The Cold War, Operation Gladio and Ireland… September 10, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in European Politics, Irish Politics, US Politics.trackback
…Let’s briefly move towards the politically esoteric. One of my interests is the Stay Behind networks, the structures established to thwart Soviet invasion of Western Europe by NATO and European intelligence and security services.
They became in certain instances a malign focus of extreme right and neo-fascist activity and moved far beyond defensive measures to outright intervention in the domestic affairs of the states they were in. The most notorious example of these is the Gladio network in Italy which appears to have contributed to the ‘Stategy of Tension’ that sought to deny state power to the PCI, but other Stay Behind networks in other states operated in a not dissimilar fashion.
Thing is I was reading the wiki page recently and the following caught my eye:
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,[11] “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 millions) to buy new radio equipment.”[12] Ganser alleges that on various occasions, stay-behind movements became linked to right-wing terrorism, crime and attempted coups d’état:[4]
“Prudent Precaution or Source of Terror?” the international press pointedly asked when the secret stay-behind armies of NATO were discovered across Western Europe in late 1990. After more than ten years of research, the answer is now clear: both. The overview aboves shows that based on the experiences of World War II, all countries of Western Europe, with the support of NATO, the CIA, and MI6, had set up stay-behind armies as precaution against a potential Soviet invasion. While the safety networks and the integrity of the majority of the secret soldiers should not be criticized in hindsight after the collapse of the Soviet Union, very disturbing questions do arise with respect to reported links to terrorism.
There exist large differences among the European countries, and each case must be analyzed individually in further detail. As of now, the evidence suggests the secret armies in the seven countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands, focused exclusively on their stay-behind function and were not linked to terrorism. However, links to terrorism have been either confirmed or claimed in the nine countries, Italy, Ireland, Turkey, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Sweden, demanding further investigation.
Really? Ireland as well? My God. How come none of us have heard of this?
Well, first thing is that the document the quote is taken from is an essay by Daniele Ganser (a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) entitled ,Terrorism in Western Europe: An Approach
to NATO’s Secret Stay-Behind Armies. And it’s a fine essay which clearly points up the nature of the Gladio networks – albeit Ganser takes the line that they were in theory a sensible precaution, as regards their primary aim of countering any potential invasion, that spun out of control. I don’t entirely dissent, in that all countries have the right to defend themselves, however there seem to me to be significant problems with attempting to establish wartime structures in (relatively) open societies in time of peace, particularly when such structures are beyond the remit of democratic oversight.
But look again at that last paragraph in the quote from Ganser on wiki and the following taken from the PDF linked to on the wiki site:
There exist large differences among the European countries, and each case must be analyzed individually in further detail. As of now, the evidence available suggests the secret armies in the seven countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands, focused exclusively on their stay-behind safety function and were thus not linked to any acts of terrorism. However, links to terrorism have been either confirmed or claimed in the eight countries, Italy, Turkey, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Sweden, demanding further investigation.
How odd. Ireland seems to have inexplicably fallen off the list. Or more accurately, it was never on it. As Ganser notes:
2 While the UK was directly involved with setting up the stay-behind network, the islands Cyprus, Malta, Ireland, Iceland, as well as the European mini states Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican were of limited strategic importance and are hence not included in this analysis.
Just so we know our place in the universe. But re that none too subtle embellishment of the wiki page, why do people bother to do that?
Meanwhile, from another document from the indefatigable Mr. Ganser, The Secret Side of International Relations: An approach to NATO’s stay-behind armies in Western Europe, what can one make of this?
Upon the publication of the short-version Cornu report, the British press headlined: “UK trained secret Swiss force” and correctly reported that “British secret services collaborated closely with an armed, undercover Swiss organization through a series of covert agreements which formed part of a west European network of ‘resistance’ groups”.127 Highlighting the very close collaboration, Judge Cornu confirmed: “The cadres of the Swiss organization regarded the British to be the best specialists in the field”.128 “These connections included particularly the regular participation of Special Service and P-26 cadres in courses and exercises in Great Britain, as well as the participation of British specialists as instructors of observers in exercises of the Swiss services.”129 During an English language conversation course taking place in Switzerland in 1984, military instructor Alois Hürlimann had already revealed in poor English and to the surprise of his fellow classmates that he had taken part in secret military training in England. This training, Hürlimann continued, had included a real non- simulated assault on an IRA arms depot in which Hürlimann, fully dressed in battle fatigues, had participated, and in which at least one IRA activist had been killed.130
Training in England, eh? I guess that’s ‘England’ meaning ‘Britain’, and ‘Britain’ meaning ‘Ireland’! Either that or he was just bullshitting (“an IRA arms depot” forsooth).
yeah i think more info would be needed to verify this, to put it mildly.
