"Staying Behind": NATO's Terror Network

[Arm The Spirit <ats@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Staying Behind"
NATO's Terror Network

     As the 50th anniversary of the end of the war is celebrated,
some unpleasant truths will become further buried beneath the
myth of the "triumph of freedom and democracy" over fascism. For
if fascism itself was the great evil that had to be stopped at
any cost, how are we to explain the total failure of the British,
French and American governments to do anything about the war in
Spain from 1936 to 1939, when Franco's fascist forces, openly
supported with arms and troops by Hitler and Mussolini, destroyed
the "democratically elected" republican government? The answer is
not hard to find. For Western capitalism the real enemy was not
fascism but the popular revolution inaugurated by the Spanish
working class.
     Whilst a great many of those actively engaged in the war
against Hitler genuinely fought under an anti-fascist banner,
whether in the various official armed forces or the guerilla
networks, the war was essentially a diversion from the ongoing
concern of the European and American elites. German expansion had
to be stopped because it challenged the economic and political
interests of those elites. Having been defeated, business as
usual could be resumed, specifically the business of preventing
any internal threat to the ruling classes in the form of popular
revolution.
     This may sound far fetched and, if it does, the reason is
that following 1945 the so-called Cold War assumed a dominant
position. The Soviet threat to Western "freedom" was to provide
the necessary external focus whereby post-war governments could
re-consolidate their position as part of the European Alliance.
An essential requirement of this consolidation was that the
"left" should not come to power in Western Europe as a result of
internal developments.
     The reversion to business as usual began even before May
1945. Between 1943 and 1947 Britain and America were involved in
a war against those who had fought the Nazi occupation in Greece.
By 1943 the Greek National Liberation Front (EAM), the main
resistance grouping, and its armed wing ELAS were effectively in
control of liberated zones in the country. This organization was
certainly dominated by communists, but it had wide support from a
populace that did not want a return to the pre-war days of
monarchy and dictatorship. However, Churchill was determined that
the left should not come to power and that monarchy should be
reinstated, despite it being clear that this would lead to civil
war.
     From 1943, the British and Americans began infiltrating
special units into Greece specifically in order to prevent a
communist/republican government being established. They worked
alongside a right wing resistance group known as EDES which
collaborated with the Nazis. As the Germans withdrew from October
1944, EAM controlled 90% of the country. But the British set
about establishing an "interim government", in which EAM were
given only 1/3 representation and some insignificant ministerial
positions. Meanwhile the Greek king (and his fascist-inclined
wife) showed no intention of renouncing any claim to rule. In
November 1944 the Allied forces ordered ELAS to disarm. On
December 3rd the gloves came off: police fired on a mass
demonstration in Athens and fighting broke out between British
troops and ELAS.
     Under the "interim government" the army, police and civil
service stayed firmly in right wing hands, with former
collaborators often allowed to remain in position whilst left
wingers were excluded. The British and Americans did everything
they could to support the right wing and ensure its success in
elections held in 1946. British interference subsided, but only
because the Americans took virtual control of the country from
1947, pumping in massive economic and military aid. The extent of
American control was such that the Greek prime minister's
documents had to be counter-signed by the American mission in
order to become valid. Meanwhile, in the mountains, US "military
advisors" supervised campaigns against ELAS, involving mass
arrests; court martials; imprisonments and executions. All
leftist activity was banned, and activists who were not killed
sent into political "re-education" camps or exiled.
     This policy kept the Right in power until the 60s, when
there was a resurgence of popular dissent and industrial unrest.
The response of the establishment was the military coup of April
21, 1967, leading to seven years of right-wing military
dictatorship. This coup was organised by the CIA, and is believed
to have involved members of an armed and trained paramilitary
unit, run by the CIA from some time in the 50s and only
"officially" disbanded in 1988. This long-term operation was
codenamed "Operation Sheepskin". It has been suggested that the
period immediately prior to the coup they were involved in
applying the tactics of "state of emergency creation": black
propaganda, terrorist bombings and other provocations to be
blamed on the Left.
     The British and Americans learnt much from the Greek
experience about effective ways to combat popular anti-capitalist
movements and preserve the free market interests of business in
their own backyard. This involved bankrolling the right wing
parties, particularly the Christian Democrats; smearing Left
candidates and other more unpleasant tactics. Whilst the
Christian Democrat governments might have been lukewarm about
American domination of Europe, they were desperate to prevent the
Left coming to power.
     "As part of this effort the Americans and British helped
recreate the internal security machines of most European
countries. The most willing and experienced people they found
were ex-Nazis, Fascists and collaborators. Highly-trained and
fervent anti-communists, these were the people who would use the
brutality it was necessary to deploy against the Left ... The
Americans in effect planted an intelligence network into the
heart of the European countries to ensure the "deal" (the anti-
Left / pro-American and pro-capitalist deal) was kept. These
forces would ensure that attempts to renege on the deal would be
militarily challenged". (Open Eye)
     In fact the Greek based "Operation Sheepskin" mentioned in
relation to the 1967 coup was but one part of a European wide
"Stay Behind" network, established by the British and Americans.
