My Judgment on this Sinful World

In a book titled NATOs Secret Armies - Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe, Daniele
Ganser described their clandestine Cold War operations, run by European secret services, collaborating
with NATO, the CIA and Britains MI6 and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) against a possible Soviet
invasion, internal communist takeovers, or others on the political left gaining power. The network
included France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey,
Greece, Luxembourg, as well as politically neutral European countries Austria, Finland, Sweden and
Switzerland. Named Gladio (Latin for double-edged sword), NATOs armies remained secret until
August 1990, when then Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti confirmed Italys participation in testimony
before a Senate subcommittee investigating terrorism, General Vito Miceli, former Italian military secret
service director, saying in protest: I have gone to prison because I did not want to reveal the existence of
this super secret organization. And now Andreotti tells parliament!
According to a 1959 Italian military secret service document, these armies had a two-fold strategic
purpose:
First - to operate as a so-called stay-behind group in the case of a Soviet invasion and to carry
out a guerrilla war in occupied territories;
Second - to carry out domestic operations in case of emergency situations.
In Italy, against both communist and socialist parties, it was claimed they wanted to weaken NATO
from within, Italian judge, Felice Casson, learning that right-wing terrorists carried out bombings
against civilians, blamed them on the left, neo-fascist Vincenzo Vinciguerra explaining the scheme as
follows: They were supposed to force these people, the Italian public, to turn to the state to ask for
greater security. This is the political logic that lies behind all the massacres and the bombings which
remain unpunished, because the state cannot convict itself or declare itself responsible for what
happened. In 2000, the Italian Senate was more explicit, saying: Those massacres, those bombs, those
military actions had been organized or promoted or supported by men inside Italian state institutions
and, as had been discovered more recently, by men linked to the structures of United States
intelligence, meaning CIA mainly. Former director, William Colby, admitted in his memoirs that covert
western armies were a major CIA initiative, begun post-WW II, and restricted to the smallest possible
coterie of the most reliable people, in Washington (and) NATO to keep the initiative secret.
Yet once its existence was confirmed, the EU parliament drafted a sharply critical resolution saying:
These organizations (sic) operated and continue to operate completely outside the law since they are
not subject to any parliamentary control.calling for a full investigation into the nature, structure, aims
and all other aspects of these clandestine organizations. Only Italy, Belgium and Switzerland did them,
the GHW Bush administration not commenting when it was preparing for war against Iraq, fearing it
might harm its alliance.
Gladio, however, was real, designed like Winston Churchills British Special Operations Executive (SOE)
to help anti-Nazi resistance forces carry out insurgencies in occupied territories. After NATOs 1949
creation, the so-called Clandestine Committee of the Western Union (CCWU) was secretly integrated
into its operations, by 1951 called the Clandestine Planning Committee (CPC). Then in 1957, a second
secret army called Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC) was established by NATOs Supreme Allied
Commander in Europe (SACEUR), giving America overall command and control. It relied heavily on
dedicated anti-communists, largely from the political right, including former Nazis and like-minded
terrorists, operatives to weaken the political left and neutralize and defeat Soviet Russia, ostensibly in
case of invasion, the chance for which was practically nil.
Italys Secret Army
In researching right-wing terrorism, Judge Felice Casson discovered them, their link to the political right,
and examples of their lawlessness. One instance was in 1972 when a car bomb killed three Carabinieri,
Italys parliamentary police, wrongly blamed on the Red Brigades like for other attacks carried out by
extremist anti-communist groups, blamed on the left. Right wing terrorist, Vincenzo Vinciguerra, was
later charged with the Carabinieri killings, explaining at his 1984 trial that Italys security apparatus
supported his crimes, saying: There exists in Italy a secret force parallel to the armed forces, composed
of civilians and military men, in an anti-Soviet capacity; that is, to organize a resistance on Italian soil
against a Russian army. In fact, he revealed Gladio and its link to terrorism without naming it, calling it
a secret organization, a super-organization with a network of communications, arms, and explosives,
and men trained to use them.
A 2000 parliamentary investigation concluded that operatives linked to the structures of United States
intelligence were involved in bombings, massacres, and other terrorist attacks as part of a campaign
against the political left. In 2001, General Giandelio Maletti, former Italian counterintelligence head,
confirmed CIAs involvement to do anything to stop Italy from sliding to the left.
