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3892 lines
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<p>Copyright (c) 1991 by <ent type='PERSON'>Chip Berlet</ent>. All rights reserved.</p>
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<p>RIGHT WOOS LEFT:</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent>, LaRouchian, and Other Neo-fascist Overtures To
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Progressives, And Why They Must Be Rejected</p>
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<p>by <ent type='PERSON'>Chip Berlet</ent></p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Political Research</ent> Associates</p>
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<p>December 16, 1991</p>
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<p>"Fascism and Reaction inevitably attack. They have won against
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disunion. They will fail if we unite."</p>
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<p>(<ent type='PERSON'>George Seldes</ent> )</p>
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<p><special>You Can't Do That</special>, 1938</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>Political Research</ent> Associates
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678 <ent type='GPE'>Massachusetts</ent> Avenue, Suite 205
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<ent type='GPE'>Cambridge</ent>, MA 02139
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(617) 661-9313</p>
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<p>------------------- Part 1 begins here ---------------------------------</p>
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<p>Introduction</p>
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<p>"...fascism is not confined to any specific era, culture or countries.
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<ent type='LOC'>Far</ent> from being a phenomenon limited to the European states which
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have experienced fascist regimes, movements of this type are to be
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found in practically every western country, and indeed are growing
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more strident in the leading <ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> societies which have never
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experienced fascist rule--<ent type='GPE'>Britain</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>."</p>
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<p>(<ent type='PERSON'>Paul Wilkinson</ent> )</p>
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<p><special>The New <ent type='NORP'>Fascist</ent>s</special>, 1981</p>
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<p><ent type='NORP'>Fascist</ent> political movements are experiencing a resurgence around
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the world. In <ent type='LOC'>Eastern</ent> Europe, racial nationalism, a key component
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of fascism, has surfaced in many new political parties. In the
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United States, the presidential campaigns of <ent type='PERSON'>David Duke</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>Patrick</ent>
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<ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> echo two different strains of historical fascism. Duke's
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neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> past resonates, in a consciously sanitized form, in his
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current formulations of white supremacist and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> political
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theories. Buchanan's theories of isolationist nationalism and
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xenophobia hearken back to the proto-fascist ideas of the 1930's
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"<ent type='GPE'>America</ent> First" movement and its well-known promoters, Charles
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Lindbergh and Father <ent type='PERSON'>Charles Coughlin</ent>. Both <ent type='PERSON'>Duke</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> blame
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our societal problems on handy scapegoats, and both feed on the
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politics of resentment, anger and fear. Most progressives vigorously
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reject <ent type='PERSON'>Duke</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent>, and are not reluctant to point out fascist
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elements in both candidacies.</p>
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<p>But there are other strains of domestic fascism active today, and
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the siren calls of those movements may mesmerize progressives whose
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anti-government fervor blinds them to historical lessons. Since
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the early 1980's, persons from far-right and fascist political
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groups in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States have attempted to convince progressive
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activists to join forces to oppose certain government policies.
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The fascist right has wooed the progressive left primarily around
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opposition to such issues as the use of U.S. troops in foreign
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military interventions, the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> and covert action, and domestic
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government repression and civil liberties.</p>
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<p>As the far right made overtures to the left, some of the classic
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conspiracy theories of the far right began to seep into progressive,
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and even mainstream, analyses of foreign policy and domestic
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repression. An audience was created for these conspiratorial
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assertions through public speaking, radio interviews, sales of
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audiotapes and published articles. This audience elevated to
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leadership roles those persons who were willing to make the boldest
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and most critical (albeit unsubstantiated) pronouncements about
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the U.S. government and U.S. society. As a result, some progressives
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now confuse demagoguery with leadership, and undocumented conspiracism
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with serious research, and are unable to determine when an analysis
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supports or undermines the progressive goals of peace, social
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justice and economic fairness. This is primarily a problem within
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the white left, but in some <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> nationalist constituencies the
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same dynamic has also popularized conspiracy theories which in some
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cases reflect anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> themes long circulated by the far right.</p>
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<p>While there is inevitable overlap at the edges of political movements,
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the far-right sector being discussed in this study is separate and
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distinct from traditional conservatism, the right wing of the
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<ent type='NORP'>Republican</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent>, libertarianism, anarchism, and other political
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movements sometimes characterized as right wing. The <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> Birch
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Society, discussed here, is a far-right reactionary political
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movement, but it attempts to distance itself from racialist and
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anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> theories. Other groups analyzed in this paper, such as
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<ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>, and the LaRouchians, on the
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other hand, represent a continuation of the racialist, anti-<ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent>
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theories of fascism.</p>
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<p>The phenomenon of the right wooing the left became highly visible
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during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>. Followers of <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> attended antiwar
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meetings and rallies in some thirty cities, and other right-wing
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organizers from groups such as <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent> and the
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<ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> passed out flyers at antiwar demonstrations across
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the country. While these right-wing groups undeniably opposed war
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with <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent>, they also promoted ideas that peace and social justice
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activists have historically found objectionable. Many people
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seeking to forge alliances with the left around anti-government
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and anti-interventionist policies also promote Eurocentric, anti-pluralist, patriarchal, or homophobic views. Some are profoundly
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anti-<ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent>; others support the idea that the U.S. is a <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent>
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republic. A few openly promote white supremacist, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>, or
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neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> theories.</p>
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<p><ent type='ORG'>The <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent>, for instance, is highly critical of mass
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<ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> movements for social change, including those that seek
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equality for women, gay men and lesbians, <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>s, <ent type='NORP'>Hispanics</ent>, and
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recent immigrants from <ent type='LOC'>Asia</ent> and Central <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>. The Birchers
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believe most world governments, including the U.S. and the Soviet
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Union, are secretly controlled by a handful of conspirators they
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dub "The Insiders."</p>
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<p>The <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> (and groups to which it has historically been
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related such as <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> and its <special>Spotlight</special> newspaper),
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created a national constituency for <ent type='PERSON'>David Duke</ent> and other white
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supremacist political candidates. <ent type='PERSON'>Duke</ent> was the 1988 <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent>
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presidential candidate. These forces believe a conspiracy of rich
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and powerful <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> and their allies control banking, foreign policy,
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the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> and the media in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States. Like <ent type='PERSON'>Duke</ent>, they also
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believe in an <ent type='GPE'>America</ent> controlled by white <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent>s of exclusively
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European heritage.</p>
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<p>The LaRouchians have supported foreign dictatorships such as the
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<ent type='PERSON'>Marcos</ent> regime in the <ent type='GPE'>Philippines</ent> and the <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> regime in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>.
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<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> has written that history would not judge harshly those
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who beat homosexuals to death with baseball bats to stop the spread
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of AIDS. For LaRouchians the conspiracy consists of secret elite
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groups engaged in an epic battle between moral forces who want
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order, and sinister forces who champion chaos. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> claims he
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can trace the key players in these secret conspiracies decade-by-decade
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back to <ent type='PERSON'>Plato</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Aristotle</ent>--and beyond. A remarkable number of
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the sinister conspirators turn out to be <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>.</p>
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<p>This study seeks to sharpen the debate over how to handle the
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phenomenon of the right wooing the left, and is not meant to divide
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or attack the left, which is being victimized by these approaches.
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As anti-fascist author <ent type='PERSON'>George Seldes</ent> pointed out over fifty years
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ago, "The enemy is always the Right. Fascism and Reaction inevitably
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attack. They have won against disunion. They will fail if we unite."</p>
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<p>There is considerable evidence to show that far-right groups are
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serious about wooing the political left and that their conspiracist
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theories have been taken seriously in some quarters. Consider the
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following, all of which will be discussed in greater detail later:</p>
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<p>*** Several far-right commentators affiliated with the Liberty
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Lobby and its <special>Spotlight</special> newspaper sought and obtained lengthy
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interviews on radio stations affiliated with the progressive <ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent>
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network. <ent type='ORG'>KPFK</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent> also aired
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long programs with radio personality <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent> whose cynical
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views echo longstanding <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent> conspiracy theories. Hulet
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urges progressives to join with rightists in attacking the government,
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and audiotapes of his radio interviews quickly became some of the
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<ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent> Archives' best-selling tapes. According to the program
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manager of <ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent>, Hulet was one of the most requested radio
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personalities during and after <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>.</p>
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<p>*** A catalog from <ent type='ORG'>Prevailing Winds Research</ent> mixes material from
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mainstream, progressive, and far-right sources. One can order
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material from <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> (a public-interest law foundation
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based in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C.) and dozens of other left and liberal
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organizations and writers (including this author). Also available
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is material from persons affiliated with the fascist <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent>
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or <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> network, and information on how to order a
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tape of a speech by <ent type='PERSON'>Eustace Mullins</ent>, one of the world's most
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notorious anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy theorists. <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent> envisions a
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world where <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> have been exterminated by <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent>s.</p>
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<p>*** A <ent type='LOC'>West Coast</ent> affiliate of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> sells <The
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Guns and Drugs Reader>, edited by Prevailing Winds. Prominently
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featured in the publication is material by Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>, presidential
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candidate of <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'>David Duke</ent>'s original
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vice-presidential running mate in 1988. <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>, one of the most
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decorated veterans of <ent type='EVENT'>the Vietnam war</ent> (his exploits were used in
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scripting the popular <ent type='PERSON'>Rambo</ent> movies) has told his constituents to
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reach out to recruit from the left. <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> himself invited Father
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<ent type='PERSON'>Bill Davis</ent> of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> to speak at a 1990 <ent type='GPE'>Las Vegas</ent>
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conference organized by Gritz's Center for Action.</p>
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<p>*** At the April, 1991 conference of the respected Latin <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n
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Studies Association in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, a panel on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> included Carlos
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<ent type='PERSON'>Wesley</ent>, the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization's Central <ent type='GPE'>America</ent> operative. The
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LaRouchians have been involved in the <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian anti-intervention
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movement for years.</p>
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<p>*** More than 6 percent (49 out of a total 771) of the footnotes
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in <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent>'s widely-popularized book <special>October Surprise</special>
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cite <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> publications such as <special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special>
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and <special><ent type='ORG'>New Solidarity</ent></special> (now <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>). <ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent>, a former
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<ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> aide, alleges in her book that officials connected to
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the Reagan Presidential campaign plotted with <ent type='NORP'>Iranian</ent> officials to
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delay the release of hostages in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> until after the
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election. In one chapter on "Project Diplomacy," <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>-linked
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citations account for over 22 percent of the total number of
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footnotes. While information from the LaRouchians is sometimes
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accurate, it is often laced with unsubstantiated assertions and
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biased by the peculiar LaRouchian brand of conspiracist bigotry
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against <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> and homosexuals.</p>
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<p>*** The current issue of <special><ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>isionist Letters</special>, a periodical
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promoting the idea that the historical account of the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> is
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a hoax, contains an article urging recruitment from "a powerful
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potential source of supporters--the radical Left! Leftist
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disillusionment with <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> is growing rapidly."</p>
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<p>Further confusing matters is the rebirth in Europe of the national
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socialist wing of fascism, with adherents calling themselves
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<ent type='ORG'>Strasserites</ent> or Third <ent type='ORG'>Positionists</ent>. These groups, which now operate
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in the U.S., are critical of Hitler's <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> brand of fascism; they
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support the working class and encourage environmentalism. They
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also, however, promote racially segregated nation-states. Third
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Position groups claim to have evolved an ideology "beyond communism
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and capitalism," and actively seek to recruit from the left. One
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such group is the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Portland</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Oregon</ent>, which runs
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a phone hotline that in late November, 1991 featured an attack on
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critics of left/right coalitions.</p>
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<p><ent type='NORP'>Conspiracism</ent> and demagoguery feature simplistic answers to complex
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problems. During periods of economic or social crisis, people may
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seek to alleviate anxiety by embracing simple solutions, often
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including scapegoating. This scapegoating often manifests itself
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in virulent attacks on persons of different races and cultures who
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are painted as alien conspiratorial forces undermining the coherent
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national will.</p>
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<p>In part, the fascist right has been able to forge ties to the left
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due to a serious lack of knowledge on the left regarding the complex
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history, different forms, and multiple tactics of fascism. Among
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those tactics are the use of scapegoating, reductionist and simplistic
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solutions, demagoguery, and a a conspiracy theory of history.</p>
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<p>Theories of racialist nationalism and national socialism are not
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widely known in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States. If they were, it is unlikely
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that any serious progressive would be seduced by the right's idea
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of an alliance to smash the powerful corrupt center, based on a
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shared agenda critical of government policies. This concept has an
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unsavory historical track record. The European fascist movements
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in the 1930's flourished in a period of economic collapse, political
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turmoil, and social crisis. The <ent type='NORP'>German</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> party, during its early
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national socialist phase, openly enlisted progressive support to
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smash the corrupt and elitist <ent type='NORP'>Weimar</ent> government. But when the
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government began to collapse, powerful industrial and banking
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interests recruited <ent type='PERSON'>Hitler</ent> to take control the government in order
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to prevent economic chaos, which would have displaced them as power
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brokers. In return for state control, <ent type='PERSON'>Hitler</ent> quickly liquidated
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the leadership of his national socialist allies in a murderous
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spree called the "Night of the Long Knives." Once state power had
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been consolidated, the <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s went on to liquidate the left before
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lining up <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>, labor leaders, intellectuals, dissidents, homosexuals,
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<ent type='NORP'>Poles</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Gypsies</ent> (the <ent type='NORP'>Romani</ent>), dark-skinned immigrants, the infirm,
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and others deemed undesirable.</p>
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<p>While conditions in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States may only faintly echo the
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financial and social turmoil of the <ent type='NORP'>Weimar</ent> regime, the similarities
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cannot be dismissed lightly, nor should the catastrophic power of
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state fascism and the repression of an authoritarian government be
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confused.</p>
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<p>Some people who consider themselves progressive even argue that a
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fascist government could not be any worse than the Reagan and <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>
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Administrations, with their devastating effects on the poor and
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persons of color. Because current policies are nearly genocidal,
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they say they will work with any ally to smash the status quo. This
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view dangerously underestimates the murderous quality of fascism.
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Similarly, other progressives argue in favor of supporting <ent type='PERSON'>Duke</ent> or
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<ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> for President in order to draw votes away from <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> and
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thus elect the <ent type='NORP'>Democratic</ent> candidate. While <ent type='PERSON'>Duke</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent>
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currently have little chance of election, any progressive support
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for their candidacies minimizes the dangers involved in supporting
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a national political movement which uses fascist themes.[f-1]</p>
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<p>The largest problem, however, remains the unnerving ability of
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fascist and right-wing conspiracists to attract a left audience
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through attacks on the government and its policies. There are four
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separate but related dilemmas posed by the phenomenon of the fascist
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right wooing the left:</p>
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<p>*** How to educate progressive forces about the history of fascism,
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so the left is not lured into a repetition of past mistakes, and
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can more readily identify anti-<ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> theories.</p>
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<p>*** How to reject unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, demagoguery
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and scapegoating (from the right or the left), while at the same
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time promoting a vigorous critique of government repression, covert
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action, and social injustice.</p>
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<p>*** How progressive journalists and researchers should handle
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contacts with the political far right, and how rightists should be
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identified by journalists when they are used as sources.</p>
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<p>*** How progressive political coalitions should handle overtures
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by the political right which suggest tactical or strategic alliances
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around issues of common concern, and to what extent it is necessary
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for groups and individuals to distance themselves publicly from
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fascists who imply an alliance when one does not exist.</p>
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<p>In some cases progressive groups have begun to address the problems
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created by this courtship by the right. Radio station <ent type='ORG'>WBAI</ent> aired
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several hours of programming within a week of discovering that
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their broadcasts had included interviews with persons whose right-wing
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affiliations were not disclosed to the listeners. The progressive
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periodicals <special>Guardian</special> and <special>In These Times</special> have run articles and
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commentaries on the situation. <ent type='ORG'>KPFK</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>California</ent>, however,
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waited months before their listeners even learned there was a debate
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over these issues. <ent type='ORG'>The <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> has been especially
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reluctant to renounce publicly attempts by the fascist right to
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imply an alliance with their organization.</p>
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<p> Conspiratorial Roots</p>
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<p>While some information provided by the far right may be factual,
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other material is unsubstantiated rumor or lunatic conspiracy
|
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theories. Some material is bigoted. Widely publicized examples of
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right-wing conspiracism creeping into popular critiques of government
|
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misconduct can be found to varying degrees in the "October Surprise"
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story, <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>'s "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" theory, and the late
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writer <ent type='PERSON'>Danny Casolaro</ent>'s "Octopus" theory. While some of these
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conspiracy theories are very attractive on the surface, and are
|
|
undeniably entertaining, they ultimately serve to distract people
|
|
from serious analysis. All of these theories share elements of
|
|
traditional right-wing conspiracy themes in which sinister global
|
|
elites secretly manipulate world events. The theories echo themes
|
|
promoted by the LaRouchians, <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent> and the Liberty
|
|
Lobby and its <special>Spotlight</special> newspaper.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Unsubstantiated conspiracy theories usually start with a basis in
|
|
fact and relate to a legitimate issue. The current phenomenon traces
|
|
back to the rise of counterinsurgency as an arm of U.S. foreign
|
|
policy, and the role it played in <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>. The public debate
|
|
over this issue expanded in 1973 with publication of <The Secret
|
|
Team: The <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> and its <ent type='ORG'>Allies</ent> in Control of <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States and
|
|
the <ent type='ORG'>World</ent>> by retired <ent type='ORG'>Air Force</ent> Colonel and intelligence specialist
|
|
L. Fletcher Prouty. In the book, Prouty criticized the CIA's
|
|
penchant for counterinsurgency and clandestine operations, which
|
|
he argued prolonged the war in <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent> and resulted in the unnecessary
|
|
deaths of many U.S. soldiers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>'s <special>Spotlight</special> newspaper took Prouty's thesis and
|
|
overlaid it with a conspiracy theory regarding <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> influence in
|
|
U.S. foreign policy. Sometime in the 1980's, a number of right-wing
|
|
critics of U.S. intelligence operations began to drift towards the
|
|
<special>Spotlight</special> analysis. The "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" apparently became the
|
|
"Secret <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> Team" in their eyes. They began to feed information
|
|
from their sources inside the government to publications with an
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> agenda.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> network was recruiting Fletcher Prouty, Bo
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>, longtime <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> critic <ent type='PERSON'>Victor Marchetti</ent>, and assassination
|
|
conspiracy researchers <ent type='PERSON'>Mark Lane</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Dick Gregory</ent>, the LaRouchians
|
|
were probing government misconduct and linking U.S. political elites
|
|
to their global conspiracy theory.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The LaRouchians were among the beneficiaries of the information
|
|
flow from right-wing anti-<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> circles. LaRouche's periodicals mix
|
|
anti-<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> views with anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy theories, but they
|
|
also were among the first publications in the U.S. to cover aspects
|
|
of the covert <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> aid network, although their coverage included
|
|
typical LaRouchian distortions. Many reporters in the mid 1980's
|
|
were contacted by LaRouchians who offered assistance and documents
|
|
to help research the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> story.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Critics of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> say undocumented conspiracy
|
|
theories, perhaps first circulated by the LaRouchians and the
|
|
<special>Spotlight</special>, were inadvertently drawn into Christic's lawsuit
|
|
against key figures in the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> Scandal. The <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> no longer uses the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" slogan, which it employed
|
|
for the first few years of its <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> lawsuit, <<ent type='EVENT'>Avirgan</ent> v.
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Hull</ent>>. The suit, filed in 1986, is also called the La Penca case,
|
|
after the <ent type='NORP'>Nicaraguan</ent> town where a 1984 bombing killed three
|
|
journalists and at least one <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> and wounded dozens, including
|
|
television camera operator <ent type='EVENT'>Avirgan</ent> and the intended target, <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>
|
|
leader <ent type='PERSON'>Eden Pastora</ent>. The named plaintiffs in the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> La Penca
|
|
case were Tony <ent type='EVENT'>Avirgan</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Martha Honey</ent>. According to <ent type='EVENT'>Avirgan</ent>,
|
|
"There were, indeed, numerous undocumented allegations in the suit,
|
|
particularly in Sheehan's Affidavit of Fact. As plaintiffs in the
|
|
suit, <ent type='PERSON'>Martha Honey</ent> and I struggled for years to try to bring the
|
|
case down to earth."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Dr. Diana <ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent>, an assistant professor of politics at Bradford
|
|
College in <ent type='GPE'>Massachusetts</ent>, read thousands of pages of depositions
|
|
taken during the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> case and has concluded, "Leaving out the
|
|
circumstances of the La Penca bombing and the specific <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>
|
|
material, I think it is fair to say that some right-wing conspiracy
|
|
theories were woven into the theory behind the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> case."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Author Jane Hunter, editor of <special><ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i Foreign Affairs</special>, worries
|
|
about the rise of conspiracism on the left, including some of the
|
|
allegations made in the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> lawsuit. "If you keep looking for
|
|
all the connections, all you are going to see is something so
|
|
powerful that there is no way to fight it. We have to look at the
|
|
system that produces these covert and illegal operations, not who
|
|
knew so and so three years ago."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Hunter and some two-dozen other progressive researchers (including
|
|
the author) have been discussing these issues for several years.
|
|
The one point of agreement is that this is a problem long overdue
|
|
for debate. As Hunter explains, "In my speaking engagements I have
|
|
found in audience questions an alarming increase in conspiracy
|
|
theories and anti-Semitism." She also is worried that as conditions
|
|
for <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns in the U.S. have continued to deteriorate,
|
|
there has been an increase in the scapegoating of <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> by
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns. While scapegoating and turning to conspiracy
|
|
theories is a common phenomenon in communities experiencing financial
|
|
or social stress, it should never be tolerated.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is important to differentiate between the fascist right and
|
|
persons on the left who in a variety of ways have been lured by
|
|
the overtures of the fascist right and its conspiracist theories,
|
|
or who have ended up wittingly or unwittingly in coalitions with
|
|
spokespersons for the fascist right, or who have contact with the
|
|
fascist right as part of serious and legitimate research into
|
|
political issues.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Nonetheless, there is substantial evidence to suggest that the
|
|
circulation and tolerance of unsubstantiated conspiracy theories
|
|
by groups such as <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent> Radio stations
|
|
has created a large audience, especially on the <ent type='LOC'>West Coast</ent>, that
|
|
gullibly accepts undocumented anti-government assertions alongside
|
|
scrupulous documented research, with little ability to tell the
|
|
two apart. In some cases, people who believe themselves to be
|
|
progressive activists see no moral problem with alliances with the
|
|
fascist right, so long as the shared enemy is the <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> Administration.
|
|
Furthermore, rightists such as Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent> continue
|
|
to imply that they work closely with Daniel <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> and Father Bill
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent> of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>, while the response from the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> has been tardy and equivocal. The most troublesome and
|
|
widespread aspects of this phenomenon have occurred in <ent type='GPE'>California</ent>
|
|
where some radio hosts have promoted <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
along with right-wing persons in <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> and the conspiratorial
|
|
right as jointly working together to expose the government's corrupt
|
|
maneuverings. Radio personality <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent> has encouraged this
|
|
belief in interviews by warning of attempts to criticize those who
|
|
are "kicking George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>." Hulet, in fact, specifically named
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent>, Prouty, <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>, and himself as researchers
|
|
who needed to be defended against those who criticized coalitions
|
|
between the left and the right.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There is little agreement among progressive researchers and
|
|
journalists on how material from far-right sources should be handled.
|
|
Some progressive researchers are suspicious that government
|
|
intelligence agents and rightist researchers may leak information
|
|
to progressive journalists to achieve a right-wing political goal,
|
|
perhaps as part of a faction fight over government foreign policy
|
|
strategies.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Journalist <ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent> is highly critical of those who tolerate
|
|
or apologize for people who work with the LaRouchians, the Populist
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> or <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> network. "I think you discredit yourself
|
|
when you work with these bigoted forces," says <ent type='PERSON'>Bellant</ent>, "and mere
|
|
association tends to lend credence to these rightist groups because
|
|
people assume the group can't be that bad if a respected person on
|
|
the left is associated with them."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This study begins with a brief overview of several paranoid conspiracy
|
|
theories prevalent in contemporary right-wing circles.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It then examines the right wing's anti-government critique and
|
|
rightist influences on <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> Institute's theories of <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There is an extensive examination of the LaRouchians' attempts to
|
|
penetrate the progressive antiwar movement, as well as a brief look
|
|
at the activities of other far-right groups (both pro-war and
|
|
anti-interventionist) during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>. This section includes
|
|
a discussion of the surprising involvement of some formerly prominent
|
|
civil rights leaders with LaRouchian and other neo-fascist groups.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This is followed by a discussion of how prejudice, racism and
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> theories are enmeshed in a variety of political movements
|
|
in the U.S., especially <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>. The next section examines
|
|
the emergence of anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigotry within <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> nationalist
|
|
movements.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A discussion of left/right coalition building is followed by a
|
|
preliminary attempt to establish some criteria for discussion of
|
|
these complex political issues, including sections on logical
|
|
fallacies and the pitfalls of unsubstantiated conspiracism.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Finally, there is a brief discussion of the overall dilemma and a
|
|
suggestion that further study and open discussion are needed to
|
|
sort out the complex and confusing issues raised by but, alas, not
|
|
answered by this report.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Right-Wing Critics of U.S. Intelligence Agencies and Foreign Policy</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent>/<ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> Recruitment of Anti-<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> Critics</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It was the casualties of <ent type='EVENT'>the Vietnam war</ent> that crystallized a
|
|
right-wing critique of U.S. foreign policy for its reliance on
|
|
covert action, counterinsurgency and political deals as tactical
|
|
alternatives to military confrontation to achieve geo-political
|
|
goals. The right-wing analysis raised questions that many citizens
|
|
were asking. If we didn't want to fight a war to win in the
|
|
traditional sense, then why did all those soldiers have to die?
|
|
What was the purpose? Where was the benefit to the U.S.? Who gained
|
|
from this process? These questions were not asked only by persons
|
|
on the right, but the answers and theories the right developed were
|
|
far different than those proposed by the left.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Fletcher Prouty's 1973 book <special>The <ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent></special> was among the first
|
|
wave of non-left treatises to take a critical view of the U.S.
|
|
intelligence establishment's role in designing the failed
|
|
counterinsurgency policies in <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> and the <special>Spotlight</special> took the Prouty thesis and combined
|
|
it with its bigoted conspiracy theory about <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> control of U.S.
|
|
foreign policy. Since writing the book, Prouty has drifted far to
|
|
the right, as has another <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> critic, <ent type='PERSON'>Victor Marchetti</ent>, and both
|
|
now have allied themselves with <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> network. Prouty's
|
|
<special>The <ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent></special> was recently republished by <ent type='ORG'>Noontide Press</ent>, the
|
|
publishing arm of the historical revisionist <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> for Historical
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew (<ent type='ORG'>IHR</ent>). <ent type='ORG'>IHR</ent> promotes the theory that the accepted history of
|
|
the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> is a hoax perpetrated by <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In 1974, <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent>, a former executive assistant to the deputy
|
|
director of the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, co-authored <special>The <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>the Cult</ent> of Intelligence</special>,
|
|
a well-received best-seller and the first book the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> tried to
|
|
suppress through court action. By 1989, however, <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> had been
|
|
recruited into a close alliance with Carto's <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> network.
|
|
In 1989, <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> presented a paper at the Ninth International
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>isionist Conference held by the <ent type='ORG'><ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> for Historical <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew</ent>.
