[I had the following letter published in the Financial Times on July 25th]
Ian Thomson’s review of John Foot’s account of Italy’s anni di piombo (years of lead, as in bullets) makes for a fascinating yet chilling read (“A climate of terror and discontent.”) The subheading describes the book as a “grimly absorbing history of how leftwing militant group the Red Brigades terrorised Italy.” Yet thanks to superior intelligence services and courageous counter-terrorist commandos, the Italian republic held firm
One of the most powerful stories from that period was the account of how in 1982 a 12-man section of the Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza (NOCS), Italy’s specialist police counter insurgency unit, stormed an apartment in Padua and freed Brigadier General James L Dozier in a lightning raid, 42 days after he was abducted by the Red Brigades.
The muscular “leatherheads” of NOCS, who were under the tactical command of Captain Edoardo Perna, rescued the American general without firing a single shot, snapping the spine, metaphorically, of the Marxist terrorist group.
President Ronald Reagan hailed the daring operation, stating that the Italians “have acquitted themselves with honour.” To this day, Rome fully understands the existential threat posed by a fanatical terrorist horde. The West would do well to embrace Italy’s proficiency in counterterrorism. -RAI
I vividly recall the fear that the Brigate Rosse evoked. I was a student at the Scuola d’Italia in Manhattan during that period. I recall the principal interrupting class to inform us that Aldo Moro’s body was found in via delle Botteghe Oscuri in Rome. The mood was quite somber.
I credit the Italian government with dealing with the problem and limiting the damage before the cancer metastasized further.
There are numerous examples, now and then, of how Italians have always demonstrated their innate courage and “dignita,” both collectively and individually. One quick example which comes to mind is Fabrizio Quattrocchi who, after being captured by Islamic terrorists in 2004, defiantly pulled off his head covering and shouted to his stunned captors, “I’ll show you how an Italian dies!”
They shot him on the spot. But his words echo through the ages.
Yet that overpowering silence you hear is both the American and international media, which still refuse to recognize such heroism.