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U.S. Army Field Manual 30-31B

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The supposed document

The US Army Field Manual 30-31B, dubbed the Westmoreland Field Manual,[1] purportedly outlined a strategy called the "strategy of tension," wherein violent attacks are orchestrated and blamed on left-wing groups to justify government action. However, most scholars believe it to be a Cold War-era hoax conducted by Soviet intelligence services.[2][3][4][5][6]

The document first surfaced in the 1970s in Turkey and later circulated in various countries. During a 1980 hearing, CIA officials denied its authenticity, declaring it a forgery. Scholars and the US State Department also state that it is a Soviet forgery. Its usage in implicating the CIA in certain events further fueled debate, but arguments to its authenticity were strengthened by evidence uncovered during Operation Gladio in the 1990s.

History

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The first mention of the document was in the Turkish newspaper Barış (sometimes anglicized to Barish), in 1975.[7][8] It was labelled as supplement B (hence "30-31B"), although the publicly released version of FM30-31 only has one appendix, Supplement A.[9][10][11][7][6]

A facsimile copy of FM30-31B then appeared a year later in Bangkok, Thailand,[7] and in various capitals of north African states.[8] In 1978, it appeared in various European magazines, including the Spanish Triunfo and El Pais.[7][8] The Italian press picked up the Triunfo publication, and a copy was published in the October 1978 issue of L'Europeo.[7]

A wide range of field manuals, including 30–31, can be accessed through websites that catalog U.S. field manuals. However, 30-31B is not among the field manuals published by the military.[12]

The "Westmoreland Field Manual" (so named because it bears the alleged signature of General William Westmoreland)[1] was mentioned in at least two parliamentary commissions reports of European countries, one about the Italian Propaganda Due masonic lodge,[13] and one about the Belgian stay-behind network. The latter says that "the commission has not any certainty about the authenticity of the document".[14]

Authenticity

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At a 1980 hearing of the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee of Oversight, CIA officials testified that the document was a singularly effective forgery by the KGB and an example of Soviet covert action.[15]

Scholars Peer Henrik Hansen and Thomas Rid, both specializing in Cold War intelligence,[16][17] and the U.S. State Department claim the document is a forgery by Soviet intelligence services.[10][11][7][6] The document first appeared in Turkey in the 1970s, before being circulated to other countries. It was also used at the end of the 1970s during Operation GLADIO, to implicate the Central Intelligence Agency in the Red Brigades' kidnapping and assassination of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro.[18][19]

The discovery in the early-1990s of Operation Gladio (NATO stay-behind networks) in Europe led to renewed debate as to whether or not the manual was fraudulent. In Allan Francovich's three-part BBC documentary on the subject, Licio Gelli, the Italian leader of the anti-Communist P2 freemason lodge, stated "The CIA gave it to me." In the documentary, Ray S. Cline said "I suspect that it is an authentic document", but former CIA head William Colby said "I have never heard of it.".[20][21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Rowland Evans, Robert Novak (20 February 1979). "'Dirty tricks' by Russians seen as spur". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 4.
  2. ^ Elizabeth Pond (1985-02-28). "The West Wakes Up to the Dangers of Misinformation". Christian Science Monitor.
  3. ^ "House Intelligence Committee Begins Inquiry Into Allegations of Forgeries". Washington Post. 1979-01-17.
  4. ^ U.S. House. Hearings Before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Soviet Active Measures. 97th Congress, 2nd session. July 13, 14, 1982.
  5. ^ U.S. House. Hearings Before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Soviet Covert Action (The Forgery Offense). 96th Congress, 2nd session. February 6, 19, 1980.
  6. ^ a b c Peer Henrik Hansen (2005). "A Review of: 'Falling Flat on the Stay-Behinds'". International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. 19 (1): 182–186. doi:10.1080/08850600500332656. S2CID 154096664.
  7. ^ a b c d e f U.S. House. Hearings Before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Soviet Covert Action (The Forgery Offense). 96th Congress, 2nd session. February 6, 19, 1980.
  8. ^ a b c Fernando Gonzalez (1978-09-23). "Top Secret, Documentos secretos del Pentágono (FM 30-31 B)". Triunfo. pp. 28–32."Top Secret, Documentos secretos del Pentágono (FM 30-31 B)". Triunfo Digital. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  9. ^ "Misinformation about 'Gladio/Stay Behind' Networks Resurfaces" (Press release). United States Department of State. 2006-01-20. Archived from the original on 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2007-06-24. A thirty year-old Soviet forgery has been cited as one of the central pieces of 'evidence' for the false notion that West European 'stay-behind' networks engaged in terrorism, allegedly at U.S. instigation. This is not true, and those researching the 'stay behind' networks need to be more discriminating in evaluating the trustworthiness of their source material.
  10. ^ a b "House Intelligence Committee Begins Inquiry into Allegations of Forgeries". Washington Post. 1979-01-17.
  11. ^ a b U.S. House. Hearings Before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Soviet Active Measures. 97th Congress, 2nd session. July 13, 14, 1982.
  12. ^ Department of Army, Headquarters (May 1961). "Collection of Army Field Manuals" (PDF). Approved for public distribution. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  13. ^ (in Italian) Commissione parlamentare d'inchiesta sulla loggia massonica P2 : Allegati alla Relazione Doc. XXIII, n. 2-quater/7/1 Serie II, Vol. VII, Tomo I, Roma 1987, pp. 287-298
  14. ^ Parlementaire Commissie (1991). "Verslag van het parlementair onderzoek met betrekking tot het bestaan in België van een clandestien internationaal inlichtingennetwerk" (PDF). Belgian Senate: 80–82. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) (in Dutch and French)
  15. ^ "Operation Gladio - 1951".
  16. ^ Hansen, Peer Henrik (2006). ""Upstairs and Downstairs"—The Forgotten CIA Operations in Copenhagen". International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. 19 (4): 685–701. doi:10.1080/08850600500483715. S2CID 153636709.
  17. ^ Rid, Thomas (2020). Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare. New York: Picador. pp. 231–242. ISBN 978-1-250-78740-8.
  18. ^ Elizabeth Pond (1985-02-28). "The West Wakes Up to the Dangers of Misinformation". Christian Science Monitor.
  19. ^ "CIA on FM 30-31B - Soviet Covert Action (the Forgery Offensive)". cryptome.org. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  20. ^ Ganser, Daniele (2004). NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe (PDF). London: Franck Cass. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-7146-8500-7.
  21. ^ Ganser, Daniele (2006). "The CIA in Western Europe and the Abuse of Human Right" (PDF). Intelligence and National Security. 21 (5): 776. doi:10.1080/02684520600957712. S2CID 154898281.
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