Putin is obviously behind the recent bomb attack in Odessa. But why is he copying NATO's clandestine terror tactics from the Cold War?

It's still unclear exactly who or what is responsible for the recent bomb attack in Odessa, although some analysts suspect that Putin's murderous goat-eating Siberian tiger is somehow involved.

What we do know is that this bombing, which killed approximately zero people, is perhaps the most despicable act of terror ever conceived by human or animal.

Not as cool as an Azov Battalion rune, but still "pretty cool"

Furthermore, the United States and NATO strongly condemn any and all bomb attacks. That's why they supported right-wing paramilitary groups responsible for a string of terrorist bombings in Europe during the Cold War. That might sound illogical, but you must understand: These bombs were exploded for free markets and right-wing governments. For freedom.

Operation Gladio: Freedom-loving NATO terror

Operation Gladio was a clandestine NATO/CIA "stay-behind" operation in Europe during the Cold War. It was originally conceived (or so we are told) as an armed resistance group in the event of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe.

The invasion never came, so Gladio's mission was slightly changed to "let's bomb public buildings, and then blame the Communists." As The Guardian reported in 2000:

The existence of Gladio was confirmed and admitted by the Italian government in 1990, after a judge, Felice Casson, discovered the network in the course of his investigations into right-wing terrorism. In 1992, the BBC made a long, depressing documentary about this brilliant, bomb-tastic "strategy of tension":

[video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXavNe81XdQ]

If you don't have two hours to watch the whole documentary, this delightful chapter in NATO history is nicely summarized by The Guardian headline, "Bomb used at Bologna came from Nato unit".

Your beatnik Russia correspondent does not approve of bombs and believes that whoever is responsible for the attack in Odessa should be thrown in prison for a very long time. However, there are "good" bombs and "bad" bombs. NATO bombs are obviously of the "good" variety.

And it remains to be seen if the bomb attack in Odessa was "good."