OPERATION GLADIO Exposed with COLONEL TOWNER in The Skorzeny Papers Chapter 14

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0:06 OK, let's see if that worked. I had to basically restart the computer. So let's try that. Can you hear that? Yes. All right. Good. We're off and running. Sorry about that, guys. For some reason, the stream yard wasn't flowing over to rumble. I don't know what the problem was. So as long as we got it running, hopefully my video will come up.

0:50 shortly. So I wanted to point out the fact that Warhamster and I produced another podcast today that talks about multiple levels of or prongs of the power wand that most countries waive and his expertise in the

1:22 banking industry. And my military background kind of is a great fit for talking about stuff like that. He spent a lot of years on Wall Street and he talks about different legal frameworks that are used as a bludgeon, which it's kind of the difference between the kinetic power and

1:54 The economic power when they use them all against smaller countries and they basically gang up on them. It's just a very interesting. He has lots of details about how they do this and the different international trade. And one of the things that Trump did, as Warhamster points out, is he was renegotiating.

2:24 trade deals, getting that club for smaller nations out of it. And that significantly pissed off the international syndicate because they use them to bludgeon their way into markets. And they also use them to sue countries.

2:43 And it's just fascinating what they have set up and how they're able to strong arm companies or countries. And when you realize what they have done and you start looking at the different things that Trump was doing, you understand perfectly just how intimidating Trump was to all of them and all of their little fiefdoms. So I found the whole topic very interesting. I didn't add a lot as far as.

3:10 the main topics, just how it kind of folds in and is a replica of what I refer to Operation Gladio as kind of the kinetics, the paramilitary aspect of the national international syndicate, but they also have other sophisticated tools to use. So I hope y'all enjoy it. I will make sure that I posted it on both X and True Social.

3:39 So we're going to dive into our book. We left off where James Angleton and Skorzeny had met each other and stuff that was going on in Egypt at the time. And now we're going to go into Chapter 14, which is Skorzeny's School of Combat Commando Tactics. So Skorzeny is working with the French intelligence in 1949.

4:09 All of his activities centers on setting up a Europe-wide quote-unquote anti-communist, but it's basically Gladio, stay behind force. Also, he mentions Donovan's secret paramilitary group in support of Compass Rose. I'm not convinced they're different. I know he tries to delineate the two of them, but the more and more I read in this book in the context in which he's using them,

4:39 I think he's making a distinction without an actual difference because it's all basically Gladio. The paramilitary groups are part of the stay-behind units. So by about 1951, the Donovan empire that he has created was either

5:04 disbanded or reorganized as far as what had been left over from the OSS. Skorzeny's group seems to have been established as trainers and advisors. So keep in mind that we had two organizations under NATO. One was called the Clandestine Planning Committee, and the other one was Allied Clandestine Committee, ACC. Both of those operated inside of NATO.

5:35 They also had a U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group, or the MAGS, which was kind of an operational cover, if you will, because you saw the MAGS over in Vietnam during that period, too. So that's kind of just an overall umbrella organization of which you can put all of these different covert and overt missions.

6:02 they were using this mag apparatus to get weapons, equipment, training for all of these Gladio people. Because in many cases, it was the perfect cover because you have all of France, all of Germany, and all of the countries were basically having...

6:25 Italy, I mean, they were, their military for the most part was completely wiped out because it had been under Mussolini's command. So they're basically having to reconstitute their entire military. And in the case of Portugal and Spain, they were under dictatorships at the time and supposedly neutral, although they weren't. So being able...

6:51 Being able to set up all of these training sites, you had the perfect cover for training not only military official forces, but all of the stay-behind units as well, because nobody was keeping track. So Skorzeny's men, who acted as key instructors, being trained at the covert units and special clandestine assignments, this training was very much like the OSS Camp X, which also included how to commit.

7:22 assassinations. The MAG interacted with Skorzeny at paramilitary commando training sites set up in Spain and other places. There was a Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Herbert who attended several of these training camps in 1960. He referred to them collectively as Skorzeny School of Commando Tactics. Skorzeny's connection to MAG is a vital important component of his clandestine relationship with the United States.

7:53 Authorization for these mags and Skorzeny's interaction with them came from the highest levels of government. Because you are employing a former Nazi to train paramilitary forces. Not a little thing. Other countries also knew about these camps, which included France, Great Britain, and Spain. And Italy did too. Skorzeny would...

8:22 continued to be associated with MAG well into the 1970s. And that just blows my mind. The United States began making overtures of normalizing relationships with Spain, which is a big deal because, again, Spain is currently under the dictatorship of Franco. It is not a democracy. It has horrendous human rights.

8:52 abuses going on. So the fact that they start making amends, because that's the only place they could hide Skorzeny and have top cover for him to operate out of. So of course, they have to then make amends to Spain. So Spain actually becomes very important in its access, if you look at it on a map, to Northern Africa, as does Italy.

9:23 The two major motivations for Spain to seek close relationships with the U.S. was the defense against communism and perhaps most importantly, the country's struggling economy. Politically, tensions ran high. The U.S. government, due to Spain's neutral stance in the previous war, World War II, and the fact that they have a dictator. So there was also Spanish people that fought on German side in a...

9:54 quote-unquote blue division, they actually fought for Germany on the Russian front. So yeah, another sticking point. Inroads into improving the U.S.-Spanish relationship began in 1951, mainly through their military engagement. There also was some economic incentives that was thrown in. Seemingly reluctant President Truman consented to these negotiations, saying, I don't like Franco and I never will.

10:26 but I won't let my personal feelings override my convictions of you military men. Later, with the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower, more urgency went into the process of normalizing relationships with Spain. Because again, Eisenhower is 100% behind these stay-behind units and was part of the entire creation of them.

10:52 Eisenhower did not need convincing of the logic of a strong relationship with Spain. So they entice him with USAID, you know, because we buy our friends. And the Spanish government became full partners with the United States in basically Operation Gladio. This greatly boosted Spain's prestige on the world front and became the first steps to full membership in NATO. And don't think that NATO...