|
|
The title of Marchetti's paper, published in IHR's <Journal of
|
|
Historical <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew>, was "Propaganda and Disinformation: How the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> Manufactures History." <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> edits the <special>New <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n View</special>
|
|
newsletter, which as one promotional flyer explained, was designed
|
|
to "document for patriotic <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns like yourself the excess of
|
|
pro-<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>ism, which warps the news we see and hear from our media,
|
|
cows our <ent type='ORG'>Congress</ent> into submission, and has already cost us hundreds
|
|
of innocent, young <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns in <ent type='GPE'>Lebanon</ent> and elsewhere."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> describes himself as a person whose "intelligence expertise
|
|
and well-placed contacts have provided me with a unique insight
|
|
into the subversion of our <ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> process and foreign policy
|
|
by those who would put the interests of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> <special>above</special> those of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>America</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns." <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> is also the publisher of a
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Japanese</ent>-language book <special><ent type='ORG'>ADL</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent></special>, written by <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
followers <ent type='PERSON'>Paul Goldstein</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Jeffrey Steinberg</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> was co-publisher of the <special><ent type='ORG'>Zionist Watch</ent></special> newsletter when
|
|
it was endorsed in direct mail appeals on <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> stationery
|
|
by the now deceased <ent type='PERSON'>Lois Petersen</ent>, who for many years was the
|
|
influential secretary of <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> board of directors. The
|
|
October 5, 1987 <special>Spotlight</special> reported that <ent type='PERSON'>Mark Lane</ent> had been named
|
|
associate editor of <special><ent type='ORG'>Zionist Watch</ent></special>, which is housed in the same
|
|
small converted Capitol Hill townhouse as <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>/<special>Spotlight</special>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While concern over Reagan Administration participation in joint
|
|
intelligence operations with <ent type='ORG'>Mossad</ent> is legitimate, the use of
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> as a cover for conspiracist anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigotry can
|
|
be seen in an article in the August 24, 1981 issue of <special>Spotlight</special>:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"A brazen attempt by influential "<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>-firsters" in the policy
|
|
echelons of the Reagan administration to extend their control to
|
|
the day-to-day espionage and covert-action operations of the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>
|
|
was the hidden source of the controversy and scandals that shook
|
|
the U.S. intelligence establishment this summer. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The dual loyalists, whose domination over the federal executive's
|
|
high planning and strategy-making resources is now just about total,
|
|
have long wanted to grab a hand in the on-the-spot "field control"
|
|
of the CIA's worldwide clandestine services. They want this control,
|
|
not just for themselves, but on behalf of the <ent type='ORG'>Mossad</ent>, Israel's
|
|
terrorist secret police. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> The LaRouchian Critique</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While the Carto empire was recruiting Prouty, <ent type='ORG'>Marchetti</ent> and other
|
|
critics of the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, the LaRouchians were probing government misconduct
|
|
and linking U.S. political elites to their worldview in which the
|
|
oligarchic families of Great <ent type='GPE'>Britain</ent> are the font of all world
|
|
evil. Over the years LaRouchian literature has maintained that
|
|
political leadership in Great <ent type='GPE'>Britain</ent> is really controlled by <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
|
|
banking families such as the <ent type='PERSON'>Rothschilds</ent>, a standard anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
|
|
theory that influenced such bigots as <ent type='PERSON'>Henry Ford</ent> and Adolph <ent type='PERSON'>Hitler</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In their book [f-2] first published in 1978, the LaRouchians assert
|
|
that the oligarchy in Great <ent type='GPE'>Britain</ent> is in league with <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bankers
|
|
to control the smuggling of drugs into <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States. Arch-rightist
|
|
and former U.S. intelligence operative, the late <ent type='GPE'>Mitch</ent>ell WerBell
|
|
said the book was of "outstanding importance," because it told "the
|
|
history of a political strike against <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States in an
|
|
undeclared war being waged by Great <ent type='GPE'>Britain</ent>."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>LaRouche's publications were among the first periodicals to run
|
|
articles exposing aspects of the covert <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> aid network, well
|
|
before a fateful plane crash first tipped off the mainstream press
|
|
to the full extent of the story. Right-wing coverage of government
|
|
intelligence abuse is not unique to the LaRouchians. Other far-right
|
|
groups such as <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> and its <special>Spotlight</special> newspaper have
|
|
also circulated similar information.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde, an intelligence policy analyst for the LaRouchians,
|
|
says that in the 1980's the LaRouchians were contacted by a group
|
|
of disaffected former and current intelligence specialists who
|
|
Quinde referred to as "the <ent type='NORP'>Arabists</ent>." Both government and private
|
|
sector analysts confirm that there are persons critical of current
|
|
U.S. foreign policy reliance on <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> whose ideas are discussed
|
|
in policy meetings. These persons are sometimes referred to as
|
|
"<ent type='NORP'>Arabists</ent>." They represent a minority viewpoint in government
|
|
circles that needs to be factored into political equations. Most
|
|
of these persons are geo-political pragmatists who think that oil
|
|
is the key to <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> and so support for <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> is misguided
|
|
since <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> doesn't have oil. Others simply support a more
|
|
even-handed policy in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>, especially concerning
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Palestinian</ent> rights. The so-called "<ent type='NORP'>Arabists</ent>" are more accurately
|
|
seen as a diffuse and broad theoretical tendency rather than an
|
|
ethnic group, pro-<ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent> faction, or specific political organization.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some of these persons, however, have fierce anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> views and
|
|
have sought alliances with overt bigots and persons who circulate
|
|
paranoid conspiracy theories in which <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> are believed to control
|
|
the world. Their theory at its most paranoid believes Great Britain's
|
|
intelligence services have influenced U.S. intelligence agencies
|
|
since the inception of <ent type='ORG'>the Office</ent> of Strategic Services, precursor
|
|
to the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>. Great Britain's intelligence empire is seen as
|
|
predominantly <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>, riddled with <ent type='NORP'>communists</ent> and homosexuals, and
|
|
with an open line to <ent type='GPE'>Moscow</ent>. <ent type='ORG'>Mossad</ent> is believed to manipulate U.S.
|
|
foreign policy and direct much of U.S. intelligence activity. The
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> is believed to be full of moles, probably inserted by a
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Anglophile</ent>/<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>/<ent type='NORP'>Communist</ent> network. True patriots are urged to
|
|
try to expose this "dual loyalist" reality and push the U.S. to
|
|
ally with its real friends in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>, the <ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent> monarchies
|
|
and familial oligarchies.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>These theories have little to do with democracy, social justice or
|
|
peace in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>, and they use legitimate criticisms of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i policies and U.S. pro-<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> policies as a screen to cover
|
|
prejudice against <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Many reporters were contacted by the LaRouchians offering assistance
|
|
and documents to help research the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> story. LaRouche's
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special> even gets a passing nod from author
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ben Bradlee</ent>, Jr. in his <Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>>. <ent type='PERSON'>Bradlee</ent> acknowledges the help of <special>EIR</special> in decoding the
|
|
shorthand used by <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> in his notebooks.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Peter Dale Scott</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Jonathan Marshall</ent> and other authors who researched
|
|
the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> story say that in the mid to late 1980's, LaRouchians
|
|
such as <ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde, who had researched the Oliver <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> network,
|
|
were involved in the traditional game of the Capitol press
|
|
corps--circulating documents and trading theories.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> The LaRouchians as Anti-Interventionists</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>During the late 1980's the LaRouchians covertly sought to expand
|
|
their contacts with the left and attempted to link up with progressive
|
|
groups over issues such as anti-interventionism, covert action,
|
|
government domestic repression, civil liberties and Third <ent type='ORG'>World</ent>
|
|
debt. Many progressive researchers report that during this period
|
|
they began to receive telephone calls from LaRouchian operatives
|
|
suggesting joint work or offering documents or story ideas.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Progressive activists also were targeted. For instance, <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
organizers involved themselves in an international anti-interventionist
|
|
conference held in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>, and have worked behind the scenes around
|
|
the issue of U.S. involvement in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian affairs ever since.
|
|
Although conference organizers say they tried to isolate the
|
|
LaRouchians at the conference, there is little doubt that the
|
|
LaRouchians managed to leave the impression with some activists
|
|
that they were a key component in the alliance against U.S.
|
|
intervention in <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Former U.S. Attorney General <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> has become a vocal
|
|
opponent of U.S. intervention and was a major critic of the U.S.
|
|
invasion of <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> has regularly worked in the same
|
|
anti-intervention projects as the LaRouchians, where their presence
|
|
would have been difficult not to notice. While there is no evidence
|
|
(or even a reasonable suspicion) that <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> willingly works with
|
|
the LaRouchians or shares any of their bigoted views, it is clear
|
|
the LaRouchians delight in implying that just such a relationship
|
|
exists between themselves and <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent>, especially since <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> agreed
|
|
to represent the LaRouchians in filing legal appeals flowing out
|
|
of a series of federal criminal convictions of LaRouchian fundraisers
|
|
and <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> himself.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The ability of the LaRouchians to inject themselves into mainstream
|
|
debate around the issue of <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> is astonishing. For instance, at
|
|
the April, 1991 conference of the Latin <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n Studies Association
|
|
in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C., a panel on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> included LaRouchian expert
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Carlos Wesley</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Wesley</ent> was not the first choice. Two panelists from
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> who were originally scheduled to appear did not receive
|
|
funding to attend the conference, so panel co-coordinator <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>ald
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bray</ent> from <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> State University in <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent> then called
|
|
a person he respected as an expert on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> for advice on a last
|
|
minute replacement. "I called <ent type='PERSON'>Carlos Russell</ent>, a <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian who now
|
|
teaches in the U.S., and who was a former Ambassador to the <ent type='ORG'>OAS</ent>
|
|
for a former <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian government," explains <ent type='PERSON'>Bray</ent>. "He said 'you
|
|
are not going to believe this, but I am going to recommend a
|
|
LaRouchite, <ent type='PERSON'>Carlos Wesley</ent>.'" A slightly bemused <ent type='PERSON'>Bray</ent> says he knew
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Wesley</ent> from long ago and knew he was a reporter for LaRouche's
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special>. Still, this was a recommendation
|
|
from a credible <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian source so with some misgivings <ent type='PERSON'>Bray</ent>
|
|
scheduled <ent type='PERSON'>Wesley</ent> as a panelist.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Wesley</ent> was identified as a correspondent for <Executive Intelligence
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew> (<special>EIR</special>) but, according to author <ent type='PERSON'>Holly Sklar</ent>, who attended
|
|
the session, many in the audience were not aware that <special>EIR</special> was a
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> publication. "Of course if we had identified him as a
|
|
LaRouchian, nobody would have paid any attention to what he said,"
|
|
explained <ent type='PERSON'>Bray</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The ties between <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> go back several years to when
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> intelligence collectors began trading tidbits of information
|
|
with <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian leader Manuel <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>. Following Noriega's indictment
|
|
for conspiracy in drug deals, journalist <ent type='PERSON'>William Branigin</ent>, writing
|
|
in the <special><ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> Post</special> of June 18, 1988, noted that among Noriega's
|
|
few supporters in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States was "political extremist <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent>
|
|
H. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> Jr., who has praised the general as a leader in the
|
|
war on drugs."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>According to a January, 1990 <special>Associated Press</special> report, <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
sent <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> a cable after his indictment, telling the dictator "I
|
|
extend to you my apologies for what the government of <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent>
|
|
States is doing to <ent type='GPE'>the Republic</ent> of <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>." <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> told <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent>
|
|
"I reiterate to you what I have stated publicly. That the Reagan
|
|
administration current policies towards <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> are absolutely an
|
|
offense to your nation and all of Latin <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>." This type of
|
|
rhetoric shows how the LaRouchians can adopt a critique of U.S.
|
|
foreign policy ostensibly similar to that of the left, while weaving
|
|
in an <special>apologia</special> converting a drug-running dictator into a
|
|
drug-fighting humanitarian. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> also has high praise for other
|
|
dictators, including the late Ferdinand <ent type='PERSON'>Marcos</ent>. The LaRouchians
|
|
claim <ent type='PERSON'>Marcos</ent> actually won his last election.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Another example of ideological cross-fertilization involves Cecilio
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Simon</ent>, a <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>nian who is an administrator at <ent type='ORG'>the University</ent> of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Simon</ent> spoke along with <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> and others at the April
|
|
6, 1990 "Voices from <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent>" forum held at <ent type='GPE'>New York City</ent>'s Town
|
|
Hall auditorium. <ent type='PERSON'>Simon</ent> later spoke at the LaRouchian "Fifth
|
|
International <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> Luther <ent type='ORG'>King</ent> Tribunal</ent> of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>,"
|
|
on June 2, 1990 in <ent type='GPE'>Silver Spring</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Maryland</ent>. These incidents
|
|
demonstrate how the LaRouchians continue to insert themselves into
|
|
anti-interventionist work and gain credibility on the left.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> <ent type='ORG'>Rightist Influences</ent> on <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> Theories</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The problem of conflating documentable facts with analysis and
|
|
conclusions and then merging them with unsubstantiated conspiracy
|
|
theories popular on the far right has plagued progressive foreign
|
|
policy critiques for several years. <ent type='ORG'>The <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>'s "Secret
|
|
Team" theory is perhaps the most widespread example of the phenomenon.
|
|
While many of the charges raised by <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> regarding the La Penca
|
|
bombing and the private pro-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> network are documented, some of
|
|
their assertions regarding the nature and operations of a long-standing
|
|
conspiracy of high-level <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, military, and foreign policy advisors
|
|
inside the executive branch remain undocumented, and in a few
|
|
instances, are factually inaccurate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There are two related questions in this matter. One is whether or
|
|
not the case was handled properly with regard to the actual clients,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Martha Honey</ent> and Tony <ent type='EVENT'>Avirgan</ent>. The other is how much unsubstantiated
|
|
conspiracism was made part of the case and its surrounding publicity.
|
|
This paper will focus on the issue of the undocumented conspiracy
|
|
theories.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is arguable that while <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> pursued the broad conspiracy of
|
|
the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>", the bedrock portions of the case involving the
|
|
actual La Penca incidents took a back seat. A few weeks before the
|
|
case was slated for trial, <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> still had not
|
|
diagramed the elements of proof, a legal procedure where the text
|
|
of the complaint is broken down into a list of single elements that
|
|
have to be proven with either valid documentation, a sworn affidavit,
|
|
or a live witness. This had created problems for researchers and
|
|
lawyers who had no master list of what needed to be proven when
|
|
devising questions for depositions and witnesses.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>When a special meeting was convened shortly before trial, it turned
|
|
out that for some of allegations concerning the alleged broad
|
|
"<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" conspiracy, the only evidence in possession of the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> was newspaper clippings and excerpts from
|
|
books--and in a few instances there was no evidence other than
|
|
uncorroborated assertions collected by researchers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Raised at the meeting was the issue of whether or not the case had
|
|
unwittingly incorporated unsubstantiated conspiracy theories from
|
|
right-wing groups such as the LaRouchians. The staff was warned
|
|
that some defendants would likely prevail at trial due to lack of
|
|
court-quality evidence and would then likely pursue financial
|
|
penalties (called Rule 11 sanctions).[f-3]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>These matters are important because <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> press statements have
|
|
fueled the idea, and many <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> supporters believe,
|
|
that the dismissal of the case was just another example of a massive
|
|
government conspiracy and cover-up. It is undeniable that the
|
|
presiding judge was hostile to <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> and stretched judicial
|
|
discretion to the breaking point in dismissing the case. The
|
|
dismissal was unfair. However, according to a statement issued by
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> client Tony <ent type='EVENT'>Avirgan</ent>, the <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> must share at least
|
|
"partial responsibility for the dismissal of the La Penca law suit."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"It's sad that these issues have to be raised by 'outsiders' such
|
|
as <ent type='PERSON'>Berlet</ent>. But the truth is that criticism-self criticism, an
|
|
essential tool in any social movement, has never been tolerated by
|
|
the leaders of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>. Those who criticized the
|
|
legal work of <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> were labelled as enemies and ignored. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"There were, indeed, numerous undocumented allegations in the suit,
|
|
particularly in Sheehan's Affidavit of Fact. As plaintiffs in the
|
|
suit, <ent type='PERSON'>Martha Honey</ent> and I struggled for years to try to bring the
|
|
case down to earth, to bringing it away from Sheehan's wild
|
|
allegations. Over the years, numerous staff lawyers quit over their
|
|
inability to control <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>. We stuck with it--and continued to
|
|
struggle--because we felt that the issues being raised were important.
|
|
But this was a law suit, not a political rally, and the hostile
|
|
judges latched on to the lack of proof and the sloppy legal work.
|
|
"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The case, before it was inflated by <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>, was supposed to center
|
|
on the La Penca bombing. On this, there is a strong body of evidence
|
|
here in <ent type='GPE'>Costa Rica</ent>. It is enough evidence to get a reluctant Costa
|
|
Rican judiciary to indict two <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> operatives, <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Hull</ent> and Felipe
|
|
Vidal, for murder and drug trafficking. Unfortunately, little of
|
|
this evidence was successfully transformed into evidence acceptable
|
|
to U.S. courts. It was either never submitted or was poorly
|
|
prepared. In large part, this was because <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> was concentrating
|
|
on his broad, 30-year conspiracy. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The exercise <ent type='PERSON'>Berlet</ent> suggested--breaking each allegation down and
|
|
compiling evidentiary proof for it--was indeed undertaken by
|
|
competent lawyers on <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> staff. But it was an
|
|
exercise begun too late. The case had already been spiked by
|
|
Sheehan's Affidavit. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"We feel that it is important to openly discuss these things so
|
|
that similar mistakes are avoided in the future. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Jane Hunter of <special><ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i Foreign Affairs</special> agrees that some of the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> research is problematic. "As a researcher I have over the
|
|
years found nothing in the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> case worth citing," says Hunter.
|
|
A number of other researchers and journalists have raised similarly
|
|
harsh criticisms of some of the allegations made in the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
case. <ent type='PERSON'>David Corn</ent>, for instance, wrote a stinging assessment of the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent> theory for the <special><ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent></special>. Other criticisms were aired
|
|
in other <ent type='PERSON'>Jones</ent>>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Dr. Diana <ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent> is one of the many critics of portions of the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> thesis. <ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent> thinks undocumented conspiracy theories
|
|
hurt the case. She believes there is much solid evidence concerning
|
|
the actual La Penca bombing and aftermath, and some specific
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> material, but she thinks "it is fair to say that some
|
|
right-wing conspiracy theories were woven into the theory behind
|
|
the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> case." <ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent> read thousands of pages of depositions
|
|
taken by <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> while she was researching a story
|
|
on federal emergency planning, later published in <Covert Action
|
|
Information Bulletin>. According to <ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent>:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"It is clear to me from the depositions of Ed <ent type='PERSON'>Wilson</ent> and Gene
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Wheaton</ent> that the notion of a broad conspiracy conducted by the
|
|
so-called Enterprise, beyond the La Penca bombing and the specific
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> scandal, has many holes. I am thoroughly convinced that
|
|
those two depositions contain the nub of the unsubstantiated
|
|
conspiracy theory, and I have said this for a very long time. When
|
|
we get into the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> allegations regarding <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> and
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Asia</ent> and the Camp David accords and forty years of conspiracy,
|
|
their thesis falls apart. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent> suggests it is fair to ask whether or not <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> was
|
|
manipulated by right-wing persons associated with factions in the
|
|
intelligence community. "It is curious that <ent type='PERSON'>Wilson</ent> is a former
|
|
intelligence operative, and that <ent type='ORG'>Wheaton</ent>, at the same time he was
|
|
working for <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>, was also alleged by Mr. <ent type='PERSON'>Owen</ent> in his <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
deposition to be passing information to <ent type='PERSON'>Neil Livingston</ent> at the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security Council to protect some of the people who were
|
|
implicated in the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> scandal," says <ent type='PERSON'>Reynolds</ent>. At least
|
|
two former <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> investigators say they warned <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> not to
|
|
rely on conspiratorial analysis and to be suspicious of material
|
|
from right-wing sources. Nevertheless, <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> was rebuked by his
|
|
own staff and others in <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> leadership for repeatedly lapsing
|
|
into an overly conspiratorial analysis in public appearances, and
|
|
for making claims that the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> staff could not document or
|
|
otherwise support when responding to follow-up inquiries by reporters.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While the allegation that right-wing conspiracy theories were woven
|
|
into the case is hotly denied by <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>, the contacts by the
|
|
LaRouchians during the mid and late 1980's are not disputed.
|
|
According to a <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> spokesperson:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"In conducting investigations historically we have sometimes had
|
|
to get information from persons with whom one would not normally
|
|
associate. People like drug dealers, mercenaries and intelligence
|
|
agents. During our investigation, there were some meetings with
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> staffers conducted by <ent type='PERSON'>Lanny Sinkin</ent> and David MacMichael.
|
|
The information was always viewed very skeptically and none of it
|
|
found its way into our casework or courtroom materials. All those
|
|
contacts were stopped by 1989. We take seriously the view that the
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization is an organization with whom progressives
|
|
should be very wary. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>David MacMichael and <ent type='PERSON'>Lanny Sinkin</ent> are no longer affiliated with
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>. <ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent> says his contact with the LaRouchians
|
|
while at <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> was limited to a few brief conversations.
|
|
MacMichael, a former <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> analyst turned agency critic who now writes
|
|
and lectures on covert action, has had a more extensive relationship
|
|
to the LaRouchians. MacMichael and <ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent>, however, were not the
|
|
only <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> investigators who received information from the
|
|
LaRouchians. <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> investigator Bill McCoy also received
|
|
information from the LaRouchians as did at least one other <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
researcher, according to former staffers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> was warned by his own staff in 1988 that contacts with the
|
|
research circles around <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> were a problem
|
|
on both factual and moral grounds. Later Danny <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> appeared on
|
|
the <special><ent type='ORG'>Undercurrents</ent></special> program broadcast on <ent type='ORG'>WBAI</ent>-FM and other <ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent>
|
|
and progressive radio stations. <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> told the radio audience
|
|
that it was untrue that LaRouchians had supplied information to
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>, and blasted a passing reference to this
|
|
matter in <ent type='PERSON'>Dennis King</ent>'s book, <<ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and the New <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n
|
|
Fascism>. Shortly after Sheehan's statements, an offer to promote
|
|
King's book as a premium gift during an annual fundraising drive
|
|
for the radio station was withdrawn. <ent type='ORG'>King</ent> believes Sheehan's
|
|
unequivocal denial undercut the credibility of his book and was
|
|
responsible for <ent type='ORG'>WBAI</ent> withdrawing the original offer.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>- The Right-Wing Roots of the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" Theory -</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> no longer uses the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" slogan, but for the first
|
|
several years of the case, <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> used the term
|
|
"<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" to describe the legal conspiracy they alleged in
|
|
court (a copy of the Prouty book sat in Sheehan's personal bookshelf
|
|
in his <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> office). There is no dispute that the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>"
|
|
theory came from the political right. The "Affidavit of Daniel P.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>" filed on December 12, 1986 and revised on January 31,
|
|
1987, refers frequently to the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>," and states explicitly
|
|
that the term came from right-wing sources.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"...I was contacted by Source #47, a right-wing para-military
|
|
specialist, former U.S. Army pilot in <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent> and military reform
|
|
specialist in January of 1986. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Source #47, the Specialist, who was unaware of my investigation,
|
|
informed me that he had met--at a right-wing function--a former
|
|
U.S. military intelligence officer, Source #48...this source began
|
|
to discuss with Source #47 the existence of a "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" of
|
|
former high-ranking <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> officials, former high-ranking
|
|
U.S. military officials and Middle <ent type='LOC'>Eastern</ent> arms merchants--who also
|
|
specialized in the performance of covert political assassinations
|
|
of <ent type='NORP'>communists</ent> and "enemies" of this "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" which carried on
|
|
its own independent, <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n foreign policy--regardless of the
|
|
will of <ent type='ORG'>Congress</ent>, the will of the President, or even the will of
|
|
the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n Central Intelligence Agency. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Critics of the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> thesis say the "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" was not a
|
|
cabal operating against the will of the president or the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, but
|
|
was an illegal, secret government-sponsored operation established
|
|
by <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> director <ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> Casey and coordinated by <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> aide
|
|
Oliver <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>, with assistance from a network of ultra-right groups
|
|
who were determined to circumvent the will of <ent type='ORG'>Congress</ent>. This
|
|
"Enterprise" at times worked closely with the <ent type='ORG'>Mossad</ent> and carried
|
|
out clandestine counterinsurgency missions. Some of these
|
|
counterinsurgency missions were based on the same model of pacification
|
|
used by U.S. Special Forces and clandestine <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> operations in
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent>. It is just this emphasis on counterinsurgency and clandestine
|
|
operations rather than direct military battles that forms the basis
|
|
of criticism in Fletcher Prouty's book <special><ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent></special>. Prouty
|
|
criticized the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> for promoting covert action techniques which he
|
|
traced to the influence of the <ent type='NORP'>British</ent> intelligence service MI5 on
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>the Office</ent> of Strategic Services (<ent type='ORG'>OSS</ent>), precursor to the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>. Prouty
|
|
said such meddling and convoluted efforts at fighting communism
|
|
resulted in the needless deaths of <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n servicemen. There is
|
|
no evidence of any obvious anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy theories in the
|
|
Prouty book.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some of the undocumented conspiracy theories regarding the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> and
|
|
U.S. foreign policy that were widely circulated in progressive
|
|
circles before the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate scandal hit the headlines seem
|
|
to have appeared first in the LaRouchian's <Executive Intelligence
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew> or <special><ent type='ORG'>New Solidarity</ent></special> (later <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>), or in the
|
|
pages of <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>'s <special>Spotlight</special> newspaper.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <special>Spotlight</special> for instance carried the first exclusive story on
|
|
"<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84" by writer <ent type='PERSON'>James Harrer</ent>. "<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84" was one of a long series
|
|
of readiness exercises for government military, security and police
|
|
forces. "<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84"--Readiness Exercise, 1984--was a drill which
|
|
postulated a scenario of massive civil unrest and the need to round
|
|
up and detain large numbers of demonstrators and dissidents. While
|
|
creating scenarios and carrying out mock exercises is common, the
|
|
potential for Constitutional abuses under the contingency plans
|
|
drawn up for "<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84" was, and is, very real. The legislative
|
|
authorization and Executive agency capacity for such a round-up of
|
|
dissidents remains operational.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The April 23, 1984 <special>Spotlight</special> article ran with a banner headline
|
|
"Reagan Orders Concentration Camps." The article, true to form,
|
|
took a problematic swipe at the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai
|
|
B'rith along with reporting the facts of the story. The <ent type='PERSON'>Harrer</ent>
|
|
article was based primarily on two unnamed government sources, and
|
|
follow-up confirmations. Mainstream reporters pursued the allegations
|
|
through interviews and Freedom of Information Act requests, and
|
|
ultimately the <ent type='PERSON'>Harrer</ent> <special>Spotlight</special> article proved to be a substantially
|
|
accurate account of the readiness exercise, although <special>Spotlight</special>
|
|
did underplay the fact that this was a scenario and drill, not an
|
|
actual order to round up dissidents.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Many people believe that <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> was the first group to reveal
|
|
the "<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84" story. According to the 1986 <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> "Affidavit"
|
|
revised in 1987:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"During the second week of April of 1984, I was informed by Source
|
|
#4 that President <ent type='PERSON'>Ronald</ent> Reagan had, on April 6, 1984, issued
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security Decision Directive #52 authorizing the Federal
|
|
Emergency Management Agency director Louis O. <ent type='PERSON'>Giuffrida</ent> and his
|
|
Deputy <ent type='PERSON'>Frank Salcedo</ent> to undertake a secret nation-wide, 'readiness
|
|
exercise' code-named '<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84....' "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The impression left is that a <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> source exclusively developed
|
|
this information and quietly handed it over to <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>. In fact,
|
|
the second week of April 1984, the "<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84" story was bannered on
|
|
the front page of the <special>Spotlight</special> and available in coin-boxes all
|
|
over Capitol Hill. <special>Spotlight</special> had previously reported extensively
|
|
on <ent type='ORG'>the Federal Emergency Management Agency</ent> (<ent type='ORG'>FEMA</ent>) and other government
|
|
initiatives that threatened civil liberties.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> has told reporters that the "<ent type='ORG'>Rex</ent> 84" story did not come
|
|
from <special>Spotlight</special>, but would not respond to questions as to whether
|
|
or not Source #4 could document where the information came from.
