Operation GLADIO: When NATO Built Terror Networks and Called Them Freedom
The Stay-Behind Armies That Stayed Way Too Busy
It was August 2, 1980, and Bologna's central train station was packed with summer vacationers. At 10:25 a.m., a bomb hidden in a suitcase detonated in the second-class waiting room. The explosion killed 85 people, wounded 200 more. Among the dead: a three-year-old girl named Angela Fresu, traveling with her mother to the seaside.
For years, Italian authorities blamed leftist terrorists. The families buried their dead believing communist extremists had murdered their loved ones.
They were wrong.
The bombing was orchestrated by a network that included Italian military intelligence, neo-fascist terrorists, and a secret NATO operation with the kind of name that sounds borrowed from a bad spy novel: GLADIO.
Except this wasn't fiction. This was your tax dollars at work, building terror networks across Europe that would kill hundreds of civilians in the name of "defending democracy."
Welcome to the shadow history of the Cold War, where the good guys built armies of fascists, bombed their own citizens, and kept it secret for forty years.
The Birth of Stay-Behind: When Paranoia Became Policy
The story begins in 1948, before NATO officially existed. The Office of Policy Coordination—the CIA's covert action arm—was three months old when it started building what would become GLADIO. The man running the show was Frank Wisner, a Wall Street lawyer turned spy who once said he operated "the mighty Wurlitzer"—playing propaganda across Europe like a massive organ.
The original concept seemed reasonable to men traumatized by World War II: if the Soviets invaded Western Europe, hidden networks of trained fighters would rise up behind enemy lines. Like the French Resistance, but pre-positioned and ready.
The first concrete evidence comes from declassified Joint Chiefs of Staff documents from 1948, specifically JCS 1807/3, which outlined "special operations" to be conducted behind enemy lines in case of Soviet invasion. The CIA would provide training, weapons, and coordination. European military intelligence would provide the bodies.
By 1951, the CIA was running a secret base in Germany called the "Stay-Behind School." A declassified CIA document from 1953 (Document #CIA-RDP83-00764R000300070001-8) describes training programs for "indigenous personnel" in "guerrilla warfare, sabotage, and intelligence gathering."
Simple enough. Until you realize who they were recruiting.
The Devil's Bargain: When NATO Recruited Actual Nazis
Here's where the story turns properly dark. The CIA and military intelligence didn't just recruit patriots and democrats for their secret armies. They actively sought out fascists, Nazi collaborators, and right-wing extremists.
Why? Because these people really, really hated communists.
In Italy, they recruited from the remnants of Mussolini's secret police. Prince Junio Valerio Borghese—nicknamed "The Black Prince," a naval commander who'd run Mussolini's death squads—became a GLADIO operative. Let that sink in: NATO gave weapons and training to a man who'd hunted partisans for the Nazis.
The documentation here is ironclad. Italian parliamentary investigations in the 1990s revealed that GLADIO's ranks included members of Ordine Nuovo and Avanguardia Nazionale—neo-fascist organizations responsible for numerous terrorist attacks.
In Germany, they recruited from the Bund Deutscher Jugend (League of German Youth), which sounds wholesome until you learn it was packed with former Wehrmacht and SS officers. A 1952 German police raid uncovered the BDJ's "Technical Service"—a 2,000-man strong secret army with a kill list of German politicians to be "eliminated" in case of Soviet invasion. The list included Social Democrats who were insufficiently anti-communist.
The CIA's own formerly classified documents confirm American funding. A memo dated October 10, 1952 (now in the National Archives) shows $50,000 monthly payments to the BDJ's armed wing.
Italy: Where GLADIO Went Full Terrorist
Italy became GLADIO's bloodiest laboratory. Between 1969 and 1987, terrorist attacks killed hundreds of Italian civilians. For decades, authorities blamed the Red Brigades and communist extremists.
Then Judge Felice Casson started digging.
In 1990, while investigating a 1972 car bombing, Casson discovered something extraordinary in the archives of Italian military intelligence (SISMI): proof of GLADIO's existence and its connection to terrorist attacks.
The evidence was overwhelming:
The Piazza Fontana Bombing (1969): 17 dead, 88 wounded. Initially blamed on anarchists. Pietro Valpreda, an anarchist ballet dancer, was arrested and spent three years in prison. Decades later, investigations revealed the bombing was carried out by Ordine Nuovo with support from Italian military intelligence. Declassified SISMI documents show intelligence officers met with the bombers before the attack.
The Peteano Attack (1972): Three policemen killed by a car bomb. Vincenzo Vinciguerra, the fascist who carried it out, later testified: "You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people, unknown people far removed from any political game. 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."
The Bologna Massacre (1980): The worst terrorist attack in postwar Italian history. Investigations by Judge Leonardo Grassi revealed that the bombing was carried out by the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei (NAR) with "logistical support" from Italian military intelligence. SISMI agents helped the bombers escape. Document P2-164, found in the archives of the P2 Masonic lodge, outlined the bombing three months before it happened.
