Operation Gladio

This BBC article on the release of Mehmet Ali Agca, attempted murderer of Pope John Paul II, connects him to a fascinating bit of Cold War history with which I was, up until recently, unfamiliar:

The Grey Wolves group, with which he was associated at the time of the shooting, was linked to an underground network known as Gladio.

This was set up with CIA support in a number of European countries during the Cold War to prepare resistance to a possible Soviet invasion.

In both Italy and Turkey, Gladio networks are believed to have been behind numerous bombings and assassinations.

In Italy, the networks have been exposed and dismantled; in Turkey, they are still widely believed to exist as a so-called "deep state", with support from elements of the military.

There are ongoing trials of dozens of people accused of involvement in illegal, deep-state activities.

Agca was certainly helped to escape from prison in 1979 by his guards and some well-known underground right-wing figures. He was given false passports and enough funds to enable him to travel around Europe for several months before the attempted assassination.

Gladio came to my attention in connection with the Propaganda Due Masonic Lodge scandal in Italy, a massive affair implicating most of the upper levels of Italian public life, and entangling any number of other people in the tendrils of its reach. Anyone interested in one possible account of both these affairs from the perspective of Catholic internal politics should check out this novel--the sort of book Dan Brown dreams of being able to write. I should caution you, though--the author's a liar.