|
|
This is important because in at least one other instance, previously
|
|
published research was attributed by <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> to Source #4. According
|
|
to the 1986 <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> "Affidavit" revised in 1987:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"In early May of 1984, I was supplied by Source #4 with a number
|
|
of documents describing, in some detail, a project supervised by
|
|
then Special Assistant <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> State Attorney General Edwin
|
|
Meese code-named "Project <ent type='ORG'>Cable Splicer</ent>"...part of a larger program,
|
|
code-named "Project Garden Plot"--which was a nation-wide war games
|
|
scenario...to establish a nation-wide state of martial law if
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Richard Nixon</ent>'s "political enemies" required him to declare a State
|
|
of <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Emergency. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While the descriptions of <ent type='ORG'>Cable Splicer</ent> and Garden Plot are accurate,
|
|
the source is deceptively obscured. The original story of Cable
|
|
Splicer and Garden Plot broke in the alternative press in 1975 in
|
|
an article by <ent type='PERSON'>Ron Ridenhour</ent> with <ent type='PERSON'>Arthur Lublow</ent> published in Arizona's
|
|
<special>New Times</special>. Garden Plot was also the cover story for the Winter
|
|
1976 issue of <special>CounterSpy</special> magazine. Dozens of pages of the unedited
|
|
official documents from <ent type='ORG'>Garden Plot and</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Cable Splicer</ent> were reprinted
|
|
in the magazine. Copies of the official documents were made available
|
|
to trial teams in several cities litigating against illegal government
|
|
intelligence abuse.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Several former <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> staffers, who asked to remain nameless,
|
|
suggest that, at the very least, a critical reevaluation of some
|
|
allegations made in the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> case would be beneficial in light
|
|
of the possibility that material from far-right, conspiracist or
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> sources was uncritically woven into the original "Secret
|
|
Team" <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> thesis. They say that the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> theories need to
|
|
be reassessed with the ulterior motives and credibility of those
|
|
sources in mind.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>The <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> was supplied with the text of the criticisms
|
|
raised in this section of the report, as well as an extensive list
|
|
of written questions. With the exception of the quote regarding
|
|
the LaRouchians, they chose not to respond.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent>, The October Surprise & The LaRouchians</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In many way the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization, with its slickly repackaged
|
|
conspiracy theories, serves as a nexus for a number of tendencies
|
|
on the political right, ranging from ultra-<ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent> to outright
|
|
fascists and white supremacists. LaRouchian material on AIDS, for
|
|
instance, is cited by homophobic organizations such as the
|
|
fundamentalist <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent> group <ent type='ORG'>Summit Ministries</ent>. It seems clear
|
|
that the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> network reaches out to many constituencies,
|
|
including some that seem improbable on the surface, including some
|
|
on the left.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Over the past few years the LaRouchians have solicited contacts
|
|
with a number of critics of U.S. foreign policy and intelligence
|
|
agency practices, sometimes with surprising success. In many cases,
|
|
it is the LaRouchian intelligence network that serves as a broker
|
|
for information flowing between left-wing and right-wing groups.
|
|
LaRouchians appear to have first penetrated the left in recent
|
|
years when they began to trade information on covert action and
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> misconduct. The LaRouchians were early critics of the Oliver
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> network. In the early 1980's, <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> intelligence operatives
|
|
such as <ent type='PERSON'>Jeffrey Steinberg</ent> maintained close ties to a faction in
|
|
the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security Council which opposed Oliver North's activities.
|
|
At the same time the LaRouchians quietly began providing information
|
|
to mainstream and progressive reporters and researchers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>The <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> and <ent type='ORG'>the Empowerment</ent> Project which distributes
|
|
the film "CoverUp: Behind the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> Affair" are major
|
|
promoters of <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honegger</ent>'s theories regarding an alleged
|
|
"October Surprise." The October Surprise was the term used among
|
|
Reagan campaign aides to describe the possibility that the <ent type='NORP'>Iranian</ent>
|
|
government might arrange for the release of U.S. hostages prior to
|
|
the election which pitted incumbent <ent type='PERSON'>Jimmy Carter</ent> against challenger
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ronald</ent> Reagan. <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent> alleges in her book <October
|
|
Surprise> that Reagan campaign aides did negotiate with representatives
|
|
of the <ent type='NORP'>Iranian</ent> government to delay any hostage release until after
|
|
the 1980 election. Substantial circumstantial evidence exists to
|
|
suggest such a charge might be true, but there is little incontrovertible
|
|
proof.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Honneger's research and analysis are questionable. In the 1989
|
|
edition of her book <special>October Surprise</special>, <ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent> cites frequently
|
|
to LaRouche's <special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special>. While some material
|
|
in EIR is factual, other material presented as fact is unsubstantiated
|
|
rumor or lunatic conspiracy theories. Some anti-fascist researchers
|
|
also assume that information in EIR occasionally represents calculated
|
|
leaks by current and former government intelligence agents and
|
|
right-wing activists to achieve a desired political goal. This
|
|
practice is a common tactic in power struggles and faction fights
|
|
over policy.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While <ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent> sometimes cites to progressive periodicals such as
|
|
<special>In These Times</special> and <special>The <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent></special>,, more than six percent (49 out
|
|
of a total 771) of the footnotes in Honneger's book cite LaRouchian
|
|
publications such as <special>EIR, <ent type='ORG'>New Solidarity</ent>, </special>and <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>.
|
|
In one chapter on "Project Diplomacy," <ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent> LaRouchian cites
|
|
account for over 22 percent of the total number of footnotes.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent> also makes assertions that strain credulity. She quotes
|
|
without comment the claim of Eugene <ent type='ORG'>Wheaton</ent> that the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> is actually
|
|
secretly controlled by a group of retired members of the <ent type='ORG'>OSS</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the July/August 1991 issue of <special>The Humanist</special>, both David MacMichael
|
|
and <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Trent</ent> of <ent type='ORG'>the Empowerment</ent> project defend <ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent> and
|
|
suggest <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent> refused to show "Coverup" because it contained serious
|
|
charges against the U.S. government. As <ent type='PERSON'>Trent</ent> put it:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"It was no big surprise that there was a problem getting 'Coverup'
|
|
on <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent>. Programs that address U.S. foreign policy in particular
|
|
and are not in agreement with the policies of the sitting president
|
|
rarely get much of a chance on TV. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In fact, <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent> has aired on the "<ent type='ORG'>Front</ent>line" series programs about
|
|
the October Surprise and <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> involvement in drug trafficking. <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent>
|
|
has also aired two <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Moyers</ent> specials on <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate that
|
|
concluded that Reagan lied repeatedly and may have committed
|
|
impeachable offenses, and that evidence exists to suggest that
|
|
Bush's role in the <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> resupply operation was far more direct
|
|
than he has admitted. The primary difference between the shows
|
|
broadcast by <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent> and "Coverup" is the reliance in "Coverup" on
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent> and Danny <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> and their unsubstantiated and
|
|
undocumented charges. It would have been difficult for <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent> to
|
|
justify running Honneger's assertions given her reliance on material
|
|
supplied by neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s with a history of circulating unreliable
|
|
information.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Coverup" also promotes the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> theme that <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate
|
|
was caused by a long-standing conspiracy of individual agents. In
|
|
contrast to this individualistic formulation, the <ent type='ORG'>Moyers</ent> programs
|
|
stress a systemic failure: that the lack of congressional oversight
|
|
over foreign policy and covert action has created a Constitutional
|
|
crisis where the balance of powers between branches of government
|
|
has been skewed toward the executive branch.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>The Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The right's attempt to influence and recruit the left became highly
|
|
visible during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> crisis in late 1990 and early 1991. As
|
|
the movement against the war in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> began to build, a
|
|
handful of far-right and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> groups began to seek alliances
|
|
with liberal, progressive, and left antiwar coalitions. It is
|
|
important to recognize that as a whole the antiwar movement
|
|
overwhelmingly rejected these overtures by the political right,
|
|
while recognizing that the attempt reflects a larger ongoing problem.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> Sowing Confusion</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The rightist efforts caused problems across the country, especially
|
|
attempts by followers of neo-fascist <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> H. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, Jr. to
|
|
forge ties with liberal and left antiwar coalitions. Other fascist
|
|
groups organizing against the war included <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>, and some elements of the white supremacist movement.
|
|
Other far-right and ultra-conservative groups opposing the war
|
|
included some factions in the <ent type='NORP'>Libertarian</ent> movement, the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> Birch
|
|
Society, and groups purveying general rightist conspiracy theories.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Most persons in the antiwar movement seemed unaware of the backgrounds
|
|
and ideology of the several rightist groups that sought alliances
|
|
during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> period, and merely were hoping to build a
|
|
broad-based alliance. Still, some activists fear that in the future,
|
|
fragile coalitions around peace and social justice issues could be
|
|
seriously damaged by the presence of bigoted ultra-right forces,
|
|
and argue that on moral grounds alone, coalitions with fascist,
|
|
racist, and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> groups are not acceptable.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some of the rightist and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> groups that opposed the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>
|
|
<ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> also have a racialist white supremacist ideology that not only
|
|
considers persons of <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent> heritage to be inferior, but
|
|
believes no person of color has a legitimate claim to citizenship
|
|
in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States. Within weeks of Iraq's invasion of <ent type='GPE'>Kuwait</ent>,
|
|
there were reports of physical attacks on and threats against both
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> institutions and persons of <ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> descent.
|
|
Left groups which tolerate or apologize for persons who have allied
|
|
themselves with the racialist ultra-right send a message that such
|
|
views, which motivate acts of discrimination and assault, are an
|
|
acceptable part of political debate in our society.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Most <ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent> and rightists supported the U.S. involvement in
|
|
<ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>. The actual attempts by the sectors of the political
|
|
right who opposed the war were varied by both locale and method.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The antiwar rightist groups generally did not seek actual coalitions
|
|
with the left, but instead passed out handbills at large antiwar
|
|
demonstrations as a recruitment mechanism. For example, the
|
|
ultra-conservative and conspiracist <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent> distributed
|
|
antiwar flyers at <ent type='ORG'>Merrimack College</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Massachusetts</ent>, and at a
|
|
downtown <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> antiwar rally.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>For many on the left, this was their first experience with a
|
|
courtship by the ultra-right. Author Sara <ent type='PERSON'>Diamond</ent> urges left
|
|
activists to be suspicious of the motives of the opportunistic
|
|
right which approached the left during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Diamond</ent>, whose
|
|
book <special>Spiritual <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>fare</special> chronicled the religious right in <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>,
|
|
warned, "one can only speculate that they wanted to recruit people
|
|
into their own organizations and then leave the left discredited."
|
|
She added that no matter what the motivation, however, the proposed
|
|
alliance was a bad idea.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>One danger posed by the right wing's recruitment attempts is that
|
|
the widespread conspiracism in some sectors of the far right has
|
|
found fertile ground among naive or uncritical forces on the left.
|
|
The problem is exacerbated when rightists put forward their paranoid
|
|
and sometimes anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> theories in progressive circles where
|
|
conspiracist or prejudiced sentiments have been tolerated rather
|
|
than routinely confronted. Within the U.S. progressive movement,
|
|
the issue of an undercurrent of anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigotry among some
|
|
pro-<ent type='NORP'>Palestinian</ent>, <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> nationalist, and left groups has been under
|
|
discussion for several years.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>What the left faces is the task of carefully drawing distinctions
|
|
between views that are solely anti-<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> or critical of the state
|
|
of Israel's policies, and views that reflect bigoted conspiracy
|
|
theories about persons of <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> heritage. If peace and social
|
|
justice forces do not publicly reject anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigots, this task
|
|
becomes impossible, and the charge of anti-Semitism will taint the
|
|
entire progressive movement.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The utilization of scapegoating conspiracies is by no means limited
|
|
to the fascist right, but during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> some antiwar activists
|
|
became attracted to scurrilous conspiratorial theories of elite
|
|
control circulated by right-wing researchers. One conspiracy theorist
|
|
who gained high visibility during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> was <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent>.
|
|
Another conspiracy theorist, <ent type='PERSON'>Antony Sutton</ent>, avoids explicit
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> rhetoric, but pursues a line promoting arcane banking
|
|
conspiracies (often involving <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> banking families traditionally
|
|
scapegoated by bigots). <ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent> also has supported racial separatism
|
|
between <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>s and whites in <ent type='GPE'>South Africa</ent>. Another theorist,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Eustace Mullins</ent>, is a notorious anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigot who focuses on
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy theories in which the <ent type='PERSON'>Rothschilds</ent> and other
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> control the world economy. <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent>' work is promoted by U.S.
|
|
white supremacist and neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> circles. Persons supporting the
|
|
neo-fascist <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> used Hulet's radio appearances on
|
|
progressive <ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent> network radio station <ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent>
|
|
to organize study groups where the theories of <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent>
|
|
were promoted.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> The LaRouchians and <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The most disruptive rightist penetration of antiwar groups was by
|
|
the LaRouchians. The LaRouchians generally operate under front
|
|
groups such as <ent type='ORG'>Food for Peace</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent>, and <Executive
|
|
Intelligence <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew>. Some local antiwar groups have worked with
|
|
the LaRouchians, while others have not. While often described merely
|
|
as conservative or extremist, the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization and its
|
|
various front groups are a fascist political movement with echoes
|
|
of neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> ideology. The group's ultimate leader, <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> H.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, Jr., is currently in jail because his fundraisers sold
|
|
unsecured securities to the elderly and because <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> paid no
|
|
taxes while living in a <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent> mansion. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was sentenced
|
|
in January, 1989 to fifteen years in prison after a federal court
|
|
found <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and six codefendants guilty of a mail fraud conspiracy
|
|
related to fundraising. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was also convicted of tax evasion.
|
|
On appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court let the convictions stand without
|
|
comment.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>LaRouche's lawyers have repeatedly sued activist critics who describe
|
|
him as a fascist, racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigot,
|
|
lunatic cult leader, neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> racial theorist, crook, and demagogue.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> has lost every case. One jury in <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent> found that
|
|
calling <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> a "small-time <ent type='PERSON'>Hitler</ent>" was not defamatory and then
|
|
awarded damages to the news organization sued by <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>During <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> the LaRouchians appeared at antiwar rallies
|
|
and meetings in thirty cities, including <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>,
|
|
D.C., <ent type='GPE'>Richmond</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Milwaukee</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Detroit</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Cleveland</ent>, Ann Arbor,
|
|
St. Louis, <ent type='GPE'>Omaha</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Seattle</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent>, and <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At <ent type='ORG'>the University</ent> of Ottawa in <ent type='GPE'>Canada</ent>, LaRouche's <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent>
|
|
co-sponsored an antiwar event with an organization of Middle <ent type='LOC'>Eastern</ent>
|
|
students. At an October 20, 1990 antiwar demonstration in <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>
|
|
City, <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> had four people carrying a large banner
|
|
and a small group of supporters organized in a contingent. The
|
|
LaRouchians have passed out petitions at antiwar rallies, and then
|
|
called the persons who signed the petitions to solicit money for
|
|
the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization. Other fundraising pitches are made at
|
|
antiwar rallies.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In a flyer announcing a December 15, 1990 rally, a group called
|
|
simply the "<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> Organization" was originally listed as a
|
|
coalition member. The presence of the LaRouchians, as well as other
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigots, in the St. Louis antiwar coalition originally
|
|
caused consternation, especially among members of New <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> Agenda,
|
|
a group which supports a <ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>, <ent type='NORP'>Palestinian</ent> rights,
|
|
and a <ent type='NORP'>Palestinian</ent> homeland. When coalition leaders were provided
|
|
with documentation of LaRouchian attacks on <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>, <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>s and other
|
|
minorities, including LaRouchian support for the apartheid government
|
|
of <ent type='GPE'>South Africa</ent>, the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> supporters were booted out of the
|
|
coalition.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent>, several LaRouchians were dismayed when the local
|
|
antiwar coalition pointed to its principles of unity, which included
|
|
a call for a sensible non-nuclear energy policy. The LaRouchians
|
|
are vocal supporters of nuclear power. In <ent type='GPE'>Richmond</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent>, local
|
|
antiwar organizers simply kept shouting at the LaRouchians to "shut
|
|
up" when they began their bizarre spiels and for a time the
|
|
LaRouchians stopped coming to meetings. The LaRouchians soon
|
|
returned, but attempted to keep a low profile while persistently
|
|
circulating their literature.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>During December, LaRouche's followers held vigils on a number of
|
|
campuses to build support for a touted "<ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Teach-In to Stop
|
|
the <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>" held December 15-16 in <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>. The <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent> conference,
|
|
titled "Development is the New Name for Peace," turned out to be
|
|
the annual <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>-sponsored <ent type='ORG'>Food for Peace</ent> Conference, repackaged
|
|
to attract antiwar activists. The conference drew over 350 attendees.
|
|
Several persons active with the St. Louis <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n
|
|
Anti-<ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>/Peace <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> who attended the conference were later
|
|
asked to leave the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> for being disruptive and spreading
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy theories, according to several St. Louis
|
|
activists who spoke on condition of anonymity.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Only three dozen students were sprinkled among the crowd which drew
|
|
persons from <ent type='GPE'>California</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Oregon</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>South Dakota</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Maryland</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>New Jersey</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Iowa</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Pennsylvania</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Ohio</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Nebraska</ent>, and the
|
|
Canadian province of <ent type='GPE'>Quebec</ent>. Many in the audience were farmers.
|
|
Close to one-third of the conference attendees were <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While the number of students was small, the emphasis on the situation
|
|
in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> was not neglected. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> regulars <ent type='PERSON'>Mel Klenetsky</ent>
|
|
and <ent type='PERSON'>Nancy Spannaus</ent> moderated the program which included a videotaped
|
|
message and live phone patch from the cultural attache for the
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent>i embassy, Dr. Mayser Al Mallah. The <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization has
|
|
maintained ties with the <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent>i Ba'ath <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> for many years, according
|
|
to several former LaRouchian intelligence gatherers who have left
|
|
the group.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Other panelists at the LaRouchian conference included the <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>James Bevel</ent>, an early civil rights leader now active in several
|
|
LaRouchian front groups; a representative from Minister Louis
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan's <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Islam</ent>, Dr. <ent type='PERSON'>Abdul Alim Muhammad</ent>, editor of
|
|
the <special><ent type='ORG'>Final Call</ent></special>; and <ent type='PERSON'>Gene Wheaton</ent>, a private investigator who
|
|
works with both left-wing and right-wing critics of U.S. clandestine
|
|
operations.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>How The LaRouchians Exploited Antiwar <ent type='ORG'>Organizers</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A long-time political activist who marched with the <ent type='GPE'>Cleveland</ent>
|
|
contingent in the January 19th antiwar demonstration in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>,
|
|
D.C. was more than a little surprised when he noticed that people
|
|
in the contingent next to him were passing out literature from
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> LaRouche's political front groups. "They were beating a drum
|
|
and chanting 'George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>, You Can't Hide, the New <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> Order is
|
|
Genocide,'" he reports. "There were about 100 people, many elderly,
|
|
some <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>," he says, and one flyer they handed out carried a
|
|
headline scolding, "U.S. Citizens Must Recognize Their Past Mistakes
|
|
and Support <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>." There was a large banner and some people
|
|
carried signs that said "Free <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, Jail the <ent type='ORG'>ADL</ent>." At the march
|
|
the LaRouchians passed out their <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special> newspaper. "A
|
|
lot of people who remember <special><ent type='ORG'>New Solidarity</ent></special> don't realize its new
|
|
name is <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>," said the <ent type='GPE'>Cleveland</ent> activist.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>According to <ent type='PERSON'>Gavrielle Gemma</ent>, coordinator of the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>
|
|
to Stop U.S. Intervention in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> (the group that
|
|
sponsored the January 19th antiwar demonstration in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>,
|
|
D.C.), the official policy of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> is to reject any work
|
|
with the LaRouchians. Although the LaRouchians and their supporters
|
|
involved themselves in <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> activities during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>,
|
|
these incidents did not reflect the official policy of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>,
|
|
according to several <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> spokespersons, but were attempts
|
|
(sometimes successful) by the LaRouchians and their allies to
|
|
portray themselves as part of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Specifically, in interviews with several <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> spokespersons
|
|
the following picture of how the LaRouchians manipulated and
|
|
exploited the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> emerged:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** The <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>James Bevel</ent> had not been invited to the January 4th
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> press conference featuring former U.S. Attorney General
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> which was aired on the C-<ent type='ORG'>SPAN</ent> cable channel. <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent>
|
|
arrived with an invited speaker, a <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> serviceman resisting
|
|
assignment to the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>. Although <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> had worked with the LaRouchians
|
|
for many months prior to the press conference, it was not until
|
|
weeks after the press conference that <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> leadership became
|
|
aware that <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> had ties to the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** People affiliated with the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>, who defended the appearance
|
|
of <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent>, were reacting to Bevel's past history as a respected
|
|
civil rights leader, and were not aware, or found it impossible to
|
|
accept, that <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> had now aligned himself with far-right groups.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** A contingent of LaRouchians who marched in the Coalition's
|
|
January 19th demonstration in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C. did so against the
|
|
expressed wishes of <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> leadership.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** A security marshal who told demonstrators on January 19th not
|
|
to continue a chant critical of the LaRouchians was unaware of who
|
|
the LaRouchians were, and was merely trying to enforce the policy
|
|
of ensuring peaceful relations among contingents.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Although <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> has chosen not to say anything critical
|
|
of the LaRouchians due to his representation of them in legal
|
|
matters, the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> does not hesitate to criticize roundly the
|
|
LaRouchians as fascists and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semites</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** The apparent reluctance among some persons affiliated with the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> to discuss charges of LaRouchian involvement with reporters
|
|
did not reflect the views of the leadership of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>, and
|
|
in some cases appears to reflect a disbelief among these persons
|
|
that the LaRouchians had managed successfully to portray themselves
|
|
as part of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** December, 1990 and January, 1991 were chaotic and confusing
|
|
months and the official position of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> regarding a
|
|
refusal to work with the LaRouchians was perhaps not made clear to
|
|
all persons actively organizing <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> events around the country.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** While the LaRouchians appear to abuse their legal relationship
|
|
to attorney <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> by using his name in their publicity and implying
|
|
his political support, it is the firm belief of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> that
|
|
Clark's refusal to comment on this circumstance reflects a personal
|
|
ethical position, and in no way implies any connection between
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> and the political work of the LaRouchians.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Leaders of the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> to Stop U.S. Intervention in
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> are aware that the LaRouchians continue to attempt
|
|
to penetrate their organization, and urge persons who find LaRouchians
|
|
portraying themselves as official members of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> to
|
|
challenge that claim. Anyone who continues to claim the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>
|
|
tolerates the presence of the LaRouchians should be referred to
|
|
the national office of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> for a short and clear rejection
|
|
of that contention.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"We do not work with fascists or anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semites</ent>," said <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>
|
|
coordinator <ent type='PERSON'>Gavrielle Gemma</ent>, "and that includes the LaRouchites."
|
|
Gemma says this is not only the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> attitude, but her own as
|
|
well, noting that she once personally threw some LaRouchians off
|
|
a picket line during the Greyhound strike.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Apparently the position of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> leadership against working
|
|
with the LaRouchians, now clearly unequivocal, was slow to reach
|
|
all organizers during the chaotic months of December, 1990 and
|
|
January, 1991. This lack of clarity among rank-and-file organizers,
|
|
some of whom were inexperienced, coupled with the LaRouchians'
|
|
manipulative opportunism, the Coalition's uncertainty over Bevel's
|
|
tie to the LaRouchians, and <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent>'s silence on the LaRouchians'
|
|
use of his name, created enough confusion so that some organizers
|
|
for the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> at first defended Bevel's appearance at the
|
|
January 4th press conference, and defended the participation of
|
|
various LaRouchian front groups in <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> events. It also turns
|
|
out that a report issued by the LaRouchian <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent>, and
|
|
cited at the January 4th press conference was in fact introduced
|
|
by a LaRouchian attending the press conference as a reporter.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent> antiwar organizer <ent type='PERSON'>Alynne Romo</ent> reports the local Emergency
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> for Peace in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> has "asked the LaRouchians
|
|
not to participate when they have appeared at our demonstrations."
|
|
According to <ent type='PERSON'>Romo</ent>, "The <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> people called us several times.
|
|
They told us <ent type='PERSON'>Margaret Thatcher</ent> was behind the situation in <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent>
|
|
and that she put George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> up to it." <ent type='PERSON'>Romo</ent> adds that "they also
|
|
said they were working with <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> as a way to get us to
|
|
cooperate."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Former U.S. Attorney General <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> is the lead legal counsel
|
|
for an appeal filed by <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> H. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, Jr. and six followers
|
|
convicted of loan fraud. On October 6, 1989, <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> appeared and
|
|
gave oral arguments in the case before a three judge panel of the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Fourth Circuit</ent> Court of Appeals in <ent type='GPE'>Richmond</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent> to argue for
|
|
the reversal of the convictions.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The right of Mr. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> to represent the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization is
|
|
not disputed, but when the LaRouchians use his name in a political
|
|
rather than legal context, problems arise. Based on several dozen
|
|
interviews with antiwar activists in twenty cities, it appears that
|
|
sometimes LaRouchians fundraisers and organizers mention they work
|
|
with <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent>, while other times they do not. The use by the
|
|
LaRouchians of Clark's name has been very effective at college
|
|
student government meetings where many students have never heard
|
|
of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, and tend to be sympathetic to his claims of government
|
|
harassment. After gaining an audience, the LaRouchians encourage
|
|
the student leaders to join their "coalition" and to authorize
|
|
college funding.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Sam Schwartz</ent>, a faculty member at <ent type='ORG'>Bronx Community College</ent> in New
|
|
York, received a phone call from a <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> attorney threatening
|
|
to sue <ent type='PERSON'>Schwartz</ent> penniless unless he stopped telling students that
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was an anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semite</ent> and fascist. Several <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns
|
|
active in St. Louis who objected to the presence of the LaRouchians
|
|
in a local antiwar coalition were also threatened with lawsuits
|
|
for their critical characterization of the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> movement. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent>
|
|
has not been involved in these threats of lawsuits.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Since <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> took on the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> appeal, the LaRouchians have
|
|
blazoned Clark's name across a substantial amount of propaganda
|
|
used both in fundraising and in coaxing persons into consideration
|
|
of the political message of the organization. Sometimes the LaRouchian
|
|
references to <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> simply cause confusion. One antiwar activist
|
|
who was handed a LaRouchian pamphlet mentioning <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> was at first
|
|
convinced the LaRouchians were cleverly trying to smear <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> by
|
|
using his name.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The LaRouchians frequently attempt to build coalitions in a sly
|
|
manner. For instance activist <ent type='PERSON'>Lanny Sinkin</ent>, a former attorney for
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>, appeared at a March, 1991 post-war panel
|
|
sponsored by a <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C. group called The Time is Now. Also
|
|
on the panel were two key <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> operatives and a leader of The
|
|
Time is Now. According to a staff member of the <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> Peace
|
|
Center, members of The Time is Now worked closely with the LaRouchians
|
|
and thoroughly disrupted the political work of the <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> Area
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> to Stop U.S. Intervention in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> during
|
|
January and February, 1991. When members of The Time is Now passed
|
|
out LaRouche's <special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special> at a February meeting,
|
|
they were asked to leave the coalition. When criticized by the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Peace Center</ent> staffer, <ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent> defended his appearance at the conference
|
|
as legitimate outreach, according to the staffer.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent> says he was unaware when invited that LaRouchians would also
|
|
be on the panel, and he vigorously denies that he has ever had any
|
|
ongoing relationship with the LaRouchians or that his actions were
|
|
improper. <ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent> says that his appearance reflected his commitment
|
|
to speaking to broad audiences. <ent type='ORG'>Organizers</ent> at the <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> Peace
|
|
Center counter that Sinkin's presence at the meeting lent credibility
|
|
to two groups that were disrupting their work.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The issue here is not one of implying any type of ongoing relationship
|
|
between <ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent> and the LaRouchians. No such relationship exists.