Turkeys Secret Armies
During the Cold War, Turkey guarded a third of NATOs borders with Warsaw Pact countries. Its
Counter-Guerrilla secret army carried out some of the most sensitive missions, under the command of
Turkish special forces to organize resistance in case of a communist occupation.
According to Turkish army commander, General Semih Sancar, America financed it, committing terror
attacks against the political left, one of many occurring in 1977 in Taskim Square, Istanbul. During a mass
May 1 (May Day) trade union rally, snipers on surrounding buildings killed 38 attendees, injuring
hundreds more during a 20 minute rampage. Several thousand police on hand did nothing to intervene.
Counter-Guerrilla also engaged in torture, survivors later explaining their ordeal. Some became
outspoken critics, but never got authorities to investigate their ordeal or expose other crimes.
Spains Secret Armies
From his Spanish Civil War victory until his 1975 death, Francisco Francos fascist dictatorship ruled
Spain, his government the embodiment of Gladio, according to early 1980s prime minister Calvo Sotelo.
In his book titled, Gladio, its 1971 74 Italian commander, Gerardo Serravalle, explained that Franco
tried to establish contacts with NATOs secret army long before Spain became an official NATO member
in 1982. However, its secret service wasnt interested in a stay-behind function, but wanted a tool for
internal control to neutralizes leftist elements.
Portugals Secret Armies
Gladio was active in Portugal, the nations press telling a national audience in 1990 about a secret
network, erected at the bosom of NATO.financed by the CIA in the 1960s and 1970s. It was called
Aginter Press, involved in assassinations and other terrorist acts, internally and in Portugals African
colonies. A later Italian Senate inquiry learned that Yves Guerin-Serac, a French secret warfare specialist,
directed Aginter Press. In November 1990, Portuguese defense minister, Fernando Nogueira, insisted he
knew nothing about it, saying no information whatsoever (existed) concerning (any form of) Gladio
structure in Portugal. Italians had to confirm it, including Judge Guido Salvini, saying it conducted
secret military operations during the Cold War to defend the Western world against a probable and
imminent invasion of Europe by the troops of the Soviet Union and the other communist countries. In
fact, like other Gladio operations, it waged global war against the political left, killing thousands to
defend privilege against beneficial social change, what remains ongoing today, America its leading
exponent.
Greeces Secret Armies
In late 1944, Winston Churchill ordered a secret Greek army created to prevent leftists from gaining
power, called by various names, including the Greek Mountain Brigade, the Hellenic Raiding Force, or
Lochos Oreinon Katadromon (LOK). Field Marshall Alexander Papagos excluded almost all men with
views ranging from moderately conservative to left wing, assuring its members would be exclusively
hard right anti-communists. In 1952, Greece joined NATO and was fully integrated into its stay-behind
network, the CIA and LOK reconfirming their mutual cooperation in a secret March 25, 1955 document,
British journalist, Peter Murtagh, later learning that: The Raiding Force doubled as the Greek arm of the
clandestine pan-European guerrilla network set up in the 1950s by NATO and the CIA which was
controlled (in) Brussels by the Allied Coordination Committee. It was a stay-behind force against a
possible Soviet invasion of Europe. It would co-ordinate guerrilla activities between Soviet occupied
countries and liaise with governments in exile. According to former CIA agent Philip Agee, it also served
as a nucleus for rallying a citizen army against the threat of a leftist coup, each of several groups
capable of mobilizing and carrying on guerrilla warfare with minimal or no outside direction. Agee also
explained that Paramilitary groups, directed by CIA officers, operated in the sixties throughout Europe,
stressing that perhaps no activity of the CIA could be as clearly linked to the possibility of internal
subversion. Evidence points to LOKs involvement in the Greek April 20, 1967 coup, one month before
national elections likely to have overwhelmingly elected the left-leaning George and Andreas
Papandreous Center Union. Under NATOs Prometheus plan, LOK took over the Defense Ministry. Tanks
rolled through Athens, and rightist forces took control of communications centers, parliament, and the
royal palace, arresting over 10,000. Many were later tortured and killed. In 1990, the socialist opposition
wanted a parliamentary investigation, denied by public order minister, Yannis Vassiliadis, saying there
was no need to examine such fantasies, meaning what happened was justified.
