Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that was planned by the Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO, for a potential Warsaw Pact invasion and conquest in Europe. Although Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATO stay-behind organizations, "Operation Gladio" is used as an informal name for all of them. Stay-behind operations were prepared in many NATO member countries, and some neutral countries.
The role of the CIA in Gladio and the extent of its activities during the Cold War era, and any relationship to terrorist attacks perpetrated in Italy during the "Years of Lead" (late 1960s to early 1980s) are the subject of debate. Switzerland and Belgium have had parliamentary inquiries into the matter.
Some allegations have been stated to derive from Communist black propaganda, such as from the "U.S. Army Field Manual 30-31B" or the "Westmoreland Field Manual", stated to be "a singularly effective forgery by the KGB".
