Newsgroup: it.cultura.storia
Titolo: ITALIAN PLAN TO BETRAY NATO REVEALED

Venice , (Italy)14 Aprile 97- That the Italian government and defence ministry 
had prepared
contingency plans in the early 1970's to betray NATO and turn over NATO 
instalations and
material to Soviet or Warsaw pact forces in the event of war in Europe was 
revealed by a retired
high-ranking Italian air-force officer last week during an interview with 
several free-lance
giornalists near Venice, Italy. The now retired officer, once of the Italian 
1st Air Brigade of Padua,
Italy, served for many years in logistical and security roles in several of the 
small air-defence bases
that hosted US and NATO troops and equipment up until the mid 1980's. "Foxtrot 
Plan", as he
expained , was to be utilized in the case that a Warsaw pact victory became 
probable, which many
in Rome believed possibile. "Many in Rome openly expressed the opinion that it 
was better to
loose a war to the Americans than to the Russians" he recalled; "The Americans 
don't put you in
gulags like the Russians do; they give you money". To avoid massive military 
invasion of Italian
territory by Soviet-warsaw pact troops and help garantee Italian "post-war 
independence" or
"special consideration" , the Italian government, together with an immediate 
declaration of
"neutrality" or "non aligned-nation status" forsaw the possibility of utilizing 
Italian military
forces to seize strategic US and NATO air defence and communications sites in 
northern Italy and
to turn them over to Soviet forces. This was to avoid conflict with the Warsaw 
pact nations and to
limit Soviet military occupation to a "temporary limited non-belligerent 
occupation" of the
Lombardia, Veneto and Friuli regions in northern Italy, where most of the 
strategic Nato bases
where located, and in particular the Brennero pass. The plan was looked upon 
positivly both by
PCI parlimentary members for "political opportunism with a natural ally, the 
USSR" as well as
by majority Christian-Democrates for the "best interests of the political 
class". However, the
Colonel stated, US counterintelligence sources were believed to have become 
aware of the plan in
the mid 1970's when US specialists assigned to an Italian Air force gruppo near 
Vicenza
discovered the existence of a classified security plan , prepared by higher 
authorities (in Rome),
that could be used to prevent them from having access to their secured areas. 
He also spoke of the
so-called "Gladio"organization and it's communist counter-part. "Left-wing 
journalists have led
the people to believe that"Gladio" was to be used to eliminate communist party 
members ;
nothing could be further from the truth" he explained. "In the 1960's it was 
opinion in high-levels
that Soviet troops would have over-run most of Italy within the 1st 48 hours of 
a conflict. "
"Gladio was simply a normal plan to utilize US troops that could not be 
withdrawn in time, to
"stay-behind" together with Italian citizens recruited and trained to act as 
auxiliaries for logistical
help, to await the arrival of US special forces and act as partisans to prepare 
the way for the allies
return, much as in France during the last war". "The real threat," the colonel 
continued, "was
constitued by the Italian Communist Parties'(PCI) clandestine organizations, 
which has existed in
various forms since the 1950's. " "It was known both in Nato and in Rome that 
Soviet SPEZNAZ
special troops, under the cover of truck drivers for Eastern-European and 
Soviet transportation
companies, were familiarized with the locations of Nato instalations and the 
surrounding area.
Their role was to "neutralize" US and Nato key personell and damage radar and 
communications
equipment just prior to the opening of hostilities. PCI cells located near NATO 
bases where tasked
with providing them with logistical and intelligence support, as well as 
keeping lists of US and
Nato key personel and their residences, and to organize "peace marches"to block 
movements of
Nato troops and material." "Some of the cell members, having less than 50 or 60 
years of age, are
now in politics at various levels"he laughingly stated. When questioned about 
the Ustica air
disaster of 1980, he replied "In Rome they know everything, have always known 
everything, more
than any other government in the world".
M.R.
http://qvartnadecet.mkn.co.uk/help/extra/people/italian

 gulags like the Russians do; they give you money". 
Questa addirittura era una vecchia barzelleta ripresa da L. De Crescenzo
su "Cosi parlò Bellavista..."  via, non esageriamo !!!!