11:24 would not have them as part of their structure just because they happen to have a dictator, a fascist dictator, not unlike Hitler, in charge of their government because they already admitted Portugal and Portugal had a fascist dictator in charge of it too. So they don't really have any standards. So basically the MAG that they set up,

12:02 to kind of be the umbrella will they have them in nato countries of europe and all over south africa or africa in general south america and the far east and as i mentioned they had the one in vietnam as well they play

12:26 a technical assistance with arm cells, maintenance programs, and military training. They go into tactics, combat techniques, and military procedures. They're kind of supposed to be like a big brother in making sure all of the different countries' military tactics and operational strategies are compatible with each other in case you ever have to go to war together. That's kind of what they're for. And if you buy military weapons,

12:56 from the United States. These MAGs are the ones that train in-country the people to do that. The MAGs have important authority that are embedded in them, and there is also oftentimes CIA operatives embedded in them that handle kind of the bigger picture other than just the technical military training.

13:25 The fusion of military trainers and CIA operatives in MAGS are oftentimes used for covert operations as well. This usage was authorized by U.S. Government Directive NFC 10-2 in 1948. Importantly, the CIA integration with MAGS was a state secret and not known to the public or even to most military forces. In reality, the MAG program was a subset of an overall

13:54 military assistance program, a vital component of a comprehensive European recovery plan under the Marshall Plan. It was a highly classified project at the time. The CIA operations frequently cut across bureaucratic lines. The chief mag in each country was generally a general officer who was the senior military advisor to the commander, or I'm sorry, to the ambassador. The mag chief also worked closely with other senior leaders.

14:22 who implemented a non-military security program like economic cooperation programs and other types of security. Skorzeny's relationship with the CIA is in vital importance when you look at it under the auspices of these mags being a CIA cover operation. Much of the business dealings Skorzeny had with the U.S. and Spain, as evidenced in his papers, was carried out under the auspices

14:51 Of these economic. Excuse me. Hold on just a second. The. Economic cooperation agency. So he's going to do a lot of business. So this economic. Cooperation agency is basically operating as another CIA front company. There's so many. So.

15:20 Another way of embedding covert operations into countries is through the Economic Cooperation Agency. It was established in 1948. Oh, isn't that a coincidence? That's when we're setting up all the state behind units. The Economic Cooperation Agency helped Europe recover from World War II, but also served as a political counterweight to Soviet propaganda. It served as a cover for clandestine programs for U.S. intelligence.

15:51 The specific contracts in Skorzeny's papers, such as his dealings with the railroad equipment, were all ECA projects where he could carry out clandestine work on behalf of the CIA. The ECA underwent another name change to Mutual Security Agency, and then in 1955, it became the International Cooperation Administration, the ICA, which I've heard of that. It also expanded its support.

16:20 to the CIA, which was masked within the ICA structure. Tasked by the National Security Council, the CIA mission within the ICA was to deal with communist-inspired insurgencies and oversee the overseas internal security program to assist foreign countries in resisting communism. But let me just tell you right now, the majority of them never...

16:49 didn't ever have anything to do with communism. These were all used for internal suppression of dissent in any way to Western authority. According to Robert Amory, the CIA had 33 employees integrated into the ICA who were a highly trained nucleus of counter subversive specialists. The ICA was replaced by the U.S.

17:17 AID in 1961. So every iteration of what we use today and we talk about all the time of the USAID has been a CIA front to include the current USAID. Everything about that program is used to manipulate other countries and to embed CIA agents into those countries.

17:46 So that they can spy on them. That's what USAID is. It's what it's always been from its beginning. The Skorzeny papers confirm he dealt directly with Arthur Emmons, E-M-N-O-N-S, an ICA representative on the embassy staff for many years. The U.S. government weighed the different aid options in the implementation of the MAG programs. Colonel Fletcher Prouty.

18:16 who was a military liaison with the CIA for many years. He worked with this particular program in the 1950s and summed it up as, quote, in some countries, encouragement and perhaps minor technical assistance to recipient governments may suffice. In others, direct military assistance may be appropriate. While elsewhere, the answer may be in the ICA programs under MAG supervision, unquote.

18:44 In April 1953, the Eisenhower administration sent Ambassador James Dunn to Spain with orders to speed everything up. Negotiations then proceeded at a much more rapid pace. They were headed by Major General August Kistner, K-I-S-S-N-E-R, who was the commander of Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group in Spain. The man who oversaw the day-to-day running of the MAG was Army Brigadier General

19:14 Earl Berquist. B-E-R-G-Q-U-I-S-T. These guys obviously both had just came out of World War II. Under the agreement signed by Spain, the Department of the Air Force was the lead agency for a massive base construction program. So they're going to start building bases in Spain. Madrid, Seville, Saragossa, other air...

19:46 would be established in Spanish Morocco, because Morocco at the time was a colony of Spain. Eventually, 16th Air Force would be stationed in the country, and 16th Air Force was part of the legendary Strategic Air Command. Squadrons of nuclear B-47 were maintained at these new bases, placed on rotational alert until April 1965.

20:18 Other undertakings included a major U.S. Navy port at Rota, Spain, while the U.S. Army dispatched advisors to work directly with the Spanish Army. Now, what's interesting, I know this is just so close to home for me. When I was stationed in Italy, our higher headquarters was 16th Air Force in Madrid. I've been to all of these bases.

20:47 Cerro Goza, I've been to Rota. Rota is still used as most of the bases in Spain has closed, but Rota was still being used as a refueling, especially during all of the operations in the Middle East. We had tankers as far as you could see. So most tankers fly up, they'll go halfway out over the Atlantic and all of the fighters going over will hit the tankers and then go.

21:16 the rest of the way. So in order to be able to do the entire air bridge of refueling for aircraft going back and forth, they forward deployed a crapload of refuelers into Rota, Spain. And then the ones that are on the East coast, they'd go up and they'd hit them there. And then any of them needing it a second time or to go from Spain on forward.

