[Intelforum] Albanian ops - replies to Messrs. Cummings and Montecucchi

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I have sent individual offlist replies to Messrs. Cummings and Montecucchi (queries below).  To summarize for the Forum readers, 
 
1)  I told Mr. Cummings that, indeed, I am aware of Radio Free Europe's broadcasting to Albania in the early 1950s. The programming was minimal in terms of airtime, and observers believed there were few listeners inside the then primitive Balkan nation. I do plan to briefly mention the service when the book is written.
 
2)  Supported by the CIA Office of Special Operations, the Italian Navy Intelligence Service ran a series of  missions employing  Albanian political exiles 1948-1951.  To some observers, those ops were more successful on the ground than the more elaborate U.S. Office of Policy Coordination project run out of Germany and Greece or the effort British intelligence officials ran from Malta.  The Italians ran an early training camp on deserted Montecristo Island, off Italy's west coast.  The Albanian operatives, effective guerrillas as they were, could not stand thinking of themselves solely as spies, which the CIA and Italians wanted them to be.  A vendetta-linked assassination of a ranking Albanian Communist official brought Communists' wrath down on the Mirdita region, resulting in 14 executions and numerous persons imprisoned.
 
Tom McNiff
 
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From: "Carlo, jr." <carlojr at torinofacile.it>
To: intelforum at lists101.his.com
Subject: Re: Covert Operations in Albania
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 19:38:22 +0100

Dear Tom:

Referring to the "1949 - 54 Albanian project" do you have some 
information about the possible role of officers of the Italian 
Intelligence Services (Marina Militare Italiana - The Montecristo 
island) in some operations (CIA and MI6 covert operations of the Cold 
War) ?

Thanks,

Pier Carlo Montecucchi
 
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From: Richard Cummings <RCumm10487 at aol.com>
To: intelforum at lists101.his.com
Subject: Re: Covert Operations in Albania
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 19:08:34 +0100

Greetings from D?sseldorf.  Interesting posting.

What is not generally known is that Radio Free Europe, as part of the 
CIA's covert operations in Europe, broadcast to Albania from late 
1950 to September 1953.  Would be interesting to see if the book 
mentions that, or not.

Regards to all.

Richard Cummings




      
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