Frances Secret Armies
Fearing a communist takeover, it was established post-WW II. Socialist interior minister, Edouard
Depreux, explained in June 1947 that: Toward the end of 1946, we got to know of the existence of a
black resistance network (a secret army), made up of resistance fighters of the extreme right, Vichy
collaborators and monarchists. They had a secret attack plan called Plan Bleu, which should have come
into action either towards the end of July or on August 6, (1947). Though public outrage closed it down,
the military secret service (Service de Documentation Exterieure et de Contre-Espionnage SDECE)
under Henri Alexis Ribiere set up another, again fearing a Soviet invasion, more likely to prevent leftists
from gaining power. In the early 1960s, it saw the de Gaulle government as a threat like the
communists, inciting some in the stay-behind network to initiate terrorist actions against his Algerian
peace plan, later confirmed in 1990 by then French military secret service, Admiral Pierre Lacoste. Even
so, he felt the stay-behind network was justified, no matter its hard right militancy. During his
presidency (from 1981 1995), President Francois Mitterrand distanced himself from the initiative,
saying in 1990: When I arrived, I didnt have much left to dissolve. There only remained a few remnants,
of which I learned the existence with some surprise because everyone had forgotten about them. Italian
Prime Minister Giulo Andreotti, however, wasnt pleased by how Mitterrand dismissed Frances
involvement, saying that far from being shut down, Frances secret army participated in a secret October
24, 1990 ACC meeting in Brussels. Mitterrand refused to comment.
Germanys Secret Armies
In 1990, when learning about Germanys secret army, socialist parliamentarian, Hermann Scheer, called
for an investigation at the highest levels saying: . the existence of an armed military secret
organization outside all governmental or parliamentary control is incompatible with the constitutional
legality, and therefore must be prosecuted (under) criminal law.
Later he stepped back after learning that socialists knew and suppressed it. At the same time, press
reports claimed right-wing extremists, including former Nazis, were part of a secret army called
Organization Gehlen (ORG, later changed to BND), named for WW II General, Reinhard Gehlen, head of
Eastern Front intelligence. He was later recruited by America to establish an anti-Soviet spy ring, and by
West Germany to head its intelligence. According to a former NATO intelligence official, Gehlen was
the spiritual father of Stay Behind in Germany.his role known to the West German leader. Konrad
Adenauer, from the outset. On September 9, 1952, former SS officer, Hans Otto, told Frankfort police
that he belong(ed) to a political resistance group, the task of which was to carry out sabotage activities
and blow up bridges in case of a Soviet invasion, adding that while neo-fascist tendencies were not
required, most members had them. In addition, financing was provided by an American citizen
(named) Sterling Garwood.
Otto said the initiative was code-named Technischer Dienst des Bundes Deutscher Jugend (TD BDJ),
commanded by Erhard Peters, and financed by the CIA. It had a blacklist of leftists to be assassinated in
case of an emergency, perhaps manufactured ones to do it anyway. Though officials like August Zinn,
Hessen state Prime Minister, were outraged and wanted members investigated, the highest Karlsruhe
court, Bundesgerichshof (BGH), ordered all TD BDJ members released, Zinn believing The only legal
(reason was that) they acted (in response to) America(s) direction.
Austrias Secret Armies
In 1947, Austrias first secret army became known when a right-wing stay-behind network was
discovered. The so-called Soucek-Rossner conspiracy resulted in a number of arrests, Soucek and
Rossner testifying that they had recruited and trained right-wing partisans to prepare for a Soviet
invasion, insisting Washington and Britain had full knowledge and approved. Nonetheless, both men
were convicted and sentenced to death in 1949, yet were mysteriously pardoned by Chancellor Theodor
Korner, perhaps following CIA orders. Thereafter, senior Austrian officials approved of a stay-behind
army and began cooperating with the CIA and MI6. Franz Olah set one up, code-named Osterreichischer
Wander-Sport-und Geselligkeitsverein (OWSGV), later saying special units were trained in the use of
weapons and plastic explosives. His prime motive was to prevent a leftist takeover, explaining: It wasnt
our intention to fight communism in the Soviet Union but to fight against internal leftist elements. We
took weapons. We also had modern plastic explosives that were easy to handle. I had a small arsenal of
weapons in my office. There must have been a couple of thousand people working for us.Only very,
very highly positioned politicians and some members of the union knew about it.
