Summary
Overview
Security expert Gavin de Becker joins Joe Rogan for an extensive discussion about government operations, pharmaceutical corruption, and the COVID-19 response. De Becker, approaching these topics from a criminologist's perspective, presents documented evidence of CIA operations like Project Gladio, pharmaceutical industry malfeasance, and the institutional capture that shaped pandemic policies. The conversation explores vaccine safety concerns, the history of government deception, and the need for public skepticism in holding power centers accountable.
Project Gladio: CIA's Secret European Operations
De Becker opens by revealing Operation Gladio, a post-WWII CIA operation where hundreds of American soldiers remained in Europe to conduct terrorist attacks against allied nations. These attacks, including the 1980 Bologna train station bombing that killed 85 people, were designed to manipulate elections away from communist-leaning candidates toward right-wing governments the CIA could control. The operation continued until 1990 under President George H.W. Bush, with many imprisoned terrorists later released when CIA involvement was exposed.
- Project Gladio involved CIA leaving behind hundreds of soldiers in Europe after WWII to conduct covert operations
- Bologna train station bombing killed 85 people and injured 285, done and funded by CIA
- Operations included assassination of journalist writing about Gladio and former Prime Minister Aldo Moro
- Program eventually operated a 20,000-person army across Europe and ended in 1990
" they blow up a train station in Bologna, 285 people injured, 85 people killed, done and funded and operated by our CIA "
" The punchline on it for me, the one that really blows it out of the water, is that it ended in 1990 "
Government Propaganda and the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act
The discussion shifts to how the Obama administration's changes to the Smith-Mundt Act legalized the use of propaganda on American citizens. This policy change, combined with historical programs like Operation Mockingbird that embedded CIA assets in journalism, has created an environment where intelligence agencies can legally manipulate public perception. The conversation explores how social media amplifies these capabilities and how various nations, including Saudi Arabia, have weaponized platforms like Twitter to control narratives.
- Smith-Mundt Act changes during Obama administration made it legal to use propaganda on American citizens
- Project Mockingbird had hundreds of American journalists on CIA payroll to float ideas inside the United States
- Saudi Arabia used 40,000 people and bots to manipulate Twitter trends after platform shut down 5,000 fake accounts
" when they made it legal to use propaganda on American citizens, that that blurred the lines of truth and reality for all of us forever "
" if you don't have skepticism, the government runs us. We don't run the government "
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