|
|
But for the <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Peace Center</ent>, Sinkin's appearance on the
|
|
same platform with the LaRouchians served as an implicit endorsement,
|
|
suggesting by example that joint work with the LaRouchians was
|
|
acceptable at the same time that the <ent type='ORG'>Peace Center</ent> was telling
|
|
members of the local antiwar coalition that joint work with the
|
|
LaRouchians was unacceptable.A number of experienced antiwar
|
|
activists warn that working with the LaRouchians and other far-right
|
|
and bigoted forces will only discredit serious work towards peace
|
|
in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Jon Hillson</ent> is a seasoned political organizer
|
|
and peace activist based in <ent type='GPE'>Ohio</ent> who already knew the history of
|
|
the LaRouchians. <ent type='ORG'>Hillson</ent> reported <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organizers at events
|
|
sponsored by the <ent type='GPE'>Cleveland</ent> Committee Against <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> in the Persian
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>. At one meeting, "Two people went through the crowd handing
|
|
out LaRouche's <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>," says <ent type='ORG'>Hillson</ent>. "I was shocked,
|
|
but then I realized most students had never heard of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>,"
|
|
says <ent type='ORG'>Hillson</ent>. "I would urge people to disavow any collaboration
|
|
with them because of their past ties to government agencies...and
|
|
their homophobic, racist, sexist, and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semitic</ent> agenda." <ent type='ORG'>Hillson</ent>
|
|
notes that it will take patience to explain to new activists why
|
|
a broad-based coalition should exclude anyone, but that the task
|
|
of educating people that coalitions with fascists should be rejected
|
|
is not one to be ignored.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> How the LaRouchians Exploit <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>An <special>Associated Press (AP)</special> account of Clark's <ent type='ORG'>Fourth Circuit</ent> oral
|
|
arguments noted that "former Attorney General <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent>, chief
|
|
attorney for LaRouche's appeal, argued that U.S. District Judge
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Albert</ent> V. Bryan Jr. of <ent type='GPE'>Alexandria</ent> allowed only thirty-four days
|
|
from arraignment to trial and failed to adequately question jurors
|
|
on how much they knew about the defendant."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <ent type='ORG'>Fourth Circuit</ent> ruled against <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, saying LaRouche's original
|
|
attorneys had waited eighteen days before asking for a continuance.
|
|
An <special>AP</special> story about the decision reported that the appeals panel
|
|
"also said LaRouche's attorneys made no attempt to press potential
|
|
jurors to determine 'individually anyone who had ever heard of
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>,' although certain jurors who said they were familiar with
|
|
the case or who had worked in law enforcement or had accounting or
|
|
tax backgrounds were questioned individually."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On further appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court let the convictions stand
|
|
without a hearing or comment.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In fact, more than a few civil libertarians agree there was evidence
|
|
of misconduct in the government's investigation of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, and
|
|
the closing of LaRouche's newspaper <special><ent type='ORG'>New Solidarity</ent></special> in a federal
|
|
bankruptcy proceeding raised serious constitutional issues. Still,
|
|
there is no clear evidence that the alleged government misconduct
|
|
had a direct bearing on the criminal prosecution of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and
|
|
his aides.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>When <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> has spoken at LaRouchian-sponsored press conferences
|
|
concerning the case, there has been extensive coverage in the
|
|
LaRouchian press. One such story featuring <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> appeared in
|
|
LaRouche's <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special> on October 13, 1989. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> was quoted
|
|
as saying that even though he had once been a political opponent
|
|
of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, he had now come to his defense because of constitutional
|
|
abuses such as a fast jury selection process, massive prejudicial
|
|
pretrial publicity, and a jury pool which contained numerous
|
|
government employees, including law enforcement agents from agencies
|
|
that had allegedly targeted <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> has steadfastly refused to disassociate his legal work
|
|
for the LaRouchians from the political work of the LaRouchians,
|
|
despite the fact that the LaRouchians imply Clark's support in
|
|
numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Most critics of Clark's
|
|
silence regarding the LaRouchians say they understand he has a duty
|
|
as an attorney to represent the LaRouchians fully and vigorously,
|
|
but feel he has not been sensitive to the ways in which the
|
|
LaRouchians are using his name in the political arena. These critics
|
|
point out that the ethical imperatives for an attorney are different
|
|
than the moral obligations of a leader of an antiwar movement. They
|
|
say <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> has a political responsibility to distance himself from
|
|
the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization, which is separate from his role as their
|
|
attorney.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Sometimes it appears that Clark's support of the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> cause
|
|
has moved beyond mere legal representation. According to the July
|
|
6, 1990 <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>, on June 19, 1990, <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> spoke at a private
|
|
meeting coordinated with <ent type='ORG'>the Conference</ent> on Security and Cooperation
|
|
in Europe (<ent type='ORG'>CSCE</ent>), a multi-governmental association and human rights
|
|
forum that solicits input from non-governmental groups. The <New
|
|
Federalist> reported that "Clark's trip was sponsored by the <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent>
|
|
Institute's Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations, a
|
|
non-governmental organization which is urging the <ent type='ORG'>CSCE</ent> to take up
|
|
the case of <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, the U.S. economist and statesman who
|
|
is now America's most prominent political prisoner." The <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> is a LaRouchian front group which once published a book
|
|
claiming <ent type='NORP'>British</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> helped put <ent type='PERSON'>Hitler</ent> into power.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In his <ent type='ORG'>CSCE</ent> speech, <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> is reported to have said he had reviewed
|
|
a random selection of sixty-five published articles on <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
appearing in the several years prior to LaRouche's prosecution.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> reportedly said "here you see that he's called every bad
|
|
thing you can imagine--<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semitic</ent>, violence-prone, thief--over
|
|
and over again. <ent type='ORG'>Vilification</ent>...it was absolutely astounding."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special> article reported that <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> said that <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
was prosecuted on "economic crimes that didn't exist, because this
|
|
was a political movement, it was not a for-profit activity and
|
|
wasn't intended to be a for-profit activity, it was a political
|
|
movement. You make three sentences for five years each to impose
|
|
a fifteen-year sentence on a man who's sixty-six years old. To
|
|
destroy a political movement. Obviously....Unless you can wrench
|
|
[the political process] free from [the] plutocracy that absolutely
|
|
controls with an iron hand that essentially one-party system, you
|
|
won't have that change. And that's what the <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> case
|
|
is about: you."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At a February 28, 1991 international conference in <ent type='GPE'>Algeria</ent> to oppose
|
|
U.S. intervention in the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> shared the podium with long-time
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> associate <ent type='PERSON'>Jacques Cheminade</ent>, president of the <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>France</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>- <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> Responds -</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> confirmed in an interview that he had spoken about the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
case in Europe at the <ent type='ORG'>CSCE</ent> conference, but said he had not seen
|
|
the transcript of his speech that appeared in LaRouche's <New
|
|
Federalist>, and said his speech was not written in advance so he
|
|
had no copy. If the report of Clark's comments in <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>
|
|
are accurate--and to a large degree they reflect wording in the
|
|
appeals brief he signed--then there are serious questions as to
|
|
what he thinks of the LaRouchians. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> seems to discount as
|
|
propaganda the charges that the LaRouchians are fascists, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semites</ent>,
|
|
or neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s. Other critics question Mr. Clark's decision to appear
|
|
at the <ent type='ORG'>CSCE</ent>-related meeting at all, pointing out that such appearances
|
|
go beyond legal representation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> said he had not seen any materials suggesting the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
people were using his name to organize students and others into
|
|
their antiwar work but he would like to see that material or any
|
|
other related information. But <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> seemed relatively unconcerned
|
|
that the LaRouchians might be using or abusing his name in their
|
|
political work. "That's a risk you always have," as a defense
|
|
counsel, said <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> said that the somewhat glowing description of the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
political movement in the appeals brief he signed reflected the
|
|
right of any defendant to portray itself in a positive light.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>According to <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent>, the prosecution of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent> was a
|
|
travesty of procedure and a clear violation of the Constitutional
|
|
right to a fair trial. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> said the issue was not whether or not
|
|
the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> people were guilty of crimes, but whether or not they
|
|
had received a fair trial. On the question of representation of
|
|
controversial clients on legal appeals, <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> said:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"It's a question of rights, not a question of facts. I remain
|
|
focused on the legal rights and not the nature of the person
|
|
involved. I oppose the death penalty on principle, I assume many
|
|
of the people who I represent on death penalty appeals are in fact
|
|
guilty, but that is not the point. If you have to apologize first
|
|
you have a done a disservice to the case. I resist government abuses
|
|
of people's rights. The government demonizes people...once you have
|
|
conceded the demon you have lost the principle involved in the
|
|
defense. By prefacing a defense by first saying 'of course, he is
|
|
a terrible person' it disables people from considering the matter
|
|
fairly. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> said the government had demonized people like <ent type='PERSON'>Saddam Hussein</ent>
|
|
and <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and that he felt it was not appropriate to give
|
|
in to the pejorative labeling of such persons when discussing their
|
|
activities. This is the same rationale used by <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> in 1986 when
|
|
he was criticized for not distancing himself from his client Karl
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Linnas</ent>, a <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> collaborator who was eventually deported because he
|
|
had lied about his past to gain entrance to the U.S. after <ent type='ORG'>World</ent>
|
|
<ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> II. <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> represented <ent type='PERSON'>Linnas</ent> in an appeal which objected to
|
|
the procedures followed in the deportation. Critics of <ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent>,
|
|
including <ent type='PERSON'>Daniel Levitas</ent> of the Center for <ent type='NORP'>Democratic</ent> Renewal, said
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Clark</ent> was insensitive to the fact that anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semitic</ent> and pro-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>
|
|
groups were using Clark's appeal to buttress their claims that
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Linnas</ent> was innocent or that the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> was a hoax.[f-5]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>James Bevel</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>James Bevel</ent> is an <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n minister from <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>
|
|
with a long history of civil rights work but a recent reputation
|
|
as an opportunist who has swung far to the right. <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> now
|
|
works closely with groups controlled by two neo-fascists, the <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>.
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Sun</ent> Myung <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> H. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, Jr. The <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent> network supported
|
|
the war effort, while the LaRouchians did not. <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> focused his
|
|
energy in opposing <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>, primarily through an alliance with
|
|
the LaRouchians. Bevel's ties to the LaRouchians go back several
|
|
years. <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> not only appeared as a panelist at the LaRouchian
|
|
antiwar conference in <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>, but he also has endorsed LaRouche's
|
|
congressional candidacy, and speaks regularly at LaRouchian forums.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> has served on committees created by several LaRouchian front
|
|
groups, and writes a column for the LaRouchian newspaper <New
|
|
Federalist>. <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> has been an effective organizer for the LaRouchians,
|
|
and took a high profile in their antiwar organizing.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Dr. <ent type='PERSON'>Manning</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Marable</ent>, in a 1986 column, listed <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> among a small
|
|
group of "prominent civil rights spokesmen [who] have gone so far
|
|
as to form alliances with ultra-right groups, which might give
|
|
lipservice to blacks' traditional interests." The LaRouchians have
|
|
sought coalitions with local <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n community activists
|
|
for many years, often working through religious leaders. A recent
|
|
example was the LaRouchian support for then <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C. Mayor
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Marion Barry</ent>. During Barry's trial on drug charges, the LaRouchians
|
|
and the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Islam</ent> helped organize protests on behalf of <ent type='PERSON'>Barry</ent>.
|
|
The LaRouchian representative during these protests was <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>When <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> endorsed <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> LaRouche's congressional candidacy (in
|
|
Virginia's 10th <ent type='ORG'>Congress</ent>ional District), he signed a statement
|
|
which included the claim, "<ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> is known and respected
|
|
in every nation of the Third <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> as the primary opponent of the
|
|
genocide policies of the <ent type='ORG'>IMF</ent> and as the architect and principal
|
|
spokesman for a new and more just world economic order that guarantees
|
|
the inalienable rights of all people." The statement speaks glowingly
|
|
of LaRouche's early theorizing about the AIDS virus and his
|
|
recommendations for fighting the spread of the virus. In fact, as
|
|
mentioned before, <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> has written that history would not judge
|
|
harshly those persons who took to the streets and beat homosexuals
|
|
to death with baseball bats to stop the spread of AIDS.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> represented the LaRouchian <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Omaha</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Nebraska</ent>. The <special><ent type='GPE'>Omaha</ent> <ent type='ORG'>World</ent>-Herald</special> reported on January 6, 1991:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>""<ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> was one of 10 people who came to <ent type='GPE'>Nebraska</ent> in October as
|
|
members of a group calling itself <ent type='ORG'>the Citizens Fact</ent>-Finding Commission
|
|
to Investigate Human rights Violations of Children in <ent type='GPE'>Nebraska</ent>.
|
|
That group was organized by <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent> of <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>,
|
|
D.C., and <ent type='GPE'>Wiesbaden</ent>, <ent type='NORP'>German</ent>y. The institute was founded in 1984 by
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Helga Zepp</ent>-<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>. She is the wife of <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, who is
|
|
serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion....The <ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent>
|
|
group's printed statement disputed the findings of two grand juries
|
|
in the <ent type='ORG'>Franklin</ent> case. A check by the <special><ent type='ORG'>World</ent>-Herald</special> of some of the
|
|
'facts' in the statement turned up several apparent errors. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. Bevel's historic role as a valued civil rights leader
|
|
is unquestioned, he has in recent years lost his constituency and
|
|
his political moorings. Dr. <ent type='PERSON'>Manning</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Marable</ent> noted noted in 1986
|
|
that <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent>, had become "a <ent type='NORP'>Republican</ent> party leader in Chicago's
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> community, and soon earned the reputation as an extremist of
|
|
the right."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some time after the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> conviction in January 1989, <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent>
|
|
began to appear as a featured speaker at LaRouchian conferences,
|
|
and began to write a column in the LaRouchian <special><ent type='ORG'>New Federalist</ent></special>. As
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Marable</ent> noted in 1986:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The right-wing sect of <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> has also initiated a campaign
|
|
to recruit black supporters. As in the case of the Unification
|
|
Church, the LaRouchians work primarily through several fronts, the
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Schiller</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> and the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al <ent type='NORP'>Democratic</ent> Policy Committee.
|
|
Again, the LaRouchians have been linked to a number of racist and
|
|
extremist groups, including <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent>, the <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent> and neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s.
|
|
Currently, the LaRouchians are vigorously opposing sanctions against
|
|
South <ent type='NORP'>African</ent> apartheid. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While in <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> regularly broke ranks with the <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n-led
|
|
coalition behind the late Mayor Harold <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>. At the same
|
|
time, <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> was working with Moon's front group <ent type='ORG'>CAUSA</ent>. In an
|
|
interview with <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> at an <ent type='GPE'>Illinois</ent> <ent type='ORG'>CAUSA</ent> meeting, I asked him why
|
|
he would ally himself with a religious/political movement such as
|
|
that run by <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> replied that it was a tactical coalition
|
|
based on agreement that the main danger in the world was communism.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> argued that communism was a godless philosophy, and that as
|
|
a <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent>, it was his obligation to fight godlessness.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Bevel's <ent type='ORG'>CAUSA</ent> ties garnered him some unflattering publicity.
|
|
According to the December 12, 1987 <special><ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent> <ent type='LOC'>Sun</ent>-Times</special>, <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> was
|
|
one of four persons belonging to "groups created by the <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='LOC'>Sun</ent>
|
|
Myung Moon's <ent type='ORG'>Unification Church</ent>" who erected a creche and nativity
|
|
scene at Chicago's Daley Center Plaza. The <special><ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent> <ent type='LOC'>Sun</ent>-Times</special>
|
|
reported that "<ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> J. <ent type='PERSON'>Grutzmacher</ent>, who obtained the permit and
|
|
paid $2000 for the creche, gave a speech in October to a business
|
|
group in <ent type='GPE'>Merrillville</ent>, Ind., apparently so anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semitic</ent> that a
|
|
local newspaper ran an editorial denouncing him." The head of the
|
|
Rotary Club that had co-sponsored Grutzmacher's speech told the
|
|
reporter, "He made charges...that the <ent type='NORP'>Communist</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> is headed by
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>, and that the <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> were responsible for every negative thing
|
|
that has happened since <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> II."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> has also worked with other <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent> fronts. In the October, 1990
|
|
issue of <special><ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n Freedom Journal</special>, <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> is listed as serving on
|
|
the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Policy Board of the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n Freedom <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>, chaired
|
|
by the ultra-conservative Hon. <ent type='PERSON'>Richard Ichord</ent>. The <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n Freedom
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> (<ent type='ORG'>AFC</ent>) is a joint project of <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent> and the <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Robert</ent>
|
|
G. Grant of the ultra-right <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent> fundamentalist group <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent>
|
|
Voice. <ent type='ORG'>AFC</ent> fundraised for Oliver <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> sits on the <ent type='ORG'>AFC</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Policy Board with Maj. Gen. <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> K. <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent>, implicated
|
|
in the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate scandal; Lt. Gen. <ent type='PERSON'>Daniel Graham</ent> of High
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Front</ent>ier, the pro-Star <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>s lobby; and rightist historian Dr. Cleon
|
|
Skousen. The late Dr. <ent type='PERSON'>Ralph David Abernathy</ent> was a long-time member
|
|
of the <ent type='ORG'>AFC</ent> Board of Directors along with pro-interventionist
|
|
Ambassador <ent type='PERSON'>Phillip Sanchez</ent>. On the <ent type='ORG'>AFC</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Advisory Board sit
|
|
rightist fundraising guru <ent type='PERSON'>Richard Viguerie</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'>Slava Stetsko</ent>,
|
|
president of the Anti-<ent type='NORP'>Bolshevik</ent> Bloc of <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>s (<ent type='ORG'>ABN</ent>). <ent type='ORG'>ABN</ent> is
|
|
notorious because it is the descendant and spiritual heir of the
|
|
Committee of Subjugated <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>s, formed in 1943 by Hitler's allies.
|
|
According to author <ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent>, "The <ent type='ORG'>ABN</ent> brought together fascist
|
|
forces from Hungary, <ent type='GPE'>Bulgaria</ent>, <ent type='NORP'>Romani</ent>a, the <ent type='GPE'>Ukraine</ent>, the Baltic
|
|
States, Slovenia and other nations." <ent type='PERSON'>Slava Stetsko</ent> is the widow of
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Yaroslav Stetsko</ent>, leader of the <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> puppet government in the
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Ukraine</ent> during <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> II. She once wrote a glowing introduction
|
|
to a book that defined anti-Semitism as a "smear word used by
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Communist</ent>s against those who effectively oppose and expose them."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>These are the fascist forces with which <ent type='PERSON'>Bevel</ent> has allied himself,
|
|
and is a striking example of the opportunistic flexibility of
|
|
fascism as a political ideology, able not only to embrace
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>-collaborators but also to entice <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> civil rights activists.
|
|
Bevel's ties to the fascist <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent> circles are through a shared
|
|
loathing of communism as a godless ideology, an issue which resonates
|
|
with many <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> church-based constituencies. Another congruent
|
|
theme that fascism can employ to seek alliances with <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns
|
|
and Hispanic-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns is the opportunistic manipulation of the
|
|
issues of nationalism and self determination.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Other <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> leaders such as <ent type='PERSON'>Roy Innis</ent> and the late Ralph David
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Abernathy</ent> have forged alliances with the fascist right. <ent type='ORG'>Innis</ent> has
|
|
worked in alliance with the LaRouchians. <ent type='PERSON'>Abernathy</ent> worked with
|
|
Moon's Unification movement until his death.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Other Right-Wing Groups and <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Conservative groups overwhelmingly supported sending U.S. troops
|
|
to the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>. Right-wing forces aligned with <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='LOC'>Sun</ent> Myung <ent type='LOC'>Moon</ent>
|
|
and those supportive of the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i political right forged a pro-war
|
|
coalition that placed ads in newspapers and purchased television
|
|
commercials.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Other rightists, primarily those who have politics that are more
|
|
accurately termed reactionary than conservative, staked out an
|
|
isolationist or "<ent type='GPE'>America</ent> First" position, and opposed sending U.S.
|
|
troops to fight <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The LaRouchian antiwar theories parallel many of the themes promoted
|
|
by <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent>, the <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent>, and author Fletcher Prouty.
|
|
According to one flyer issued by the LaRouchians, "If war is to
|
|
come, it will be the result of deliberate 'geopolitical' plotting
|
|
by <ent type='NORP'>British</ent> Prime Minister <ent type='PERSON'>Margaret Thatcher</ent>, Lord <ent type='PERSON'>Carrington</ent>, and
|
|
other <ent type='GPE'>London</ent> friends of <ent type='PERSON'>Henry Kissinger</ent>."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some white supremacists outlined a frank racist agenda in their
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> publications. <ent type='ORG'>The Invisible Empire</ent>, Knights of the Ku Klux
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent>, in the January/February, 1991 issue of <special>The <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent>sman</special>, ran
|
|
a banner headline "<ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>? Another Blood Sacrifice
|
|
on the Altar of International <ent type='NORP'>Jew</ent>ry. Integrated Effeminate U.S.
|
|
Military Will Not Win!" <special>On <ent type='ORG'>Target</ent></special>, published by <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>point Tactical
|
|
Teams in <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> Carolina, released a forty-page special edition,
|
|
"Desert Shield and the New <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> Order," which ascribes the conflict
|
|
to a <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>-<ent type='NORP'>Communist</ent> conspiracy involving <ent type='PERSON'>Henry Kissinger</ent>, David
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Rockefeller</ent>, George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'>Mikhail Gorbachev</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At the 35th Anniversary <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> convention held in September,
|
|
1990 there was considerable antiwar sentiment expressed by speakers
|
|
who tied the U.S. presence in Saudi <ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent>ia to pressure from <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>
|
|
and its intelligence agency, <ent type='ORG'>Mossad</ent>. No matter what actual political
|
|
involvement, if any, forces that support <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> may have had in
|
|
shaping the events that led to <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>, the history of Liberty
|
|
Lobby is to circulate lurid anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> propaganda, not principled
|
|
factual criticisms.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At the conference Fletcher Prouty released the new <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> for
|
|
Historical <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew's <ent type='ORG'>Noontide Press</ent> edition of his book on <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>
|
|
intrigue, <special>The <ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent></special>. Prouty moderated a panel where
|
|
much-decorated <ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent> veteran Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> wove a conspiracy theory
|
|
which explained the U.S. confrontation with <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent> as a product of
|
|
the same "<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>" outlined by Prouty. Both Prouty and <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>
|
|
serve on the advisory board of <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>'s Populist Action
|
|
Committee. <special>Spotlight's</special> coverage of <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> featured a headline
|
|
proclaiming "<ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>ns...Get Ready to Fight or Lose Freedom:
|
|
Links Drugs, <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Mossad</ent>; Slams U.S. Foreign Policy; Alerts Patriots
|
|
to Martial Law Threat."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Other conference speakers and moderators at the September 1990
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> convention included attorney <ent type='PERSON'>Mark Lane</ent>, who has
|
|
drifted into alliances with <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> that far transcend his
|
|
role as the group's lawyer, and comedian and activist <ent type='PERSON'>Dick Gregory</ent>,
|
|
whose anti-government rhetoric finds fertile soil on the far right.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Dick Gregory</ent> also spoke in 1991 at the January 19th antiwar rally
|
|
in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C. <ent type='ORG'>Organizers</ent> of the antiwar event say they were
|
|
unaware of Gregory's previous appearance at <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent>
|
|
meeting.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Mark Lane</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Dick Gregory</ent> co-authored a 1977 book on the assassination
|
|
of <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> Luther <ent type='ORG'>King</ent>, Jr., and both have circulated complex
|
|
conspiracy theories about other world events which could account
|
|
in part for their drift towards the conspiratorial <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>
|
|
network.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The attempts by some of the rightist groups who opposed the war to
|
|
penetrate the progressive antiwar movement came during a period of
|
|
significant realignment among U.S. right-wing and conservative
|
|
political groups. In some rightist groups, long hidden racialist
|
|
theories are being dusted off and recirculated, which has caused
|
|
further splits. One of the most significant historical divisions
|
|
on the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n political right is between those groups that espouse
|
|
racialist (race-based) theories--generally anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> and white
|
|
supremacist--and those that do not.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>People associated with <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> and the historically-related
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> circulated antiwar and pro-isolationist literature,
|
|
including <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>'s weekly newspaper <special>Spotlight</special>, at several
|
|
antiwar rallies, including demonstrations in <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>,
|
|
D.C., <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent>, and <ent type='GPE'>West Palm</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Beach</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Florida</ent>. <special>Spotlight</special> cheers
|
|
the activities of U.S. neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s and skinheads but masks its
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> stance behind coded phrases such as "dual-loyalist."
|
|
According to the Center for <ent type='NORP'>Democratic</ent> Renewal:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The <ent type='GPE'>Florida</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> attended [the <ent type='GPE'>Florida</ent>] anti-war
|
|
rally...handing out a leaflet that read in part: 'The most conspicuous
|
|
foes of war have been on the left, and we in <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>
|
|
support their efforts.' <ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent> <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>, a former <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent> leader, had a
|
|
taped message on the Party's phone line: 'Make no mistake, this is
|
|
Israel's war, and <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n sons and daughters are fighting it for
|
|
them.' "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In its January 7-14, 1991 edition, <special>Spotlight</special> carried an article
|
|
titled "<ent type='ORG'>Volunteers Flock</ent> to <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent> To Help Fight U.S., <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>." This
|
|
phenomenon was favorably compared to "the building of <ent type='ORG'>the Waffen</ent>
|
|
SS legions in Europe during <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> II, when almost 1 million
|
|
men from all over Europe and as far away as India voluntarily
|
|
enlisted to fight communism under the leadership of the <ent type='NORP'>German</ent> high
|
|
command. That development was also suppressed and never mentioned
|
|
by the Anglo-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n press. <ent type='ORG'>Allied</ent> commanders, however, knew the
|
|
Waffen SS as an extremely effective fighting force."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>An advertisement in the same issue of <special>Spotlight</special> touted a book
|
|
"<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>: Our Duty...Our Dilemma" under the headline "How Will You
|
|
Respond To The Next Mid-East <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>?" While <special>Spotlight</special> itself usually
|
|
avoids the loaded language of this ad, the pages of <special>Spotlight</special>
|
|
are frequently used by racist, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>, and pro-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> groups to
|
|
call attention to their products, publications, events, and views.