21:44 were all stationed out of Spain in order to keep them out of the AOR and off of the flight lines there so that they could have as much fighter and other capable aircraft on the flight lines forward. So they tried to station all of the refuelers out of the immediate area because obviously they can fly for a long time, deliver the fuel, and then come back.

22:05 That's how strategically important what we're talking about here. I mean, 50 years later, all of this stuff that they were setting up was still being used. But they're using this as a pretext to get Skorzeny work and to have him travel around to do Operation Gladio stuff under the auspices of him being a businessman. So I want you to understand the context.

22:37 The start of the program was covered in American newspapers, informing the public the base construction and modernization of the Spanish military. Again, they're still fascist.

22:49 In Kansas City Times in 1954, it referred to Spain as a bastion and stated that the Spanish military was to receive intensive training from U.S. experts. However, the public was not informed of the most sensitive aspects of the MAG, including its relationship with U.S. intelligence. So isn't this just rich? They bet on you being stupid because.

23:11 You have a fascist dictator in charge of Spain and the U.S. military is going, oh, yeah, it's not a problem. We're going to train their military. Well, didn't you just defeat a fascist military kind of dictator guy? I mean, I know Hitler wasn't in the military, but he was a fascist. And I know people like to argue, oh, no, he was a socialist, whatever. He was a fascist and far left dictator.

23:42 Franco is. And you see how stupid we, they tell you, oh, we're going to go train that guy. Well, didn't you just fight that guy? Yeah. But didn't he just like that guy? Yes. Okay. The start of the program was covered in, um, let's see, we already did that. The classified portions of the MAG program and their, uh, secret training sites were also established.

24:07 and maintained permission for the Spanish military and the intelligence services, but no one else. Clandestine training was carried out by the CIA officers embedded directly in the mag, which many referred to as sheep dipping or serving under the cover of military officers, where they dress up like military and pretend they're military when they're not military.

24:34 Today, we're supposed to believe that none of the FBI dressed up as Trump supporters when these asswipes are dressing up like the military to train assassins? Okay, sure, Jan. Okay, the involvement of U.S. military and the CIA, the primary government entity for military assistance programs was the Office of International Security Affairs, ISI, which we just talked about.

25:04 This three-letter agency deserves more than a casual mention. In the passages above, we discussed the military assistance program with MAG. The ISA implemented the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, MDAP. When controlled military advisory assistance to friendly nations, well, that's what they did. They provided military advisory assistance. Putting this in its simplest terms,

25:36 The ISA, working in close coordination with the Pentagon and the CIA, managed the U.S. covert military assistance program. Although the average American had never heard of the ISA, its importance relative to covert activity is paramount. The ISA has played a critical role in shaping the national security policy of the U.S. since 1949. The office traces its historical root, as does the...

26:05 Department of Defense itself to the Cold War period. World War II military powers assumed a central position in U.S. foreign policy as tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union began to reshape the post-war geopolitical systems. In 1947, President Truman's containment policy and major expansion of covert operations occurred. This same year, the landmark National Security Act was passed.

26:34 which created the position of the Secretary of Defense, or SECDEF, to provide unified direction, authority, and control over the vast military complex that we're going to start building, that we are not supposed to ever have. The forerunner to the ISA was the Office of Foreign Military Affairs and the Military Assistance formed in 1948. So the Foreign Military Affairs is a very important office as well.

27:03 Because that's the office. I mean, every service has one. And they arrange all of the cells with the embassies of military supplies. So we have in the Pentagon, in the Air Force area, you have foreign military cells. And then as I explained to y'all in one of our other broadcasts, I had a friend both in the UK's embassy.

27:28 who was an acquisition officer, Air Force, and one guy that was in the Rome Embassy, acquisition guy, that worked with that office in the Pentagon to arrange all the contracts for all of the weapons systems, the aircraft, anything Air Force, that would be coming into Italy or into Britain as part of their buying our military capability. So that's kind of what they do.

27:57 That office handled the initial stages of the assistance programs connected to NATO, including the creation of the MAG groups. With the outbreak of the Korean conflict, which of course happens right away in 1950, greater demand starts piling up upon that office. Due to the rapid expansion of the military assistance programs in 1951, SecDef George C. Marshall ordered an increase in staff and resources for the office.

28:27 including the creation of a new section separate and distinct from the foreign military affairs section to manage NATO. Marshall also changed the name of the office, the name to office of international security affairs. Now keep in mind. So the original office is office of foreign military affairs. And this is a military to military.

28:59 Weapons exchanges, I told you, they buy our weapons systems. We don't buy their weapons systems. But specifically, this is a huge change because he's calling it no longer a foreign military, like a military to military kind of affair. It's now going to be international security affairs, meaning

29:28 that it's a much bigger scope of an office and probably a tell of it being focused at NATO and what they're about to embark on in setting up all of the Gladio units, security. So by 1952, ISA boasted a staff of nearly 200 and was a full-fledged clearinghouse of political and military affairs.

29:59 with the Department of Defense. Its first head was Frank C. Nash. He directed the organization, and in 1952, the position was elevated from Assistant to the SecDef to Assistant Secretary of Defense. That's a huge promotion and a huge movement in the significance of this program.

30:30 was and continues to be one of the Pentagon's highest offices. In 1954, SecDef Charles Wilson assigned ISA super general supervision of all DOD activities in the field of National Security Council affairs, which again is another big deal because that's now going to be his. So in the Pentagon, you kind of have layers. Like if you have a National Security Council,

31:03 You have the principals, you have like the deputy principals, and then you kind of have the working group. He's making this person part of the National Security Council, which is huge because that's where the CIA, the FBI, all of those people at that level in SA, they're all talking to each other. It's a working group. So that's huge.

31:32 And it basically puts him over all of the military assistance programs. In 1954, Struve Hensel, H-E-N-S-E-L, was nominated by Eisenhower to succeed Nash as head of the ISA. The timing of Hensel's appointment as ISA chief was during a period of MAG expansion in Vietnam in difficult days during the French defeat in Indochina.

