Fifth column
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| - | '''Operation Gladio''' is the [[codename]] for a [[clandestine]] [[NATO]] "stay-behind" [[military operation]] in [[Europe]] during the [[Cold War]]. Its purpose was to continue armed resistance in the event of a [[Soviet invasion]] and conquest. Although Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATO [[stay-behind]] organizations, "Operation Gladio" is used as an informal name for all stay-behind organizations. The name ''Gladio'' is the [[Italian language|Italian]] form of ''[[gladius]]'', a type of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[shortsword]]. | + | A '''fifth column''' is any group of people who undermine a larger group—such as a nation or a [[siege warfare|besieged city]]—from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize openly to assist an external attack. This term is also extended to organized actions by military personnel. Clandestine fifth column activities can involve acts of sabotage, disinformation, or espionage executed within defense lines by secret sympathizers with an external force. |
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| - | Stay-behind operations occurred in many NATO and even some neutral countries. | + | |
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Stay-behind]] | + | * [[Alien invasion#Alien infiltration|Alien infiltration]] |
| - | *[[False flag]] | + | * [[Black propaganda]] |
| - | *[[Fifth column]] | + | * [[Demographic threat]] |
| - | *[[Counter-guerilla]] | + | * [[False flag]] |
| - | *[[Italian Communist Party|Italian Communist Party (PCI)]] (1921–1991) | + | * [[Front organization]] |
| - | *[[Operation Condor]] | + | * [[Quisling]] |
| + | * [[Sleeper cell]] | ||
| + | * [[Stay-behind]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group—such as a nation or a besieged city—from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize openly to assist an external attack. This term is also extended to organized actions by military personnel. Clandestine fifth column activities can involve acts of sabotage, disinformation, or espionage executed within defense lines by secret sympathizers with an external force.
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See also
- Alien infiltration
- Black propaganda
- Demographic threat
- False flag
- Front organization
- Quisling
- Sleeper cell
- Stay-behind
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Fifth column" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
