THE DANGER WE FACE

DID COINTELPRO EVER REALLY
END?

Public exposure of COINTELPRO in the early 1970s
elicited a flurry of reform. Congress, the courts and the mass media condemned
government "intelligence abuses." Municipal police forces officially disbanded
their red squads. A new Attorney General notified past victims of COINTELPRO and
issued Guidelines to limit future operations. Top FBI officials were indicted
(albeit for relatively minor offenses), two were convicted, and several others
retired or resigned. J. Edgar Hoover the egomaniacal, crudely racist and sexist
founder of the FBI died, and a well known federal judge, William Webster,
eventually was appointed to clean house and build a "new FBI."
Behind this public hoopla, however, was little real improvement in government
treatment of radical activists. Domestic covert operations were briefly scaled
down a bit, after the 60s' upsurge had largely subsided, due impart to the
success of COINTELPRO. But they did not stop. In April, 1971, soon after files
had been taken from one of its offices, the FBI instructed its agents that
"future COINTELPRO actions will be considered on a highly selective, individual
basis with tight procedures to insure absolute security." The results are
apparent in the record of the subsequent years:
-A virtual war on the American Indian Movement, ranging from forgery of
documents, infiltration of legal defense committees, diversion of funds,
intimidation of witnesses and falsification of evidence, to the para-military
invasion of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and the murder of Anna
Mae Aquash, Joe Stuntz and countless others;
-Sabotage of efforts to organize protest demonstrations at the 1972
Republican and Democratic Party conventions. The attempted assassination of San
Diego Univ. Prof. Peter Bohmer, by a "Secret Army Organization" of ex-Minutemen
formed, subsidized, armed, and protected by the FBI, was a part of these
operations;
-Concealment of the fact that the witness whose testimony led to the 1972
robbery murder conviction of Black Panther leader Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt was a
paid informer who had worked in the BPP under the direction of the FBI and the
Los Angeles Police Department;
-Infiltration and disruption of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and
prosecution of its national leaders on false charges (Florida, 1971-74);
-Formation and operation of sham political groups such as "Red Star Cadre,"
in Tampa, Fla., and the New Orleans "Red Collective" (1972-76);
-Mass interrogation of lesbian and feminist activists, threats of subpoenas,
jailing of those who refused to cooperate, and disruption of women's health
collectives and other projects (Lexington, KY., Hartford and New Haven, Conn.,
1975);
-Harassment of the Hispanic Commission of the Episcopal Church and numerous
other Puerto Rican and Chicano religious activists and community organizers
(Chicago, New York City, Puerto Rico, Colorado and New Mexico, 1977);
-Entrapment and frame-up of militant union leaders (NASCO shipyards, San
Diego, 1979); and
-Complicity in the murder of socialist labor and community organizers
(Greensboro, N.C., 1980).

IS IT A THREAT
TODAY?