32:00 Hensel's background reveals evidence that he may have known about Otto Skorzeny's CIA associations before he became head of ISA. Hensel was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He attended Columbia University, graduating in 1925 with a law degree. He worked in the legal division of the Navy's Procurement Department, and he worked alongside

32:34 And E. Perkins McGuire. And his name's come up before. Hensel served as general counsel and then as assistant secretary of the Navy before returning to his law practice in 46. There, he worked at a law firm called Carter Ledyard. Excuse me. I didn't bring my water out. Also at the firm was Frank Wisner. Oh, I forgot about this part. So Hensel, who's going to take over.

33:05 The entire apparatus from a funding standpoint and control inside the Pentagon is at a law firm just before with Frank Wisner. And you remember Frank Wisner of CIA OSS fame. He is the guy that worked at the State Department in the bad area of policy.

33:35 covert that turns into the policy area of the CIA, that Frank Wisner. Wisner was recruited in 47 by George Kennan to lead the OPC, which is in the CIA. Well, initially it was in the State Department, then the CIA. Subsequently, utilized Otto Skorzeny for covert operations while he was in the CIA. So he's just making the point that there's a

34:08 Good chance that he knows we're using Otto Skorzeny. So Hensel was also recruited by Frank Wisner for the OPC operations as well. In 1949, Hensel headed radio arrangements in Europe for the CIA cover organization National Committee for a Free Europe. This cover group was created by Alan Dulles in 49 in New York as an anti-communist organization.

34:40 It was headed by a political warfare specialist by the name of C.D. Jackson, who became his career right hand man to Henry Luce, who is the guy that owned Time and Life and Fortune magazine and where the Zapruder film for the murder of JFK ends up being found. So this is very important because that's where we eventually get to is to the murder of JFK.

35:06 So it's important to understand that these people all are in the same circles here. So you have a political warfare specialist, C.D. Jackson, who began his career as the right-hand man to Henry Luce, working with Alan Dulles. It's just mind-boggling. So Jackson headed the United States Psychological Warfare Division during World War II.

35:37 Radio Free Europe was considered the most important operation in that organization. Through it, the National Committee for a Free Europe directed CIA funds to the Assembly of Captive European Nations, a cover organization for the recruitment of covert assets.

35:57 A curious activity connected to C.D. Jackson and of importance to the subject of this book was that Jackson's spontaneous acquisition of the famous, oh, he even mentions it, the Zapruder tapes. So the film was reviewed by the Warren Commission, but there were frames missing. Subsequently, in early 1967, Life released a statement that the four frames.

36:29 had been accidentally destroyed and adjacent frames damaged by a lab technician the day after. Sure, Jan. In 1952, Hensel would go on to serve as general counsel for the Department of Defense and then later as head of the ISA. Hensel would leave government service in 1955, returning to private legal service.

36:56 He became a major lobby for the German steel industry. What is it with the steel? It runs through this entire operation. Otto Wolf, of which source Skorzeny was also a representative, was part of that German steel industry that Hensel goes on to lobby for. Hensel is found in the Skorzeny papers in reference to Otto Wolf business transactions confirmed.

37:26 confirming that he dealt with Skorzeny. So now we're going to introduce a new guy, E. Perkins McGuire. The most historically significant persons found in the Skorzeny papers are associated with the ISA. In addition to Hensel, we also have a man who served as Hensel's deputy, Edwards Perkins McGuire, or simply E. Perkins McGuire. McGuire was a senior level U.S. defense contractor.

37:59 A highly provocative finding. A review of his life gives a clear indication of his association with Otto Skorzeny. By all historical standards, extremely important. McGuire, a lifetime friend of President Richard Nixon, a contract CIA officer and former Assistant Secretary of Defense, is a major character in Skorzeny's covert history. So let's go over that again.

38:28 He's longtime friend of President Nixon's. He is a contract CIA officer and a former assistant secretary of defense. That's a lot. E. Perkins McGuire was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1904 to a Catholic family. He's the son of a successful Boston merchant and businessman. As a young man, he acquired the nickname Perk, P-E-R-K.

38:58 from his closest friends. He attended an academy, technology institute. His degree is in textile engineering. He's a polished man, very well-mannered, could talk the devil into mending his ways. Perkins McGuire was perceived as a shrewd businessman who came out on the top of any business deal.

39:29 So he ends up being a successful mercantile merchant. He has firms in Boston, New York, Cleveland. And at the outbreak of World War II, he ends up negotiating contracts for the Bureau of Ordnance. He rises to the rank of commander and eventually heads the procurement division of the Office of Naval Material.

40:01 In 1955, McGuire was approached to reenter government service as a civilian, being named Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Office of International Security Affairs, ISA, which is the one we were just talking about. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mutual Defense Assistance Programs, McGuire would also be given government officials who authorized

40:30 the involvement of Otto Skorzeny, he would have been one of the ones that authorized the use of Otto Skorzeny. This included Skorzeny's use of an unofficial paramilitary advisor for clandestine training camps and covert arm cells. The ISA black arm cells projects connected to Skorzeny would have been managed by the International Logistics Negotiation Section located in the Pentagon.

41:00 This office was ran by a legendary chief of arms sales, Henry John Cuss, K-U-S-S Jr. He is reported to have sold billions of dollars in arms to foreign governments for the U.S. arms sales documents in which Skorzeny's paperwork is linked. That's quite fascinating. In 1956, McGuire would be named Assistant Secretary of Defense for Supply and Logistics.

41:27 This position puts Secretary McGuire at the center of all covert planning for the Secretary of Defense, including those carried out by the CIA. And so let me explain this for just a second so that you understand there's no way if Skorzeny's going on CIA missions that these people don't know what's going on. Because the way this works is the offices, especially the logistics, both on the Air Force.

41:55 Let me back up just a second. In Washington, D.C. at Andrews Air Force Base, they have a reserve unit there that has a very, timing-wise, it's a classified mission, not the fact that they do it. They have certain designated aircraft for the expedition, exfiltration of personnel in the D.C. area. So if there's something that goes down,

42:27 And it would be something in the magnitude of like an Oklahoma bombing. And you wanted to get the FBI team and or an air crash and you need to get the FAA NTSB out of town like in a matter of minutes. This that reserve unit is the one that takes those missions. And so that is not unlike what we do for the CIA in the military.

