AGAINST THE C.I.A. -- A FACT SHEET AND POSITION PAPER ** THE C.I.A. -- IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01601R000200040002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 6, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: PREL

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THE C.I.A. -- IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?
It is generally known that the C.I.A. carries on espionage
activities. But is it really true that the agency Yias functioned,'
as our petition maintains, as a counter-revolutionary corps around
"(New York Times, 4/27/67.) .
farmers 'and. poljtical parties. It arranges for contact between these
groups and American labor. organizations, institutes and foundations...
have overthrown governments, and installed others, raised armies,
staged'azi.invasi.on of'Cuba, spied and counter-spied, established
airlines and radio stations and schools and supported books, magazines
and businesses." The C.I.A., says the Times, "provides 'technical
assistancet to most Latin nations by helping them establish anti-
communist police .forces. It promotes anti-communist front organiza-
'ttons for, students, workers, professionals, and businessmen,
According to, the New York Times, the C . I . A. "(is) known to
The anti-communist police forces of Latin American nations
are notoriously used to suppress rebellious peasants. The?C.I.A.
does not merely spy; it takes sides around the 'world. It takes
the side of reaction; it aids the ,governments of? .the?. rich in
suppressing the poor. Let us examine a few concrete cases:
1) VIETNAM
"::.as' the pro-American head of South Vietnari...Michigan
In the early stages of U.S. intervention, the C.I.A. helped
select Ingo Dinh Diem and buttressed him up:
State was the cover for C.I.A. agents in South Vietnam
during a multi-million dollar technical assistance program."
(Times, 4/25/66..)
The Times does not pcint out that this "technical assistance"
program was designed to train police, secret police, military and
civilian officials in the ill-fated job of trying to roll back the
population, which had. already defeated similar. French and Japanese
attempts. C.I.A.,'activity in Vietnam only became public recently.
The many millions'who want the U.S. out of Vietnam were never even
informed it was _ getting ir. .
STATINTL
*"Prepaed by Harvard-Radcliffe Students for a Democratic Society (S.D.S.)
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2) BURMA
In the early 1950's:
"C.I.A. agents gathered remnants of the defeated Chinese
Nationalist armies in the jungles of northwest Burma,
supplied them with gold and arms and encouraged them to
raid Communist China...One aim.. was to harrass Peking to
a"point where it might retaliate against' Burma, forcing
the.Burmese to, turn to the United States 'for :protection."
Climes., 4/25A6,0
CHINA
In Tai.wan 'the C.I.A. helps the Chiang regime - which"most 'Chinese
view as we view Hitler's' government - by supplying dozens,"-sometimes
hundreds ' of. agents:....
!t.to train men who will be sinuggl.ed. into Communist China.. .
and to organize harassing operations on the islands. just
off chore of th
r /
/t i
s .._.,~ "
i
7
e ma
n
(
"In 1960, C.I.A. -agent's in Laos disguised as 'military
advisors' stuffed.ballot boxes and engineered local
uprisings to help a hand-picked,(right-wing) strongman,
Gen. PhoumiNosavan, set up a 'pro-American"'.government
that was. desired by Pres. Eisenhower arid SecretaryI of State
In 1958, in Indonesia:
"."..the C.I.A. was suthorized to fly in supplies.from Taiwan
and the Philippenes to aid army officers rebelling against
Pros. Sukarno in Sumatra and Java." (Times, 4/25/66.)
And, more recently:.
"It is said, :for instance, to have been so successful at
infiltrating the top of the Indonesian government and
army that the United States was reluctant to disrupt
C.I.A. covering operations by withdrawing aid and
information programs in 1964 and 1965.' What was presented
officially in.Washington as toleration of Pres. Sukarno's
insults and provocations was in much larger measure a de-
sire to keep the C.I.A. fronts in business as long as
possible." (Times, 4/27/66.)
This early support.for the right-wing officers, and the C.I.A.'s
position in the Indonesian nilitary machine and in the government (!),
make it clear, despite disclaimers, .that the agency was on top of
things during the recent.ri;ht-wing coup and the subsequent terror
in which hundreds of thousa Zds' -.. perhaps a million or more - were
slaughtered.
6) GUATEMALA
App *ethEertf leas .2QQI/9&44nef,4gtglAPI,(~Q9900(m0002-7
Guatemala, the reform minde1 Ar benz government raised thy; minimum
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P 13
wage from 26? to $1.08 a day (i), and started out on a relatively
mild land reform. This included the expropriation of 243,000 acres
of uncultivated land owned by.the United Fruit Company.
Pres. Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles - Dulles was both a
stockholder-in and a long-time corporation counsel for United
Fruit! - directed the C.I.A. to initiate plans for the overthrow of
the popularly elected Arbenz government.
