| Country: | Netherlands |
| Details of Formation: | The group was established after World War II. |
| Details of Termination: | After the fall of the Berlin Wall and due to the Gladio affair in Italy, the PGM was dissolved. |
| Purpose: | The group as part of a “stay-behind” network that was intended as a fighting force prepared to counter a possible Warsaw Pact invasion. In this case, it was meant to conduct guerilla warfare and sabotage activities. In the Netherlands the group also conducted secret surveillance and was responsible for the security of secret arms caches. |
| Organisation: | The PGM was coordinated by NATO and run by the military secret services in close cooperation with the CIA and British Secret Intelligence Service. The group conducted joint operations with Belgium and was overseen by civilian authorities from 1967. |
| Weapons and Training: | The group trained with the US Green Berets and the British Special Air Services (SAS) and was equipped from underground arms caches. Those contained weapons such as guns, pistols and explosives. |
| Size: | -- |
| Reason for Membership: | -- |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The group was responsible for the secret surveillance of civilians and organizations. |
| Other Information: | The first speculations about the Netherlands’ Gladio involvement began when arms caches were discovered in 1980 and 1983. Evidence mentions two joint operations with the UK between 1985 and 1990. The network of groups may have some semi-official status within the intelligence community. This status is not recognized but instead hidden even from some domestic governments and prime ministers. The groups were ultimately answerable to NATO-CIA rather than to domestic governments in event of an attack by members of the Warsaw Pact. |
| References: |
Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD. Engelen, Dick. 2007. “Lessons Learned: The Dutch “stay-behind” Organization 1945-1992”. Journal of Strategic Studies 30(6): 981 – 996. Wikipedia. “Operation Gladio.” https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Gladio&oldid=835600108 |