late 1940s-1990s, Europe:  Building Right Wing Terror Groups - "Operation Gladio"

 Allen Dulles, the first CIA chief, is said to have planned "Operation Stay Behind" at the end of WWII to build secret anti-communist guerrilla forces in Europe.  Dulles, Stewart Menzies (U.K. Security Intelligence Service) and Belgian Premier Paul Spaak codified the plan (1949-1952) under the Clandestine Coordinating Committee, at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (which became NATO).

 Source: Searchlight, Jan.1991. users.westnet.gr/~cgian/gladio.htm

So called "Stay Behind" organizations were secretly created in most countries of Western Europe, including:  Austria (Schwert), Belgium (Sdra-8), Britain (Stay Behind), Denmark, France (Glaive), Germany, Greece (Operation Sheepskin), Holland, Italy (Gladio), Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden (Sveaborg), Switzerland (P26) and Turkey (Special War Department).

 Source: "Operation Gladio." users.westnet.gr/~cgian/gladio.htm

EU Resolution (1990) on "Operation Gladio" (i.e., sword)

 For over 40 years, a clandestine parallel intelligence and armed operations organization [has existed] in several Member States of the EU.  This organization has escaped all democratic controls and has been run by secret services and NATO.  This clandestine network may have interfered illegally in the internal political affairs of EU countries or may still do so.  In some EU countries, military secret services (or uncontrolled branches thereof) were involved in serious cases of terrorism and crime, as evidenced by various judicial inquiries.  These organizations operated and continue to operate completely outside the law and are not subject to parliamentary control.  Frequently, those holding the highest government and constitutional posts are kept in the dark.  'Gladio' organizations have independent arsenals and military resources giving them an unknown strike potential.  This jeopardizes the democratic structures of countries in which they are, or have been, operating. 

 [The EU:]

(1) Condemns the clandestine creation of manipulative and operational networks and calls for a full investigation into the nature, structure, aims and all other aspects of these clandestine organizations or any splinter groups, their use for illegal interference in the internal political affairs of the countries concerned, the problem of terrorism in Europe and the possible collusion of secret services of Member States or third countries;

 (2) Protests vigorously the assumption by certain U.S. military personnel at SHAPE and NATO of the right to encourage a clandestine intelligence and operation network in Europe;

 (3) Calls on EU governments to dismantle all clandestine military and paramilitary networks;

 (4) Calls on judiciaries of countries to elucidate fully the composition and modus operandi of such military organizations and to clarify actions they may have taken to destabilize the democratic structures of the Member States;

 (5) Requests all EU States to monitor organizations active in this field and to their links with the respective state intelligence services and their links, if any, with terrorist action groups and/or other illegal practices;

 (6) Calls on the Council of Ministers to provide information on these secret intelligence and operational services;

 (7) Calls on its competent committee to consider holding a hearing in order to clarify the role and impact of the 'Gladio' organization and any similar bodies;

 (8) Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the NATO's Secretary-General, the governments of EU States and the U.S.

Source: "Resolution of the EU Parliament, Dec. 22, 1990." 

For more details, search www.statewatch.org