42:56 The military has special missions that they perform for entities outside the military. And what they're describing here is there are particular offices set up at every echelon of command inside the Pentagon that is like red phones, bat phones. You pick them up, things happen. And this guy is the guy that's in charge of that. That's basically what they're saying.

43:26 So there's no way, and he's right, that these people in these positions don't know about Otto Skorzeny. After the defeat of Richard Nixon by JFK in the 1960 presidential election, McGuire would leave government service. In August 1960, McGuire, along with Percival Brundage, the former director of the Bureau of Budget, would purchase a commercial airline.

43:56 You'll never guess which one. Southern Air Transport. What is Southern Air Transport? It's a CIA front company. So the guy that goes from running all of the logistics for these things is now going to literally be running the logistics for these things. In 1961, McGuire became an investment consultant that he used as a cover for his continued covert work.

44:32 Evidence of this clandestine service as a CIA contract officer is recorded in a letter that this guy has from CIA Director William Colby. It expresses gratitude for McGuire's long service, thanking him for his advice and counsel over the many years and his efforts to support the mission of the agency. In 1950, Skorzeny began developing contingency war plans that

45:03 proposed the formation of a cadre of German commandos in Spain to train special forces in the event of a war between NATO and the Soviets. But we know that that training is actually for Gladio. So the specialists are either from intel or communications units. They incorporate into his plan the use and creation of special sniper units.

45:35 Skorzeny submitted these plans to the Pentagon through a military attache, that guy that was his handler, Major Bob Wieck, at the American Embassy in 1951. CIA officer Arnold Silver later claimed Pentagon planners rejected the concept. However, it is clear from the research and interviews conducted in this book that it was not not done. It was not rejected.

46:07 I mean, what's ridiculous about that is if you look at Operation Northwood, they're using these people. So it clearly wasn't not done. So he also makes mention of some connections that had happened with a guy by the name of Metaxas, who he talked about meeting with Skorzeny at Camp X and how.

46:43 That guy had been a trainer at Fort Benning and had all of these other different assignments, rising to the rank of colonel. And Fort Benning and Fort Bragg are two of the locations that these commandos are going to be sent to in the U.S. for training. So just there's one connection after another. So in 1960, First Lieutenant Anthony Herbert, a highly decorated U.S. Army combat officer,

47:13 reported for duty at the 505th, which is part of this training apparatus. He eventually gets selected as the executive officer. Innovative thinker, favored special warfare operations. In his spare time, he developed a new ranger unit to be formed within the 505th.

47:38 He took the idea to Colonel Metaxas, who liked it, and gave him basically the run of the place to be able to put this ranger outfit together. His first task was to train the best standards of the day. And who was he going to get? Oh, he's going to get Skorzeny because Skorzeny had the best tactics. And there's a lot of talk about how they go about doing it. I don't know that we need to know the details. We just need to know that when...

48:07 The colonel who was in charge of special training in the army is over in Europe. And this captain wants to create this special ranger platoon that this colonel not only knows of Skorzeny, but he tells this captain to go work with him to create this elite unit. So kind of just shows you how intricately involved Otto Skorzeny was in training our military forces.

48:38 So, anyway, I'm going to skip through the details of the army training. One of the things that does come up out of this is the lieutenant had mentioned that he was trained by Skorzeny's men and a small group of German soldiers. Who were these men?

49:04 For clear evidence, we can turn to the Skorzeny papers indicating Skorzeny was still in contact with some of the best and most experienced soldiers of his old wartime commando unit. This included his trusted adjutant, Carl Radd, who we've talked about repeatedly through here, and a guy by the name of Otto Begus, B-E-G-U-S, and other members of his assassination unit, which was called the Peter Group.

49:35 which we talked about at the very beginning. In particular, there was a Horst Essel, I-S-S-E-L, group commander. The Peter Group had operated in Denmark and in concert with the Danish collaborators where it conducted clearing murders, pinpointing specific Danes for assassination. The Peter Group was formed in December 1943. The first commander was a guy by the name of Otto.

50:04 was Schwartz, S-C-H-W-E-R-D-T, one of Skorzeny's top officers. He was also in on the Mussolini rescue mission. This guy's alias was Peter Schaefer, from which the unit got its name, the Peter Group. Schwartz directed the Peter Group operation until November 1944 when he was recalled by Skorzeny.

50:36 The leadership of the group transferred to Horst Essel. Essel had served in the Reich Main Security Office, which was basically Skorzeny's higher headquarters when he was in the German military. He would remain head of the Peter Group until the end of the war. This group dispersed and went underground. Most of the men had become hunted in Europe. Essel, in particular, was a focal point for capture.

51:08 An Allied report on Essel, issued at the end of the war, a copy of which is found in the Scorsese papers, says he is an extremely dangerous person who would not shy from any means to attain his objective, and it is of paramount importance that every action be taken to trace him.

51:27 He has a poison hidden in a tie pin and is in the possession of two fountain pens, one with toxic gas and the other one with a pistol. The Danish members of the Peter Group were not as fortunate as their German counterparts. Seven of the worst were executed. Three were given life in prison. German members were captured, but none were executed, despite being wanted all over Europe.

51:53 Essel was mysteriously brought into U.S. intelligence operations immediately after the war. The details about how this happened are sketchy, but after escaping from Denmark, Essel first managed to evade capture. Then around 1948, by unknown circumstances, he was recruited into the U.S.-backed Galen Organization or Operation Gladio. His activities were evidently highly secret.

52:22 for the British arrested him in Berlin in 1949, not realizing his undercover status with Galen. ISIL told the British that he was working for the Americans, but when the British went to the U.S. Army counterintelligence, which wasn't the same as the Dulles units,

52:40 They said they had denied his agent status. The British subsequently turned Essel over to the Danish authorities where he joined several of his comrades who were also awaiting trial. By 1953, the CIA had worked behind the scenes and got him released. In 1954, they were all once again in contact with Skorzeny. Other Peter Group members in contact with Skorzeny after he became an independent paramilitary advisor to the U.S. and French intelligence.

