Vanessa Richardson (30:15)
on October 23, 1990, the last meeting of the Allied Clandestine Committee was held in Belgium. By then, a number of ACC members had already shut down their stay behind units. Operation Gladio was becoming a thing of the past. Normally it would take years for such a wide ranging operation to be revealed, but the very next day Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andriati held a press conference admitting the existence of Operation Gladio. Andreati didn't come forward because he wanted to, though he came forward because Italian courts were close to uncovering the truth about Gladio. During the briefing, Andreati talked about a coordinated response between the NATO states in the event of a Soviet invasion. He even offered a list of 622 civilians who were trained as operatives. Andrade's disclosures were groundbreaking, but they were also somewhat misleading. He said the operation began in in 1964 under the Allied Clandestine Committee, when it was really set up almost a decade earlier. Additionally, Andreotti's list of civilian operatives was later proven to be incomplete. Not only that, but he denied the government had anything to do with the bombings that took place during the years of lead. This was only technically true, since the CIA's involvement was funneled through Gladio operatives. Despite these discrepancies, Andreati's announcement revealed just how widespread Operation Gladio was, and it sparked a reckoning that gripped Europe. Two weeks after Andradi's press conference on November 5, 1990, a NATO spokesperson denied any involvement between the organization and Operation Gladio. But the media had already picked up the story, and over the next few weeks, each country that had stay behind Armies was forced to come clean. The French government admitted they had a Stay behind army as part of the Allied Clandestine Committee which trained in guerrilla tactics in West German forests. But they told the media it had no connection to any terrorist networks and had recently been disbanded. Belgium, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands and Greece all confirmed their involvement in Operation Gladio, though Greece denied a connection between the operatives and the military coup. Meanwhile, the US and the UK refused to comment on the operation. When Admiral Stansfield Turner, then head of the CIA had a TV interview in late November 1990, he wouldn't discuss it at all. When the reporter pressed him, Turner ripped off his microphone and walked off set. Clearly he knew the existence of these secret armies was highly controversial. Most European citizens didn't like the idea of US backed espionage groups embedded within their countries. But one of the most disturbing accounts of Operation Gladio came from the supposedly neutral country of Switzerland. A few months before Giulio Andreati held that press conference, the Swiss parliament uncovered a Stay behind army in their country. It was known as Project 26 or P26. While P26 wasn't set up under NATO, it maintained close connections with British intelligence. Like in other countries, its operatives targeted left wing activists. In the 1960s, P26 collected files on almost 8,000 so called suspect persons. These included leftists, anti nuclear demonstrators and Jehovah's Witnesses. Decades later, when the government began to investigate Project 26, one former operative named Herbert Alboth wrote a letter to the Defense Minister. According to Colonel Alboth, he could reveal the whole truth. A month and a half later, before he could do so, Alboth was murdered in in his own home. No suspect was ever arrested. Several months later, on November 14, 1990, right in the middle of the Operation Gladio scandal, the Swiss parliament shut down Project 26 for good. Three days later, they published a detailed report about the Stay Behind Army. But there was still a lot more to the story. As people around the world came to terms with P26 and Operation Gladio, they started to wonder if those forces were connected to the terrorist attacks that ravaged Europe in the 1970s and 80s. And one man made it his mission to expose everything. In 2005, a Swiss conspiracy theorist named Danielle Ganzer published NATO's Secret Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe. Ganzer's book linked the CIA and Stay Behind Armies with dozens of high profile acts of terrorism across several decades. In total, Ganzer claimed Operation Gladio was responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. Some of the evidence he presented was thorough and compelling. While other connections were a little more controversial. Ganzer pointed to a prediction particular document to justify his claims, Supplement B to the US Army's Field Manual. 30, 31. The document surfaced in Turkey in 1970 before being spread around Europe in subsequent years. It allegedly showed that faking domestic terrorism was American military policy. The document supposedly said, quote, there may be times when host country governments show passivity or indecision in the face of communist subversion. In such cases, US army intelligence must have the means of launching special operations which will convince the HC governments and public opinion of the reality of the insurgent danger and of the necessity of counteraction supposedly is the keyword because according to military scholars and the US Government, Supplement B did didn't exist. Some claimed it was a forgery put out by the Soviet Union to discredit American policy. And the U.S. state Department said it had long been publicly identified as a phony document. In the years since, Ganzer hasn't done himself any favors. Instead of gathering additional evidence, he linked the gladio conspiracy with 911 and the COVID 19 pandemic. According to him, armies modeled on Gladio units were used to perpetrate these events. His claims got him fired from his post at ETH Zurich's center for Security Studies. But even though Ganzer may have been discredited, Operation Gladio hasn't. And today there's still many unanswered questions about Gladio and the upheaval of the late 20th century. In the tiny nation of the Luxembourg two police officials are on trial in connection with two bombings that took place in the 1980s. Many citizens believe these officials had ties to Operation Gladio. The truth is we'll probably never know the full extent of Operation Gladio. But certain facts aren't up for debate. We know the US government was worried about a Soviet invasion and organized stay behind forces to fend them off in case of an attack. We know those units persisted through the Cold War. And we know there's a lot of compelling evidence to suggest that Operation Gladio was connected with terrorism. Some, like the assassination of Julien Laux, have been proven by historians. But when it comes to Ganzer and his claims, there are some major leaps in logic. For over half a century, hundreds of government officials were involved in Operation Gladio. Ganzer thinks each one contributed to the conspiracy wholeheartedly without telling anyone what they did. It's a lot to take in and I'd love to get your thoughts. What do you think about Operation Gladio? Do you believe that the CIA was behind these terrorist attacks. And do you buy Danielle Ganzer's conspiracy theories? Tell us in the comments. We would love to hear. Operation Gladios started with pretty noble aims, protecting Western Europe against the very real threat of invasion. But the longer the Cold War dragged on, the more the enemy and the mission began to mutate. Conspiracy aside, the evidence shows the CIA and its fellow intelligence agencies were focused on suppressing left wing groups. For all their propaganda about spreading democracy, they were committed to destroying the rights of people in their own countries. And that's something we all deserve to know the truth about. Thanks so much for listening. Good evening, I'm Vanessa Richardson and this is Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes. Come back next time. We'll decode the episode together and hear another story about the real people at the center of the world's most notorious cults, conspiracies and criminal acts. Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes is a Crime House original Powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, rime house on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes wherever you get your podcasts, your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode early and and ad free. We'll be back on Friday. Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertzovsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Camp J, Jake Natureman, Leah Roche and Michael Langsner. Thank you for listening. Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh my gosh, they're so fast. 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