NCJ Number
101518
Date Published
1986
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article reviews evidence of foreign involvement in domestic terrorist activity in Italy, as well as evidence that such activity was part of a broader effort with significant Soviet support.
Abstract
For over half a century, Italy has had secret revolutionaries, generally operating within the context of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). During this time, there was much circumstantial evidence to suggest that the PCI was receiving support from the Soviets through Czechoslovakia. Additionally, there was direct evidence that Libya was providing money, training, and weapons to Italian rightist groups. The notion that terrorist actions in Italy might be part of a larger effort with significant external support was supported by direct evidence in the 1970's and 1980's. The 1972 conference on international terrorist movements in Badawi, Lebanon, cited the role of an extremist group in Rome in the transport of missiles for a branch of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Evidence of ties between the PLO and the Red Brigade and the well-known PLO-Soviet connection in international terrorism further contributed to the notion of an international dimension of terrorism in Italy. Finally, testimony by two defectors (Ion Pacepa and Jan Sejna) documented the role of both Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria in training Italian terrorists.