Many people ask me what "gladio" is and why I use that alias. On this page you can find answers to both those questions.

In italian language gladio means "sword". After World War II NATO started a clandestine stay-behind operation in europe. The aim of this operation was to prevent an invasion of western europe by Warsaw Pact countries. In other words gladio was the codename for an anti-communist operation in europe. Well armed paramilitary stay-behind armies were assembled and financed by CIA in countries where the operation took place. These armies had different names in every country. In Italy it was called "Gladio", in Turkey "Special Warfare Department", in Portugal "Aginter Press" etc... These armies consisted of individuals from a variety of backgrounds. To give some examples; ex-nazi officers (e.g. Reinhard Gehlen), regular army officers, politicians, secret service agents, members of mafia and so on. One thing they had in common was their nationalist beliefs (as you would expect from an anti-communist organisation). During the course of the operation these armies conducted many terrorist activities like bombing railway stations, assasinating government officials. And of course it was the leftists in those countries that took the lame. So you can say they mastered the art of provocation. In time these armies turned rogue and they all became a state inside their own states.

Since the communist invasion of europe never took place it would be right to say the operation was a success. But the remains of the operation, the armies, did some heavy damage. The existence of an army depends on a threat, when that threat is cleared there is no need for that army anymore. To keep themselves active some of those armies fabricated threats and their operatives became thugs. In the end it was the public that took the beating. Gladio remained covert until the former italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti revealed and publicly recoqnised its existence. But the original cause for it's creation was long gone so it didn't really matter.

When I first started using the internet I refrained from giving out my real name. I always used an alias. Back then I read a book about operation gladio and the word "gladio" sounded nice. After that I started using gladio as my alias. I don't hide my identity now but I still use "gladio" on the net. So the reason for picking this alias is not because i'm an italian fascist or because i'm an admirer of CIAs operations.

If you want to read a more detailed articles on gladio check out these links;

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladio_in_Italy
• http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=16921
• http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA%20Hits/Gladio_CIAHits.html