Paul L. Williams – författare

This disturbing exposé describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Journalist Paul L. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of "stay-behind" units in many European countries consisting of five thousand to fifteen thousand military operatives. According to the author's research, the initial funding for these guerilla armies came from the sale of large stocks of SS morphine that had been smuggled out of Germany and Italy and of bogus British bank notes that had been produced in concentration camps by skilled counterfeiters. As the Cold War intensified, the units were used not only to ward off possible invaders, but also to thwart the rise of left-wing movements in South America and NATO-based countries by terror attacks. Williams argues that Operation Gladio soon gave rise to the toppling of governments, wholesale genocide, the formation of death squads, financial scandals on a grand scale, the creation of the mujahedeen, an international narcotics network, and, most recently, the ascendancy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit cleric with strong ties to Operation Condor (an outgrowth of Gladio in Argentina) as Pope Francis I.In a new and lengthy epilogue to this paperback edition, the author continues the Gladio story into the 21st century, suggesting that the CIA is heavily involved in the US heroin trade to fund its operations in Central Asia, the Middle East, and Mexico. In addition, he presents troubling information about the creation and support of ISIS.Sure to be controversial, Operation Gladio connects the dots in ways the mainstream media often overlooks.

Over 50 billion dollars in securities. Gold reserves that exceed those of industrialized nations. Real estate holdings that equal the total area of many countries. Opulent palaces containing the world's greatest art treasures. These are some of the riches of the Roman Catholic Church. Yet in 1929 the Vatican was destitute. Pope Pius XI, living in a damaged, leaky, pigeon-infested Lateran Palace, could hear rats scurrying through the walls, and he worried about how he would pay for even basic repairs to unclog the overburdened sewer lines and update the antiquated heating system. How did the Church manage in less than seventy-five years such an incredible reversal of fortune? The story here told by Church historian Paul L. Williams is intriguing, shocking, and outrageous.The turnaround began on February 11, 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Vatican and fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Through this deal Mussolini gained the support of the staunchly Catholic Italian populace, who at the time followed the lead of the Church. In return, the Church received, among other benefits, a payment of $90 million, sovereign status for the Vatican, tax-free property rights, and guaranteed salaries for all priests throughout the country from the Italian government. With the stroke of a pen the pope had solved the Vatican's budgetary woes practically overnight, yet he also put a great religious institution in league with some of the darkest forces of the 20th century.Based on his years of experience as a consultant for the FBI, Williams produces explosive and never-before published evidence of the Church's morally questionable financial dealings with sinister organizations over seven decades through today. He examines the means by which the Vatican accrued enormous wealth during the Great Depression by investing in Mussolini's government, the connection between Nazi gold and the Vatican Bank, the vast range of Church holdings in the postwar boom period, Paul VI's appointment of Mafia chieftain Michele Sindona as the Vatican banker, a billion-dollar counterfeit stock fraud uncovered by Interpol and the FBI, the "Ambrosiano Affair" called "the greatest financial scandal of the 20th Century" by the New York Times, the mysterious death of John Paul I, profits from an international drug ring operating out of Gdansk, Poland, and revelations about current dealings.For both Catholics and non-Catholics this troubling expose of corruption in one of the most revered religious institutions in the world will serve as an urgent call for reform.

Does Osama bin Laden have nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction? If so, where are they? Are they in the hands of al Qaeda sleeper cells in the United States? Should Americans be bracing for a nuclear attack? Former consultant for the FBI an organised crime and international terrorism and a seasoned investigative reporter, Paul L. Williams reveals the potential for nuclear terrorism on US soil in this shocking expose. Based on the findings of US, Israeli, Pakistani, and British intelligence, Williams describes how the theft of tactical nuclear weapons from Russian arsenals have in all likelihood made their way to al Qaeda cells throughout the United States in preparation for the next terrorist attack. Williams presents clear evidence showing that, in the chaos following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Chechen Mafia got its hands on portable Russian nuclear weapons. Between 1996 and 2001, Mafia members negotiated the sale of twenty nuclear 'suitcase bombs' to representatives of Osama bin Laden. Far worse than so-called 'dirty bombs', each suitcase bomb is capable of killing millions of Americans while exposing millions more to deadly radioactive fallout.According to Williams, reliable sources indicate that these bombs may already be in the possession of al Qaeda operatives in such major cities as New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, Houston, and Los Angeles. In addition, bin Laden has recruited former Soviet scientists and technicians to maintain these weapons and recharge their nuclear cores so that they may be deployed immediately on his command. In 2001 he issued a statement boasting of his intent to have America experience a 'Hiroshima'. Also included in the book are bin Laden's 'Letters to America' and his 'Declaration of War Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places', as well as the World Islamic Statement declaring 'Jihad against Jews and Crusaders'. These crucial documents highlight the rationale behind and the depth of bin Laden's hatred for the United States. Moreover, Williams documents that Osama has the international network of embedded terrorists to carry out his threats.Although the media have reported on some of these threatening developments and government insiders have acknowledged the threat of nuclear attack, until now no one has put all the pieces together in a coherent, nonsense way. Williams makes a persuasive case that bin Laden and his deputies have the motive and the means and are just waiting for the opportunity to launch an apocalyptic attack on the 'Great Satan' of America.

The author reveals persuasive evidence that al Qaeda has now established connections with the Sicilian Mafia, which is helping to finance terrorism through the sale of heroin. In addition, through its ties to the Chechen Mafia, the group responsible for the heinous attack on a Russian school, al Qaeda has managed to obtain nuclear weapons from poorly secured and carelessly guarded storehouses in Russia.Perhaps the most disturbing evidence uncovered by Williams is the relation of al Qaeda to an obscure Salvadoran street gang, which calls itself Mara Salvatrucha and has expanded exponentially.No other book deals with the connection between international, extremist Islamic terrorism and organized crime-a connection that has made possible the establishment of a well-financed branch of al Qaeda in Latin America and the creation of terrorist cells in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States.

Forty years ago, Muslims in America were a statistically insignificant minority, numbering fewer than one thousand individuals. By contrast, Islam is today the second-largest and fastest growing religion in America, with more than six million adherents.In Crescent Moon Rising, journalist Paul L. Williams examines the phenomenal rise of Islam in the United States and discusses its implications.In the first half of the book, the author traces the beginnings of Islam in this country, in particular the rise and influence of the Nation of Islam among African Americans. He emphasizes the impact of the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act, which abolished national-origin quotas and led to successive waves of Muslim immigrants, who entered this country from Palestine, Kuwait, Iraq, Southeast Asia, Africa, Turkey, and other parts of the world.In the second half, Williams considers statistical studies of American Muslims regarding age groups, family size, professional affiliations, annual income, and religious and political commitments. He also addresses a number of disturbing concerns about some aspects of the Muslim presence in America. These include: the connections between many American mosques with Saudi benefactors who promote an ultra-orthodox, anti-Western agenda; the existence of Muslim paramilitary training grounds recruiting ex-convicts; and the ties of even self-described moderate Muslim spokespersons with more politically radical elements. Informative and at times controversial, Crescent Moon Rising clearly shows that Islam will be a force to reckon with for some time in America.