|
|
The ad copy is also significant because it encapsulates many of
|
|
the themes used by anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigots in criticizing <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> and
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"If you are like most <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns you will react as the pro-<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent>
|
|
media has <special>BI</special>programmed< you to react. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"But if you have read "<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>: Our Duty...Our Dilemma" you will
|
|
see the <special>BI</special>whole< picture--how Israel's ruling elite are using
|
|
terrorism, <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> sympathy, twisted Bible verses--toward one
|
|
objective: Power. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Power in <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>. Power in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>. Power in the world.
|
|
"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Distilling 14 years' research in semi-secret <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> sources,
|
|
evangelical writer <ent type='PERSON'>Theodore Winston Pike</ent> demonstrates that through
|
|
Kabbalistic occultism, international banking, communism, liberalism,
|
|
and media control, <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> is doing exactly what the Bible prophesies:
|
|
establishing a power base in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> upon which her false
|
|
messiah, AntiChrist, will someday rule. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>- The <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> Controversy The issue of anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> rhetoric over
|
|
the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> crisis first surfaced in September, 1990 as part of a long
|
|
simmering feud within the political right in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States.
|
|
Ultra-conservative columnist Pat <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> fired the first salvo to
|
|
reach the mainstream media when he declared on the McLaughlin Group
|
|
roundtable television program that the two groups most favoring
|
|
war in <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent> were "the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i Defense Ministry and its
|
|
amen chorus in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States." <special><ent type='GPE'>New York</ent> Times</special> columnist A.M.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Rosenthal</ent> charged that Buchanan's comments reflected anti-Semitism,
|
|
to which <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> retorted that <ent type='PERSON'>Rosenthal</ent> had made a "contract hit"
|
|
on him in collusion with the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith
|
|
(<ent type='ORG'>ADL</ent>).</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>To unravel the background of the dispute takes a political scorecard.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> is allied with reactionary and hard-line rightist forces
|
|
in the U.S. who sometimes are called paleo-<ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent> or
|
|
"<ent type='PERSON'>Paleocons</ent>" due to their ties to the "Old Right" in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent>
|
|
States. Racism and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigotry were common themes in some
|
|
(although not all) Old Right groups. <ent type='ORG'>ADL</ent> is a <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> human rights
|
|
group often allied with the "<ent type='ORG'>Neocons</ent>," the neo-conservative movement
|
|
in <ent type='GPE'>the Unites</ent> States. <ent type='ORG'>ADL</ent> leaders are also frequently ardent and
|
|
uncritical supporters of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i government policies, as are many
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Neocons</ent>. <ent type='ORG'>ADL</ent> has produced some excellent material on bigotry and
|
|
prejudice, but its leaders have labeled as anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semitic</ent> statements
|
|
which are solely political criticisms of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> or <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>. Since
|
|
there are some high-profile <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> in the intellectual leadership of
|
|
the neo-conservative movement, some persons have concluded that
|
|
neo-conservatism is a <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> ideology. This is as prejudiced an
|
|
assertion as the claim that communism is a <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> ideology because
|
|
of the role played in it by some <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> intellectuals.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Buchanan's statement in and of itself was not necessarily anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>,
|
|
but in the context of Buchanan's long record of insensitivity when
|
|
writing about <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>, the contention that <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> is an anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semite</ent>
|
|
is not without foundation. <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> has not only defended those
|
|
who say the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> was a hoax, but implied their views have some
|
|
merit. <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> endorsed the work of the Rockford <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> after
|
|
other <ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent> criticized it for its tolerance of apparently
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> sentiments. In his January 25, 1990 newsletter, <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent>
|
|
penned what was in essence an ode to fascism which celebrated the
|
|
efficiency of autocracy, and concluded with the line, "If the people
|
|
are corrupt, the more democracy, the worse the government." The
|
|
column also echoed historically racialist themes.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Actually, the <ent type='ORG'>Neocons</ent> for ten years quietly have tolerated more
|
|
than a little anti-<ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> authoritarianism, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigotry,
|
|
and racism from their tactical allies on the Paleocon right. Their
|
|
alliance was based on shared support for militant anti-communism,
|
|
celebration of unfettered free enterprise, calls for high levels
|
|
of U.S. spending on the U.S. military, and support for a militarily
|
|
strong <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> dominated by hard-line ultra-conservative political
|
|
parties that would stand as a bulwark against communism in the
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Middle East</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Author Sara <ent type='PERSON'>Diamond</ent> (who covered the <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent>/<ent type='PERSON'>Rosenthal</ent> feud in <Z
|
|
Magazine>) notes "the <ent type='PERSON'>Buchanan</ent> forces explicitly rejected coalition
|
|
with the left on the issue of opposing intervention in the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The Courtship Continues</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Reactionary concepts plus revolutionary emotion result in <ent type='NORP'>Fascist</ent>
|
|
mentality. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>(<ent type='PERSON'>Wilhelm Reich</ent>)</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent>'s Reductionist <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> Critiques</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>One critic of government policies who draws from both left and
|
|
right sources and perspectives is <ent type='GPE'>Seattle</ent>-based analyst <ent type='PERSON'>Craig</ent> B.
|
|
Hulet. During the past year, progressive radio stations including
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>KPFK</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Los Angeles</ent> aired compelling
|
|
condemnations of <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> produced by Hulet, also known as K.C.
|
|
DePass. A number of study groups were formed in <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> following
|
|
Hulet's radio and personal appearances. Hulet claimed in an
|
|
interview that his theories have no relation to conspiracist theories
|
|
such as those circulated by <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent>, and he is quick
|
|
to distance himself from the racialist and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> theories of
|
|
far-right groups such as <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>. Still, Hulet's analysis,
|
|
which exaggerates the role of the Al Sabah family in world affairs,
|
|
has many of the hallmarks of other oversimplified conspiracist
|
|
theories which reduce complex issues to simple equations; and it
|
|
seems to scapegoat one family of <ent type='NORP'>Arab</ent>s, albeit one with powerful
|
|
financial holdings, in a way that would be equally unacceptable if
|
|
their name was <ent type='PERSON'>Rothschild</ent> rather than Al Sabah. No matter what his
|
|
actual affiliations, Hulet essentially employs a variation on the
|
|
elite financial insider conspiracy of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Hulet has a smooth style and self-confident tone, but in essence,
|
|
Hulet's analysis reflects a cynical right-wing libertarian perspective
|
|
laced with conspiratorial theories. The basic theme of his <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>
|
|
<ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> analysis boils down to an assertion that Kuwait's ruling Al
|
|
Sabah family dictated U.S. policy in <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> in concert with
|
|
ruling financial elites in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States. According to Hulet,
|
|
the Al Sabah family could do this because they controlled vast
|
|
financial holdings in the U.S. and they threatened to withdraw
|
|
those holdings and collapse the U.S. economy unless the U.S. pushed
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent> out of <ent type='GPE'>Kuwait</ent>. Hulet also maintains that the investments of
|
|
George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> and his father <ent type='PERSON'>Prescott</ent> make George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> vulnerable to
|
|
manipulation by the Al Sabah family.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A Hulet promotional brochure reveals a pattern of similar reductionist
|
|
statements and unsubstantiated conspiratorial claims. According to
|
|
the brochure:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Hulet outlines the actual political objectives of the <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>
|
|
administration regarding <ent type='LOC'>the Middle East</ent>...why we gave <ent type='PERSON'>Hussein</ent> the
|
|
green light to invade <ent type='GPE'>Kuwait</ent> and why <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> will disallow any
|
|
legitimate cease fire overture by <ent type='PERSON'>Hussein</ent>....volatile...material
|
|
concerning George Bush's connections as well as those of his father,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Prescott</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>...<ent type='LOC'>Middle East</ent> and the New <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> Order discussed in
|
|
detail... "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The brochure claims that the Hulet report <Overview of Government
|
|
Corruption and Manipulation> provides "an excellent understanding
|
|
identifying the elite and how and why they control society". In a
|
|
similar vein, the brochure claims the Hulet report <<ent type='ORG'>The Gnomes</ent> of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Zurich</ent>> provides, "...an overview identifying the elites who manage
|
|
this country and how and why they control it's aim...."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The text of <special><ent type='ORG'>The Gnomes</ent> of <ent type='GPE'>Zurich</ent></special> shows a more detailed yet
|
|
consistent reliance on conspiratorial assertions:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Keeping the left wing grass roots at the throat of the right wing
|
|
grass roots, serves the purpose, the means, and ultimately..., the
|
|
END, of these quite powerful elitists. As each side at the basic
|
|
root level; the grass roots level if you will, are both being used,
|
|
duped, and manipulated by the <ent type='ORG'>Elite</ent>...They are quite simply, these
|
|
sincere yet almost silly at times local people, unwittingly part
|
|
of an ingenious plan to create a <synthesis...ingenious because of
|
|
its simplicity...For you see the <ent type='ORG'>Elite</ent> in the <ent type='ORG'>Kremlin</ent>>, and the
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Elite</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent></special> quite agree on the end at which they both
|
|
aim (the synthesis). <special>A <ent type='ORG'>Global Regime</ent></special>. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>These are just a few examples of Hulet's conspiracist style. Most
|
|
of Hulet's work concerns conspiracies of the "elites." Actually,
|
|
much of Hulet's thesis is an echo of the book "Call it Conspiracy"
|
|
by <ent type='PERSON'>Larry Abraham</ent>, which is itself a rewrite and expansion of the
|
|
book "None Dare Call it Conspiracy" by <ent type='PERSON'>Gary Allen</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Larry Abraham</ent>.
|
|
Allen's writings were widely popularized by <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent>.
|
|
Hulet's intellectual tradition can clearly be shown to be congruent
|
|
with that of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Birch Society</ent></ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In at least one case, Hulet moves beyond conspiracism into elevating
|
|
a satire to documentary status. Hulet labels as fact material from
|
|
the book <special>Report from <ent type='LOC'>Iron Mountain</ent></special>. Hulet refers to the work as
|
|
if it were a secret government document. Actually, <Report from
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Iron Mountain</ent>> is an allegorical critique of the pro-militarist
|
|
lobby and a well-known example of political satire. [f-6] While an
|
|
excellent philosophical discussion of the errors of the Cold <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>,
|
|
it should be noted that it was produced by Leonard C. Lewin,
|
|
described on the book jacket as a "critic and satirist" who was
|
|
editor of <special>A Treasury of <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='ORG'>Political</ent> Humor</special>. Apparently
|
|
Hulet didn't get the joke.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Hulet also plows the ground of left/right coalition. Hulet says
|
|
that he works closely with former <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> attorney Lanny
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Sinkin</ent> to buttress his credibility on the left.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On one radio interview, Hulet responded to a question regarding
|
|
third parties in the U.S. by saying:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The problem with those third parties is that they are such a tiny,
|
|
tiny minority of the intelligentsia. Many of them like the <ent type='NORP'>Libertarian</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> is splintered between factions. They are fighting amongst
|
|
themselves. They still see it as a left-wing right-wing dialectic
|
|
that they must oppose. And all I'm trying to make very clear to
|
|
the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n people, including the ones that read all the right
|
|
books, is that the enemy is our government. The enemy is not part
|
|
of our society. It has always historically been them versus us.
|
|
The government versus the people. And the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n people have to
|
|
stop fighting amongst themselves. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Hulet recommends the research on Trilateralism of Antony C. <ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent>,
|
|
a far-right theorist who publishes the <<ent type='ORG'>Phoenix Letter</ent>: A Report
|
|
on the Abuse of Power>, and <special><ent type='ORG'>Future Technology Intelligence Report</ent></special>.
|
|
The latter carried Sutton's sentiment that "without political
|
|
intervention cancer would have been cured decades ago." Citing
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent> in any context is problematic given Sutton's exotic views.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent>, for instance, asserts that various government and political
|
|
operatives, controlled by international bankers, have suppressed
|
|
the technology to control the weather, produce free energy, and
|
|
achieve "<ent type='ORG'>Acoustical Levitation</ent>." <ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent> also reports on "possible
|
|
advanced alien technology" including anti-gravity devices recovered
|
|
from <ent type='EVENT'>UFOs</ent> by the U.S. government. When Hulet was asked why he would
|
|
put forward <ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent> as someone to prove his thesis, he replied that
|
|
it was a choice between <ent type='PERSON'>Sutton</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Holly Sklar</ent>, and he considered
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Sklar</ent> a <ent type='NORP'>Marxist</ent>. This says much about the political milieu from
|
|
which Hulet is emerging.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Sklar</ent>, who has written progressive critiques of the <ent type='NORP'>Trilateralists</ent>,
|
|
warns antiwar activists that "there is a big difference between
|
|
understanding the influence of <ent type='ORG'>the Trilateral Commission</ent> on world
|
|
affairs and the paranoid right-wing fantasy that the <ent type='NORP'>Trilateralists</ent>
|
|
and their allies are an omnipotent cabal controlling the world.
|
|
It's important for people to base their political decisions on
|
|
facts, not lazy catch-all conspiracy theories."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Journalist <ent type='PERSON'>David Barsamian</ent> interviewed Hulet for a <ent type='GPE'>Boulder</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Colorado</ent>
|
|
radio station and his Alternative Radio tape series which is aired
|
|
on numerous local radio stations nationwide. The <special><ent type='ORG'>Open Magazine</ent></special>
|
|
pamphlet series reproduced a transcript of Barsamian's interview
|
|
with Hulet, and sold them alongside interviews with researchers
|
|
who have a more substantial and serious track record, including
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Noam Chomsky</ent>, Helen Caldicott, and <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent></ent>. After selling
|
|
one thousand copies of the pamphlet--far less than the others,
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Open Magazine</ent></special> did not reprint the pamphlet and it went out of
|
|
print, according to co-owner <ent type='PERSON'>Stuart Sahulka</ent>. According to <ent type='ORG'>Sahulka</ent>,
|
|
the Hulet pamphlet was published because there was "such an
|
|
overpressing need for information about the war," and that except
|
|
for exaggerating the amount of <ent type='GPE'>Kuwait</ent>i investment in the U.S., it
|
|
seemed accurate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='NORP'>Barsamian</ent> is troubled by some of Hulet's assertions regarding the
|
|
genesis of <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>, and Hulet's apparent claim that the <ent type='GPE'>Kuwait</ent>i
|
|
royal families control of $300 billion in U.S. investments was
|
|
the key issue in prompting the war. (Most newspapers and financial
|
|
reporting services place the <ent type='GPE'>Kuwait</ent>i/U.S. investment figure in the
|
|
range of 30-50 billion dollars, with a low of 15 and a high of 80
|
|
in current documented mainstream and alternative press accounts.)
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Barsamian</ent> and other progressive researchers and journalists have
|
|
been unable to document some of Hulet's claims, which may represent
|
|
legitimate suppositions, but were presented by Hulet in numerous
|
|
radio interviews as facts. Hulet argues that the integrity of his
|
|
research should not be judged on the basis of radio interviews
|
|
where discussions are often hectic and condensed. On the other
|
|
hand, Hulet gained his influence as a <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> critic and his
|
|
largest audience through radio talk shows.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='NORP'>Barsamian</ent> warns progressives of falling for the type of "left
|
|
guruism" where sensational anti-government theories are accepted
|
|
without any independent critical analysis. He notes that during
|
|
the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> crisis <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent> was elevated to expert status by
|
|
progressives who accepted his pronouncements as fact without
|
|
seriously examining his credentials, which he sometimes inflates.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>For instance, one Hulet brochure describes him as a "Published
|
|
columnist and political cartoonist. Articles frequently appear in
|
|
national publications: <Financial Security Digest, International
|
|
Combat Arms, <ent type='GPE'>Seattle</ent> Times, LA Weekly, SF Examiner, <ent type='ORG'>Oakland Tribune</ent>>
|
|
and more." In fact, while the phrasing strongly suggests Hulet has
|
|
written for the latter four publications, Hulet admits those cites
|
|
actually refer to instances when he was quoted or his research used
|
|
in preparing the article. Most journalists and academics would
|
|
consider that a misrepresentation. In the long run, whether or not
|
|
Hulet's analysis stands up to intellectual criticism will be
|
|
determined by his ability to defend his thesis--a defense that can
|
|
only take place if his views are vigorously debated, not uncritically
|
|
accepted as gospel. That is the same critical standard to which
|
|
all researchers should be held.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>An especially useful book in understanding how Hulet's conspiracy
|
|
theories of oligarchic manipulation, anti-government demagoguery,
|
|
and appeal to individualism fits into the fascist tradition is "The
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Fascist</ent> Ego" by <ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> R. <ent type='PERSON'>Tucker</ent>.[f-7] The book is a study of
|
|
the <ent type='NORP'>French</ent> intellectual fascist, <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>Robert</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Brasillach</ent></ent>, whose egocentric
|
|
flirtation with fascism ended with his execution as a collaborator
|
|
at the end of WWII.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Author <ent type='PERSON'>Tucker</ent>, as the jacket blurb explains:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"...sees in Brasillach's involvement in fascism a form of anarchic
|
|
individualism or 'right-wing anarchism.' He suggests that, far from
|
|
being a form of social or moral conservatism, Brasillach's fascism
|
|
was inspired by an anti-modernism that placed the creative individuals
|
|
sensibilities and his ego at the center of things. Brasillach's
|
|
fear that the individualist prerogatives of the creative elite
|
|
would be submerged in the industrialized and rationalized society
|
|
that loomed on the horizon was important as a basis for his thoughts
|
|
and actions. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>To understand <ent type='PERSON'>Brasillach</ent> and his soul-mates is to understand <ent type='PERSON'>Craig</ent>
|
|
Hulet, and his followers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>How <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent> Uses Hulet</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent>, featured on the <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent> radio
|
|
stations, is careful to distance himself from views that are racist
|
|
or anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>, not everyone who champions Hulet as an commentator
|
|
on <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> or Bush's New <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> Order makes those distinctions.
|
|
Some persons, wittingly or not, use Hulet's theories to introduce
|
|
others to the more bigoted theorists. Hulet helped spark a political
|
|
movement in <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> following <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent> that, according to
|
|
persons attending the meetings, fed scores, perhaps hundreds, of
|
|
political activists into a far-right, racist, and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
|
|
political organizing drive supporting the Presidential candidacy
|
|
of Col. James Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> of <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The story of one person living in <ent type='LOC'>the Bay Area</ent>, called here Dana
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent>, illustrates the study group phenomenon sparked by Hulet's
|
|
presentations. The story shows an organizing dynamic in action,
|
|
and is not meant to imply that Hulet is a party to the dynamic,
|
|
merely that others opportunistically use Hulet as bait.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Dana Pierce</ent> had become critical of domestic U.S. financial policies,
|
|
and attended a meeting of others who shared that view. <ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent> was
|
|
invited by the leader of the group, an older man with "a pro-democracy
|
|
demeanor," to a meeting in the <ent type='GPE'>San Rafael</ent> area to meet someone who
|
|
might assist with a particular financial problem.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At that second meeting, the facilitator announced the group was
|
|
trying to understand George <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> and the New <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> Order. They were
|
|
studying history and political science, and were reading material
|
|
by <ent type='PERSON'>Noam Chomsky</ent>. It was explained that the group had formed after
|
|
several core persons, who opposed sending U.S. troops to the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent>,
|
|
had heard <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent>'s speeches in <ent type='LOC'>the Bay Area</ent>, primarily on
|
|
radio station <ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent>, both in live interviews and on tape. Some people
|
|
had seen Hulet on videotape. They had responded to Hulet's call
|
|
for people to educate themselves by forming the group.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The group consisted of at least thirty people and had met about
|
|
four times when <ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent> attended the meeting. For the main program
|
|
of the meeting, the group watched a videotape of <ent type='PERSON'>Eustace Mullins</ent>
|
|
talking about the sinister aspects of the <ent type='ORG'>Federal Reserve</ent> system.
|
|
As the tape progressed, <ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent> became increasingly uneasy.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"<ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent> was jumping back and forth, claiming bankers supported
|
|
both the <ent type='NORP'>Bolshevik</ent> revolution and the <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s, he praised the right-wing
|
|
Hunt brothers, and then began to mention the <ent type='PERSON'>Rothschild</ent> family. He
|
|
said the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> was part of the plot, and <ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> F. <ent type='ORG'>Buckley</ent> is <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>
|
|
which was why some conservative groups dismissed his theories. All
|
|
the while I watched people smiling and nodding their heads and I
|
|
began to wonder if I was the only one to catch the reference to
|
|
the <ent type='PERSON'>Rothschilds</ent> and wondered if I was being over-sensitive because
|
|
I was <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>After the tape, according to <ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent>, "the host stood up and praised
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent> and said he was a close associate of <ent type='PERSON'>Ezra Pound</ent>. The host
|
|
also said that the banking system is communistic because both are
|
|
monopolistic."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent> went to the local library and looked up a biography of Ezra
|
|
Pound and discovered that <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent> had been associated with Pound,
|
|
and that Pound was a virulent anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semite</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent> then read <ent type='PERSON'>Hannah</ent>
|
|
Arendt's treatise on the origins of anti-Semitism, and pieces of
|
|
the puzzle began to fall into place.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Pierce</ent> had not heard Hulet before and so went to hear a July 1991
|
|
speech at <ent type='ORG'>the First Unitarian Church</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent>. Admission
|
|
was ten dollars and the audience numbered at least 100.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"He was a glib speaker, and he presents concerns all of us
|
|
have--concerns many people on the left certainly have about the
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> administration and how there is no effective congressional
|
|
oversight. I can listen to him and agree he is focused on some real
|
|
problems in this country. What he does is bring into the open a
|
|
lot of concerns and he discusses issues succinctly and in ways that
|
|
people can follow. If I had just gone to hear him I probably would
|
|
have been quite taken with him, but in the context of the first
|
|
meeting, I listened with skepticism, and am worried. People want
|
|
so much to believe in him they don't want to hear any criticism.
|
|
I saw how people can hear Hulet and then be led to <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent>. If
|
|
you look at the origins of anti-Semitism described by <ent type='PERSON'>Arendt</ent>, you
|
|
can see how a self-confident person who provides simple explanations
|
|
can offer comfort to people who sense that something is wrong with
|
|
our society and that they are being lied to, which is true. But
|
|
it was scary to see how easily people were then led into accepting
|
|
the scapegoating of <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> and the other conspiracy theories discussed
|
|
by <ent type='PERSON'>Eustace Mullins</ent> on the videotape. At first I thought there was
|
|
something wrong with me, but now I think there is a serious problem
|
|
that people on the left need to talk about. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Hulet was listed in a 1986 <special>Spotlight</special> advertisement as a speaker
|
|
at a day-long seminar with ultra-rightist <ent type='NORP'>Australian</ent> Eric D. <ent type='ORG'>Butler</ent>
|
|
and pro-apartheid writer <ent type='PERSON'>Ivor Benson</ent>, a notorious anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semite</ent>. Both
|
|
men are leading theorists affiliated with <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>. Also on
|
|
the 1986 panel was rightist newsletter editor Lawrence Patterson,
|
|
recently named to <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> PAC, and <ent type='PERSON'>David Irving</ent>, an author
|
|
who claims the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> was a <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> hoax. Repeated attempts to
|
|
interview Hulet regarding this meeting and the <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> study
|
|
groups, including a visit to his base in a town north of <ent type='GPE'>Seattle</ent>,
|
|
were brushed off by his wife, Kathleen DePass Hulet, who handles
|
|
his publicity from a frame shop in downtown <ent type='GPE'>Everett</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>.
|
|
Hulet has told one newspaper that he did not attend the event. The
|
|
matter is unimportant in an overall assessment of Hulet's
|
|
ideological--as opposed to organizational--allegiances.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Left/Right Critiques and <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>s</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It would be grossly unfair to suggest that all information from
|
|
the political right is inaccurate conspiracism. Right-wing groups
|
|
are quite capable of producing factual investigative material and
|
|
persuasive journalistic stories. For instance, every year "Project
|
|
Censored" runs a contest to pick the ten top stories not adequately
|
|
covered by the mainstream press. On a 1991 <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent> television program
|
|
reviewing the 1990 Project Censored stories, commentator <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Moyers</ent>
|
|
held up a copy of the <special>Spotlight</special> as an example of two such
|
|
stories--one on aspects of U.S. foreign policy in the early days
|
|
of the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> crisis, another highlighting repressive features of an
|
|
anti-crime bill. Not all stories surfaced by the far right are
|
|
accurate, however, and many feature convoluted and undocumented
|
|
conspiracy theories featuring a paranoid analysis.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At the same time the right has been wooing the left, right-wing
|
|
groups have been promoting a number of left resources such as books
|
|
and videos that criticize certain aspects of government policy or
|
|
ruling elites. For instance, <ent type='PERSON'>Noam Chomsky</ent>'s critiques of U.S.
|
|
foreign policy, <ent type='PERSON'>Holly Sklar</ent>'s studies of <ent type='ORG'>the Trilateral Commission</ent>,
|
|
and <ent type='PERSON'>Brian Glick</ent>'s manual on domestic repression are praised and
|
|
distributed by right-wing book peddlers.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>These cross-ideological pollinations do not imply any ideological
|
|
connection between the left researchers and the right--any group
|
|
can distribute a book--but demonstrates that the political right
|
|
sees points of alliance with the left, especially around issues
|
|
relating to government abuses of power.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Government repression and intelligence abuse are not the only areas
|
|
of research on the left where convoluted theories are circulated.
|
|
Unsubstantiated conspiracist theories, claiming secret circles of
|
|
corporate influence in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States, also flow between left
|
|
and right pro-environmentalists. One <ent type='GPE'>Massachusetts</ent> environmental
|
|
activist researches alternative energy sources, circulates materials
|
|
on elite control of energy policy, and refers interested
|
|
environmentalists to the work of <ent type='PERSON'>Eustace Mullins</ent> who writes about
|
|
the so-called <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> international banking conspiracy. In his
|
|
worldview, <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent>' research unraveling powerful industrial and
|
|
banking conspiracies can help explain government antagonism toward
|
|
environmental reform[f-8]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On one forum for activists on a national electronic computer based
|
|
network, excerpts from LaRouchian and <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> publications
|
|
have been uncritically posted by persons who primarily circulate
|
|
information from left and progressive sources. This builds the
|
|
credibility of the LaRouchians and <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> circles and implies
|
|
that they are natural allies.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>An example of one left/right information alliance involves Dan
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Brandt</ent>, creator of the Namebase software program, an immensely
|
|
useful computer tool which searches a huge index of <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>-related
|
|
publications and documents. <ent type='PERSON'>Brandt</ent> has created a non-profit group
|
|
with a board of advisors composed of both left and right critics
|
|
of U.S. intelligence agencies, including <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>-defender Fletcher
|
|
Prouty who joined the advisory board of <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>'s Populist
|
|
Action Committee. On the other hand, <ent type='PERSON'>Brandt</ent> is highly critical of
|
|
the LaRouchians.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>True <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In 1991, ultra-right political groups began organizing a nationwide
|
|
campaign to build support for <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> candidate Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>.
