Brigate Rosse Red Brigade

BRIGATE ROSSE

RED BRIGADE

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Table of Contents

I. IntroductionÐ'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'.....1

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II. History & IdeologyÐ'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...1

III. ActivitiesÐ'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'..... 2

IV. Strength and Area of OperationÐ'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...3

V. ConclusionÐ'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...3

VI. BibliographyÐ'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'...Ð'....4

Introduction

During the 1970's and 1980's, great fear had been spread throughout Italy. A group known as the Brigate Rosse, or Red Brigade, had developed and left its mark on the Italian political scene. Fear was commonplace as bomb plots, kneecappings, and assassinations became the norm. As we go through this paper, the fascinating yet horrifying story, including the history, ideology, and current activity of the Red Brigade will be told.

History & Ideology

The history of the Red Brigade can be traced back to the year 1969. It arose out of the student protest movements of the late 60's. It was a Marxist-Leninist group whose aim was to separate Italy from the Western Alliance. It borrowed the name, methods, and moral justifications from the earlier Italian Resistance movement during World War II. It's ideology advocated violence in the service of class warfare and revolution, and with Italy in political turmoil at the time, the Red Brigades enjoyed a certain degree of support from the Left. When the group first formed, it mostly concentrated on the assassinations and kidnappings of Italian Government members and private-sector targets, such as judges, corporate executives, university professors, and policemen. The idea behind that was to instill fear in the normal working class. That fear would not have been seen had the targets been a head of a company or a prime minister. Very few would have been afraid of that same fate. During the years of 1975 to 1981, Italy experienced the worst the group had to offer. These years are affectionately known as the Years of Lead. It is a clear reference to the bullets that killed close to five hundred people during this period.

Activities

While a civil war was slowly burning throughout Italy, the Red Brigade, causing an entire society to live in fear, dealt out nearly eight thousand terrorist attacks. In addition to the aforementioned private sector targets, the Red Brigade conducted kidnappings and murders on high political targets, as well. In 1978, the Red Brigades kidnapped the former prime minister of Italy, Aldo Moro. He was held captive for nearly two months, before his body was finally dumped in the heart of Rome. Unfortunately for the Red Brigade, this had an adverse affect on its supporters, and the party quickly lost the support it had enjoyed earlier that decade. This did not stop them, however, as in 1981, Red Brigades operatives managed to kidnap General James Dozier, an American who held a position with NATO in Italy. He was eventually freed in a raid on the Brigades hideout. In 1984, they claimed responsibility for murdering Leamon Hunt, the US chief of the Sinai Multinational Force and Observer Group. Things