Ostensibly this network existed to provide the nucleus of a
guerilla army to fight on after any Soviet invasion, using arms
and explosives which had already been planted. However, the
evidence leaves little doubt that this network also had the
intention of resisting "internal subversion".
     The Stay Behind network was conceived by the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff and put into operation in 1948 by the National Security
Council which set up the Office of Policy Co-ordination to run
it, staffed and funded by the CIA. Ultimately, coordination of
the network took place under the auspices of NATO. It involved
personnel from the "official" security services in each country
and received covert funding from industry and the state. Indeed
funding and support of such groups was one of the main tasks of
the newly-formed CIA. However, members of the network were mainly
recruited from the civilian population, notably "ex-fascists" and
others whose "anti-communist" credentials were unimpeachable, no
matter what they'd been up to during the war years.
     The existence of the Stay Behind network was not a matter
for public knowledge. However, the activities of the Italian
branch - codenamed Operation Gladio - was exposed in a series of
judicial investigations, particularly between 1990 and 1992.
     Operation Gladio was set up in 1958 with help from British
Intelligence and the CIA, with funding from the latter. This
assistance continued, with Gladio units being trained in Britain
in the early 1970s and by US instructors at a military base in
the Canary Islands from 1966 to the mid-70s. Gladio was
controlled by the Italian secret services from "Office R". It had
strong links with P2, a fascist Masonic Lodge composed of most of
the top military officers, political leaders, industrialists,
bankers and diplomats in Italy. P2 has been described as
effectively constituting a right wing parallel government in
Italy. In addition, Gladio became a focal point for fascist
members of "Marine Star" a veteran's group set up after the
Second World War, and was to make use of other fascist groups in
the 70s and 80s.
     From the outset, Gladio's concern was wider than the
official anti-Soviet justification. A briefing minute of June
1st, 1959 reveals Gladio's concern with "internal subversion and
that it was to play a determining role ... not only in the
general policy levels of warfare, but also in the politics of
emergency". The "emergency" as far as they were concerned was to
come with the growth during the 60s and 70s of the popular anti-
capitalist movement, industrial unrest and an apparent shift from
centre to left by the ruling Christian Democratic Party.
     Those involved in Gladio / P2 began planning a coup 1964,
drawing up lists of thousands of politicians, trade unionists and
activists to be rounded up. An actual coup attempt was made in
1970 led by the navy commander Prince Valerio Borghese, a
supporter of the main Italian fascist party MSI. The plot came to
nothing and Borghese was tried.
     In fact Gladio was deeply involved in the so-called
"strategy of tension" in the late 60s and 70s. The aim of the
strategy, of which the principle tactic was "terrorist outrages"
carried out by fascists, was to spread panic and unrest and to
directly attack the Left and provoke them into an armed response,
which would both justify increased state power under the pretext
of a "national emergency" and isolate the Left from popular
support. General Gerardo Serravalle, head of "Office R" from
1971-1974, revealed that at a Gladio meeting in 1972 at least
half of the upper echelons "had the idea of attacking the
communists before an invasion. They were preparing for civil
war".
     In an early but well known incident, a bomb was exploded in
December 1969 in the Banca Nazionale dell' Agricoltura in Milan.
Police immediately blamed and arrested anarchists, but the real
perpetrators were the fascists Franco Freda and Giovanni Ventura.
Ventura was in close contact with Colonel Guido Giannettinni of
the SID (part of the secret services), who was a fervent
supporter of the MSI. The subsequent trial of the two fascists
was obstructed and delayed until 1981, when they were given life
sentences, only to be cleared on appeal.
     As the fascists embarked on a wave of bombings and
shootings, civil rights in Italy began to be severely curtailed,
with a 1975 law restricting popular campaigning and radical
political discussion. Many people were locked up under "anti-
terrorist" legislation or expelled from the country. As expected,
the Left, in the shape of the Red Brigades, resorted to armed
struggle to defend themselves against this assault. This simply
strengthened Gladio / P2's hand - the Red Brigades were blamed
for fascist outrages, systematically infiltrated by the secret
services and used to carry out actions which supported the hidden
agenda.
     The Italian far right claimed responsibility for many of its
actions and its members were actively pursued by the Italian
police. Some fled to Britain in the aftermath of the August 1980
bomb at the Bologna railway station and were provided with safe-
housing by British fascists in the League of St. George.
     However, it was the Bologna bomb that led to the unravelling
of the link between Italian fascist paramilitaries; P2; the
secret services and Gladio. The 1982 testimony of a P2 member in
prison in Switzerland, revealed that the outrage was instigated
by that organization and involved elements of the secret
services. Subsequent investigators revealed that the explosive
used probably came from Gladio arsenals.
     In effect Gladio had both "official" and "unofficial" wings,
with the latter initiating its own "anti-communist" operations
but receiving both sanction and funding from the "official" wing.