All this, and maybe more, occurred in an era of
reform. The use of similar measures in today's very different times cannot be
itemized in such detail, since most are still secret. The gravity of the current
danger is evident, however, from the major steps recently taken to legitimize
and strengthen political repression, and from the many incidents which are
coming to light despite stepped-up security.
The ground-work for public acceptance of repression has been laid by
President Reagan's speeches reviving the old red scare tale of worldwide
"communist take-overs" and adding a new bogeyman in the form of domestic and
international "terrorism." The President has taken advantage of the resulting
political climate to denounce the Bill of Rights and to red bait critics of US
intervention in Central America. He has pardoned the FBI officials convicted of
COINTELPRO crimes, praised their work, and spoken favorably of the political
witch hunts he took part in during the 1950s.
For the first time in US history, government infiltration to "influence"
domestic political activity has received official sanction. On the pretext of
meeting the supposed terrorist threat, Presidential Executive Order 12333 (Dec.
4, 1981) extends such authority not only to the FBI, but also to the military
and, in some cases, the CIA. History shows that these agencies treat legal
restriction as a kind of speed limit which they feel free to exceed, but only by
a certain margin. Thus, Reagan's Executive Order not only encourages reliance on
methods once deemed abhorrent, it also implicitly licenses even greater, more
damaging intrusion. Government capacity to make effective use of such measures
has also been substantially enhanced in recent years:
-Judge Webster's highly touted reforms have served mainly to modernize the
FBI and make it more dangerous. Instead of the back- biting competition which
impeded coordination of domestic counter- insurgency in the 60s, the Bureau now
promotes inter-agency cooperation. As an equal opportunity employer, it can use
Third World and female agents to penetrate political targets more thoroughly
than before. By cultivating a low visibility corporate image and discreetly
avoiding public attack on prominent liberals, the FBI has regained
respectability and won over a number of former critics.
-Municipal police forces have similarly revamped their image while upgrading
their repressive capabilities. The police "red squads" that infiltrated and
harassed the 60s' movements have been revived under other names and augmented by
para-military SWAT teams and tactical squads as well as highly politicized
community relations and "beat rep" programs, in which Black, Hispanic and female
officers are often conspicuous. Local operations are linked by FBI led regional
anti terrorist task forces and the national Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit
(LEIU).
-Increased military and CIA involvement has added political sophistication
and advanced technology. Army Special Forces and other elite military units are
now trained and equipped for counter-insurgency (known as "low intensity
warfare"). Their manuals teach the essential methodology of COINTELPRO,
stressing earlier intervention to neutralize potential opposition before it can
take hold.
The CIA's expanded role is especially ominous. In the 60s, while legally
banned from "internal security functions," the CIA managed to infiltrate the
Black, student and antiwar movements. It also made secret use of university
professors, journalists, labor leaders, publishing houses, cultural
organizations and philanthropic fronts to mold US public opinion. But it
apparently felt compelled to hold back within the country from the kinds of
systematic political destabilization, torture, and murder which have become the
hallmark of its operations abroad. Now, the full force of the CIA has been
unleashed at home.
-All of the agencies involved in covert operations have had time to learn
from the 60s and to institute the "tight procedures to insure absolute security"
that FBI officials demanded after COINTELPRO was exposed in 1971. Restoration of
secrecy has been made easier by the Administration's steps to shield covert
operations from public scrutiny. Under Reagan, key FBI and CIA files have been
re-classified "top secret." The Freedom of Information Act has been quietly
narrowed through administrative reinterpretation. Funds for covert operations
are allocated behind closed doors and hidden in CIA and defense appropriations.
Government employees now face censorship even after they retire, and new laws
make it a federal crime to publicize information which might tend to reveal an
agent's identity. Despite this stepped-up security, incidents frighteningly
reminiscent of 60s' COINTELPRO have begun to emerge.
The extent of the infiltration, burglary and other clandestine government
intervention that has already come to light is alarming. Since the vast majority
of such operations stay hidden until after the damage has been done, those we
are now aware of undoubtedly represent only the tip of the iceberg. Far more is
sure to lie beneath the surface.
Considering the current political climate, the legalization of COINTELPRO,
the rehabilitation of the FBI and police, and the expanded role of the CIA and
military, the recent revelations leave us only one safe assumption: that
extensive government covert operations are already underway to neutralize
today's opposition movements before they can reach the massive level of the 60s.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT
IT?

Domestic covert action has now persisted in some form
through at least the last seven presidencies. It grew from one program to six
under Kennedy and Johnson. It flourished when an outspoken liberal, Ramsey
Clark, was Attorney General (1966-68). It is an integral part of the established
mode of operation of powerful, entrenched agencies on every level of government.
It enables policy makers to maintain social control without detracting from
their own public image or the perceived legitimacy of their method of
government. It has become as institutional in the US as the race, gender, class
and imperial domination it serves to uphold.
Under these circumstances, there is no reason to think we can eliminate
COINTELPRO simply by electing better public officials. Only through sustained
public education and mobilization, by a broad coalition of political, religious
and civil libertarian activists, can we expect to limit it effectively.
In most parts of the country, however, and certainly on a national level, we
lack the political power to end covert government intervention, or even to curb
it substantially. We therefore need to learn how to cope more effectively with
this form of repression.
The next part of this pamphlet examines the methods that were used to
discredit and disrupt the movements of the 60s and suggests steps we can take to
deflect or reduce their impact in the  year 2000.

