The dark side of the West: NATO fascist "Stay Behind" Networks in post WW2 Western Europe By Felix Würsten

Conference "Nato Secret Armies and P26"  The dark side of the West

During the Cold War secret armies in all West European states prepared themselves for possible Soviet invasion. An ETH study was presented last week that shows how these hidden groups operated and did not even shrink from terror attacks against their own people.

By Felix Würsten

It is now a little more than fifteen years since the fall of the Wall in Berlin brought the Cold War to an end. The division of Europe into two hostile spheres of control that had lasted for decades was thus overcome. Previous to this each side had done everything conceivable to maintain control over its sphere of influence–at any price. That the East resorted to drastic measures during the Cold War is borne out for example by the tragic events in Hungary or former Czechoslovakia.

By contrast, there is hardly any awareness today of how cohesion in the West was maintained. True, at the beginning of the 1990s, due to revelations in Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, the public learned that the western alliance had not always been squeamish when it came to choosing its ways and means. Most states, however, steadfastly refuse to shed any light on incidents pertaining to the Cold War. Some light now comes from a new publication (1) from the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich (2), which was presented to the public last week.

Direct connections to the Pentagon

During the Cold War, explains the author of the study, Daniele Ganser, NATO set up so-called "stay-behind" networks. These were secret organisations that–in the eventuality that a country was invaded–would fight the Soviet occupying forces from the underground. There was close co-operation between the different national organisations. Co-ordination was upheld by two secret sub-divisions of "Shape", NATO's Headquarters, which was directly subordinate to top NATO commanding officer in Europe (Saceur). Direct connections also existed to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the USA and to the British Secret Service, MI6.

Secret underground armies existed also in the neutral countries. In Switzerland it was the organisation known as P26, the existence of which was brought to light in 1990 by a parliamentary committee for investigation (PUK-EMD) investigating the military department. P26 was not directly involved in the network of NATO's secret armies but it had close contact to MI6. In Austria in 1990 too, the government was obliged to admit that an underground organisation had existed.

Andreotti unveils the unbelievable

NATO's secret armies are a dark spot on the history of Western Europe. In a number of countries they attempted to influence political developments with terrorist activities. In Italy in 1990, the then Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti publicised the existence of the secret army "Gladio" under pressure from the investigators. Gladio was controlled by the military secret service Sismi and worked in close collaboration with the CIA. But apparently Gladio was also in league with the Mafia, the fascists and the Catholic Church.

The aim was to hinder–at any price–the government participation of the communists. Ministers of this party, so the fear, could pass on secrets to the Soviet Union, thus undermining NATO from the inside. Gladio did not flinch from cowardly terrorist attacks against its own people. The population was to be unsettled so they would demand more security from the state. By using false trails and exerting control over the the judiciary, Gladio succeeded in laying the blame on the political opponents.

In France and Germany (where former SS officers were involved), as well as in Norway and Belgium secret armies carried out terrorist strikes. In Greece one such was involved in a military putsch and in Turkey so-called "counter-guerrilla" groups fought against the Kurds. Following the revelations of Switzerland's PUK-EMD commission, the suspicion was voiced for the first time that P26 had carried out strikes. The suspicion, however, could not be confirmed.

Footnotes: 

(1

Daniele Ganser: Nato's Secret Armies. Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe. Frank Cass. London 2005. Project information at: www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_gladio.htm

(2)

Homepage of the ETH Center for Security Studies (CSS): www.css.ethz.ch/