation. Switzerland and Belgium have had parliamentary inquiries into the matter. General Gianadelio Maletti, commander of the counter-intelligence section of the Italian military intelligence service from 1971 to 1975, stated that his men in the region of Venice discovered a far-right wing terrorist cell that was supplied military explosives from Germany, and he alleged that US intelligence services instigated and abetted far-right wing terrorism in Italy during the 1970s. Christian Democrat Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti publicly recognized the existence of Gladio on October 24, 1990. Andreotti spoke of a “structure of information, response and safeguard“, with arms caches and reserve officers. He gave to the Commissione Stragi, the parliamentary commission led by senator Giovanni Pellegrino in charge of investigations on bombings committed during the 'Years Of Lead' in Italy, a list of 622 civilians who according to him were part of Gladio. NATO's “stay-behind“ organizations were never called upon to resist a Soviet invasion, but their structures continued to exist after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Internal subversion and “false flag“ operations were explicitly considered by the CIA and stay-behind paramilitaries. According to a November 13, 1990 Reuters cable,“André Moyen -- a former member of the Belgian military security service and of the [stay-behind] network -- said Gladio was not just anti-Communist but was for fighting subversion in general. He added that his predecessor had given Gladio 142 million francs ($4.6 million) to buy new equipment.“ On various occasions, stay-behind movements became linked to right-wing terrorism, crime and attempted coups d'état.
