Strategy of tension
 Strategy of tension 
 | |
|---|---|
 At the bombing of the Bologna main station in 1980, 85 people died. Agents of the Italian intelligence services and the secret society Propaganda Due hindered the investigation by laying false tracks. | |
| Interest of | • Richard Cottrell • Le Cercle • Operatiën en Inlichtingen • The Bombers Affair (Luxembourg) |
| The strategy of tension (Italian: strategia della tensione) is an umbrella term used for a complex set of covert operations aimed at destabilisation or unsettling parts of the target population, regions or states, carried out or promoted by government agencies. | |
The methods used are illegal, often violent ie. terror attacks, murder, kidnapping, paramilitary operations but also propaganda, economic sanctions, support of civil unrest, fake grassroots movements and purposeful escalation of formerly peaceful protests involving agents provocateurs. These are typically carried out under a false flag and in combination with spreading disinformation to blame an uninvolved third party. If state agencies engage in staging or promoting acts of terrorism the term stateterrorism is used, ie. by former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt.[1]
Typically the strategy of tension is carried out on a high level of secrecy under the doctrine of plausible deniability involving organizations infiltrated by but not directly affiliated with the state agencies. For this reason conspiracies on this level are generally hard to prove, nevertheless a number of proven cases have surfaced in latest history.
- ↑ Giovanni di Lorenzo, Interview with Helmut Schmidt, Die Zeit, Aug 30, 2007, accessed Nov 24, 2014, http://www.zeit.de/2007/36/Interview-Helmut-Schmidt/komplettansicht
