World Notes ITALY

The story seems straight from the pages of a political thriller. During the early days of the cold war, the Italian government, assisted by the CIA, sets up a clandestine paramilitary network designed to resist a communist invasion. Code name: Operation Gladio, as in a gladiator's double-edged sword. Skip ahead to last July, when a Venetian magistrate named Felice Casson, investigating a 1970s car bombing in Peteano, uncovers the network while searching through files at SISMI, the Italian intelligence service. When Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti admits Gladio did exist, a national scandal ensues. Most disturbing are suspicions that renegade Gladio agents may have been involved in right-wing terrorism in the 1960s and '70s.

Last week, during an address to Parliament, Andreotti insisted Gladio was completely justified by the climate of the times and chided the opposition for "insinuating suspicions." He insisted that although Gladio had a military structure, "it had never been involved in terrorist activities." Meanwhile, Casson has summoned President Francesco Cossiga to testify on the Peteano attack.