Not of the other intelligence whistle-blowers in these islands have mentioned this.
Pretty mch my feelings on it but interesting to know if there was more or less to it than meets the eye.
Sounds like the stories about PIRA and Loyalists going to what-was-then Rhodesia in the 1970s, the former to fight with the Zim liberation fronts, and the latter for the Smith regime.
Just a little bit too good to be true, in other words.
i think there was some reasonable evidence about loyalists fighting for the Smith regime, no?
I may be getting my locations mixed up but I thought an ex-UDR member died out there.
A UDR guy would have had some actual military training, I suppose, as opposed to paramilitary training. What I mean is, he might have been some actual use to the Rhodie army.
Could that be the ex-RIR guy, LT Alan Gingles, who died fighting for South Africa in Mozambique?
There’s also a character called Charlie Simpson who featured in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission testimony:
http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/amntrans/1999/9911151210_pre_991117pt.htm
And there was a guy called Donald Acheson, who was accused of murdering Anton Lubowski, a Namibian activist, for the Civil Co-operation Bureau, a sort of South African Gladio-type operation.
Hi Tom
That could be him
Apparently Patrick Crinnion ex-mi6 agent in the Gardai ended up in south Africa. I wondered what happened to him?
Doctor X
Yes I suppose so. I think the Rhodesians had a fair amount of britih and other special forces help, so may not have needed any spray and pray merchants. Although joint udr/ uvf etc members would presumably have something to offer.
Certain fields of work attract bullshitters.
Quelle surprise.
Is absolutely true, and yet the core of Gladio et al was one of the most significant threats to democracy, even liberal democracy, since WWII.
And it could be argued that the ‘stategy of tension’, in which the Gladio-assisted / executed neo-fascist bombings played a major part, contributed to the hollowing out of Italian class politics, with Berlusconi as the end result.
So in a sense… it worked.
Some of those implicated in Italian bombings linked to these issues ended up active in right wing circles in England and even visited Ireland through ‘third way’ links. It may not have been part of any conspiracy but it shows that links throughout europe existed but without explaining who were pulling the strings.
That would presumably be the International Third Position. They have been trying to infiltrate Catholic groups in Ireland since 1992, most succesfully in the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Not nice people at all – ironically they have a strong neo-pagan constituent.
Yeah, it’s interesting Shane how many of them strike out to paganism. And yet they think to make common cause with Catholicism, amongst other groups. They don’t get it.
The ITP crowd have been at that for donkey’s years in Europe more broadly. I seem to recall they had a presence in the UK from the early 1980s.
“executed neo-fascist bombings played a major part, contributed to the hollowing out of Italian class politics, with Berlusconi as the end result.”
Then how come the first major party to collapse was the Christian Democrats.
I would say that the failure of ambition by the left played the major role. Why last time they were in power they refused to do anything about press monopoly, like across the water. Oh Can anyone see the Independent group being broken up if Gilmore comes to power. Now would that not be a justifiable reformist demand.
The Italian faction led by Mortello and Fiore who ‘landed’ in Britain in the 80′s made and in fact organised their (State sponsored?!) coup of the National Front in 1986 that was used as a vehicle to propogate the ‘Third Positionist thinking’.
The Thatcher government (as she did with Pinochet) refused point blank to consider their extradition in regards to the P2/Gladio bombing campaign in particular Bologna….strange? Not when one considers the architects of Operation Gladio would have operated in the same political arena as Thatcher and her neo-con cohorts.
The ITP ‘discovered’ Catholicism (pre-Vatican II) and found that their fascist ideals were complimentary to their desire to establish Catholic totalitarianism.
Interesting to note that Fiore has been able to establish himself in Italy and in fact has become (State sponsored?) a beacon for the more militant elements of Italian fascism.
If ever you encounter Fiore, mention Gladio to him and you will notice his demeanour becomes one of a ‘rabbit caught in the headlights.’