disinfozone/The_Info_Web
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull requests Projects Releases Packages Wiki Activity Actions

vault backup: 2026-10-12 18:03:34

Browse source
This commit is contained in:
disinfo.zone 2026-10-12 18:03:34 -04:00
parent 8117db02c6
commit b7b79f64a5
No known key found for this signature in database
46 changed files with 1974 additions and 504 deletions
Download patch file Download diff file Expand all files Collapse all files

15
60 - PLACES/CITIES/Brussels.md
View file

@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
---
---
category: "City"
tags:
- City
@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ tags:
- EU
- Intelligence
- Gladio
summary: "Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the headquarters of NATO and the European Union; it appears in this vault as the administrative center through which NATO's Gladio stay-behind network and Belgian intelligence operated, and through its proximity to the Knokke-Heist area central to the Dutroux X-Dossier investigation."
summary: "Brussels is the capital of Belgium, the site of NATO headquarters at Evere and the European Union institutions, and where the Belgian Senate inquiry into a clandestine intelligence network sat in 1991."
created: 2026-05-14
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-12
location: "Brussels, Belgium"
---
@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ Brussels (Bruxelles/Brussel) is the capital of [[Belgium]] and the most importan
### NATO Headquarters
[[NATO]]'s headquarters, known as SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe), relocated from [[Paris]] to Brussels in 1967 when French President [[Charles de Gaulle]] withdrew France from NATO's integrated military command and expelled NATO forces from French soil. NATO's political headquarters (the North Atlantic Council) subsequently moved from Paris to a purpose-built facility in Evere, northeast of Brussels. The move made Brussels the de facto capital of the Western alliance's military and political coordination infrastructure.[^1]
NATO's political headquarters are at Evere in the Brussels region. The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ([[SHAPE]]) is at Casteau, outside the city, and the American commands were transferred there from Rocquencourt after [[Charles de Gaulle]] withdrew France from the integrated military command.[^2] The North Atlantic Council subsequently moved from Paris to a purpose-built facility in Evere, northeast of Brussels. The move made Brussels the de facto capital of the Western alliance's military and political coordination infrastructure.[^1]
NATO's presence in Brussels meant the city also hosted the intelligence liaison offices of all NATO member states' intelligence services, including CIA Europe operations, [[MI6]], the [[BND]], and the services of smaller member states. This concentration of intelligence officers in a relatively small city created an intensive intelligence environment. Belgium's own intelligence service, the [[Surete de l'Etat]] (state security), maintained its headquarters in Brussels with liaison responsibilities to the allied services.[^2]
NATO's presence in Brussels meant the city also hosted the intelligence liaison offices of all NATO member states' intelligence services, including CIA Europe operations, [[MI6]], the [[BND]], and the services of smaller member states. This concentration of intelligence officers in a relatively small city created an intensive intelligence environment. Belgium's own intelligence service, the [[Surete de l'Etat]] (state security), maintained its headquarters in Brussels with liaison responsibilities to the allied services.[^3]
### European Union
@ -27,11 +27,12 @@ The European Commission, European Parliament (which alternates with Strasbourg),
### Gladio and Belgian Intelligence
[[Belgium]]'s [[Gladio]] stay-behind network - known as [[SDRA8]] within military intelligence - was administered through Brussels-based military intelligence structures. The Gladio network's weapons caches were distributed across Belgium. Following the October 1990 Italian disclosure of Gladio's existence, Belgian parliamentary investigations revealed that the Belgian network had possible connections to the [[Brabant massacres]] of 1983-1985, which killed 28 people in supermarket attacks that investigators believed exceeded any rational criminal purpose.[^2]
Belgium's [[Gladio]] stay-behind network - known as [[SDRA8]] within military intelligence - was administered through Brussels-based military intelligence structures. The Gladio network's weapons caches were distributed across Belgium. Following the October 1990 Italian disclosure of Gladio's existence, Belgian parliamentary investigations revealed that the Belgian network had possible connections to the [[Brabant massacres]] (early 1982 to November 1985; [[Daniele Ganser]] dates them 1983 to 1985), which killed 28 people in supermarket attacks that investigators believed exceeded any rational criminal purpose.[^3]
Brussels was also the city from which the Belgian political and judicial establishments operated - the same establishments implicated in the [[X-Dossier]] testimonies collected during the [[Marc Dutroux]] investigation. While the abuse events described by witnesses occurred primarily in [[Knokke-Heist]] and other locations, the political and judicial figures named were based in the Brussels governmental world.
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Brussels," *Encyclopaedia Britannica.* https://www.britannica.com/place/Brussels
[^2]: Ganser, Daniele. *NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe.* Frank Cass, 2005.
[^2]: Belgian Senate, Doc. 1117-4 (1990-1991), "Enquête parlementaire sur l'existence en Belgique d'un réseau de renseignements clandestin international," rapport fait au nom de la commission par MM. Erdman et Hasquin, October 1, 1991. https://senate.be/lexdocs/S0523/S05231297.pdf
[^3]: Ganser, Daniele. *NATO's Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe.* Frank Cass, 2005.