53:10 in the early 50s, was a guy by the name of Otto Schwartz, Otto Wagner, and Hans Kramer. The presence of those men in the Skorzeny papers indicate the level and lethality of the Skorzeny paramilitary network. So, that's huge. Okay, let me go through the comments here. Oh, y'all have been busy. So,

53:43 Well, this is a first. Yeah. Thanks for being patient with me at the beginning guys. Oh, okay. So let's talk about yeah. Thank you to profit for mentioning the Tucker's interview. And I assume I, although I can't see it, it's the one with Mike Benz. Yes. Mike Benz. Okay. I see it. So I I'm going to tell you the.

54:15 Reader's Digest version is Mike Benz. I don't like using these terms. Let me just preface it with that. I don't like using, let me start over. There are some people that refer to what we call Gladio as an overarching umbrella term. Some people call Operation Gladio that happened prior to

54:47 the focus being transitioned into Islamic terror, so basically 91 and before, when you had the Soviet Union, they kind of lumped that into a Gladio 1.0. And then they lump everything in past that, where they've kind of shifted from the anti-communist to the radical Islamist terror threat.

55:17 into Gladio 2.0, if you will. I don't use those terms, but let's just go with it for now. If you were to create a Gladio 3.0, what Mike Benz is talking about is that. It is fifth generation warfare fought in a Gladio type environment. So if you can avoid kinetic warfare, i.e. assassinations,

55:48 and boots on the ground, intimidation tactics, fear, blah, blah, blah, then you would do that because it's cheaper. It can be done remotely, less risk of exposure. So if you were going to create a cyber version of Operation Gladio, what Mike Benz has been working on for the last five years is it.

56:17 It is exactly what they have done. They have taken every aspect internationally of the intimidation, the silencing. So you don't have to kill somebody to shut them up when you're talking about fifth generation warfare. And so in a nutshell, I would say that Mike Benz's entire effort.

56:48 is the fifth generation version of warfare Operation Gladio style. So I hope that makes sense because it's every aspect that he talks about, marginalizing, scaring people, doxing people, the government being involved in the suppression of speech.

57:18 So if I suppress your speech by killing you, or if I suppress your speech by taking fire hoses and drumming you out of the public square, it's fascist, but it does the same thing. If I can do that remotely by shutting you up online, then that's just the electronic version of Operation Gladio.

57:45 I mean, in some cases, just like with January 6th, they got the people to commit suicide. They terrorized them so much. And they did it without actually having to do it. They did it by cyberbullying people and the legal part of it. So I think that's what we're dealing with. I love the interview. I love Mike Benz. I find the guy totally fascinating.

58:15 I watch every video. I am not a paid member, but I love his material. And I don't know if y'all follow him on Twitter. The man's the most amazing piano player I've ever met. I don't know how you get those. He's a lawyer. I don't know how you get all of that in his brain, but God bless him. He's amazing. Okay. And you're right, Liza. Tucker should know about Operation Gladio.

58:46 I don't know that he does. I don't know that he knows. I mean, how would he know? He seemed genuinely shocked by what Mike Benz was saying. And Mike Benz is just telling him the electronic version of it. Maybe he will have the kernel on. I doubt that. That would be the most amazing thing ever, by the way.

59:18 For those of you who don't know, I'm just kind of going through the notes here. I don't want to leave anybody hanging. I have been getting not a lot of different calls, but once people find out about Operation Gladio, I've been doing on average four interviews a week. So we've pretty much set up a standard Saturday morning to a radio show in North Carolina first thing. And then at noon, I'm doing the Alpha Warrior show.

59:48 And we will be doing that for the foreseeable future at least two or three more times so we can present kind of the whole concept to them. And we've been doing on Monday nights, The Pond, which is a audio only presentation, which will happen tomorrow at six o'clock. Hope y'all are all there. And the focus for tomorrow is going to be on the subset called Operation Condor.

1:00:20 I'm telling you, there's so much there. I have read on the cursory of a lot of the overlapping people that come in from, hold on just a second. I just got a text from Julie. We got to talk about what she's saying. Everyone's trying to reach you to see if you are okay. Are you okay? We're all worried. Why are they trying to reach me? Did it never come on?

1:01:28 Oh my gosh.

Entities here

Claims made here

Otto Skorzeny operated_in France book_quoted ▶ 3:39

“So we're going to dive into our book. We left off where James Angleton and Skorzeny had met each other and stuff that was going on in Egypt at the time. And now we're going to go into Chapter 14, whic…”

James Jesus Angleton relationship_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 3:39

Otto Skorzeny founded Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 4:09

“All of his activities centers on setting up a Europe-wide quote-unquote anti-communist, but it's basically Gladio, stay behind force. Also, he mentions Donovan's secret paramilitary group in support o…”

William J. Donovan founded Compass Rose book_quoted ▶ 4:09

Allied Clandestine Committee operated_in NATO book_quoted ▶ 5:04

“disbanded or reorganized as far as what had been left over from the OSS. Skorzeny's group seems to have been established as trainers and advisors. So keep in mind that we had two organizations under N…”

Western Union Clandestine Committee operated_in NATO book_quoted ▶ 5:04

Otto Skorzeny trained Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 5:04

Military Assistant Group operated_in Vietnam book_quoted ▶ 5:35

“They also had a U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group, or the MAGS, which was kind of an operational cover, if you will, because you saw the MAGS over in Vietnam during that period, too. So that's k…”

Military Assistant Group supplied_arms_to Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 6:02

“they were using this mag apparatus to get weapons, equipment, training for all of these Gladio people. Because in many cases, it was the perfect cover because you have all of France, all of Germany, a…”

Otto Skorzeny trained Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 6:51

“Being able to set up all of these training sites, you had the perfect cover for training not only military official forces, but all of the stay-behind units as well, because nobody was keeping track. …”

Military Assistant Group relationship_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 7:22

