NCJ Number
60881
Journal
Terrorism Volume: 2 Issue: 3 AND 4 Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (1979) Pages: 171-212
Date Published
1979
Length
42 pages
Annotation
A SURVEY OF REVOLUTIONARY AND TERRORIST GROUPS IN ITALY, 1970-1978, AND OF THEIR ACTIVITIES, INDICATES THAT TERRORISTS RECEIVE IDEOLOGICAL AND MATERIAL SUPPORT FROM CITIZENS IN FACTORIES, SCHOOLS, AND EVEN THE GOVERNMENT.
Abstract
TERRORISTS WHO HAVE RAVAGED ITALY DURING THE 1970'S ARE NOT TOTALLY FACELESS. THE NAMES AND BACKGROUNDS OF MANY TERRORISTS ARE WELL KNOWN, AS ARE THEIR HABITUAL MODES OF OPERATIONS AND THE IDEOLOGIES BY WHICH THEY ARE MOVED. AFTER A BRIEF CATALOG OF THE TERRORISTS' ACTIONS, THIS PAPER OUTLINES THE PHYSIOGNOMY OF ITALY'S MAJOR TERRORIST GROUPS. A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE DESCRIPTION CONSISTS OF EXPLANATIONS OF EACH GROUP'S VICTIMS, BECAUSE ANY ASSESSMENT OF THE GROUPS' EFFECTS MUST BEGIN WITH AN AWARENESS OF WHICH SECTORS OF SOCIETY THEY HAVE ATTACKED. THE BACKGROUND OF THE TERRORISTS, THE POLITICAL LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK, AND THE TARGETS THEY CHOOSE POINT UNAMBIGUOUSLY TO THE CONCLUSION THAT TERRORISM IN ITALY IS A PHENOMENON OF THE LEFT, HAS SIGNIFICANT COMMON SUPPORT, CONCEIVES OF ITSELF AS A MEANS OF BRINGING ABOUT A COMMUNIST REGIME. THE TERRORISTS REGARD THEMSELVES AS THE COMPETITORS AND REFORMERS OF THE ITALIAN COMMUNIST PARTY, BUT THEY HAVE MADE GOOD THEIR CLAIM TO BE ENEMIES OF THE PARTY. QUESTIONS REGARDING THE ITALIAN TERRORISTS' INTERNATIONAL CONECTIONS CANNOT BE ANSWERED DEFINITIVELY. EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT SELF-DECLARED COMMUNIST TERRORISTS ACT IN WAYS SIMILAR TO THEIR PREDECESSORS OF THE 1940'S AND EARLY 1950'S, WHO FOUND SAFE HAVEN IN THE COMMUNIST REGIMES OF EASTERN EUROPE. AN ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATIONAL PATTERNS OF THE RED BRIGADES AND THE ARMED PROLITARIAN NUCLEI INDICATES THAT THE GROUPS FEATURE RIGID CLANDESTINE AND SYSTEMATIC ACTION. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--TWK)