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> was named in 1991 to the advisory board of the Populist Action
|
|
Committee created by the quasi-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>, publisher of
|
|
the weekly newspaper <special>Spotlight</special>. The <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> organizing
|
|
drive is of interest to progressives because <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> told a July,
|
|
1991 meeting in <ent type='GPE'>Palo Alto</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> that they should reach out
|
|
and attempt to recruit persons from the left.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Also named to <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> Populist Action Committee was
|
|
retired <ent type='ORG'>Air Force</ent> Colonel and intelligence specialist Fletcher
|
|
Prouty, author of the 1973 book <special>The <ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent></special>, now published
|
|
by <ent type='ORG'>IHR</ent>. Prouty has been appearing at conferences and on radio
|
|
programs sponsored by <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Others named to <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent> Populist Action Committee were
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Abe Austin</ent>, described as an <ent type='GPE'>Illinois</ent> businessman and expert on
|
|
money; <ent type='PERSON'>Mike Blair</ent>, <special>Spotlight</special> writer whose articles on government
|
|
repression were highlighted by Project Censored; <ent type='PERSON'>Ken Bohnsack</ent>, an
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Illinois</ent> resident called the founder of the Sovereignty movement;
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Howard Carson</ent>, a <special>Spotlight</special> distributor; <ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> Gill, president
|
|
of the protectionist <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> for Competitive Trade; Boyd
|
|
Godlove Jr., chairman of <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent> of <ent type='GPE'>Maryland</ent>; <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent>
|
|
Larson, a contributor to <special><ent type='ORG'>The Journal</ent> of Historical <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew</special> which
|
|
maintains the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent> was a <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> hoax; <ent type='PERSON'>Roger Lourie</ent>, president
|
|
of Devin-Adair Publishing; <ent type='PERSON'>Pauline Mackey</ent>, national treasurer for
|
|
the 1988 <ent type='PERSON'>David Duke</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> Presidential campaign; Tom
|
|
McIntyre, national chairman of <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent> from 1987-1990;
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>John Nugent</ent>, who ran for <ent type='ORG'>Congress</ent> from <ent type='GPE'>Tennessee</ent> as a <ent type='NORP'>Republican</ent>
|
|
in 1990; Lawrence Patterson, publisher of the far-right
|
|
ultra-conspiratorial <special>Criminal Politics</special> newsletter; <ent type='PERSON'>Jerry Pope</ent>,
|
|
chair of the Kentucky <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent>; <ent type='PERSON'>John Rakus</ent>, president of the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Justice Foundation; Hon. <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> R. <ent type='PERSON'>Rarick</ent>, former <ent type='NORP'>Democratic</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>House</ent> member now in <ent type='GPE'>Louisiana</ent>; <ent type='PERSON'>Sherman Skolnick</ent>, a <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>an who
|
|
has peddled bizarre conspiracy theories for over a decade; Major
|
|
James H. Townsend, editor of the <special><ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Educator</special> from <ent type='GPE'>California</ent>;
|
|
Jim <ent type='PERSON'>Tucker</ent>, <special>Spotlight</special> contributor who specializes on covering
|
|
the <ent type='NORP'>Bilderberger</ent> banking group; <ent type='PERSON'>Tom Valentine</ent>, <ent type='LOC'>Midwest</ent> bureau chief
|
|
for <special>Spotlight</special>; <ent type='PERSON'>Raymond Walk</ent>, an <ent type='GPE'>Illinois</ent> critic of free trade;
|
|
and <ent type='PERSON'>Robert</ent> H. <ent type='ORG'>Weems</ent>, founding national chairman of the Populist
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Party</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> has long been a meeting ground for segregationists,
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy mongers, white supremacists and former
|
|
members of the Ku Klux <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent>. The formation of <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent>
|
|
Populist Action Committee comes at a time when some right wing
|
|
groups are attempting to build bridges to the left around shared
|
|
critiques of government misconduct, a process that was accelerated
|
|
during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the June, 1991 issue of <special>The Populist Observer</special>, <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> wrote,
|
|
"I call upon you as <ent type='NORP'>Republican</ent>, <ent type='NORP'>Democrat</ent>, <ent type='NORP'>Libertarian</ent>, Independent,
|
|
right, left, conservative, liberal, et.al., to UNITE AS POPULISTS
|
|
[emphasis in original] until we have our nation firmly back on her
|
|
feet." <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> made a similar plea at a July meeting in <ent type='GPE'>Palo Alto</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>California</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Gritz's call for the left/right coalition apparently first surfaced
|
|
publicly at his Freedom Call '90 conference held in July, 1990 in
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Las Vegas</ent>. Speakers at that conference included <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semite</ent>
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Eustace Mullins</ent>, as well as Father <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Davis</ent> of the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent>, ex-<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> official (now critic) <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent></ent>, and author
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent>. This fact of attendance is not meant to imply
|
|
that all these persons share the same views. It is meant to
|
|
demonstrate that <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> is attempting to draw a broad range of
|
|
government critics into a coalition. <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent>
|
|
have all said their appearance at the conference should not be
|
|
interpreted as an endorsement of Gritz's research or political
|
|
views. Gritz's Center for Action still sells a set of tapes from
|
|
the conference, including speeches by <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent>, along with
|
|
Father <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent></ent>. This set of
|
|
tapes is advertised in the Prevailing Winds catalog.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'><ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent></ent> has expressed concern over the the way Prevailing
|
|
Winds has lumped his research together with research he finds
|
|
problematic. In the past, <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent> has been highly critical of
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Honneger</ent> as a reliable source of information, and has had criticisms
|
|
of some aspects of <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> research as well. <ent type='ORG'>Stockwell</ent> says he
|
|
"met <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> there on stage" at the 1990 conference and "came away
|
|
greatly unimpressed," and he was quick to distance himself from
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>After the controversy broke in the left press, a spokesperson at
|
|
Prevailing Winds (who asked to be identified simply as <ent type='ORG'>Patrick</ent>)
|
|
said they were now considering at least including a warning in
|
|
their catalog about Bo Gritz's ties to <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent> and other
|
|
rightist and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> groups and individuals. <ent type='ORG'>Patrick</ent> said their
|
|
catalog came out before <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> accepted <ent type='ORG'>the Populist Party</ent> presidential
|
|
nomination, but defended the inclusion of the <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> material, saying
|
|
that "middle <ent type='GPE'>America</ent> needs this kind of information" because "<ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent>
|
|
is basically a dope-peddling <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Patrick</ent> said the appropriateness of carrying Gritz's material,
|
|
given his ties to the anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> far right, has been discussed by
|
|
the Prevailing Winds staff, and also discussed with Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and
|
|
with Father <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>According to the Prevailing Winds representative:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Its an argument we've gone back and forth on, it's a tough question,
|
|
whether or not to make it available and to preserve it for research.
|
|
We are interested in getting the information to the people. The
|
|
good thing about it is no one else is trying to build these bridges
|
|
between groups. We need to reach a rainbow of people." "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Christic's Father <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Davis</ent> walked out of the 1990 <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> conference
|
|
when <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent> gave his speech. Yet over a year after the event,
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> still had made no public statement distancing itself from
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> or <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent>. In the meantime, <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> was touring the country
|
|
promoting Christic's <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> research and implying a friendly
|
|
working relationship between himself and key <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> figures,
|
|
especially Danny <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> is featured in a privately-distributed
|
|
videotape program focusing on Gritz's research which takes a critical
|
|
look at the Reagan and <ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> Administrations' intelligence and drug
|
|
policies. That videotape, circulated by <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and his allies, also
|
|
uncritically shows a headline from the LaRouchian newspaper <New
|
|
Federalist> to illustrate a point.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Christic's national director, <ent type='PERSON'>Sara Nelson</ent>, told <special>In These Times</special>
|
|
that <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> apologizes for the appearance of <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent> at the conference
|
|
with <ent type='PERSON'>Mullins</ent>, and no one is suggesting that <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> harbors any
|
|
racist, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> or fascist views. But <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> has not issued
|
|
a clear and widely disseminated public statement alerting people
|
|
who may have seen the Prevailing Winds catalog or the <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> material
|
|
and who now seem confused over who supports whom. This is not meant
|
|
to be interpreted as a blanket criticism of <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>.
|
|
Many <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> projects have been valuable. They circulated a
|
|
tremendous amount of useful information about the issue of covert
|
|
action and the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> scandal. Especially notable in other
|
|
areas are the work of <ent type='PERSON'>Lewis Pitts</ent> at <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> South and the project
|
|
by <ent type='PERSON'>Andy Lang</ent> to illustrate problems with forging democracy in
|
|
eastern Europe. Yet Christic's <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Davis</ent>, and <ent type='PERSON'>Nelson</ent> have not
|
|
taken seriously the problem of right-wing groups and individuals
|
|
linking themselves to the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> case and recruiting <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
supporters in a way that implies a shared agenda. While this is
|
|
not just a problem with <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>, the role that <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> could,
|
|
and should, be playing in providing leadership on this question
|
|
would be extremely useful.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In <special><ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> Man for Fascism: Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and the Racist <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent></special>,
|
|
a report issued by the <ent type='GPE'>California</ent> anti-fascist group People Against
|
|
Racist Terror, the extent to which <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> has promoted himself on
|
|
the left is thoroughly detailed. The report urges <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> to be
|
|
more vocal:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"<ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> should join the campaign to expose Bo's campaign for the
|
|
fascist vehicle it is. <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> should take the lead in condemning
|
|
the <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> campaign, rather than demanding retractions from those
|
|
who have raised criticisms and concerns. It should share frankly
|
|
and self-critically with its followers the process of deception
|
|
and rationalization by which it was hoodwinked, so that others can
|
|
escape the same fate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is the failure of alternative and left critics of government
|
|
policy to take responsibility for clarifying the confusion being
|
|
intentionally sown by the far right that is the key issue. If the
|
|
problem is turned on its head, it is easier to understand why the
|
|
issue of public statements by groups such as <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> is so important.
|
|
In the course of preparing this study scores of persons were
|
|
interviewed in a dozen cities. Here is a summary of some of the
|
|
questions raised by persons who reject the criticism.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On the LaRouchians:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Were they not victims of government repression and <ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent> harassment
|
|
just like <ent type='ORG'>CISPES</ent>? Wasn't that what <ent type='PERSON'>James Ridgeway</ent> said in the
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Village Voice</ent></special>? Didn't their views get reported by David MacMichael
|
|
in the newsletter of the former intelligence officers turned critics?
|
|
Isn't <ent type='PERSON'>Ramsey Clark</ent> their attorney? Isn't it true that they were
|
|
reporting on the <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> affair before the mainstream media
|
|
and <ent type='ORG'>Congress</ent> publicized the matter? Don't several former <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
investigators recommend their work? "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Are they not our natural allies? "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On <ent type='ORG'>the Liberty Lobby</ent>/Populist network:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Didn't <special>Spotlight</special> get mentioned by <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Moyers</ent> on the <ent type='ORG'>PBS</ent> program
|
|
on the Most Censored Stories awards as an excellent source of
|
|
information? Doesn't <ent type='PERSON'>Bill Davis</ent> appear with Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> at conferences?
|
|
Doesn't Danny <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> appear on the Bo <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> videotape? Can't we
|
|
buy <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent>' writings by sending a check to <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>'s
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>West Coast</ent> office? Wasn't that Danny <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> on the cover of the
|
|
Prevailing Winds catalog with <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> material along with material
|
|
from <ent type='ORG'>Gritz</ent> and Prouty? "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Are they not our natural allies? "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On <ent type='PERSON'>Craig Hulet</ent>:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Isn't he on <ent type='ORG'>KPFA</ent> and <ent type='ORG'>KPFK</ent>? Can't we order Hulet tapes from the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Pacifica</ent> Archive? Doesn't he say he works with <ent type='PERSON'>Lanny Sinkin</ent> who
|
|
was an attorney at <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>? Doesn't he say he isn't a right-winger?
|
|
Didn't the <ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent> Mime Troupe thank Hulet for his research?
|
|
"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Is he not our natural ally? "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This raises a question for every progressive political leader,
|
|
journalist and attorney whose name has been used by the fascist
|
|
right to build their movement. If hundreds (perhaps thousands) of
|
|
people have come to believe there is a coalition or alliance that
|
|
involves the left and fascist right, is there not an an obligation
|
|
to speak out publicly and deny what the right is suggesting publicly?</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In fact, some of the above questions clearly represent misunderstandings
|
|
and erroneous assumptions. But when the right is making the assertion,
|
|
silence implies consent, or as the button says: "Silence is the
|
|
voice of complicity."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> The <ent type='NORP'>Fascist</ent> Response</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Telephone call to 503-796-2124</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>November 20, 1991 10:00 PM</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>[Man's voice:]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Greetings, you have reached the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> Ministry of
|
|
Information hot line. COINTELPRO, <ent type='ORG'>the counter</ent>-intelligence agency
|
|
of the <ent type='NORP'>Jew</ent> S. of A., or <ent type='ORG'>ZOG</ent> [<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> Occupational Government], is
|
|
a group of well financed government agents who have not only
|
|
infiltrated but absolutely control a great portion of the so-called
|
|
left wing in <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>. Their purpose is to make sure that these
|
|
self-styled progressive organizations don't actually take any action
|
|
against the true enemy of the people, the U.S. government. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"They have been doing a very good job at keeping radical elements
|
|
of the supposed left and right fighting each other, thereby nullifying
|
|
a great deal of revolutionary activity, and keeping the fat-cat
|
|
warmonger capitalists who run this government safe from the bloody
|
|
tide of reprisal they so richly deserve. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"No matter where you stand on the political spectrum this abhorrent
|
|
undertaking affects you. <ent type='ORG'>ZOG</ent> is bound and determined to make sure
|
|
the trend of increasing anti-government unity of radical factions
|
|
in Europe doesn't take effect here. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"For local evidence of this lefty alliance with Big Brother, you
|
|
need go no further than <ent type='PERSON'>Jonathan Mozzochi</ent> of the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> for
|
|
Human Dignity. He's an avid follower of renowned COINTELPRO guru
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Chip Berlet</ent>. <ent type='GPE'>Mozzochi</ent> has even been known to plagiarize the writings
|
|
of Mr. <ent type='PERSON'>Berlet</ent>, and as is very evident by the CHD's activity, <ent type='GPE'>Mozzochi</ent>
|
|
has completely dedicated himself to the government program of
|
|
keeping the radicals fighting each other instead of Big Brother.
|
|
Just because he serves you cappuccino at La Patisserie and pretends
|
|
to be a so-called progressive, the fact remains that he is nothing
|
|
but the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> in alternative geek clothing. This further illustrates
|
|
the fact that the anti-racist movement as a whole is nothing but
|
|
a tool of the capitalist regime, designed to destroy the
|
|
self-determination of all races and keep <ent type='ORG'>ZOG</ent> as the ruler of all.
|
|
"</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"For more information, contact <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> at P.O. Box 68333,
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Portland</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Oregon</ent>, 97268. White Victory. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>[Woman's voice:]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"You may start your message now. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> Scapegoating & <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>alism</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Unraveling the overlapping tendencies of reactionary politics,
|
|
conspiracism, scapegoating, opportunism, demagoguery, nationalism,
|
|
racism, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> theories, and fascism is a difficult but
|
|
necessary task. This section will discuss several situations and
|
|
trends where these issues are involved, focusing on the rise of
|
|
right-wing anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> theories in some nationalist sectors of the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n community.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Any serious discussion of these issues needs first to be grounded
|
|
on at least a working knowledge of the theories of racialism and
|
|
nationalism, as well as familiarity with the characteristics of
|
|
mass fascist political movements prior to their ascendancy to state
|
|
power. Especially useful is a study of the nationalist movements
|
|
of Europe at the beginning of this century. The nationalism of
|
|
pre-<ent type='ORG'>World</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> II Europe included movements based on racialist
|
|
theories. This racial nationalism took several forms, including
|
|
the heroic mythical racial nationalism of <ent type='GPE'>Italy</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Spain</ent> which
|
|
glorified the organic leadership of autocratic father-figures, the
|
|
ego-centric anti-modernist intellectual fascism of <ent type='GPE'>France</ent>, the
|
|
religious/racial clerical fascist movements of <ent type='GPE'>Croatia</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Rumania</ent>,
|
|
and the scapegoating demagogic movement of <ent type='NORP'>German</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>sm with its
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracy theories.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>sm was a fascist movement, but not all mid-century European
|
|
fascist movements employed a master race theory. Nevertheless,
|
|
fascism as a political form is premised on racial or cultural
|
|
nationalism.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>As scholar <ent type='PERSON'>Barry</ent> Mehler, a leading researcher on the history of
|
|
racial eugenics, points out:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"<ent type='ORG'>Classical</ent> eugenic theories of the nineteen-twenties and thirties
|
|
emphasized that nations were biological entities and that political
|
|
ideologies emerge from racial characteristics which in turn have
|
|
developed out of evolutionary changes in racial groups. The classic
|
|
expression of these theories can be found in Madison Grant's <The
|
|
Passing of the Great Race>. This was, of course, the foundation of
|
|
both <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> racism and <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n white supremacism. It is not
|
|
surprising, therefore, that white supremacist organizations continue
|
|
to reprint and sell these expressions of <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n racism. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In fact, the white supremacist movement is the largest and most
|
|
significant purveyor of theories of racial nationalism in the U.S.,
|
|
and its threat to democracy and pluralism far outweighs that posed
|
|
by the misguided participants in the tragic and counterproductive
|
|
current dispute between <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>s and <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>. Further, the single greatest
|
|
impediment to racial justice in the U.S. is not the policies and
|
|
practices of any one political group or individual, but the
|
|
institutional racism in the government and business sectors that
|
|
is still so widespread yet so invisible in our society, and which
|
|
has deeply undermined the ability of <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns, <ent type='NORP'>Hispanics</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='NORP'>Indians</ent>, and other racial groups in this country to
|
|
share in the bounty and freedoms described in school textbooks as
|
|
a birthright in our country. It is within that framework that the
|
|
following discussion must be set.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>alism and Anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> Conspiracy Theories</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some members of <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> nationalist groups in the U.S. circulate
|
|
conspiracist theories about <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> oppression where discredited
|
|
ultra-right theories of exaggerated <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> power and manipulation
|
|
have found new life and a new audience. While in the past some
|
|
pro-<ent type='NORP'>Palestinian</ent> and even anti-<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> sentiments made by <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>-<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns
|
|
have been mislabeled as anti-Semitism by groups promoting pro-<ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>
|
|
policies, there is still plenty of evidence that anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>
|
|
conspiracy theories are discussed openly in some segments of the
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> community</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>For example, in <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>, during the late 1980's, <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> activist
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Steve Cokely</ent> taught classes at a <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Islam</ent> center where he
|
|
alleged that <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> doctors were injecting <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> children with the
|
|
AIDS virus. When <ent type='PERSON'>Cokely</ent> was exposed, <ent type='ORG'>NOI</ent> leader Louis <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan,
|
|
rather than rejecting Cokely's assertions as bigoted lunacy, issued
|
|
a statement saying that if <ent type='PERSON'>Cokely</ent> could document his charges, the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Islam</ent> would provide a public forum for the discussion.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At a February 28, 1991 anti-abortion lecture by <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Bell</ent>,
|
|
founder of <ent type='GPE'>Massachusetts</ent> <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>s for Life, Bell asserted that "it
|
|
is the <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> doctors that are the ones that are the ones trying
|
|
to wipe out the black society." The statement came in the context
|
|
of an assertion that <ent type='ORG'>Planned Parenthood</ent> wanted to wipe out all
|
|
minority populations.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <ent type='GPE'>Detroit</ent> magazine <special><ent type='PERSON'>Alkebulanian</ent></special> is dedicated to providing the
|
|
reader with "the power of <ent type='NORP'>African</ent> pride and dignity" and seeks to
|
|
"speak the truth and expose the falsehoods that have weakened a
|
|
precious people through the course of history." But according to
|
|
anti-eugenics scholar <ent type='PERSON'>Barry</ent> Mehler, the magazine carries articles
|
|
that assert "the <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> Talmud was written by 'racist dogs,' that
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> have manipulated the world into grieving over the <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent>
|
|
as a way to make 'black people forget that the it was same handful
|
|
who participated in the <ent type='NORP'>African</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>Holocaust</ent>.' "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>At a July, 1990 meeting in <ent type='GPE'>Cairo</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Illinois</ent>, several <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> nationalist
|
|
groups under the leadership of <ent type='ORG'>the All</ent> <ent type='NORP'>African</ent> Peoples <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>olutionary
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> (<ent type='EVENT'>AAPRP</ent>) proposed the formation of an "Afrikan Anti-<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Front</ent>." <ent type='PERSON'>Kwame Ture</ent> (formerly <ent type='ORG'>Stokely Carmichael</ent>) of <ent type='EVENT'>AAPRP</ent> was
|
|
elected chairperson of the front. At the time, several spokespersons
|
|
made careful distinctions concerning their criticisms of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>
|
|
and <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>. For instance, a statement issued by the <ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> at a
|
|
planning meeting held in <ent type='GPE'>Tripoli</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Libya</ent> included the disclaimer
|
|
that, "The founders of the <ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> state that the struggle against
|
|
zionism is not a struggle against <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> or <ent type='ORG'>Judaism</ent> but rather a
|
|
struggle against zionism as a racist and imperialist ideology and
|
|
movement."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Although extreme, and implying objection to the state of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>
|
|
itself, the statement by the <ent type='ORG'>Front</ent> is not fairly characterized as
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent>. However, the careful distinctions in the Front's
|
|
statement are missing in a current educational brochure by <ent type='ORG'>the All</ent>
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>African</ent> Peoples <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>olutionary <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The brochure starts out criticizing <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i politics
|
|
but soon descends into rampant anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> conspiracism. "ZIONISM
|
|
is a well organized and financed, international conspiracy which
|
|
controls the economic and political life of <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent> States and
|
|
Europe," says the brochure. Although accurately noting, "All <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>
|
|
are not <ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent>s," the brochure goes on to claim, "The international
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> movement exerts an almost total strangle-hold over the
|
|
economic, political, social and cultural life of the <ent type='NORP'>African</ent>
|
|
community." It also claims that <ent type='NORP'>Zionism</ent>, "controls...all of the
|
|
banks, businesses and financial institutions in our community," as
|
|
well as the mass media and the entertainment industry. According
|
|
to the brochure, the international <ent type='NORP'>Zionist</ent> movement controls:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"The political, social, cultural, educational and legal institutions,
|
|
agencies and organizations in the <ent type='NORP'>African</ent> community. Almost all of
|
|
the civil rights and political groups in our community are controlled
|
|
by <ent type='NORP'>zionists</ent> and <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>. They use their money, their power, the <ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent>,
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>IRS</ent>, the courts and prisons; and many other ways to control
|
|
and destroy our movements, leaders and people. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Many of these sentiments regarding <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> are virtually identical to
|
|
charges in white supremacist publications which claim that <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>
|
|
play a similar role in oppressing white <ent type='NORP'>christians</ent>. One mail order
|
|
videotape lecture by a leading <ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent> Identity pastor is a
|
|
lengthy exposition of his theory that slavery was the result of
|
|
the usury employed by <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bankers in <ent type='GPE'>Britain</ent> when financing
|
|
colonial enterprises.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan and the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Islam</ent></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Although the <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. Louis <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan denies he is a bigot, and some
|
|
of his critics have themselves used racist appeals, <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan has
|
|
in fact made a number of statements concerning <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> over the past
|
|
few years that reflect disdain and prejudice.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Yet the most troubling aspect of <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan is not his demagogic
|
|
bigotry. Writing in the January 28, 1991 issue of <special>The <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent></special>,
|
|
professor <ent type='PERSON'>Adolph Reed</ent>, Jr. cautions that "demonizing" <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan,
|
|
or focusing merely on his prejudice, misses the main point, which
|
|
is the troubling nature of <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan's reactionary political views
|
|
and anti-<ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> "racial organicism." As <ent type='PERSON'>Reed</ent> explains, <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan's
|
|
use of racial organicism is found in the belief that <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> leaders
|
|
"emerge organically from the population and that the objectives
|
|
and interests of those organic leaders are identical with those of
|
|
the general racial constituency." <ent type='PERSON'>Reed</ent> notes that this theory has
|
|
been used by white majoritarian leadership to justify and manage
|
|
racial subordination by "allowing white elites to pick and choose
|
|
among pretenders to race leadership."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Equally dangerous, however, are the themes of authoritarianism and
|
|
racial nationalism which underlie racial organicism. <ent type='PERSON'>Reed</ent> warns
|
|
that "because of his organization and ideology, however, <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan
|
|
more than his predecessors throws into relief the dangerous,
|
|
fascistic presumptions inscribed at the foundation of that model."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In July, 1990 <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan granted an extensive exclusive interview
|
|
to <special>Spotlight</special> where his views of separate development for the
|
|
<ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> and white communities was stressed. The interview was presented
|
|
in an overwhelmingly sympathetic and supportive fashion, with an
|
|
introduction by the editors where <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan's movement was described
|
|
as "based on the cultivation of spiritual, education, and family
|
|
values, as well as racial separation."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The idea of racial or national organicism, that leaders emerged
|
|
from homogeneous national groupings and metaphysically expressed
|
|
the collective will of the people, was a basic tenet of fascism,
|
|
especially the form of fascism called national socialism. In the
|
|
1988 report of the small <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> in <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>, the term
|
|
national socialism was defined as "the organized will of the race,
|
|
in its quest for racial survival, and physical, mental, and spiritual
|
|
self betterment." One modern offshoot of national socialism, called
|
|
the "<ent type='ORG'>Third Position</ent>," has adherents in both Europe and <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent>
|
|
States, and is known for its attempts to build bridges to the left,
|
|
especially around the issues of protecting the environment and
|
|
support for the working class.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Racialist nationalism, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigotry, and fascist principles
|
|
have provided a basis in the past for white supremacists and
|
|
anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigots such as <ent type='PERSON'>Tom Metzger</ent> to voice support for <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan.