“assassinations. The MAG interacted with Skorzeny at paramilitary commando training sites set up in Spain and other places. There was a Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Herbert who attended several of these …”

Otto Skorzeny operated_in Spain book_quoted ▶ 7:22

Anthony Herbert relationship_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 7:22

Spain member_of Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 10:52

“Eisenhower did not need convincing of the logic of a strong relationship with Spain. So they entice him with USAID, you know, because we buy our friends. And the Spanish government became full partner…”

USAID funded Spain book_quoted ▶ 10:52

Spain member_of NATO book_quoted ▶ 10:52

Portugal member_of NATO book_quoted ▶ 11:24

“would not have them as part of their structure just because they happen to have a dictator, a fascist dictator, not unlike Hitler, in charge of their government because they already admitted Portugal …”

Army Security Agency renamed_to International Energy Administration book_quoted ▶ 15:51

“The specific contracts in Skorzeny's papers, such as his dealings with the railroad equipment, were all ECA projects where he could carry out clandestine work on behalf of the CIA. The ECA underwent a…”

Economic Cooperation Administration renamed_to Army Security Agency book_quoted ▶ 15:51

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Economic Cooperation Administration book_quoted ▶ 15:51

International Energy Administration renamed_to USAID book_quoted ▶ 16:49

“didn't ever have anything to do with communism. These were all used for internal suppression of dissent in any way to Western authority. According to Robert Amory, the CIA had 33 employees integrated …”

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Arthur Emmons book_quoted ▶ 17:46

“So that they can spy on them. That's what USAID is. It's what it's always been from its beginning. The Skorzeny papers confirm he dealt directly with Arthur Emmons, E-M-N-O-N-S, an ICA representative …”

Earl Berquist headed Military Assistant Group book_quoted ▶ 18:44

“In April 1953, the Eisenhower administration sent Ambassador James Dunn to Spain with orders to speed everything up. Negotiations then proceeded at a much more rapid pace. They were headed by Major Ge…”

August Kistner headed Military Assistant Group book_quoted ▶ 18:44

Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed James Clement Dunn book_quoted ▶ 18:44

Fourteenth Air Force located_in Spain book_quoted ▶ 19:46

“would be established in Spanish Morocco, because Morocco at the time was a colony of Spain. Eventually, 16th Air Force would be stationed in the country, and 16th Air Force was part of the legendary S…”

Fourteenth Air Force member_of Strategic Air Command book_quoted ▶ 19:46

Office of International Security Affairs implemented Mutual Defense Assistance Program book_quoted ▶ 25:04

“This three-letter agency deserves more than a casual mention. In the passages above, we discussed the military assistance program with MAG. The ISA implemented the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, M…”

Office of International Security Affairs member_of United States Department of Defense book_quoted ▶ 25:36

“The ISA, working in close coordination with the Pentagon and the CIA, managed the U.S. covert military assistance program. Although the average American had never heard of the ISA, its importance rela…”

Foreign Military Studies Office renamed_to Office of International Security Affairs book_quoted ▶ 28:27

“including the creation of a new section separate and distinct from the foreign military affairs section to manage NATO. Marshall also changed the name of the office, the name to office of internationa…”

George C. Marshall appointed Frank C. Nash book_quoted ▶ 29:59

“with the Department of Defense. Its first head was Frank C. Nash. He directed the organization, and in 1952, the position was elevated from Assistant to the SecDef to Assistant Secretary of Defense. T…”

Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Struve Hensel book_quoted ▶ 31:32

“And it basically puts him over all of the military assistance programs. In 1954, Struve Hensel, H-E-N-S-E-L, was nominated by Eisenhower to succeed Nash as head of the ISA. The timing of Hensel's appo…”

Struve Hensel succeeded Frank C. Nash book_quoted ▶ 31:32

Struve Hensel studied_at Columbia University book_quoted ▶ 32:00

“Hensel's background reveals evidence that he may have known about Otto Skorzeny's CIA associations before he became head of ISA. Hensel was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He attended Columbia University…”

Struve Hensel did_business_with E. Perkins McGuire book_quoted ▶ 32:00

Struve Hensel did_business_with Frank Wisner book_quoted ▶ 32:34

“And E. Perkins McGuire. And his name's come up before. Hensel served as general counsel and then as assistant secretary of the Navy before returning to his law practice in 46. There, he worked at a la…”

George F. Kennan recruited Frank Wisner book_quoted ▶ 33:35

“covert that turns into the policy area of the CIA, that Frank Wisner. Wisner was recruited in 47 by George Kennan to lead the OPC, which is in the CIA. Well, initially it was in the State Department, …”

Frank Wisner recruited Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 33:35

Allen Dulles founded National Committee for a Free Europe book_quoted ▶ 34:08

“Good chance that he knows we're using Otto Skorzeny. So Hensel was also recruited by Frank Wisner for the OPC operations as well. In 1949, Hensel headed radio arrangements in Europe for the CIA cover …”

Hans Hensel headed National Committee for a Free Europe book_quoted ▶ 34:08

Frank Wisner recruited Hans Hensel book_quoted ▶ 34:08

C.D. Jackson relationship_with Henry Luce book_quoted ▶ 34:40

“It was headed by a political warfare specialist by the name of C.D. Jackson, who became his career right hand man to Henry Luce, who is the guy that owned Time and Life and Fortune magazine and where …”

C.D. Jackson headed National Committee for a Free Europe book_quoted ▶ 34:40

Henry Luce secretly_owned Time Inc. book_quoted ▶ 34:40

C.D. Jackson headed American Psychological Warfare Division book_quoted ▶ 35:06

“So it's important to understand that these people all are in the same circles here. So you have a political warfare specialist, C.D. Jackson, who began his career as the right-hand man to Henry Luce, …”

National Committee for a Free Europe funded Assembly of Captive European Nations book_quoted ▶ 35:37

“Radio Free Europe was considered the most important operation in that organization. Through it, the National Committee for a Free Europe directed CIA funds to the Assembly of Captive European Nations,…”