General Pietro Corona head of "Office R" in 1969/70 told a Venice
enquiry into a bombing in Peteano that there was an "alternative
clandestine network, parallel to Gladio, which knew about the
arms and explosives dumps and had access to them". General Nino
Lugarese, head of SIMSI (a branch of the Italian secret service)
from 1981-1984, revealed the existence of a "Super Gladio" of 800
members responsible for internal intervention against domestic
political targets.
     Gladio was "officially disbanded" by the Italian government
in December 1990 after the story broke. On January 29th, 1992 it
was officially declared to have been a clandestine and illegal
"armed band" involved in subversion, by an Italian parliamentary
commission on terrorism.
     The 1990 revelations in Italy had a wider impact. After all,
Gladio was simply the Italian branch of a European wide network.
The Belgian, French, Dutch, Greek and German governments all
officially acknowledged that they took part in the covert NATO
network, with the Belgian prime minister revealing that a Europe
wide meeting of the network had been held as recently as October
1990. Of course the respective governments were at pains to deny
that the network had been intended for anything other than to
enable post-invasion guerilla warfare. Intervention in domestic
politics could only be the work of "uncontrollables" following
their own agenda.
     The British authorities have refused to comment officially
on any similar network in this country. However, General Sir
Anthony Farrar-Hockley revealed in November 1990 that a secret
arms network had in fact been set up. In the same article other
(anonymous) sources also claimed that the organization had a
further aim - "combatting the takeover of civil government by
militant left wing groups". Yet is there any evidence of
destabilisation activities similar to those carried out on the
continent?
     During the 70s, the same time as the Italian "strategy of
tension" was escalating, elements of the right wing establishment
in this country perceived a genuine threat to their vested
interests. In the midst of economic collapse trade unions seemed
to be unstoppable, indeed the miners had effectively destroyed
the Tory government, and Labour under Wilson came to power in
1974. Edward Heath was seen as having betrayed the Tory party,
not just by the upper echelons but by the thousands of ordinary
supporters defecting to the far right.
     Thanks to the testimony of Colin Wallace, an army officer
engaged in black propaganda in Northern Ireland, we now know that
elements in the security services (specifically MI5) deliberately
set out to destabilise the Wilson government. Moreover, leading
figures in the military, industrial and political sphere began to
talk in terms of a state emergency and the desirability or need
to establish a civilian volunteer force or patriotic groups to
help the "maintenance of public order". Thus in 1972-1973 the
Tory MPs Winston Churchill; John Biggs Davison and Patrick Wall
were all calling for increased military involvement in the
growing industrial conflict and even for the creation of a
"special anti-terrorist force and mobile squad of motorised
troops to counter the forces of red fascism" (Davison). All three
were Monday Club members and on the extreme right of the Tory
Party.
     At the same time George K. Young, deputy head of MI6 until
1961, was working in conjunction with General George Walker to
set up a network "to meet the contingency of a total political
break down". This network, called the Unison Committee for Action
(Unison), was set up in early 1973 and its existence announced to
the press in July 1974. This seems to have dissolved into another
organization fronted by Walker, known as Civil Assistance. Ross
McWhirter was very involved in Walker's activities, and
subsequently went on to play a key role in the National
Association for Freedom (or Freedom Association as it is now
known). At around the same time (May 1974), SAS founder David
Stirling, who described Unison as "apparently highly militaristic
and very right wing nature", was proposing a broadly similar
group to be called GB75 and was consulting with contacts in the
armed forces, industry and the Tory Party.
     Colin Wallace says British Intelligence provided covert
assistance to Unison; Civil Assistance and GB75. However, the
extent and even existence of such "patriotic groups", other than
on paper, is a matter of debate. Wallace and others have
described them as psychological operations. By this we understand
that talk of such measures channelled through the media was
intended to heighten the sense of social breakdown and of the
"red" threat, particularly in 1974.
     The full story of such concerns in the British establishment
during this period has probably yet to emerge. Whether the use of
overtly fascist groups in a "strategy of tension" was
contemplated is unknown. But clearly, in a period when the Tory
Party was in disarray, under a "weak" leader; with mass
industrial unrest and a so-called socialist party coming to
power, the extreme right of the Tory Party, together with
elements in industry, the military and the secret services, were
looking to a non-parliamentary solution to preserve their
interests. In the end, however, the election of Mrs. Thatcher to
leadership of the Tory Party and the 1979 election victory
ensured the success of their aims, probably beyond their
expectations, by a different and "legitimate" route.
     The most important lesson to be learnt from the Gladio
story; the whole Stay Behind network and the situation in Britain
during the 70s is that the right-wing establishment will, quite
literally, stop at nothing to prevent a popular anti-capitalist
movement (or one perceived as such) displacing it from power. In
such a context the establishment will happily make use of fascist
groups, whether as unwitting dupes (via the secret services), or
as direct allies - after all, if the choice is stark enough,
classical fascist ideology has more than enough in common with
that of the right-wing establishment.

(Source: Fighting Talk - Issue 11 - May 1995)

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Arm The Spirit is an autonomist/anti-imperialist collective based
in Toronto, Canada. Our focus includes a wide variety of
material, including political prisoners, national liberation
struggles, armed communist resistance, anti-fascism, the fight
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