'The C.I.A.; organized,. trained and equipped an invasion force,.
prow .ded air cover, and succeeded in toppling Arbanz. In his place"
the agency installed a right-wing military dictatorship. Were the
differences only ideological? Hardly. The new i'government" halted
land. reform, returned expropriated land, disenfranchised 70% of the.
population, smashed trade unions, cut wages and abolished taxes on
profits of foreign investors? (See Times, 4/28/66, for' verification
of the C.I.A.'s role as mastermind o the coup. See'-David Horowitz,
The Free World Colossus, pp. 163-186 and John Gerassi, The Great Fear
inLatin America, for a more detailed account.)
21-IRAN
In 1951 the refrom government of Premier Mossadegh was elected
in Iran. It-nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, A C.I.A.
directed coup overthrew Moss?degh. Iran's highly profitable oil
was turned over to a four-nation consortium.
The U.S. share was 40%. (See Horowitz,
g CUBA
pp. 187ff.) .
As early as March, 1960, Pres. Eisenhower authorized C.I.A.
invasion plans for Cuba. This C.I.A. group was built from the
most reactionary. forces.. Unlike the'Arbenz government.,ths Cuban
government was supported by millions of the armed poor. For them
the revolution already meant visibly improved lives. Moreover, the
pre-revolutionary army of Batista had been defeated and di.~persed.,
As a result, the Bay of-Pigs attempt was a complete failure for the
U.S. Much criticism fell on the C.I.A. This was not for its having
attempted to-overthrow the Cuban revolution,. but, rather, .for having
muddled the job. (See Horowitz, pp. 198-212.)
The CONGO
Beginning in 1960 and for five years thereafter..'the C.I.A.
worked to create a proOAmericen government in the Congo. At first
this involved bribes (the C.I.A. used "money and fancy aut'omobiles'",
Times, 4/26/66.) to buy votes and build leaders. But cash was not"
enough. To defend the then "1.lmerican sponsored (Tshombe) government
in. Leopoldville," it resorted to arms.
#"Iqfr66 iob+ RbCWgo940002-7
the front.organiza,:ions through which they coull be re-
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eventually felt. compelled to fly some combat missions
themselves (1) in support of South African and' Rhodesian
mercenaries...(The State Department) was pleased by the
overall success of the. operation." (Times, 4/26/66.)
Thus the C.I.A., with the clear approval of t he government (Times,.
4/26/66) kept the Congo out of the sphere of influence of the Congolese
people!
"...the C.I.A. soon found Joseph Mobutu,.Victor Nendaka, and
Albert Ndele. Their eventual emergence as President of the
country, minister of Transportation and head of the
National Bank, respectively, proved a tribute to the
Americans' judgement and tactics.." (Times, 4/26/66.)
Indeed! Despite this, the State Department tried to deny U.S.
10) IN THE U.S.?
The Central Intelligence Agency also operates at its center -
i
n the U.S. itself. This takes on various forms.
"...the C.I.A. subsidizes, in whole or in part, a wide range
of enterprises -- ?private' foundations, book and magazine pub-
lishers, schools of international studies in universities,
law offices, 'businesses' of various kinds and foreign
broadcasting stations... American newspapers...auth?rs and
universities are often the beneficiaries of direct or
indirect C.I.A. subsidies." (Times, 4/27/66.)
Thus the M.I.T. Center for International Studies was begun in
1951 in part through a $300;000 C.I.A. grant. (Times, 4/27/66.)
"...the J.M.Kaplan Fund, Inc., had disbursed at least.$400,,000
for the C.I.A. in:a single year to a research institute.
This' institute, in turn,,financed research centers in Latin
America that drew other support from the Agenc3?.for'
International Development,..the Ford Foundation and such
universities as Harvard and Brandeis." (Our emphasis.
Times, 4/27/66.)
And, as Ramparts exposed.last year, the C.I.A. has controlled the
National Student Associatiorl.(N.S.A.) since 19521
C.I.A. - RIGHT-Mr, ABERRATION?
"Regarding the C.I.A. analysts, one State Department officer
said that 'there are more liberals per square itch at C.I.A.
than anywhere else in .the government,'" (Tim.es, -./26/66. )
Appr # chaft l dAseC2 J 045ia~( ~ Oh'o' 11?DQ.QMg40002-7
groups. N.S.A., for example, was. hardly a Goldwater outfit. After
the N.S.A.-C.I.A. exposure took place, an`N.S.4. leader saLd~
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ft'This has been a nightmare for us. Our shole credibility.
has been based on the imag6'that we are independent and
left-liberals. It! (!) (Time 2/15/67
The C.I.A. is NOT a group of'right-wing nuts. They function
quite well when the need calls for t?li.beralsl - although, to be sure,
they can play the role of ".conservatives" as'well.
