Operation Gladio was one of the Cold War's greatest secrets.
Gladio was a network created by the CIA and other partner organizations to form a stay-behind network to fight back against Soviet occupation forces in the event the Cold War turned hot. Some of these stay-behind networks turned to criminal activity and political violence using the training, weapons, and equipment they’d received and stockpiled for the next war.
Networks existed in almost every nation in Western Europe, under many different names. Gladio (Sword, in Italian) was the name of the Italian stay-behind network, and the name which is now most closely associated with all of these independent networks.
Gladio's slogan, depicted here, was Silendo Libertatem Servo (In Silence, We Serve Freedom). Although never called upon to fight behind enemy lines in World War III, these networks left an indelible mark on every country in which they formed; a mark which is still felt today, and which many governments still grapple with.
This sticker is a perfect recreation of the Gladio coat of arms, which was little known until only very recently.
- 3" wide by 4" tall
- Matte finish
