Who was responsible for the 1980 Bologna massacre in Italy?

The Bologna massacre, part of the larger "Years of Lead" period in Italian history, when left wing groups (primarily the Red Brigades) clashed with neo-fascist groups, who were supported by the CIA and Gladio.

The Red Brigades had contacts with the PLO and specifically the PFLP, as part of a larger PFLP strategy of internationalizing their struggle (groups such as the German RAF, JRA, FARC, IRA, ETA, among others, also had contacts with the PLO).

Italy was a key front in the Cold War, with the CIA pumping millions of dollars into centrist and right wing parties to stem the tide of the Italian Communist Party. NATO organized its stay-behind "Operation Gladio" primarily in Italy. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2017-02-07/cia-covert-aid-italy-averaged-5-million-annually-late-1940s

"Gladio" actually had a presence in many European NATO countries, but none so more than Italy, where it developed extensive ties to the Italian intelligence agency SISMI, the Italian Mafia, and even the P2 Masonic lodge.

During the Years of Lead, many of the Gladio assets in Italy were deployed to arm and support both the Italian state and neo-fascist paramilitary groups, especially in the face of increasing activity by the Red Brigades and other left wing paramilitaries.

On August 2, 1980, a bomb exploded at the Bologna central railway station, killing over 80 and wounding nearly 200. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Europe for the time. Suspicion for the bombing fell on a number of sources, including the PLO and PFLP.

What relation did the PLO and PFLP have to Italy? As I have already explained, the PFLP specifically had extensive ties with left wing militants in Europe. The main link between the PFLP and Bologna lies in the Venezuelan Illich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal."

It is not just the PFLP who was accused of orchestrating the bombing, suspicion also fell on Salah Khalaf of Fatah for ordering it. This was allegedly in response to the failure of an alleged plan by the Moro government to allow Palestinian guerrillas free passage through Italy.

The Prime Minister (and later President) of Italy at the time, Francesco Cossiga, whose government was responsible for the investigation into the bombing, even stated in the Senate that it was more likely that fascists were responsible.

Cossiga stated in the Senate that "Unlike leftist terrorism, which strikes at the heart of the state through its representatives, right-wing terrorism prefers acts such as massacres because acts of extreme violence promote panic and impulsive reactions."

However, since the beginning of the 21st century, Cossiga has voiced his belief that it was Palestinians, specifically the PFLP who ordered the attack, and that those convicted of the bombing are, in fact, innocent. Why?

https://web.archive.org/web/20090807121524/http://www.capperi.net/stragebo.html
https://www.corriere.it/politica/08_luglio_08/cossiga_cazzullo_f6395d90-4cb1-11dd-b408-00144f02aabc.shtml

It should be noted that the allegations of PFLP involvement are not new. In fact, in the aftermath of the bombing, elements in SISMI and the P2 Masonic Lodge (specifically Francesco Pazienza), efforts were made to deliberately derail the investigation and frame Palestinians.

At first, they manufactured a connection with Fatah in Lebanon in September, before also trying to manufacture a connection with the KGB. Allegations that the bombing was supported by the "radical" Arab governments of Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon were also concocted.

So what is the basis of the allegations of the PFLP? It relies solely on the aforementioned alleged agreement between the Moro Government and the PLO, called "Iodo Moro", which allegedly allowed the PLO to set up operations in Italy against Jewish targets.

What does a man such as Cossiga have to gain from such an allegation? Aside from the fact of his Premiership of Italy at the time of the massacre, he was a member of the anti-Communist Christian Democracy party, which rules Italy throughout much of the Cold War.

As Minister of the Interior, Cossiga directly played a role in harshly suppressing the worker and student protests in the 70s, being known as the "Iron Minister" before his ascension to Premiership after the death of Aldo Moro.

In the last two years of his Presidency upon the end of the Cold War, he became known as the "mattock-wielder" for his provocative and excessive statements, called "esternazioni" or "picconate." In this period, he was criticized by everyone except the Neo-Fascist ISM party.h

However, most damning was the revelation of Gladio in the 90s, and his deep involvement, along with that of the Italian state, in the organization, as well as it's ties to Neo-Fascist paramilitaries during the Years of Lead, including the NAR, the group responsible for Bologna.

To conclude this long and probably overdone thread, I think it is quite obvious that the Bologna massacre was indeed committed by the Neo-Fascist paramilitaries, and that Cossiga's framing of the PFLP is an attempt to regain some kind of legitimacy in the Italian political sphere

There is simply no rational reason the PFLP or any Palestinian or Arab group would have to commit the massacre. The abrogation of the alleged "Iodo Moro" plan would hardly justify a retaliatory attack on Italian citizens, especially as the group was under fire in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Neo-Fascist groups are known to be working for the Italian State and Operation Gladio, and therefore have every reason to commit such a massacre to justify state repression. The allegations of PFLP involvement in Bologna, I can safely say, are total bogus.