In 1996, the Boston Globe revealed the existence of secret CIA arms caches in Austria, President Thomas
Klestil and Chancellor Franz Vranistzky insisting they knew nothing about it or the existence of a secret
army. Clintons State Department spokesman, Nicholas Burns, called their aim noble, admitting that
similar networks operated in other European countries. In August 2001, GW Bush appointed Burns US
Permanent Representative to NATO, where he headed the combined State-Defense Department US
Mission and coordinated NATOs response to the 9/11 attacks.
Switzerlands Secret Armies
Despite its neutrality, a 1990 parliamentary investigation revealed a secret stay-behind army, code-
named Special Service, then P26, operating within the Swiss military secret service Untergruppe
Nachrichtendienst und Abwehr (UNA), during most of the Cold War. Yet Switzerland experienced no
terrorist attacks or coup threats throughout the period, so why the need for extremism? Parliamentary
commission Senator, Carlo Schmid, said he was shocked that something like this went on, calling it
conspiratorial.like a black shadow. A judicial investigation, headed by Judge Pierre Cornu, was
charged to learn if Swiss neutrality was violated. Evidence confirmed that P26 cooperated closely with
Britains MI6 and other UK intelligence, concluding, however, that no Swiss laws were broken, whether
or not true.
Belgiums Secret Armies
On November 7, 1990, socialist defense minister, Guy Coeme, told a national TV audience that a NATO-
linked secret army operated covertly throughout the Cold War, adding: I want to know whether there
exists a link between the activities of this secret network, and the wave of crime and terror which our
country suffered from during the past years.
A parliamentary investigation followed, Belgiums Senate confirming that its secret army consisted of
two branches, called SDRA8 and STC/Mob, the former a military unit within Belgiums military secret
Service General du Renseignement (SGR) under the Defense Ministry. Its members were trained in
unorthodox warfare, combat, sabotage, parachute jumping, and maritime operations.
STC/Mob was part of the civilian secret service Surete de LEtat (Surete), under the ministry of justice.
Its members were technicians, trained in radio operations and intelligence gathering under enemy
occupation conditions. While senators obtained good information on the stay-behind armies structure,
they learned little about their involvement in terrorist operations, including so-called Brabant massacres
from 1983 85, killing 28 and injuring many more. Despite exerting enormous pressure, they never got
names of key operatives or who carried out the Brabant terror.
Netherlands Secret Armies
Like Belgium, it had two branches, one called Operations (O for short), directed by Louis Einthoven, a
staunch anti-communist, to carry out sabotage, guerrilla operations, and building a local resistance. The
other was called Intelligence (or I), established post-WW II by JM Somer, but led by JJL Baron van
Lynden, responsible for intelligence gathering and dissemination to those with a need to know.
Dutch parliamentarians werent happy about keeping them out of the loop, but never ordered
investigations into what clearly was an abuse of power.
Luxembourgs Secret Armies
On November 14, 1990, Luxembourgs Prime Minister Jacaques Santer told his parliament: all NATO
countries in central Europe have taken part in these preparations, and Luxembourg could not have
escaped this international solidarity, explaining that the Service de Renseignements (its secret service)
ran the network in peacetime, but wasnt linked to terrorism or other abuses of power.
Denmarks Secret Armies
Code-named Absalon, EJ Harder led it, an unnamed network member explaining: There were twelve
districts, structured according to the cell principle, but not as tightly organized as during the War. Also,
there were no alleged terrorist links, yet another member said its mission was to act in case of a Soviet
invasion as well as prevent leftists from gaining power, both called a clear and present danger. As in
other countries, operations were secret. Its members were ninety-five per cent.military, conservative,
and staunchly anti-communist.
Norways Secret Armies
After European secret armies became known in 1990, journalists asked Norways Defense Ministry for
an explanation, its spokesman, Erik Senstad, saying only that they were essential to the countrys
security. Code-named Rocambole (ROC), it was run by Norways secret service (NIS), its
philosophy.based on the lessons learned during the German occupation, to prepare for a potential
future one, and like elsewhere to prevent leftists from gaining power. Cooperation with the CIA, MI6,
and NATO was intense, but not without controversy, one example being NATO ordering intelligence
conducted on anti-NATO Norwegians with strong pacifist convictions. Clearly, Norways sovereignty was
breached, enough to get Brigadier Simon, chief of NATOs Special Projects Branch, to apologize and
promise to end to these type operations.
