DR. DANIELE GANSER: Gladio is the word for a short double-edged sword, a
weapon used by gladiators in ancient Rome. During the Cold War the
Italian military secret service,Servizio Informazione Sicurezza
Militare, had a branch called Gladio, a top-secret part of the Italian
Secret Service. It was preparing to fight for two things, and that’s
where it all becomes rather delicate. One: In the event of a Soviet
invasion of Western Europe – so we’re talking about Italy, France,
Germany, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, etc. – this secret network of
soldiers would have fought as a guerrilla army behind enemy lines with
explosives, weapons, ammunition, communication gear, and so forth. For
example, in the case of a NATO pilot being shot down above, say,
Soviet-occupied France, the secret network would inform Governments of
unoccupied territories – probably the UK or US, – about the shot-down
pilot. So, it was very much along this idea of resistance. That was one
branch.