The Italian parliamentary commission investigating GLADIO, headed by Senator Giovanni Pellegrino, concluded in 2000: "Those massacres, those bombs, those military actions had been organized or promoted or supported by men inside Italian state institutions and, as has been discovered more recently, by men linked to the structures of United States intelligence."
The Smoking Gun: Andreotti's Confession
On October 24, 1990, Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti stood before parliament and dropped the bomb that would explode across Europe. Yes, GLADIO existed. Yes, it was real. And here's 10 pages of documentation to prove it.
Andreotti revealed:
622 GLADIO operatives in Italy
139 arms caches hidden across the country
Regular training exercises with CIA and NATO
Coordination through NATO's Clandestine Planning Committee (CPC) and Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC)
The documents Andreotti released included a 1956 agreement between SISMI and the CIA outlining GLADIO operations. The agreement, signed by CIA director Allen Dulles, specified that GLADIO would be activated not just for Soviet invasion but also "in case of internal subversion."
That's bureaucratese for "if the communists win elections."
The European Explosion: Every NATO Country Had One
Andreotti's revelation triggered a cascade of admissions across Europe. Suddenly, every NATO country was discovering its own secret army:
Belgium: On November 7, 1990, Defense Minister Guy Coëme confirmed the existence of SDRA8 (Service de documentation, de renseignements et d'action VIII), Belgium's stay-behind network. Parliamentary investigations revealed connections to the Brabant killings—28 dead in supermarket attacks during the 1980s. Weapons from GLADIO caches were used in the attacks.
Netherlands: Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers confirmed on November 13, 1990, that the Dutch stay-behind network (Operations O and I) had operated since 1948. Dutch agents trained at the same facilities as Italian GLADIO operatives.
Greece: The Greek stay-behind network, LOK (Lochos Oreinon Katadromon), was implicated in the 1967 military coup. Andreas Papandreou, who became Prime Minister in 1981, claimed the CIA station chief in Athens gave him a list of Greek officers involved in stay-behind operations—the same names appeared among the coup plotters.
Turkey: The Turkish stay-behind network, Counter-Guerrilla, was publicly exposed during the 1996 Susurluk scandal when a car crash revealed connections between state security forces, organized crime, and right-wing death squads. Turkish General Talat Turhan later admitted Counter-Guerrilla carried out bombings blamed on leftists.
The Pentagon Papers Nobody Talks About: Field Manual 30-31B
In 1973, a Turkish newspaper published what it claimed was a leaked Pentagon document: Field Manual 30-31B. The manual outlined techniques for using "extreme leftist organizations" to justify military intervention in allied countries. It advocated infiltrating left-wing groups and pushing them toward violence to justify crackdowns.
The Pentagon immediately declared it a Soviet forgery. Case closed, right?
Except in 1978, Italian magistrate Giulio Grassi found a copy of FM 30-31B in the possession of Licio Gelli, grandmaster of the P2 Masonic lodge and key GLADIO coordinator. The manual's authenticity was confirmed by experts during the trial of Italian General Giandelio Maletti, former head of Italian counter-intelligence.
Most damning: Ray Cline, former CIA Deputy Director, admitted in a 1981 interview that while FM 30-31B might be "a forgery," it accurately described "standard operating procedure" for US intelligence operations.
The American Architects: Names and Addresses
Let's be specific about American involvement, with documentation:
William Colby: Before becoming CIA Director, Colby ran the CIA station in Rome from 1953-1958. He later admitted in his memoir "Honorable Men" (1978) to establishing "stay-behind networks" across Europe. During 1990 interviews with Italian journalists, Colby confirmed GLADIO's existence but insisted it was "a perfectly legitimate operation."
General William Westmoreland: As SACEUR (Supreme Allied Commander Europe) from 1969-1974, Westmoreland oversaw GLADIO operations. Declassified SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) documents from 1970 show Westmoreland approved "Operation SDL-7," a GLADIO training exercise in Italy involving live explosives.
Vernon Walters: CIA Deputy Director from 1972-1976, Walters coordinated with European stay-behind networks. Italian magistrate Gerardo D'Ambrosio found documents showing Walters met with Italian GLADIO coordinators during the period of the Bologna bombing.
Ted Shackley: The "Blond Ghost" of CIA operations, Shackley served as Rome station chief from 1968-1972. Italian parliamentary investigations found he maintained direct contact with Prince Borghese and other fascist GLADIO operatives.
The Money Trail: Following the Dollars
GLADIO wasn't cheap. Where did the money come from?
Congressional investigations in the 1970s revealed that stay-behind operations were funded through:
Black Budget Allocations: Hidden in Pentagon and CIA budgets under innocuous line items
The Bilderberg Group: Documents found in P2 archives showed financial transfers from Bilderberg-associated banks
Drug Money: The Turkish Counter-Guerrilla network funded operations through heroin trafficking—the same routes the CIA used for other operations
Swiss investigator François Aubert traced $100 million in GLADIO funding through Swiss banks between 1960 and 1990. The money moved through accounts controlled by the CIA's Commercial Exchange Bank in Bangkok—the same bank used for Air America operations in Vietnam.
