Editing Mehmet Ali Agca (section)

==1980-1981: The Bologna Bombing and the Papal Assassination Attempt==
Bologna Bombing (August 2, 1980): A time bomb exploded in the Bologna Central Station, killing 84 people and wounding over 200. Blame was initially placed on the Red Brigades and the radical left. This massacre brought Gladio's role in the "strategy of tension" to light. (Williams, p. 108)

Investigation into Heroin Smuggling (Six months before papal assassination attempt - late 1980): Italian judge Carlo Palermo launched an investigation into heroin smuggling in northern Italy. He discovered that heroin was arriving in police cars provided by Karah Mehmet Ali, a Turkish Mafia agent. Karl Kofler was identified as a key importer, linked to a kidnapping ring and a Sicilian Mafia laboratory producing 100 kg of heroin per week. Kofler was in league with Stefano Bontade, who had arranged [[Michele Sindona]]'s fake kidnapping. (Williams, p. 215)

Kofler's Arrest (January 1981): Karl Kofler was taken into custody and provided details about the Balkan route, the "babas," the Sicilian Men of Honor, and Stibam International, which had become the hub of the drug trade. (Williams, p. 215)

Preparation for Papal Assassination (1981): Mehmet Ali Ağca and Abdullah Çatlı were safe in Munich, a refuge due to the presence of 50,000 Grey Wolves in West Germany, who acted as "storm troopers" for the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND - Germany's Federal Intelligence Service), an outgrowth of Gladio set up by the CIA under former Nazi General [[Reinhard Gehlen]]. Çatlı later testified that he received three million marks from the German secret service for the hit. Oral Çelik, a fellow Grey Wolf who provided backup in the İpekçi killing, joined them. (Williams, p. 209-210)

Meeting with Morlion (April 18, 1981): Ağca, Çatlı, and Çelik traveled to Milan to meet Bekir Çelenk at Stibam. From Milan, they traveled to Rome. (Williams, p. 210)

Pope John Paul II Assassination Attempt (May 13, 1981): Mehmet Ali Ağca shot and nearly killed Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. Ağca was apprehended. The arrest warrant stated he acted "in collaboration with other individuals whose identity remains unknown." Magistrate Luciano Infelisi, initially assigned to the investigation, concluded that Ağca did not act alone, but was quickly removed from the case. The trial lasted only three days. Sister Letizia identified Ağca, but a photo showing another man running away with a pistol raised questions about other gunmen. Former CIA agents [[Theodore Shackley]] and Tom Clines were observed at the scene, their presence unexplained. (Williams, p. 211)

Ağca's Trial and Imprisonment: Ağca was sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy for the assassination attempt. He was later pardoned by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in June 2000 at the Pope's request and deported to Turkey. (Williams, p. 211, 1.1, 1.2)

Ağca's Subsequent Imprisonment in Turkey: In Turkey, he was imprisoned for the 1979 murder of Abdi İpekçi and for two bank raids. (1.1, 1.2)