BBC - International Terrorism (2008) Part 26 The Red Brigade

International Terrorism: The Global War on Terror

The terrorist is by no means a new actor on the world stage. However, thanks to startling developments in military and communications technology, this perennial threat to freedom and security has taken a quantum leap forward during the past thirty years. In many cases, these vicious and determined men and women have supplanted nation states on the globe's “most wanted” list! This extraordinary 26-episode series provides a comprehensive look at these modern masters of political murder and extortion. From the I.R.A. to al-Qaeda, Global Terror runs the gamut of groups that have pledged themselves to destroy the stability that we cling to so tenuously—examining their goals, their methods and their terrifying prospects for success!

Part 26: The Red Brigade

Formed in 1970, the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades) sought to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle and to separate Italy from the Western Alliance (NATO). The Red Brigades’ main aim was the overthrow of the Italian government, the weakening of NATO and the creation of a Marxist state. On 16 March 1978, the former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was kidnapped in a violent ambush, which left five men dead at the scene. Two days later, his kidnappers revealed themselves as the Red Brigades, a notorious terrorist group which had bombed and shot its way across Italy since the early 1970s. Eight weeks later, Moro’s dead body was dumped in downtown Rome. In December 1981, the Red Brigades kidnapped another high profile victim: a senior NATO staff officer, US Brigadier-General James Dozier. He was freed 42 days later in a daring raid by Italian commandos.

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