The Weapons: Where Did 10,000 Guns Go?
GLADIO networks maintained massive weapons caches across Europe. The Italian parliamentary commission documented:
139 weapons caches in Italy alone
Each cache containing explosives, guns, ammunition, and communications equipment
Standard equipment included Sten guns, M1 carbines, and C4 explosives
Here's the problem: when European governments started looking for these caches in the 1990s, many were empty. The weapons had vanished.
Some turned up in interesting places:
Weapons from Belgian GLADIO caches were used in the Brabant supermarket killings
Italian GLADIO explosives matched residue from the Bologna bombing
German authorities found GLADIO weapons in raids on neo-Nazi groups in the 1990s
Nobody knows where the rest went. Ten thousand military weapons don't just evaporate. They're out there, somewhere, in someone's hands.
The Modern Echo: Why GLADIO Still Matters
Here's why this isn't just history:
In 2008, Turkish prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon case—a alleged coup plot—discovered that Counter-Guerrilla networks were still active. They found weapons caches, hit lists, and operational plans dated 2007.
In 1990, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning GLADIO and calling for investigations in all member states. Several countries—including the US, UK, and France—refused to declassify their files. They remain classified today.
When former CIA officer Philip Agee was asked about GLADIO in 1991, he said: "The stay-behind networks were part of a larger system of control that included propaganda operations, political manipulation, and economic pressure. That system didn't end with the Cold War."
The Verdict: When Conspiracy Theory Becomes Conspiracy Fact
GLADIO isn't a theory. It's documented history, confirmed by:
Parliamentary investigations in Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland
Confessions from prime ministers and defense officials
Declassified CIA and Pentagon documents
Court testimony from operatives
Physical evidence linking GLADIO to terrorist attacks
This was a real program where NATO and the CIA:
Built secret armies of fascists and criminals
Carried out terrorist attacks against civilians
Blamed those attacks on communists
Used the resulting fear to manipulate elections
They didn't do this in enemy countries. They did it to their own allies. To civilians in countries they were supposedly protecting.
The most chilling part? Nobody went to prison for running GLADIO. The architects retired with honors. The documents remain largely classified. The weapons are still missing.
And we only know about it because Giulio Andreotti needed to save his political skin in 1990.
Makes you wonder: if they were willing to do this when the technology was primitive and oversight was minimal, what are they capable of now? In an age of mass surveillance, social media manipulation, and drone warfare?
GLADIO proved that Western intelligence services would murder their own citizens to achieve political goals. Not as aberration or accident, but as policy. As strategy. As standard operating procedure.
That's not conspiracy theory. That's conspiracy fact.
And the machinery that built it? It never went away. It just got better at hiding.
Sources
Primary Documents:
Joint Chiefs of Staff Document JCS 1807/3 (1948) - National Archives
CIA Document #CIA-RDP83-00764R000300070001-8 (1953) - CIA FOIA Reading Room
Field Manual 30-31B (1970) - Disputed; copies in Italian court records
SISMI-CIA Agreement (1956) - Released by Andreotti to Italian Parliament, October 24, 1990
P2 Document P2-164 (1980) - Italian Parliamentary Commission archives
Government Reports:
"Relazione sulla vicenda Gladio" - Italian Parliamentary Commission Report (2000)
Belgian Parliamentary Inquiry into GLADIO/SDRA8 (1991)
Swiss Parliamentary Report PUK EMD (1990)
European Parliament Resolution on GLADIO (November 22, 1990)
Books:
Ganser, Daniele. NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe. London: Frank Cass, 2005.
Colby, William. Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978.
Willan, Philip. Puppetmasters: The Political Use of Terrorism in Italy. London: Constable, 1991.
Williams, Paul L. Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance between the Vatican, the CIA, and the Mafia. Prometheus Books, 2015.
Court Records:
Tribunal of Venice, Judge Felice Casson findings (1990-1994)
Bologna Massacre Trial Records, Judge Leonardo Grassi presiding (1988-1995)
Susurluk Investigation Files, Turkish Special Prosecutor (1996-1997)
Key Interviews and Testimonies:
Vincenzo Vinciguerra testimony, Italian Senate (1992)
William Colby interview, Corriere della Sera (1990)
Ray Cline interview, Executive Intelligence Review (1981)
Andreas Papandreou, BBC Documentary "Operation Gladio" (1992)
Newspaper Archives:
"Secret Agents, Freemasons, Fascists... and a Top-Level Campaign of Political 'Destabilisation'" - The Guardian, December 5, 1990
"Gladio: The Secret US War to Subvert Italian Democracy" - The Nation, 1991
Multiple articles from La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, and L'Unità (1990-2000)