Swedens Secret Armies
Swedens Sakerhetspolis (SAPO), its security police, helped recruit it, working with Britains MI6 to learn
how to use dead letter box techniques to receive and send secret messages, as well as intelligence
gathering and ways to deal with emergency situations. Swedish officials never provided details, denied
any link to NATO or CIA, but the Agencys operative, Paul Garbler, explained that Sweden was a direct
participant in the network, adding: Im not able to talk about it without causing the Swedes a good
deal of heartburn, clearly suggesting disturbing abuses of power, possibly including the 1986
assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme, a staunch anti-nuclear proponent, wanting Scandinavia
freed from nuclear weapons.
Finlands Secret Armies
As the only Western European country invaded by the Soviet Union during the so-called Winter War
(November 30, 1939 March 13, 1940), Finland lost 20% of its forces and 16,000 square miles of
territory. Its why Finns sided with the Nazis, to regain its land and prevent this happening again.
During the Cold War, Finlands border with Soviet Russia was guarded by fences, land mines, and regular
patrols. Also, a secret Western-linked resistance organization existed, made up largely of retired Finnish
army officers armed, trained, CIA-funded and equipped, and ready to respond in case history
repeated. Secrecy was extremely tight, no one talking about what they did or why. Even Finlands
government was kept out of the loop.
The Russian counter forces "Spetzalnava naznasehchenia than and now
A military bus stops at the gate of an American Army training camp in Germany. The guards, assuming it
is bringing back personnel from town, approach the bus and are about to perform their routine checks,
when they are shot down by bursts of fire from silenced weapons. As the bus drives on, members of the
two special forces inside put on their gas-masks. The sentry guards at the discharge ramps of the
Pershing-II atomic missiles based in the camp, die within a few minutes under an invisible cloud of
nerve-gas. The ramps are then rendered useless. A second Pershing base in Heilbronn falls in a similar
way. At the same time, five important NATO telecommunication systems are being destroyed - one in
Maastricht, Holland, and the others in Brfink, Kindsbach, Maweiler and Vogelweh in the Federal
Republic of Germany. There is tremendous confusion in NATO's High Command in Brussels. Numerous
high officers and politicians are unreachable. Some are found dead in their homes. Near Keflavik in
Iceland, a main submarine defense base of the Atlantic Alliance, some divers appear out of the waves.
Using equipment previously planted on the sea bed, they destroy information and telecommunication
posts. None of the NATO countries are being spared, not even the neutral ones. In Stockholm, after
heavy shooting near the palace, the Swedish royal family are kidnapped by agents who were lying in
wait until they received the green light from their counterparts in the city. The elite of the Soviet special
commandos could, with the help of undercover secret agents, put NATO in a catastrophic situation with
one blow. How would the West, with a shattered arsenal of atomic weapons, heavily damaged
Intelligence Service connections and diminished leadership, stop a major Soviet attack on Western
Europe?
Even though all this might be a hypothetical test, it is serious in its planning. General Potr Ivanovitch
Ivachutin, the bullnecked, almost bald Commander of the Soviet Military Secret Service (GRU), has over
30,000 men and women specially trained for such tasks. For a long time the Western Secret Services did
not know of the existence and build-up of these special troops, who were responsible for incidents like
the assassination of the Afghan President in 1979, and the suffocation of anti-Soviet initiatives in
Bulgaria in the mid-1960's. Now it is well known what danger they present and what their official name
is: Speznas - in NATO English, Spetsnaz - a combination of the words "Spetzalnava naznasehchenia",
which roughly means troops for special purposes.
"The setting up of 'Spetsnaz' troops is a particularly threatening aspect of the increasing military
strength of the Soviet Union," says the Deputy Secretary of State in the US Ministry of Defence, Noel
Koch. "It is meant to destroy the adversary's infra-structure and kill key people. In the case of war, this
element of the Soviet Power apparatus could overthrow the strategic concept of NATO and even the
one of the United States."
A typical Spetsnaz unit consists of two officers of differing ranks, one radio operator, and one
paramedic, as well as at least two sabotage and four reconnaissance specialists. Part of their equipment
is usually a type of missile (a so-called impulse bundle sender), which relays coded messages bit by bit
via satellite to the central office, together with a list of further targets for sabotage and reconnaissance
commandos. One hundred such units make a Spetsnaz brigade; each brigade has ten superior elite units
available, consisting exclusively of active officers, whose main task is the assassination of hostile leaders.
