A former British intelligence officer and longtime whistleblower says the recent Paris terror attacks, attributed to ISIS, have all the markings of a Gladio-style inside job

David Shayler, a former MI5 officer, is best known for blowing the whistle on a failed assassination attempt against Muammar Gaddafi in 1996 (NATO finally finished the job, though).

Since then he's been lambasted and smeared by Responsible Media. But that hasn't stopped him from speaking out about his views on the recent Paris terror attacks:

Shayler is a longtime whistleblower who has been demonized by the British press David Shayler, 49, has released a video on YouTube claiming there is "much evidence" that jihadis were not behind the atrocities which left 130 people dead in the French capital. The former MI5 officer instead claimed "dark forces" linked to western intelligence services were behind the attacks on November 13. ... "Once again it has been blamed on ISIS, but it appears to bear all the hallmarks of a Gladio-style operation." Operation Gladio was the codename for a clandestine NATO operation in Italy during the Cold War to prepare for and carry out armed resistance there in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion and conquest. Claims that alleged terrorist attacks in Italy during the cold war were actually carried out by secret NATO officers have been subject to parliamentary inquiries in Switzerland and Belgium.

We've written about Operation Gladio. These were not "alleged" terrorist attacks carried out by NATO. It's all been documented. The existence of Gladio was confirmed and admitted by the Italian government in 1990, after a judge, Felice Casson, discovered NATO-backed terror cells in the course of his investigations into right-wing extremism.

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".

Shayler might not be right about the recent Paris attacks, but he's absolutely correct that NATO has carried out similar operations on European soil. That alone is newsworthy.

No wonder the British media hate him.