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S3E6 An Enemy Within: The Stay-Behinds

John Kiriakou's Dead Drop

Hosted by John Kiriakou

1h 1m
Transcript

Original podcast

Summary

Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.

This episode investigates the deep state and NATO's Cold War-era stay-behind networks, framing the inquiry through infamous political assassinations and terror attacks like the Peteano bombing in Italy. The host explains how World War II resistance planning, such as Britain's SOE and America's OSS, evolved into clandestine anti-communist paramilitary networks across Europe. These secret structures, including Italy's Operation Gladio, utilized false-flag operations, right-wing extremists, and hidden weapons caches to manipulate politics and suppress leftist movements.

Furthermore, the narrative connects these hidden networks to high-level figures and major historical events, examining how intelligence agencies shielded operatives and fostered a strategy of tension. The host details the mechanics of stay-behind units, their extreme disposability, and their eventual exposure following judicial investigations in the 1980s and 1990s. Ultimately, the episode sets up an examination of international intelligence opposition to political figures who pursued detente with the Soviet bloc during the Cold War.

  • Britain established its first official stay-behind networks in the summer of 1940 under Major General Colin Gubbins. 30:36
  • Recruits for World War II stay-behind cells were specifically chosen from rural occupations like farmers, gamekeepers, and miners. 33:07
  • The combat life expectancy of a stay-behind operative after an invasion began was estimated to be between 12 days and two weeks. 34:19
  • Operation Gladio was initiated by SIFAR in Italy in 1956 as part of NATO's coordinated stay-behind infrastructure. 59:50

Chapters

  1. 0:00
    Podcast Intro and Sponsor Ads

    Hosts introduce the episode and play the QUO and Zocdoc sponsorship spots.

  2. 3:17
    Setting the Stage: The Susudluk Scandal

    John Kiriakou explains the 1993 Turkish crash that exposed Cold War stay‑behind networks.

  3. 7:11
    Unraveling the Mystery of Olaf Palma’s Assassination

    The final section connects the stay‑behind conspiracy to the unsolved 1986 murder of Sweden’s prime minister.

  4. 9:21
    Deep State Origins and the Stay‑Behind Concept

    The narrative traces how post‑WWII paranoia birthed clandestine stay‑behind cells across Europe.

  5. 22:48
    From Italy to NATO: The Rise of Operation Gladio

    The episode details Italy’s GLADIO program and its ties to broader NATO stay‑behind operations.

  6. 24:53
    The Global Network: How Stay‑Behinds Spread

    Kiriakou outlines how stay‑behind cells proliferated in Belgium, Germany, France, and beyond.

  7. 1:03:26
    Gladio and the New Order Connection

    The speaker links the explosion to the Ordine Nuovo and the Gladio stay-behind program, outlining the broader conspiracy.

  8. 1:04:19
    Italian Terrorist Operations and False Flags

    A timeline of Italian bombings from 1974 to 1984 is presented, illustrating the use of false-flag tactics to justify authoritarian measures.

  9. 1:05:05
    The Peteano Massacre Unveiled

    The episode opens with the 1972 Peteano bombing, detailing the casualties and the initial judicial inquiry.

  10. 1:06:09
    Swiss Involvement in Stay-Behind Networks

    The discussion shifts to Switzerland’s covert participation in Gladio, including submarine incursions and the creation of clandestine weapon caches.

  11. 1:07:06
    Olaf Palma’s Paradoxical Leadership

    The narrative explores how Swiss PM Olaf Palma, despite his pro‑NATO stance, became entangled with CIA and MI6 operations.

  12. 1:08:01
    Concluding Reflections on Cold War Legacy

    The hosts reflect on how Cold War covert actions continue to influence contemporary politics and security.

Highlights

Quotes

  • “The Susudluk scandal accomplished one other noteworthy thing. It gave us the term "derendevlet", or in English, "deep state."”
    John Kiriakou · 5:13
  • “The first large-scale covert operation would happen in Italy.”
    John Kiriakou · 58:31
  • “Non sarebbe sbagliato pensare all'esplosione della Piazza Fontana come la prima operazione falsa flagge principale”
    John Kiriakou · 1:03:46
  • “La Svizzera era parte dei network 'stare dietro' e lavorava con il Comitato di Planificazione Clandestine, il CPC”
    John Kiriakou · 1:06:09
  • “Il popolo svizzero aveva sempre stato più neutro verso l'Unione Sovietica di altri membri del blocco occidentale, ma la presenza di tutti quei submarini e i propri mari li ha trasformato in paura”
    John Kiriakou · 1:05:58
  • “Negli anni dopo l'esplosione, le autorità italiane hanno sviluppato una politica politica usando azioni violenti e terrorismo falsa flagge per creare paura e inaspettate del pubblico”
    John Kiriakou · 1:03:57
  • Weight Loss by Hers 0:00–0:58
  • QUO 1:14–2:03
  • Zocdoc 2:03–3:05
  • Zocdoc 48:34–49:32
  • Opill 1:09:20–1:10:44
  • Superhuman Go 1:10:41–1:11:13

About this episode

IN THIS EPISODE One of the most remarkable stories that no one knows - which is remarkable in itself - is the assassinatioin of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme on a Stockholm street on February 28, 1986. Palme's murder is to Sweden what JFK's is to America: a demarcation point between a sense of goodness and integrity, and corruption. As of now, the crime still remains unsolved - though much work has gone into trying to figure out who did this terrible thing and why. Though we may think the Cold War is a museum piece, we still live in the darkest part of its shadow. The assassination of Olof Palme wasn't just a dark day in Sweden's history. It was a dark day in lots of other places, too - including the United States - because the US may have been guilty of helping that assassination happen. In episode 1 of this 7 part series, we'll introduce you to the "Stay-Behinds", a secret, anti-fascist army made for World War Two but repurposed - and rebranded as anti-Communist - for the Cold War, with branches and combatants all over Western Europe. SHOW NOTES If you enjoy this podcast, please check out our social media: Insta - @deaddroppodcast And check out our other podcast offerings at Costard & Touchstone Productions costardandtouchstone.com. Your next podcasting binge is just a click away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

0:00
1:01:58

10,157 words · 7 speakers

Speaker names marked are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

Topics

  • NATO
  • SOE
  • Ordine Nuovo
  • CIA
  • Wegovy
  • OSS
  • MI6
  • Peteano
  • Piazza Fontana
  • Kusarasi

Page updated · transcript and summary are machine-generated