A CHECK-LIST OF ESSENTIAL
PRECAUTIONS:

-Check out the authenticity of any disturbing
letter, rumor, phone call or other communication before acting on it.
-Document incidents which appear to reflect covert intervention, and report
them to the Movement Support Network Hotline: 212/477- 5562.
-Deal openly and honestly with the differences within our movements (race,
gender, class, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, personality,
experience, physical and intellectual capacities, etc.) before the FBI and
police exploit them to tear us apart.
-Don't rush to expose a suspected agent. Instead, directly criticize what the
suspect says and does. Intra-movement witch hunts only help the government
create distrust and paranoia.
-Support whoever comes under government attack. Don't be put off by political
slander, such as recent attempts to smear radical activists as "terrorists."
Organize public opposition to FBI investigations, grand juries, show trials and
other forms of political harassment.
-Above all, do not let them divert us from our main work. Our most powerful
weapon against political repression is effective organizing around the needs and
issues which directly affect people's lives.

WHAT THEY DO & HOW WE CAN PROTECT
OURSELVES

Apparently Smearing Obama Is More Important Than Creating Jobs

 Darrell Issa and the new Republican leadership will focus on placing blame over solving problems.

By: Danielle Belton | TheLoop21       

like it!

                    

 

Darrell Issa prepares for battle on Capital Hill. (Credit: Getty Images)

The Obama Administration is kicking off 2011 with the reputation of allegedly being the "most corrupt" ever, per Rep. Darrell "The Oversight Man" Issa. And this is based on ... I dunno. What's the criteria here? Who held the previous title? Is Rep. Issa saying the White House is full of sticky-fingered grifters or is this more of the "If the President does it, it's not illegal" kind of corruption that comes out of the personality cult of Richard M. Nixon?
Doesn't matter. As soon as the Republicans took the House in November, Issa, now the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, started walking back his statements. He originally said Obama, himself, was the most corrupt President. Now it's the Administration.
From Politico:

"In saying that this is one of the most corrupt administrations, which is what I meant to say, when you hand out $1 trillion in TARP just before this president came in, most of it unspent, $1 trillion nearly in stimulus, that this president asked for, plus this huge expansion in health care and government, it has a corrupting effect," Issa said on CNN's "State of the Union."

But despite his strong desire to overturn some tables in the temple and start holding hearings, Issa says he wants to work with people. Bipartisanship and all that jazz. And he, and his fellow 242 House Republicans will get to do that now that they are taking power in the House of Representatives today.

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RELATED STORIES:

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• Filibuster Reform Could Make Congress Actually Functional
  
• Why Darrell Issa Isn't As Rabid As You Think

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Hooray for government oversight, but wasn't the GOP's whole message during the mid-terms that the Obama Administration hadn't done anything for the economy or jobs, so the bright brilliant way to get everyone a shiny new job and a shiny new economy is to investigate the Obama Administration for an itemized list of where the TARP funds went?
Oh. It went to bail out banks, you say? And you can Google this information? And some banks have already paid the TARP funds they got back? Hmmm. But what about those stimulus funds! There's no way to track how that's being spent except to ... go to the Recovery.gov stimulus fund tracking site!
Well. I'm sure the GOP has other brilliant ideas to fix the economy and get people off unemployment and back to work!
From The Hill:

House Republicans plan to fulfill a campaign promise and hold a vote next week on repealing the healthcare reform law.
The incoming House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), announced Monday that the vote will take place on Jan. 12, one week after Republicans take control of the House.

Oh. They're going to try to repeal health care reform.

INFILTRATION BY AGENTS OR INFORMER