C.D. Jackson acquired Robert Kennedy assassination book_quoted ▶ 35:57

“A curious activity connected to C.D. Jackson and of importance to the subject of this book was that Jackson's spontaneous acquisition of the famous, oh, he even mentions it, the Zapruder tapes. So the…”

Hans Hensel appointed United States Department of Defense book_quoted ▶ 36:29

“had been accidentally destroyed and adjacent frames damaged by a lab technician the day after. Sure, Jan. In 1952, Hensel would go on to serve as general counsel for the Department of Defense and then…”

Hans Hensel headed Office of International Security Affairs book_quoted ▶ 36:29

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Otto Wolf Company book_quoted ▶ 36:56

“He became a major lobby for the German steel industry. What is it with the steel? It runs through this entire operation. Otto Wolf, of which source Skorzeny was also a representative, was part of that…”

Hans Hensel did_business_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 36:56

E. Perkins McGuire relationship_with Richard Nixon book_quoted ▶ 37:59

“A highly provocative finding. A review of his life gives a clear indication of his association with Otto Skorzeny. By all historical standards, extremely important. McGuire, a lifetime friend of Presi…”

E. Perkins McGuire appointed United States Department of Defense book_quoted ▶ 37:59

E. Perkins McGuire headed Office of Naval Material book_quoted ▶ 39:29

“So he ends up being a successful mercantile merchant. He has firms in Boston, New York, Cleveland. And at the outbreak of World War II, he ends up negotiating contracts for the Bureau of Ordnance. He …”

E. Perkins McGuire appointed Office of International Security Affairs book_quoted ▶ 40:01

“In 1955, McGuire was approached to reenter government service as a civilian, being named Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Office of International Security Affairs, ISA, which is the one w…”

E. Perkins McGuire ordered_assassination_of Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 40:30

“the involvement of Otto Skorzeny, he would have been one of the ones that authorized the use of Otto Skorzeny. This included Skorzeny's use of an unofficial paramilitary advisor for clandestine traini…”

E. Perkins McGuire appointed United States Department of Defense book_quoted ▶ 41:00

“This office was ran by a legendary chief of arms sales, Henry John Cuss, K-U-S-S Jr. He is reported to have sold billions of dollars in arms to foreign governments for the U.S. arms sales documents in…”

Henry John Cuss Jr. headed International Logistics Negotiation Section book_quoted ▶ 41:00

E. Perkins McGuire acquired Southern Air Transport book_quoted ▶ 43:26

“So there's no way, and he's right, that these people in these positions don't know about Otto Skorzeny. After the defeat of Richard Nixon by JFK in the 1960 presidential election, McGuire would leave …”

William Colby paid E. Perkins McGuire book_quoted ▶ 44:32

“Evidence of this clandestine service as a CIA contract officer is recorded in a letter that this guy has from CIA Director William Colby. It expresses gratitude for McGuire's long service, thanking hi…”

Otto Skorzeny proposed Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 45:03

“proposed the formation of a cadre of German commandos in Spain to train special forces in the event of a war between NATO and the Soviets. But we know that that training is actually for Gladio. So the…”

Arnold Silver exposed Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 45:35

“Skorzeny submitted these plans to the Pentagon through a military attache, that guy that was his handler, Major Bob Wieck, at the American Embassy in 1951. CIA officer Arnold Silver later claimed Pent…”

Otto Skorzeny proposed Operation Gladio book_quoted ▶ 45:35

Ioannis Metaxas trained Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 46:07

“I mean, what's ridiculous about that is if you look at Operation Northwood, they're using these people. So it clearly wasn't not done. So he also makes mention of some connections that had happened wi…”

Anthony Herbert member_of 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment book_quoted ▶ 46:43

“That guy had been a trainer at Fort Benning and had all of these other different assignments, rising to the rank of colonel. And Fort Benning and Fort Bragg are two of the locations that these command…”

Anthony Herbert trained Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 47:38

“He took the idea to Colonel Metaxas, who liked it, and gave him basically the run of the place to be able to put this ranger outfit together. His first task was to train the best standards of the day.…”

Otto Skorzeny trained Anthony Herbert book_quoted ▶ 48:38

“So, anyway, I'm going to skip through the details of the army training. One of the things that does come up out of this is the lieutenant had mentioned that he was trained by Skorzeny's men and a smal…”

Otto Wagner member_of Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 49:04

“For clear evidence, we can turn to the Skorzeny papers indicating Skorzeny was still in contact with some of the best and most experienced soldiers of his old wartime commando unit. This included his …”

Otto Begus member_of Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 49:04

Carl Radd member_of Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 49:04

Hans Kramer member_of Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 49:04

Otto Skorzeny headed Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 49:35

“which we talked about at the very beginning. In particular, there was a Horst Essel, I-S-S-E-L, group commander. The Peter Group had operated in Denmark and in concert with the Danish collaborators wh…”

Peter Group operated_in Denmark book_quoted ▶ 49:35

Horst Essel headed Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 49:35

Otto Skorzeny carried_out_attack Gran Sasso raid book_quoted ▶ 50:04

“was Schwartz, S-C-H-W-E-R-D-T, one of Skorzeny's top officers. He was also in on the Mussolini rescue mission. This guy's alias was Peter Schaefer, from which the unit got its name, the Peter Group. S…”

Otto Skorzeny member_of Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 50:04

Horst Essel member_of Reich Main Security Office book_quoted ▶ 50:36

“The leadership of the group transferred to Horst Essel. Essel had served in the Reich Main Security Office, which was basically Skorzeny's higher headquarters when he was in the German military. He wo…”

Horst Essel headed Peter Group book_quoted ▶ 50:36

Horst Essel member_of BND book_quoted ▶ 51:53

“Essel was mysteriously brought into U.S. intelligence operations immediately after the war. The details about how this happened are sketchy, but after escaping from Denmark, Essel first managed to eva…”

United Kingdom covered_up Horst Essel book_quoted ▶ 52:22

“for the British arrested him in Berlin in 1949, not realizing his undercover status with Galen. ISIL told the British that he was working for the Americans, but when the British went to the U.S. Army …”