According to estimates by the American Secret Service, Spetsnaz have a total war force of twenty
brigades each of 900 to 1,200 men strong, and in addition, at least four marine brigades. To be chosen
for a Spetsnaz unit is a great honor. "Only those who have been proven to the core are chosen," says a
deserter of the GRU, who now lives in England under the pseudonym, Victor Suvorov. He states (this has
been confirmed by secret service sources) that many of the existing Soviet sportsmen, i.e. Olympic
competitors, are Spetsnaz people. International competitions not only give them the opportunity to
improve their shooting, skiing and swimming skills, but also give them the chance to get to know the
countries better to which they might one day be assigned as saboteurs.
Spetsnaz officers and soldiers receive better wages, rations and more holidays than other army
members. They are also promoted quicker and can retire earlier. On the other hand, much is required of
them. For survival training they are dropped in isolated areas where they have to survive on their own
for days or weeks, often without even sleeping-bags. In combat, every Spetsnaz soldier has a light
automatic Kalaschnikov rifle with 300 bullets and a bayonet (which can also be used as a saw and wire-
cutters), a P6 pistol with silencer, six hand grenades or a fire cup for rifle grenades, as well as a James
Bond style knife which, by pressing a button, silently shoots out a deadly blade to a distance of ten
meters. The Spetsnaz troops apply the most brutal methods. One of their main training centers -
Scheltia Vodij in the Ukraine - lies near a concentration camp where the prisoners are, according to
Suvorov, used for close combat training, i.e. beaten up, kicked and often mutilated. "That is, of course,
much more real than only stabbing sandbags," he says. Sabotage and Murderous Assaults. Intelligence
service reports about a secret Spetsnaz training camp west of the Urals clearly state that maneuvers
against American and NATO objectives are being practiced. There are replicas of commercial planes (to
practise kidnappings), American and French jet-fighters, discharge ramps for nuclear weapons, Pershing
missiles and ground supported projectiles. Strangely, a model of these American Pershing-II missiles
already stood in this Soviet training camp before they were even stationed in the Federal Republic of
Germany in 1983. In the eventuality of war, Spetsnaz troops would have already moved into Western
Europe and the United States before a Soviet declaration of war. They would come in the dead of night
with parachutes and midget-submarines, or as divers; at the same time an unusual number of Soviet
sporting and cultural delegations would visit those countries chosen as targets for future invasions.
Personnel of the Soviet Embassies and Consulates would be reinforced with young men and women of
extraordinary physical fitness, who would work as guards, chauffeurs and gardeners.
They would call into action the so-called "sleeping" agents who had already settled a long time
beforehand around the military bases, weapons depots and telecommunication centers. They would
observe the situation, report about what they had seen and give shelter to the Spetsnaz troops, if
necessary. If the Soviets wanted to launch a surprise attack, the troops would mark or attack nuclear
weapon stations, immobilize command and control systems, disable military bases, destroy power
stations and radio networks, as well as assassinate top politicians and high officers. Assassinations are
normally the nucleus of Soviet "blitz" war planning. As the atomic weapons of NATO are only allowed to
be activated after agreement by the political leadership, the removal of these leaders would drastically
delay an atomic counter-attack. "The Soviet Union must disable the political decision-making centers of
the leading NATO states within the shortest possible period of time," says C. N. Donnelly, the leader of
the Soviet Union Research Centre of the Royal British Military Academy. This audacious strategy takes
advantage of the slow decision-making process within NATO. The structure of the Alliance firstly
demands a mutual consultation of all sixteen member states. Apart from this, the mobilization of the
front-line of defense takes several days. This means the lorries which pick up the nuclear warheads from
the Western European depots have to wait their turn, then have to transport the dangerous freight on
public roads to their destinations providing an ideal target for Spetsnaz attacks. "The major danger is not
a grand invasion," as the British Defense Minister found out in 1984, "but the specially trained sabotage
troops."
According to the findings of the American Secret Service, the Russians have already made use of
Spetsnaz units for years. John Dziak of the American Defense Ministry Secret Service, writes in his book
Special Operations in U.S. Strategy: "When the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, Prague
airport was occupied by Spetsnaz troops as ordered by the KGB. Party leader, Alexander Dubcek, was
arrested and deported to Moscow. Other enemies on the KGB list were annihilated." The invasion of
Afghanistan, in Christmas 1979, was a classic Spetsnaz operation. High officers in the Afghan army were
lured to a reception held in honor of the "Afghan-Soviet friendship". They were then locked into the
banqueting hall and slaughtered by a Spetsnaz unit.