|
|
The October 12, 1985 <special><ent type='GPE'>New York</ent> Times</special> reported on a <ent type='GPE'>Michigan</ent> meeting
|
|
of white supremacists where <ent type='PERSON'>Metzger</ent> told his audience of neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s
|
|
and <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent> members, "<ent type='GPE'>America</ent> is like a rotting carcass. The <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> are
|
|
living off the carcass like the parasites they are. <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan
|
|
understands this." That meeting was attended by <ent type='ORG'>Political Research</ent>
|
|
Associates author and freelance journalist <ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent> who reported
|
|
the <ent type='PERSON'>Metzger</ent> quote and incidently disclosed the attendance of another
|
|
white supremacist, <ent type='PERSON'>Roy Frankhouser</ent>, a former Ku Klux <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent> leader
|
|
from <ent type='GPE'>Pennsylvania</ent> who was for many years a top security consultant
|
|
to <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The beginning of the 1990's saw increasing joint political work
|
|
between various LaRouchian front groups and <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan's <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>
|
|
nationalist <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent> of <ent type='NORP'>Islam</ent> (<ent type='ORG'>NOI</ent>). For instance, the NOI's newspaper
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Final Call</ent></special> ran an article by <ent type='PERSON'>Carlos Wesley</ent> on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> in its issue
|
|
of May 31, 1990, which was credited as a reprint from the LaRouchian
|
|
magazine <special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special>. The LaRouchian <New
|
|
Federalist> has run several articles praising the political work
|
|
of Dr. <ent type='PERSON'>Abdul Alim Muhammad</ent>, editor of NOI's <special><ent type='ORG'>Final Call</ent></special>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Another group allied with <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan that promotes the idea of racial
|
|
or national organicism is the political organization run by Dr.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Fred Newman</ent>, a former protege of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>. Persons who extol Newman's
|
|
idiosyncratic form of "social therapy" control a variety of political
|
|
organizations under Newman's influence, including the New Alliance
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> (<ent type='ORG'>NAP</ent>), Rainbow Lobby, <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>'s <ent type='ORG'>Castillo Cultural Center</ent>,
|
|
and various Centers for Short-Term Therapy. <ent type='ORG'>NAP</ent> promotes the
|
|
political theories of <ent type='LOC'>Far</ent>rakhan, the <ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>. Al Sharpton, and Dr.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Lenora Fulani</ent>, presidential candidate of the New Alliance <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent>.
|
|
The Rainbow Lobby has forged a working coalition with the <ent type='NORP'>Libertarian</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Party</ent> and the racialist <ent type='ORG'>Populist Party</ent> to challenge state laws
|
|
limiting ballot access. At the same time NAP's <ent type='PERSON'>Lenora Fulani</ent> stood
|
|
side-by-side with Al Sharpton and other <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent> nationalists in the
|
|
summer of 1991 as they inflamed an already tense and tragic situation
|
|
in the <ent type='LOC'>Crown Heights</ent> neighborhood in <ent type='GPE'>Brooklyn</ent>, which has seen a
|
|
long-simmering dispute between <ent type='LOC'>Black</ent>s and a sect of Orthodox <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Sorting out the Dilemma</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>We are all aware that there are shifting factions in political
|
|
groups, government bureaucracies, and intelligence agencies. Even
|
|
though there is an historic overlap of government repression and
|
|
reactionary politics, at the same time, factions of the right have
|
|
from time to time made a tactical decision to expose government
|
|
wrongdoing to smash an opposing faction on the right or derail a
|
|
bothersome government project.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Around the world the right has adopted a strategy of tension to
|
|
smash the center, and one part of that strategy is to seek temporary
|
|
tactical alliances with left groups in attacking government policies.
|
|
The left/right alliance seeks to displace the center, but historically
|
|
the right always triumphs and then smashes the left. This is
|
|
certainly one lesson of <ent type='NORP'>Italian</ent> fascism and <ent type='NORP'>German</ent> national socialism.
|
|
Do we really think a corrupt wealthy anti-labor repressive centrist
|
|
power is worse than fascist power? As the health of the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n
|
|
economy declines, it will generate a move towards alternative
|
|
political viewpoints and either new political parties or realignment
|
|
of current parties. A left/right alliance under such circumstances
|
|
would be precarious and dangerous.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Serious anti-repression researchers frequently find themselves in
|
|
contact with elements of the ruling center, opposition centrist
|
|
parties, and far right in the normal course of their research.
|
|
The mere contact between left and right is not the issue, but when
|
|
left researchers become <special>de facto</special> conduits for the right's
|
|
information, and do so uncritically and without revealing their
|
|
sources at least by general description, serious ethical and
|
|
pragmatic problems arise.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> The Problem of <ent type='NORP'>Fascist</ent>s as Research Sources</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde is one of the main LaRouchian intelligence contacts
|
|
for reporters in the <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C. area. Quinde boasts that the
|
|
LaRouchians maintain ties with a network of current and former
|
|
intelligence agents and military specialists who oppose current
|
|
U.S. foreign policy and its reliance on covert action over direct
|
|
military engagement.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Quinde confirms that he and his fellow LaRouchian investigators
|
|
are in constant touch with journalists and researchers across the
|
|
political spectrum. In several interviews in 1990 and 1991 Quinde
|
|
refused to go on the record with the names of any of his regular
|
|
contacts among left political groups and critics of government
|
|
repression, although he bragged that such contacts are a regular
|
|
part of his work.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> now says they no longer have any contact with the
|
|
LaRouchians, some former <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> staff seem willing to keep some
|
|
doors open. Investigators formerly connected to <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> have
|
|
maintained information ties to the LaRouchians, and advised
|
|
progressive researchers to rely on the LaRouchians as experts in
|
|
the area of government intelligence abuse. These referrals have
|
|
over a period of several years helped forge an information exchange
|
|
network that has drawn some left researchers, journalists and radio
|
|
talk show hosts further into unsubstantiated conspiracy theories
|
|
and into ongoing relationships with fascist and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> groups
|
|
and individuals.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>David MacMichael still maintains close ties to <ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde, meets
|
|
with him personally, and advises researchers probing government
|
|
intelligence abuse to contact Quinde for help. MacMichael defends
|
|
his association with Quinde as legitimate, albeit sometimes
|
|
embarrassing.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent> is the author of <Old <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s, The New Right and the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Republican</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Party</ent>> and has extensively studied <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>-linked emigre
|
|
intelligence and political networks. In the course of his research,
|
|
he has found several authors in this field who have developed a
|
|
working relationship with LaRouchians. <ent type='PERSON'>Bellant</ent> says he raised the
|
|
ethical problems of working with the LaRouchians with these authors,
|
|
generally to no avail. To be sure, there is no consensus among
|
|
reporters, mainstream or progressive, on what is an ethical way to
|
|
deal with information from groups such as the LaRouchians.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>According to <ent type='PERSON'>Peter Dale Scott</ent>, "My own ground rules are that until
|
|
something happens where I feel someone is manipulating me or they
|
|
have <special>personally</special> done something horrible that I feel is objectionable,
|
|
I feel it is a matter of intellectual freedom to keep the lines of
|
|
communication open. As long as they deal with me as a human being
|
|
I will treat them as such." <ent type='ORG'>Scott</ent>, however, balked at signing a
|
|
petition about <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> being a victim of human rights abuse because
|
|
he felt there was "enough evidence to show the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> people were
|
|
probably guilty of some criminal conduct."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Author <ent type='PERSON'>Jonathan Marshall</ent>, now with the <special><ent type='GPE'>San Francisco</ent> Chronicle</special>,
|
|
says the LaRouchians "have given me information, but given their
|
|
history, I never take it at face value." <ent type='PERSON'>Marshall</ent> says "sometimes
|
|
they are a source of good leads, their work on <ent type='GPE'>Panama</ent> has been of
|
|
particular use." <ent type='PERSON'>Marshall</ent> does not accept the LaRouchian premise
|
|
that <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was a humanitarian, but neither does he accept the
|
|
idea that opposition to <ent type='PERSON'>Noriega</ent> was pure. "Here you have a case of
|
|
evil versus evil, and the enemies of someone are often a good place
|
|
to go for information." According to <ent type='PERSON'>Marshall</ent>, he will sometimes
|
|
pursue LaRouchian leads, "and then do my own independent research."
|
|
If something turns up, he considers it his own effort, and does
|
|
not credit the LaRouchians, in part, he admits, because it would
|
|
lessen his credibility as a journalist.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"If you look across the board at cultish groups that do 'research'
|
|
you find sometimes that they have found amazing documents that do
|
|
in fact check out," says <ent type='PERSON'>Marshall</ent>. But he hastens to add that
|
|
"documents are one thing, but accepting their analysis is simply
|
|
not responsible."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the late 1980's author <ent type='PERSON'>Carl Ogelsby</ent> considered working with
|
|
LaRouchian <ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde to unravel the story of the recruitment of
|
|
the <ent type='PERSON'>Gehlen</ent> <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> spy apparatus into U.S. intelligence. <ent type='PERSON'>Ogelsby</ent>
|
|
comments:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"If Quinde had been able to provide even a single scrap of useful
|
|
information I would have turned a cartwheel in excitement, but he
|
|
never did. Everything he sent me was bullshit. He was trying to
|
|
convince me to depend on the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> information network. He was
|
|
always boasting about the documents he could send me, but he never
|
|
gave me a useful thing about <ent type='PERSON'>Gehlen</ent> or anything else about the
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>fication of U.S. intelligence. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>During <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>, Quinde asked <ent type='PERSON'>Ogelsby</ent> to speak at a LaRouchian
|
|
antiwar conference, but <ent type='PERSON'>Ogelsby</ent> declined, "because whatever Herb's
|
|
essential charm and persuasion, I would never publicly associate
|
|
myself with them, primarily because my friends warn me it would
|
|
damage my credibility. In fact, I've never initiated a contact with
|
|
them." Putting up with an occasional phone call from Quinde is one
|
|
thing, said <ent type='PERSON'>Ogelsby</ent>, but appearing at a conference is another.
|
|
Still, <ent type='PERSON'>Ogelsby</ent> isn't convinced that they are really a neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>
|
|
outfit. "My advice is not to make such a big deal about this guy.
|
|
I think that he is basically comic relief." <ent type='PERSON'>Ogelsby</ent>, however, is
|
|
suspicious of the actual purpose of the LaRouchians:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"I think it's an intelligence operation, and the only question is
|
|
what's animating it. I don't think it is, strictly speaking, an
|
|
organization representing one individual--<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>. I believe it
|
|
has access to sources of information that reflect official circuits,
|
|
most likely European, but I don't think he's officially <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent> or <ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent>.
|
|
I think U.S. intelligence is a little baffled by them too, although
|
|
in the first few years of the Reagan Administration they clearly
|
|
allowed them privileged access. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Journalists <ent type='PERSON'>James Ridgeway</ent> and David MacMichael have defended their
|
|
contacts with the LaRouchian network as part of the standard
|
|
journalistic practice of cultivating a wide range of sources of
|
|
information. They and other journalists argue that taking information
|
|
from someone in no way implies any agreement whatsoever with the
|
|
information provider. In fact, reporters at a number of mainstream
|
|
daily newspapers admit off-the-record that they frequently receive
|
|
material from the LaRouchians, and in some cases develop stories
|
|
from the documents supplied by the LaRouchians. <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent>, however,
|
|
acknowledges that the LaRouchians are a "neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> or fascist
|
|
movement." and warns that journalists need to exercise extreme
|
|
caution when contacting them for information.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>This is a real issue since a score of progressive researchers and
|
|
journalists report that in the past two years, operatives from the
|
|
LaRouchians and the far-right have stepped up their attempts to
|
|
forge working relationships with them over the basis of shared
|
|
criticism of the government.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A <ent type='LOC'>West Coast</ent> journalist, Ed Connolly, recalls an incident in the
|
|
fall of 1990:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"I was tracking a story on <ent type='ORG'>Air Force</ent> Intelligence and I called
|
|
everyone I could think of. Two weeks later <ent type='PERSON'>Gene Wheaton</ent> called me,
|
|
which was odd because I hadn't called him. <ent type='ORG'>Wheaton</ent> tells me, "You
|
|
know the people who have very good intelligence on these things
|
|
are the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> people, you should call the people that put out
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Executive Intelligence Review</ent></special>, call <ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde." So I did, but
|
|
they wanted more information than they were willing to give out
|
|
and I was immediately skeptical. I never talked to them again. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Eugene <ent type='ORG'>Wheaton</ent>, an early adviser to <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>, accepted
|
|
an invitation to speak at the December, 1990 <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> antiwar
|
|
conference in <ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Journalist <ent type='PERSON'>Jim Naurekas</ent> of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (<ent type='ORG'>FAIR</ent>)
|
|
bemoans the fact that LaRouchian <ent type='PERSON'>Herb</ent> Quinde has followed him
|
|
through three jobs trying to pester him with tidbits of information.
|
|
One academic who wrote a 1990 article on government civil liberties
|
|
infringements in a left journal says she was quickly contacted by
|
|
several persons who recommended she share her material with
|
|
<special>Spotlight</special> and other far-right anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> publications.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent>, who is critical of persons who accept material from
|
|
the LaRouchians, also warns that some of the LaRouchian documents
|
|
may be forged. "They did create a passable bogus copy of a section
|
|
of the <special><ent type='GPE'>New York</ent> Times</special> blasting their enemies," he points out.
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bellant</ent> thinks the LaRouchians "don't give you anything that you
|
|
can rely on," and that by talking with them about research issues,
|
|
"you allow them to track what you are up to which lets them go back
|
|
to their <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> friends and report on you to them."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Bellant</ent> and others say they are not troubled by intellectual
|
|
curiosity and open-mindedness that bridge ideological lines, but
|
|
they do have concerns when left and right groups and individuals
|
|
forge covert relationships. There is a big difference between
|
|
reading books by or interviewing members of far-right and racialist
|
|
groups, and working in what amounts to an ad-hoc investigative
|
|
coalition with members of these groups. There is a serious difference
|
|
of opinion among progressive researchers as to the propriety of
|
|
working with the LaRouchians or other ultra-right groups, especially
|
|
those that preach bigotry. Some say they cannot, in good conscience,
|
|
even accept unsolicited information from such groups, while others
|
|
argue they need to interview members of these groups for their
|
|
research.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Journalist Jane Hunter says she has consistently rejected overtures
|
|
from the anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> far right. Hunter is highly critical of anyone
|
|
who would covertly or overtly work with racists, anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> bigots,
|
|
or neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s. She notes that even on a pragmatic level, "Any
|
|
information that these people have is bound to show up someplace,
|
|
free for the taking, for what it's worth. Our energies need to be
|
|
spent in reaching out to people who are victims of the system--the
|
|
people with whom we share a common interest in changing it."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Not all the rightist groups seeking an alliance or information
|
|
exchange with the left are bigoted or fascist. Some are principled
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent> or libertarians seeking an open debate. However, some
|
|
of the groups seeking to link up with the left have openly neo-fascist
|
|
or neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> agendas, including some that call themselves conservative
|
|
or libertarian. The ethical parameters on these questions for
|
|
journalists and researchers need further debate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is important to recognize that the moral issues for persons
|
|
building coalitions in the movement for peace and social justice
|
|
are different than those for lawyers, academics, and reporters.
|
|
For organizers the principles of unity seldom (if ever) are such
|
|
that working with fascist, racist and anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> groups is
|
|
appropriate.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Most people agree that uncritical reliance on either right-wing or
|
|
left-wing material can lead to the recirculation of misinformation
|
|
or disinformation. When working with the political right, there is
|
|
the additional possibility that the left could unintentionally end
|
|
up letting the right set its agenda. Some progressive researchers
|
|
also argue that it is unethical for progressive groups to take
|
|
information covertly from the political right and repackage and
|
|
recirculate it without disclosing the source. That issue, however,
|
|
remains unsettled, and needs to be debated openly.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A good illustration of the problem came up in an October 15, 1991
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Village Voice</ent></special> article on the mysterious death of writer Danny
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Casolaro</ent> by authors <ent type='PERSON'>James Ridgeway</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Doug Vaughan</ent>. <ent type='PERSON'>Casolaro</ent> at
|
|
the time of his death was researching the legal case filed by the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> corporation alleging theft and illegal sale of its software
|
|
program, Promis. Promis is a program used to track complex litigation,
|
|
but it can also be used to track dissidents and criminal conspiracies.
|
|
Persons involved in several federal agencies are alleged to have
|
|
participated in the illegal use and distribution of Promis. <ent type='PERSON'>Casolaro</ent>
|
|
had nicknamed the government and private conspiracies he perceived
|
|
to be surrounding the <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> case "The Octopus," and had circulated
|
|
a book proposal.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Vaughan</ent> do report that <ent type='PERSON'>Casolaro</ent>, in the course of his
|
|
research, would "head into <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent> for a congressional hearing
|
|
or a meeting with, for example, Danny <ent type='PERSON'>Sheehan</ent> of the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent>--whose '<ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>' could just as easily have been called
|
|
the Octopus." They also mention that <ent type='PERSON'>Casolaro</ent> was working with the
|
|
LaRouchians in gathering information.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Not mentioned in the article is that the LaRouchians funneled
|
|
information to <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Barbara Honneger</ent>, and the
|
|
<special>Spotlight</special>/<ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent> crowd; or that another named source,
|
|
investigator Bill McCoy, also worked with <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> and supplied
|
|
information from the LaRouchians; or that co-author <ent type='PERSON'>Vaughan</ent> works
|
|
at <ent type='ORG'>the <ent type='NORP'>Christic</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent></ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Vaughan</ent> do mention LaRouche's criminal conviction and
|
|
the LaRouchian obsession with conspiracy theories and report, "The
|
|
LaRouchies had ties to the Reagan <ent type='ORG'>White House</ent> and have long run a
|
|
surprisingly elaborate intelligence-gathering operation of their
|
|
own." They do not, however, characterize the LaRouchians as fascists
|
|
or anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semites</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the course of the article a LaRouchian intelligence operative
|
|
is cited along with other sources. Should LaRouchian sources be
|
|
treated differently than any other journalistic source? Again,
|
|
there is no agreement even among alternative journalists. "I have
|
|
great respect for Jim <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent>, but to put any credence in anything
|
|
a LaRouchite has to say is a leap into faith that I can't make,"
|
|
says <special>Voice</special> columnist <ent type='PERSON'>Nat Hentoff</ent>. Another <special>Voice</special> writer, <ent type='PERSON'>Robert</ent>
|
|
I. <ent type='PERSON'>Friedman</ent> says, "The LaRouchians are an anti-<ent type='NORP'>Semitic</ent> conspiracy
|
|
organization. It's a mistake for a journalist to use LaRouchians
|
|
as a source without describing the kind of organization it is."
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> responds that he has characterized the LaRouchians as
|
|
conspiracists, fascists, and neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s in other settings, and he
|
|
thinks most people who read his column already know who the
|
|
LaRouchians are.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> as Victim of Government Repression</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> has picked up support for his campaign to get
|
|
released from prison from a number of right-wing extremists,
|
|
including retired <ent type='ORG'>Air Force</ent> Colonel and intelligence specialist
|
|
Fletcher Prouty, a leading light among ultra-right researchers,
|
|
who also works with the quasi-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Liberty Lobby</ent>. Prouty has issued
|
|
a statement declaring that "instrumentalities of the government
|
|
have hounded" <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and "created wrongs where none existed
|
|
before." The LaRouchians, however, have picked up support for their
|
|
theory of a government conspiracy against <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> from a broader
|
|
spectrum than the political right.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Both <ent type='PERSON'>James Ridgeway</ent> and David MacMichael have reported the allegations
|
|
of the LaRouchians that they are not guilty of financial crimes,
|
|
but the victims of a massive government conspiracy aimed at crushing
|
|
them politically.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent>, in the preface to his book on the U.S. white supremacist
|
|
movement, <special>Blood in the Face</special>, omits <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> from a discussion of
|
|
the "racist far right." Instead, <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> refers to <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> in
|
|
the context of discussing how the collapsed rural economy in the
|
|
1980's distorted the politics of the farm belt and "the whacko
|
|
candidates of <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> LaRouche's party were serious contenders."
|
|
This passing reference to <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> (there is one other bland
|
|
paragraph in the book) places <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> in a discussion mentioning
|
|
serious politicians such as <ent type='PERSON'>Jesse Jackson</ent>, George <ent type='PERSON'>McGovern</ent>, and
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>James Hightower</ent>. This seems to characterize <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> as merely a
|
|
strange and comical player in the electoral arena. <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> says
|
|
that this was not meant to imply <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was not a force in farm
|
|
belt fascism, but that his publisher felt that adding the LaRouchians
|
|
into the book would have confused the issues.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Critics of Ridgeway's view of the LaRouchians, including this
|
|
author, argue that <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> is in fact a neo-<ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent> ideologue who
|
|
should be discussed along with the Ku Klux <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent> and the other white
|
|
racist groups with whom the LaRouchians have associated for years.
|
|
No one is suggesting that <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent>, who has a prodigious track
|
|
record of sound investigative reporting, shares any of the LaRouchian
|
|
viewpoints. But it is legitimate to ask whether or not Ridgeway's
|
|
analysis and treatment of the LaRouchians has perhaps unconsciously
|
|
been influenced by their value to him as a journalistic source of
|
|
information on government misconduct and other issues. Ridegway,
|
|
like other reporters who cover government repression, received
|
|
packets of information from the LaRouchians for many years and
|
|
sometimes relied on the material to develop a story. [f-9] This in
|
|
itself is hardly unique and not necessarily questionable--other
|
|
reporters do likewise.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In one case, however, <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> appears to have relied on <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
material without independently verifying the accuracy of the
|
|
material.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On May 17, 1988 <ent type='PERSON'>James Ridgeway</ent> penned a lengthy article in the
|
|
<special><ent type='ORG'>Village Voice</ent></special> titled "<ent type='PERSON'>Dueling Spymasters</ent>: How the Government
|
|
Bungled the Case Against <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Even a careful reading of the <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> article leaves the impression
|
|
that when a federal judge declared a mistrial in the <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> fraud
|
|
case against <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and several colleagues, it was caused by
|
|
government misconduct. This is what the LaRouchians contend--but
|
|
not what the judge said. <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and his associates were
|
|
on trial in <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> for an alleged credit card scam. The mistrial
|
|
declared by U.S. <ent type='ORG'>Federal District Court</ent> Judge <ent type='PERSON'>Robert</ent> E. <ent type='PERSON'>Keeton</ent> came
|
|
after complaints of hardship were voiced by more than one third of
|
|
the jurors who had been told the trial would end in early summer,
|
|
and then learned it could stretch through the end of the year. The
|
|
judge declared the mistrial because he feared a continuation of
|
|
the trial would be a waste of time and money due to the real
|
|
possibility that the number of jurors would fall below the legal
|
|
limit before the trial ended.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While there was substantial evidence that the Justice Department
|
|
may have improperly withheld documents relating to <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> in
|
|
pre-trial discovery, a lengthy hearing resulted in a ruling that
|
|
the documents had no bearing on the criminal charges. According to
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent>, "the proceedings had revealed...<ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent> agents planting
|
|
obstruction of justice evidence on <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>." This is what the
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> attorneys sought to prove--and given the history of the
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent>, Justice Department and other government bureaucracies, such
|
|
an allegation was not far-fetched--but no hard evidence to prove
|
|
that claim had been introduced in court at the time of the mistrial.
|
|
In fact, the prosecution was still presenting its case. Further,
|
|
the delay of the trial which caused the juror hardship was caused
|
|
not only by lengthy side hearings into the document and informant
|
|
questions, but by numerous challenges and extended cross examinations
|
|
by the phalanx of defense attorneys representing <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, his
|
|
associates and their organizations.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Legal actions by both federal and local agencies against <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
for questionable fundraising and financial practices commenced
|
|
years before the flap over <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate and the well-publicized
|
|
airport assault involving <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> partisans and <ent type='PERSON'>Henry Kissinger</ent>,
|
|
who was traveling with his wife. Furthermore, there is a virtual
|
|
army of persons who claim to have been swindled and victimized by
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>-related organizations. <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> offers no evidence the
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> criminal case was a result of the government being out to
|
|
get <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> any more than it is out to get any person accused of
|
|
being a common crook.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The "seeds of the government's investigation" were not planted by
|
|
a petulant <ent type='PERSON'>Henry Kissinger</ent>, as <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> asserts, but by hundreds
|
|
of persons who claimed to have found unauthorized credit card
|
|
charges on their monthly statements at a time in 1984 when <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
was buying half-hour presidential campaign spots on network
|
|
television. The grand jury which indicted <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> heard evidence
|
|
from angry credit card holders, not <ent type='PERSON'>Henry Kissinger</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Yet <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> is correct is asserting that there was government
|
|
misconduct against the LaRouchians which surfaced as part of the
|
|
case. That the government shut down the LaRouchian publications as
|
|
part of its probe into loan fraud and tax evasion was a civil
|
|
liberties outrage, and the action was later rightfully declared
|
|
unconstitutional. This abuse of government power, however, had no
|
|
bearing on the evidence which convicted <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> and his followers
|
|
of the charges in the <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent> indictments.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There is no debate that <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was a little fish in the cloudy
|
|
waters trolled by U.S. intelligence agencies. But when <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
hired informants and self-styled intelligence operatives such as
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ryan Quade Emerson</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Mitch</ent>ell WerBell, and <ent type='PERSON'>Roy Frankhouser</ent>, he was
|
|
aware he was opening a Pandora's box filled with smoke and mirrors,
|
|
double-dealing, and betrayal. WerBell, for instance, was a former
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>OSS</ent> officer and international arms merchant. <ent type='PERSON'>Frankhouser</ent> was a
|
|
well-known government informant and Ku Klux <ent type='ORG'>Klan</ent> organizer. While
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> may have been belatedly frozen out of an active role in
|
|
Reagan Administration intelligence functions, to conclude that his
|
|
former allies turned up as government witnesses through a conspiracy
|
|
to isolate <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> the "Spymaster" was a fanciful but unsubstantiated
|
|
charge. A more likely explanation is that they turned up as witnesses
|
|
against <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> in an attempt to keep themselves out of jail.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> also describes <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> without mentioning LaRouche's
|
|
notorious anti-<ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> sentiments. <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>, for instance, has
|
|
claimed there is no such thing as <ent type='NORP'>Jewish</ent> culture, and that "only"
|
|
a million and a half <ent type='NORP'>Jews</ent> perished at the hands of the <ent type='NORP'>Nazi</ent>s, and
|
|
then primarily due to illness and overwork.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A letter criticizing <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> for publishing LaRouchian assertions
|
|
as fact was published in the May 31, 1988 issue of the <special>Voice</special> over
|
|
the signatures of this author and journalists <ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent>, Joel
|
|
Bellman, <ent type='PERSON'>Bryan Chitwood</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Dennis King</ent>, Ed Kayatt, and <ent type='PERSON'>Kalev Pehme</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>David MacMichael is the editor of <special><ent type='ORG'>Unclassified</ent></special>, the newsletter
|
|
of the Association of <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security Alumni (<ent type='ORG'>ANSA</ent>). In the
|
|
Feb.-March, 1991 edition of <special><ent type='ORG'>Unclassified</ent></special>, MacMichael casually
|
|
cites unnamed <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> sources in an article about a dismissed case
|
|
involving <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate figures Oliver <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Joseph Fernandez</ent>,
|
|
"<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> sources point out that Prosecutor <ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Burch</ent> was not
|
|
particularly diligent in arguing his case. They note that <ent type='PERSON'>Burch</ent>
|
|
has been active in the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> prosecutions."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the October-November 1990 issue of <special><ent type='ORG'>Unclassified</ent></special>, MacMichael
|
|
presents the same story of intrigue previously reported by <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent>.
|
|
MacMichael also mentions the LaRouchian competition with the
|
|
"<ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>-Secord enterprise for donations from wealthy individuals,"
|
|
implying it was connected to the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> criminal prosecutions.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is true that the Oliver <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent> network targeted the LaRouchians
|
|
for investigation, when <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> fundraising, especially to rich
|
|
older <ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent>, was found to be hampering private fundraising
|
|
efforts for the <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>s. There is, however, no conclusive evidence
|
|
that the <ent type='PERSON'>North</ent>/Secord political investigation of <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> influenced
|
|
the <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> or <ent type='GPE'>Virginia</ent> criminal investigations or indictments.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Numerous criminal and civil actions against illegal <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>
|
|
financial activities were launched as early as the late 1970's.