Tactically speaking, they are highly flexible.
TACTICS BUT FOR MM?
C.I.A. activities are no mere cloak-and-da
e
gg
r game, no James Band
war between contending romantic spy personalities. As in the past,
the C.I.A. continues', today, to intervene. around the world on the side
of definite social forces. In each country which we sited (and There
are, in'fact,:many other examples) the C.I.A. opposed the attempts
of the poor - whether.:they were being 'led by Communists, as in China,
or reform minded nationalists, as in Guatemala and Iran, to get some
control of the. wealth extracted froth them and their land by age-old
domestic, and newly-arrived foreign (most often, U.S*) exploiters,
Not surprisingly', the Directors of the C.I.A. have all had the
closest ties with the biggest businesses often the very ones which
gained from C.I.A. activities! For example, the'pro-United Fruit
1954 Guatemala coup was pulled off by the C.I.A. when Allen Dulles
was Director, Dulles' brother, John Foster Dulles, was a United Fruit
law
er
to
y
and s
ckholder.
THE C.I.A - INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT?
Many people who oppose the C.I.A. contenyi that it is an uncon-
trolled and secretive "invisible governments' shich sabotages, the
otherwise nice policies of sleeted:officials. But strong evidence
indicates that the C.I.A.:
"...is under far more stringent political and.budgetary
cont
l th
ro
an most of its critics know or concede.,
'Indeed, the five-part New'York.Times series on the C.I.A., written
in April, 1966, and from wh:ich much of the documentation for this
report was drawn, presents overwhelitting evidence to support its
conclusion that, if there is something wrong with U.S. foreign.
"relations" : .
t'...it is not an invisible government but the real govern-
ment of the United States upon which the responsibility
must lie. (Time :., 4/29/66. )
As Bobby Kennedy admitted:
"tAll.relevant governnient agencies are'contacted for their
approval' of C.I.B., policy. That in(ludes the White House.
If the policy wa: wrong, it was not 'the 'product of the
C.I,A. but of
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The C.I.A., then, is no reactionary, secret society, nor a
furtive, invisible government. It is, in fact, "under the control
of the political leaders of the U.S."government." (Times, 4/25/66.)
For what reason, then, does the government employ a secret agency,
on organization which-intervenes in e"very way, all over the.world,
against the poor? Arnold Toynbee, the far-from--x'adical historian,
suggests the following observation, which may provide an explanation:
the least.happiness of the greatest number. America's de-
ccision to adopt Rome's'role has been deliberate, if'I have -
guaged'it'right.11 (Arnold Toynbee, America and the-World
Revolution; this. section is reprinted in Horowitz, P45.)
Rome's policy made for inequality, for injustice, and for
"...America is today the -leader of a, world-wide ante-
revolutionary movement in defence of vested interssts.'.
She now stands for what Rome stood for. Rome consistently
supported the rich againat the poor in all foreign commun-?
ities'that fell under her sway;'`,and,,since the poor have
The government uses the "secret" C.I.A. to out activities
which, if done openly, would expose the character of U.S. foreign
policy, and the govermmnet that perpetrates it, to:the;-American
people.
THE C.I.A. WANTS YOU!
The G.I.A. is not merely a large (15,000-member) organization.
It is also well-stocked with Ph.dts. Indeed, the 'C.I.A. was among
the first government agencies to seek the'valuable services.of American
-
scholars
an idea now widely emulated." imes,4/27/66.)
So it is not coming to Harvard to talk. It needs the services
of Harvard people as agents, researchers, and part-time spies to
help along the world=wide movement of which Toynbee speaks about.
To view this as a matter of the,C.I.A.'s right of free speech
is certainly a non sequitur. For recruitment of personnel is as
much a part of the C.I.A.fs operations as bridgeblowing. To'
remain neutral is., in its effect, to take a stand in favof of the
C.I.A. Every person the C.I.A.',guccessfully recruits is a real.blow
to the needs of hundreds of millions of.terribly exploited and there-
fore rebellious people all.over the world.
The: Operations of the.C...I.A.. (forinstance, those in Vietnam)
can bocome'the operations cf.the'.U.S. Army at' a.later date.. In
other words, hundreds of thousands of young men are, at present,
and will continue, in the future,?to'be drafted as the government
expands.C.I.A. attempts at suppression on a "higher" level. And
just as the government needs. troops to put down the Vietnamese people,
so it also needs thousands of scholars to sell their talents for the
same unjust ends. We must oppose- U.S. presence in Vietnam and demand
thzt the government withdraw immediately.::..By the same token, we
must oppose the C.I.A.
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