The main task of the Spetsnaz force, a group of several hundred men who had been flown into Kabul
was, according to the KGB-deserter Major Vladimir Kuszetschkin, the murder of the president Hafisullah
Amin. On December 27th, Spetsnaz troops in Afghan uniforms attacked the Daulaman Palace from three
sides. Led by the KGB, they forced their way through to Amin and killed him, his family and bodyguards.
According to secret service reports from the West, which obtains information mainly from intercepted
radio messages and statements by fugitives and deserters, Afghanistan is the centre of current Spetsnaz
operations.
"The costs arising from the war with Afghanistan are high," says Dziak, "but it is the first opportunity
since the 2nd World War for the Soviet military to exercise their armed forces in a real situation."
Careful Planning. According to the American former Defense Minister, John Marsh, "The influence of
the Spetsnaz troops reach far beyond the borders of the Soviet Union. They are an excellent instrument
for the furtherance of the revolution thanks to their unconventional warfare tactics." Not only Afghan
soldiers, but also soldiers from Cuba and other Third World countries have been in Spetsnaz-Training
camps in the USSR. Spetsnaz units are regularly deployed to test the reaction capacity of the Western
Secret Service and military. The Soviets particularly like to use a midget-submarine for this purpose. It
has caterpillar tracks similar to those on tanks, enabling them to drive on the sea bed. Using this they
spy on Swedish naval bases, looking for suitable landing grounds for their combat swimmers. At one
point, they managed to get within 1.5 kilometres of the Stockholm shelf.
In March 1984, the Swedish army chased Spetsnaz frogmen near a major naval base with machine-gun
fire and hand grenades. Not long ago, such submarines were sighted near the straits of Gibraltar and
caterpillar tracks were discovered on the sea bed near Japanese naval bases. The well-known military
expert Edward Luttwak, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown
University in Washington, sees these Spetsnaz operations as, "a further sign of the care with which the
Soviet Union prepare their plans of attack."
The Western European countries in NATO are already focusing on the existence of Spetsnaz troops.
Great Britain is in the process of reinforcing their Territorial Army. In addition the British have, through
the Home Service Force, produced another instrument of national defense and improved methods of
protection for vital installations. This seems to be within good reason as can be seen in an article from
Jane's Defense Weekly in January which states: "The Soviet Union keep a command of female
Spetsnaz soldiers at the air base in Greenham Common, since land-operated Tomahawk weapons from
the American Air force were stationed there in December 1983. According to statements made by Soviet
deserters, trained female agents infiltrated the ranks of protesters and took part in all the events." The
American Ministry of Defense believes that a variety of measures are necessary to put a stop to the
practices of Spetsnaz troops. First of all, people affected, like top officials in public life, would have to be
informed of their combat tactics. Offices and organizations like the criminal investigation police and
border police of the United States, whose field of investigation would include tracking down and
engaging Spetsnaz troops in combat, would have to know exactly what to look out for. Finally, intensive
work would have to be carried out to obtain information about Spetsnaz in order to find out early
enough how, when, and where these troops might strike next.
"Spetsnaz came into being very quickly and we are only now realizing the danger it presents to us," says
the Deputy Secretary of State Noel Koch. "In order to be prepared for it we have to improve our security
precautions drastically."
A Final Comment
Until made public in 1990, Western Europes secret armies remained a closely held secret to defend
capitalism against communism as well as the other way around and the political left or right, individual
countries having discretion on their operations, some mainly or entirely stay-behind, others involved
with terrorism. The former group included Denmark, Finland, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland,
Austria, and the Netherlands. In contrast, Italy, Turkey, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and
Sweden actively engaged in state organized terrorism, including against their own citizens to hype fear.
During the last few years, Western intelligence agents have collected information about a large, hard-
core Russian underground army. In the advent of a 3rd World War, they will prepare the way for an
attack on Western Europe and, perhaps, the whole of the free world. In this text, I gave an extensive
overview of these alarming facts.
Source: 'The Best of The Reader's Digest'

Mircea Halaciuga, Esq
Tel. 040.724581078