|
|
One such probe was initiated by the <ent type='GPE'>Illinois</ent> State Attorney General
|
|
on the basis of an article by this author charging irregularities
|
|
in LaRouchian financial activities. The article was based on several
|
|
boxes of original office and bank records. [f-10] In 1979 and 1980,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Dennis King</ent> published documented charges of widespread LaRouchian
|
|
financial misconduct in a series of articles in <ent type='GPE'>New York</ent>'s <Our
|
|
Town>, a neighborhood newspaper. Several articles were based on
|
|
secret internal <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> memos and financial records obtained by
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>King</ent> from sources close to the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> operation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>On December 16, 1981, <ent type='PERSON'>Dennis King</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Russ Bellant</ent>, and this author
|
|
held a press conference in <ent type='GPE'>Washington</ent>, D.C. charging the LaRouchians
|
|
with "a wide variety of potentially illegal activities," including:
|
|
carrying out intelligence tasks for several foreign governments,
|
|
including <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>South Africa</ent>; conducting a pattern of "illegal,
|
|
deceitful and fraudulent activities by non-profit corporations,
|
|
foundations and fundraising front groups controlled by <ent type='PERSON'>Lyndon</ent>
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> grand jury was already investigating illegal LaRouchian
|
|
fundraising practices well before <ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent> and neo-<ent type='NORP'>conservatives</ent>
|
|
forced the Reagan Administration to stop access by LaRouchians to
|
|
the staff at the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security Council and <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>. It is not likely
|
|
that <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was the victim of a conspiracy to indict him falsely
|
|
for crimes. What is more likely is that after <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> was forced
|
|
out as a marginal player in Reagan intelligence circles, his immense
|
|
criminal fundraising schemes could no longer be ignored, and some
|
|
of the numerous probes into his many frauds finally were allowed
|
|
to proceed to court.Certainly both MacMichael and <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> have a
|
|
right to report what they wish, and draw any conclusions they feel
|
|
are warranted by the facts. But to report the <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> side of the
|
|
story of the government's criminal indictments without historical
|
|
context is to give an imprimatur to the unsubstantiated--and widely
|
|
disputed--LaRouchian allegations claiming that LaRouche's conviction
|
|
was the result of a government conspiracy to deny him his political
|
|
rights. This in turn is used by the LaRouchians to gain sympathy
|
|
and worm their way into left political circles, especially among
|
|
students, where the LaRouchians' long history of fascist attacks
|
|
on left groups is unknown.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> Some <ent type='ORG'>Criteria</ent> for Discussion</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Circulating information from (and in essence for) the right without
|
|
an accompanying principled criticism and analysis of intent
|
|
accomplishes several things. It:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Builds the left group's reputation as an independent and
|
|
resourceful information gatherer;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Gives information credibility as being from the left rather
|
|
than the right by laundering original sources;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Advances often unstated implicit rightist agendas;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Protects the rightist group from punitive attack by the right
|
|
or the government since information is perceived as coming from
|
|
left;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Results in a conscious or unconscious reluctance by the left
|
|
group to criticize the right group for fear of having information
|
|
flow cut off.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is important both journalistically and politically to know the
|
|
source of information in order to consider the ulterior motives
|
|
and possible implications of the information being circulated.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>We certainly shouldn't let the right set our research agenda through
|
|
leaks but contact with the right seems inevitable and often proper
|
|
and useful. Since persons on the left have contacts with the right
|
|
for varied and complex reasons, one blanket criticism is neither
|
|
sufficient, nor helpful. We do need to think through policies.
|
|
What then are the principled conditions for contact with the right?
|
|
Keep in mind that we all need to work in coalitions while maintaining
|
|
independent political analysis and ability to criticize freely.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some suggested points of principle might include:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Do not trade potentially harmful information on left groups
|
|
with the right. Only trade information on government abuses and on
|
|
other right groups;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Double check and double source all stories;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Name the group or sector supplying the information and provide
|
|
an honest thumbnail political sketch;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Consider why information is being passed by the group and make
|
|
that part of the analysis or story;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Condemn flaws in all groups concerned;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Do not refer people to rightist networks without warning them
|
|
of the nature of the source, and allowing them to make a principled
|
|
moral decision whether or not to seek the information through that
|
|
group.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Flaws of Logic, Fallacies of Debate</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>With so much political confusion, it becomes vital to keep in mind
|
|
that there are some useful ways to evaluate the validity of political
|
|
arguments regardless of their political viewpoint.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Useful standards by which to judge the rational merits of any
|
|
statement or theory are easily found in textbooks on debate,
|
|
rhetoric, argument, and logic. These books discuss which techniques
|
|
of argumentation are not valid because they fail to follow the
|
|
rules of logic. Among the more common fallacious techniques or
|
|
inadequate proofs:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Raising the volume, increasing the stridency, or stressing the
|
|
emotionalism of an argument does not improve its validity. This is
|
|
called argument by exhortation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** <ent type='ORG'>Sequence</ent> does not imply causation. If <ent type='PERSON'>Joan</ent> is elected to the
|
|
board of directors of a bank on May 1, and <ent type='PERSON'>Raul</ent> gets a loan on July
|
|
26, further evidence is needed to prove a direct or causal connection.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Anecdotes alone are not conclusive evidence. Anecdotes are
|
|
used to illustrate a thesis, not to prove it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Association does not imply agreement, hence the term guilt by
|
|
association has a pejorative meaning. Association proves association;
|
|
it suggests further questions are appropriate, and demonstrates
|
|
the parameters of networks, coalitions, and personal moral
|
|
distinctions, nothing more.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Participation in an activity, or presence at an event, does
|
|
not imply control.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Congruence in one or more elements does not establish congruence
|
|
in all elements. <ent type='PERSON'>Gloria Steinem</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Jeane Kirkpatrick</ent> are both
|
|
intelligent, assertive women accomplished in political rhetoric.
|
|
To assume they therefore also agree politically would be ludicrous.
|
|
If milk is white and powdered chalk is white, would you drink a
|
|
glass of powdered chalk?</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>*** Similarity in activity does not imply joint activity and joint
|
|
activity does not imply congruent motivation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>When a person serves in an official advisory role or acts in a
|
|
position of responsibility within a group, however, the burden of
|
|
proof shifts to favor a presumption that such a person is not a
|
|
mere member or associate, but probably embraces a considerable
|
|
portion of the sentiments expressed by the group. Still, even
|
|
members of boards of directors will distance themselves from a
|
|
particular stance adopted by a group they oversee, and therefore
|
|
it is not legitimate to assume automatically that they personally
|
|
hold a view expressed by the group or other board members. It is
|
|
legitimate to assert that they need to distance themselves publicly
|
|
from a particular organizational position if they wish to disassociate
|
|
themselves from it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> Techniques of the Propagandist</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In 1923 Edward L. <ent type='PERSON'>Bernays</ent> wrote the book <Crystalizing Public
|
|
Opinion> and later, in 1928, the text <special>Propaganda</special>, considered
|
|
seminal works in the field. "There is propaganda and what I call
|
|
impropaganda," says the 98-year-old <ent type='PERSON'>Bernays</ent> impishly. Propaganda
|
|
originally meant promoting any idea or item, but took on its current
|
|
pejorative sense following the extensive use of sinister propaganda
|
|
for malicious goals during <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> I and <ent type='ORG'>World</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> II. While all
|
|
persuasion uses the techniques of traditional propaganda, what
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bernays</ent> calls "impropaganda" is "using propaganda techniques not
|
|
in accordance with good sense, good faith, or good morals...methods
|
|
not consistent with the <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n pattern of behavior based on
|
|
Judeo-<ent type='NORP'>Christian</ent> ethics." <ent type='PERSON'>Bernays</ent>, who is called the "father of
|
|
public relations," is worried about the increased use of "impropaganda"
|
|
in political campaigns and has spoken out against it. "Politicians
|
|
who use techniques like these lose the faith of the people," says
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bernays</ent>.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In 1936 <ent type='GPE'>Boston</ent> merchant <ent type='PERSON'>Edward Filene</ent> helped establish the short-lived <ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> for Propaganda Analysis which sought to educate
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>ns to recognize propaganda techniques. Alfred McClung Lee,
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Institute</ent> director from 1940-42, and his wife <ent type='PERSON'>Elizabeth Briant Lee</ent>,
|
|
co-authors of <The Fine Art of Propaganda, Social Problems in
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>>, recently wrote an article in the periodical <Propaganda
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Rev</ent>iew> in which they suggested educating the public about propaganda
|
|
techniques was an urgent priority. The <ent type='ORG'>Lees</ent> also discussed the
|
|
Institute's symbols for the seven hallmark tricks of the manipulative
|
|
propagandist:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Name Calling: hanging a bad label on an idea, symbolized by a hand
|
|
turning thumbs down;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Card Stacking</ent>: selective use of facts or outright falsehoods,
|
|
symbolized by an ace of spades, a card signifying treachery;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Band Wagon: a claim that everyone like <special>us</special> thinks this way,
|
|
symbolized by a marching bandleader's hat and baton;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Testimonial: the association of a respected or hated person with
|
|
an idea, symbolized by a seal and ribbon stamp of approval;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Plain Folks</ent>: a technique whereby the idea and its proponents are
|
|
linked to "people just like you and me," symbolized by an old shoe;</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Transfer: an assertion of a connection between something valued or
|
|
hated and the idea or commodity being discussed, symbolized by a
|
|
smiling <ent type='NORP'>Greek</ent> theatre mask; and</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Glittering Generality: an association of something with a "virtue
|
|
word" to gain approval without examining the evidence; symbolized
|
|
by a sparkling gem.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The Institute's last newsletter reflected that "in modern society
|
|
an element of propaganda is present in a large portion of human
|
|
affairs...people need to be able to recognize this element even
|
|
when it is serving 'good' ends."</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> Some Examples</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here are two examples of how the fallacies of debate and errors of
|
|
logic are employed regarding General <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent>, a man whose
|
|
roles in <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent>gate and world fascist movements are already
|
|
well documented, and need no discussion here.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>General <ent type='PERSON'>John</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent> was involved in promoting the yellow ribbon
|
|
campaign during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>. He was one of dozens of influential
|
|
people who formed the <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent> for <ent type='GPE'>America</ent> at Risk. That <ent type='ORG'>Coalition</ent>
|
|
was one of at least ten other major national groups promoting the
|
|
yellow ribbon campaign, including veterans groups with tens of
|
|
thousands of members nationwide. Families of service personnel have
|
|
been tying yellow ribbons on trees in anticipation of the safe
|
|
return of their active duty relatives ever since this military
|
|
tradition which dates to the Civil <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> was revived during the
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Vietnam</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent>, in part due to a popular song. To suggest, as some
|
|
do, that <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent> created the yellow ribbon campaign as a continuation
|
|
of his nefarious role in <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> fundraising is to stretch credulity
|
|
beyond the breaking point.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Another case involving <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent> shows how a series of individual
|
|
facts from underlying footnotes can be strung together so that the
|
|
conclusions are not accurate because they fail the tests of deductive
|
|
logic. <The <ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent> <ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> Connection: <ent type='ORG'>Secret Team</ent>s and Covert Operations
|
|
in the Reagan Era>, combines into one book chapters written by
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Jonathan Marshall</ent>, <ent type='PERSON'>Peter Dale Scott</ent> and Jane Hunter. On page 67 in
|
|
a chapter written by <ent type='PERSON'>Peter Dale Scott</ent> it is asserted that the
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent> organization "previously posed as left-wing but in fact
|
|
harassed anti-nuclear and other left-wing demonstrations with the
|
|
help of the right-wing domestic intelligence group known since 1979
|
|
as <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent> Goals." It is documented that the LaRouchians spied on
|
|
and harassed the left, and it is documented that <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent> Goals
|
|
spied on and harassed the left, but it does not automatically follow
|
|
that they worked together to spy on and harass the left.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The evidence linking the two groups is this: General <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent>, at
|
|
the time on the board of <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent> Goals, once lectured to a group
|
|
that included some LaRouchians at a training center run by <ent type='GPE'>Mitch</ent>
|
|
WerBell. <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent> met LaRouchians from time to time when he visited
|
|
WerBell, who served as an intelligence adviser to <ent type='PERSON'>LaRouche</ent>. The
|
|
LaRouchians in 1977 gave <ent type='ORG'>the New Hampshire</ent> State Police background
|
|
material on anti-nuclear activists including several pages from a
|
|
private <ent type='PERSON'>Rees</ent> newsletter. At the time, <ent type='PERSON'>Rees</ent> was not connected to
|
|
<ent type='NORP'>Western</ent> Goals. In fact, <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent> Goals had not as yet been founded.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>That both the LaRouchians and <ent type='PERSON'>Rees</ent> have spied on the left is both
|
|
documented and a matter of some bragging by both parties. That the
|
|
LaRouchians spied on and harassed the left with help from <ent type='NORP'>Western</ent>
|
|
Goals is unsubstantiated, and faces conflicting evidence. In fact,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Rees</ent> and the LaRouchians have despised each other for years, and
|
|
denounce each other regularly in print, gleefully sending nasty
|
|
information about each other to reporters, including this author.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>It is common for <ent type='PERSON'>Singlaub</ent> and other figures criticized by the left
|
|
to point to the inaccurate and unsubstantiated charges leveled
|
|
against them by their critics as a means to deflect the charges
|
|
that are well documented. The use of fallacious arguments and the
|
|
circulation of unsubstantiated conclusionary charges in an area of
|
|
research such as government repression or intelligence abuse
|
|
undermines the credibility of the whole area of research. It makes
|
|
the job all the harder for cautious progressive researchers, whose
|
|
work becomes suspect in the eyes of mainstream reporters and broad
|
|
audiences.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> <ent type='PERSON'>Harry Martin</ent> and Propaganda Techniques</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Harry V. <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> is the editor of the <special>Napa Sentinel</special>. His articles
|
|
on government corruption have gained popularity on the left. An
|
|
analysis of the content and style of the <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> articles raises
|
|
questions about his credibility as a reporter. <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> uses classic
|
|
leaps of logic and propaganda techniques in his reporting. This
|
|
section will look at several articles which <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> has written
|
|
concerning the pending <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> court case.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent>, a small computer company, developed a very sensitive computer
|
|
program, Promis, which <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> alleges was appropriated without
|
|
authorization by the U.S. Justice Department and other government
|
|
agencies. Promis software was an early contender in case management
|
|
software, but by no means unique. Several vendors at the time Promis
|
|
was being offered also offered similar case tracking software. It
|
|
can be argued that at the time Promis was indeed ahead of its
|
|
competitors in many key features, but today <ent type='ORG'>Lotus Agenda</ent> with its
|
|
case tracking overlay is just as powerful. [f-11]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Martin's <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> stories use the classical propaganda technique of
|
|
stringing together chronological events and implying that one causes
|
|
the other. One story, for example, which looks at the role governmental
|
|
retribution may have played in the failure to re-appoint to the
|
|
bench one judge, <ent type='PERSON'>George Bason</ent>, whose rulings has supported Inslaw's
|
|
position. Martin's article assumes allegations it needs to establish.
|
|
He says:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"As a result of the <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> cases, many heads in the Justice Department
|
|
were lopped off. When Judge <ent type='PERSON'>George Bason</ent>, a bankruptcy court judge,
|
|
refused to liquidate <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent>, ruling instead that <ent type='ORG'>the Department</ent> of
|
|
Justice used deceit, trickery and fraud, he was only one of four
|
|
who were not re-appointed to their jobs. A total of 132 were
|
|
re-appointed. But to show the collusion of the Justice Department,
|
|
when it removed Judge <ent type='PERSON'>Bason</ent> from the bench after his ruling against
|
|
them and for <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent>, they had S. <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Teel</ent> appointed to the bench
|
|
to replace <ent type='PERSON'>Bason</ent>. Who was <ent type='PERSON'>Teel</ent>? He was a Department of Justice
|
|
attorney who unsuccessfully argued the <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> case before Judge
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bason</ent>. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Certainly the failure of Judge <ent type='PERSON'>Bason</ent> to be re-appointed after ruling
|
|
in favor of <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> is curious. A good reporter would seek evidence
|
|
to show that there was a connection between the <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> case and
|
|
the failure to re-appoint Judge <ent type='PERSON'>Bason</ent>. That one event followed the
|
|
other is not this proof. The same situation applies to <ent type='PERSON'>Teel</ent>. The
|
|
sequence is curious but the cause and effect relationship remains
|
|
unproven.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> also makes extensive use of arguments by exhortation, which
|
|
are arguments based more on emotion that on reason. For example,
|
|
he claims:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"An official of the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i government claims [a person] sold the
|
|
Promis program to <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent>i military intelligence at a meeting in
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Santiago</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Chile</ent>. The software could have been used in the recent
|
|
Persian <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent> to track U.S. and allied troop movements. Ari
|
|
Ben-Menashe, a 12 year veteran of <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i intelligence, made the
|
|
statement in a sworn affidavit to the court. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>When <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> claims the software could have been used against the
|
|
U.S. during <ent type='EVENT'>the <ent type='LOC'>Gulf</ent> <ent type='EVENT'>War</ent></ent>, he is using jingoistic appeals to emotion
|
|
rather than reason to garner support for his position. He is
|
|
deliberately painting a picture of the possible deaths of U.S.
|
|
soldiers as a direct result of the purported theft of the Promis
|
|
software program by U.S. government agencies. That software also
|
|
could have been used to track hamburger shipments by Mc<ent type='PERSON'>Don</ent>alds, or
|
|
alternatively, troop movements could have been tracked by <ent type='ORG'>Lotus</ent>
|
|
AGENDA rather than Promis. It is hype, and misleading, to single
|
|
out the one possibility that suits his political ends.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>There are other misleading statement in the paragraph quoted above.
|
|
For example, Ari Ben-Menashe was hardly "an official of the <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i
|
|
government." He was at best an <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i intelligence staffer who
|
|
became a player in the international arms trade, and even that has
|
|
been contested. Martin's inflation of Ben-Menashe's status serves
|
|
to condemn the entire <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent>i government in a way that a discussion
|
|
based on Ben-Menashe's actual status would not have done. Another
|
|
example is Martin's emphasis on the fact that Ari Ben-Menashe "made
|
|
the statement in a sworn affidavit to the court." As anyone who
|
|
has worked on legal cases can attest, sworn statements carry no
|
|
guarantee that they are truthful or factual. Absent documentation
|
|
or corroborating testimony, they stand as allegations, not facts.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the same article, <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> goes on to claim that Promis is now
|
|
being used by the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, the <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security Agency, the Defense
|
|
Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Department of Justice. In fact,
|
|
these are unproven allegations that are being presented as though
|
|
they were facts. They may indeed be proven at some point, but have
|
|
not yet been proven. The technique of first presenting allegations,
|
|
then later referring to them as facts, is a classic propaganda
|
|
technique. A closer examination of Martin's presentation reveals
|
|
that the claimed use of the software by these U.S. government
|
|
agencies is actually an allegation from Ben-Menashe's affidavit,
|
|
in which Ben-Menashe claims he was told by a third party that this
|
|
was true. Legally, this is hearsay, which is typically inadmissible
|
|
in court as evidence. Nevertheless, <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> converts this hearsay
|
|
allegation into a statement of fact. But <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> is not through with
|
|
his daisy chain of proof.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Still utilizing unproven assertions, <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> goes on to expand the
|
|
cast of villains from a few corrupt officials of the Justice
|
|
Department to the entire U.S. government. He writes:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"[The] Judiciary Committee is conducting its own investigation in
|
|
what has been described as the U.S. Department of Justice's "trickery,
|
|
deceit and theft" of the software. The U.S. Government has been
|
|
connected with the illegal sale of the sensitive software to South
|
|
Korea, <ent type='GPE'>Libya</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Iraq</ent>, <ent type='GPE'>Israel</ent> and <ent type='GPE'>Canada</ent>, as well as being pirated by
|
|
a number of U.S. agencies, including the <ent type='ORG'>CIA</ent>, <ent type='ORG'>Nation</ent>al Security
|
|
Agency and other military units. The software is also in use by
|
|
the <ent type='ORG'>FBI</ent>. Only the U.S. Justice Department was licensed to use the
|
|
software... "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>>From a proposition of criminal or unethical conduct by individuals
|
|
within the Justice Department, a proposition itself unproven, <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent>
|
|
moves on to argue the existence of an international conspiracy,
|
|
led by the U.S. government to steal and distribute Promis software.
|
|
While such a claim could later be proven, <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> here merely presents
|
|
the allegation as though it were true, a technique known as a
|
|
"conclusionary" or "Kierkegaardian" leap.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>One final example of Martin's tendency to confuse unproven allegations
|
|
with established matters of fact can be found in Martin's treatment
|
|
of <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent>, a computer software technician who has submitted
|
|
a sworn affidavit in the <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> case. <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> has claimed that
|
|
he was threatened by a former staff member of the Justice Department
|
|
with criminal prosecution on an unrelated charge and with an
|
|
unfavorable result in a pending child custody dispute if he testified
|
|
on the <ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> case. <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> has also claimed that he made a
|
|
tape recording of the telephoned threat, two copies of which were
|
|
confiscated when he was arrested. Although he has not produced it,
|
|
he claims a third copy exists, which is being held in a safe
|
|
location. When <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> discusses <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent>, he begins with what
|
|
appears to be a statement of uncontested fact, "In February,
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> was called by a former Justice Department official
|
|
and warned against cooperating with an investigation into the case
|
|
by the <ent type='ORG'>House</ent> Judiciary Committee." In fact, while some of what
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> has alleged can be verified, much cannot. Despite the
|
|
plethora of details <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> presents, the entire content of Martin's
|
|
story on <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> is composed of Riconoscuito's own unverified
|
|
assertions or other unproven allegations made in the early stages
|
|
of a lawsuit.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> has also been championed as a source by the LaRouchians
|
|
who say they introduced <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent> to <ent type='PERSON'>Danny Casolaro</ent>, according
|
|
to the <special><ent type='ORG'>Village Voice</ent></special> article by <ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Vaughan</ent>. Anyone
|
|
reading that article carefully will get the idea that authors
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Ridgeway</ent> and <ent type='PERSON'>Vaughan</ent> think that some of the <ent type='PERSON'>Riconoscuito</ent>/<ent type='PERSON'>Casolaro</ent>
|
|
allegations are unsubstantiated and reflect undocumented conspiracy
|
|
theories.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>These few examples buttress the assertion that <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent> is not a
|
|
reliable source of information. A careful reading of all the <ent type='ORG'>Martin</ent>
|
|
<ent type='ORG'>Inslaw</ent> articles reveals many other instances of fallacious argument
|
|
and propaganda technique. Questions regarding <ent type='PERSON'>Harry Martin</ent>'s
|
|
judgement and political orientation are also raised by the fact
|
|
that he has allowed his articles to appear regularly in the
|
|
<special>Spotlight</special>[f-12]</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> Conclusions</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"When we destroy international Fascism we must at the same time
|
|
destroy national Fascism, we must replace the reactionary forces
|
|
at home with truly <ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> forces which will represent all of
|
|
us. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>(<ent type='PERSON'>George Seldes</ent> )</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>(<special>Facts and Fascism</special>, 1943 )</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>We suffer in the U.S. from an unfortunate reluctance to recognize
|
|
and name the resurgence of fascist ideology around the world. In
|
|
part this is because we are not taught in our schools what fascism
|
|
was or is. We hold ourselves up as a model of democracy while half
|
|
the eligible citizens rarely feel motivated to vote, and we are
|
|
bombarded with advertising that tells us that freedom is the ability
|
|
to purchase four different varieties of Coca-Cola at 7-11.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Some have argued that the main potential threat of fascism comes
|
|
from a bipartisan government increasingly willing to employ repressive
|
|
and authoritarian solutions to societal problems during a time of
|
|
economic decline. <ent type='ORG'>Political</ent> analyst <ent type='PERSON'>William</ent> <ent type='PERSON'>Pfaff</ent> is one of the
|
|
few mainstream analysts who warns that an unconscious strain of
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n fascism is influencing national affairs. Writing in the
|
|
<special><ent type='GPE'>Chicago</ent> Tribune</special> with a <ent type='GPE'>Paris</ent> dateline of March, 1987, <ent type='PERSON'>Pfaff</ent>
|
|
concluded that the actions of the Reagan Administration during the
|
|
<ent type='GPE'>Iran</ent>-<ent type='ORG'>Contra</ent> scandal revealed "a pattern of conduct and a state of
|
|
mind among important people in this administration which must be
|
|
described as an <ent type='GPE'>America</ent>n style of fascism. I would prefer to avoid
|
|
that term, but it is the only one in the modern political vocabulary
|
|
that adequately describes" the situation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Given the upsurge of nationalism, jingoistic patriotism, militarism,
|
|
scapegoating, and race-baiting practiced by both the Reagan and
|
|
<ent type='PERSON'>Bush</ent> Administrations, a discussion of the proto-fascist elements
|
|
in U.S. domestic and foreign policy is not unwarranted. At the same
|
|
time, it is hyperbole to describe the current political climate in
|
|
the U.S. as fascist. Yet it clearly is an error to assume that
|
|
anyone who opposes repressive aspects of U.S. policy is an
|
|
anti-fascist, or upholds <ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> principles.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p> A Painful Task</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The dilemma for left activists is to sort out the various strains
|
|
of fascist ideology circulating in the world and in <ent type='GPE'>the United</ent>
|
|
States. To ignore the threat posed by critics of our government
|
|
who represent overt fascism is a dangerous folly.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While revealing our government's policies as corrupt, we must not
|
|
concede the debate over foreign policy and domestic social justice
|
|
to the demagogues on either the left or the right. If these people
|
|
monopolize the debate, then political discourse in the U.S. will
|
|
soon echo the themes of the fascist era in Europe where hysteria
|
|
and holocaust, blood and bounty, blind patriotism and deaf obedience
|
|
became synonymous with the national spirit.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Author <ent type='PERSON'>George Seldes</ent> reached his 100th birthday in 1990 as the
|
|
early editions of this report were first being researched and
|
|
written. More than half a century earlier, in 1938, <ent type='PERSON'>Seldes</ent> wrote
|
|
<special>You Can't Do That</special>, a book with a prophetic warning about how
|
|
fascism comes to power as the result of a pincer movement between
|
|
authoritarian state repression supported by corporate elites and
|
|
mass movements sparked by ultra-rightist demagogues. <ent type='PERSON'>Seldes</ent> wrote:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"We must guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism,
|
|
especially that patriotism which is the last refuge of scoundrels
|
|
and which is so prevalent, so professional and so well paid nowadays.
|
|
Eternal vigilance must become more than the slogan for small
|
|
associations desperately fighting almost overwhelming cases of
|
|
infringements on individual liberties. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"We must realize that those who use red-baiting to attack every
|
|
liberal and <ent type='NORP'>democratic</ent> movement today, are the armed cutthroats of
|
|
reactionary Fascism tomorrow. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>"Two facts emerge from any study of European turmoil and the new
|
|
class alignment in our own land. The enemy is always the Right.
|
|
Fascism and Reaction inevitably attack. They have won against
|
|
disunion. They will fail if we unite. "</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>While the concept of broad-based peace and social justice coalitions
|
|
remains desirable, activists and their coalitions should be very
|
|
careful to examine the backgrounds and ideologies of those groups
|
|
with which we seek to build coalitions.</p>
|
|
|
|
<div>--------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
|
|
|
|
</xml> |