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NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org wrote:
>
> A Timeline of CIA Atrocities (through 1993) & Beginner's
> Bibliography
>
> Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
>
> Introduction:
>
> This Timeline only goes through 1993, when it was apparently
> composed. But it's a very useful history for those who don't know
> about the early days of the CIA's crimes. It is primarily based on
> William Blum's great book "Killing Hope." To read more from Blum,
> see his website from which
> you an also order his books. Parts of this book, and his others are
> all available to read on his site, http://www.killinghope.org/
> Blum's Books include:
>
> Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2
> Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
> West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir
> Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire
>
> Blum also produces a monthly "Anti-Empire Report" which NY Transfer
> distributes.
>
> Other valuable sources not listed here by Kangas include Philip
> Agee's "Inside the Company: A CIA Diary" (1974) and his later book
> "On the Run," as well as an invaluable book on the Iranian
> Revolution and the US agents among those captured at the American
> Embassy (aka The Nest of Spies) in Tehran on Nov 4, 1979; "Diry
> Work: The CIA in Western Europe" by Agee and Louis Wolf (Editor);
> "Dirty Work 2: The CIA in Africa" edited by Ellen Ray, William
> Schaap, K. Van Meter and Louis Wolf; the periodical "Covert Action
> Information Bulletin" (CAIB), which became the less-frequently
> published and tamer "Covert Action Quarterly" after the Intelligence
> Agents' Identity Protection Action was passed; as well as the
> journal "CounterSpy," somewhat less reliable than CAIB.
>
> There are a host of books on the CIA's secret air war in Laos from
> 1955-1975 and a similar large bibliography just on Vietnam; on
> Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk's "My War with the CIA" (1974); and
> several excellent studies by Alfred McCoy on the CIA's
> guns-for-drugs trade including on The Golden Triangle: "The politics
> of heroin in Southeast Asia."
>
> Other histories are "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence" by Steven
> Marchetti and John Marks (1974); Joseph Burkholder Smith's CIA
> memoir "Portrait of a Cold Warrior" (1976); John Stockwell's "In
> Search of Enemies" (1978), Ralph McGehee's "Deadly Deceits: My 25
> Yeers with the CIA" 1983), which he permitted the CIA to censor,
> alas; David C. Martin's "Wilderness of Mirrors"; a book edited by V.
> Chernyavsky, published in the USSR, called "CIA in the Dock: Soviet
> Journalists on Internationalist Terrorism" (1983); "Blond Ghost" by
> David Corn; numerous books on the CIA's coups and destabilization
> campaigns in Guatemala, Jamaica, Grenada, Nicaragua and Chile -- too
> many to list here -- and whole libraries of books on the decades of
> unsuccessful efforts to reverse Cuba's Revolution.
>
> Finally an invaluable resource online for domestic and foreign
> intelligence is Daniel Brandt's Namebase at http://www.namebase.org
> which includes names, books, articles, and intelligence-related
> cluster analysis diagrams.
>
> On the NSA, the best sources are "The Puzzle Palace" and "Body of
> Secrets" by James Bamford.
>
> Domestic CIA and FBI Operations like MK-ULTRA and COINTELPRO require
> their own bibliographies, but "The Search for the Manchurian
> Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control" (1979), by John Marks is a good
> place to start for MK-ULTRA history. And that's just a beginner's
> reading list.
>
> Serious study of COINTELPRO, other FBI domestic spying, and the
> JFK Assassination are each careers of their own. -NY Transfer
>
>
>
> Liberal Resurgent
> http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/CIAtimeline.html
>
> A Timeline of CIA Atrocities
>
> By Steve Kangas
>
> The following timeline describes just a few of the hundreds of
> atrocities and crimes committed by the CIA. (1)
>
> CIA operations follow the same recurring script. First, American
> business interests abroad are threatened by a popular or
> democratically elected leader. The people support their leader
> because he intends to conduct land reform, strengthen unions,
> redistribute wealth, nationalize foreign-owned industry, and
> regulate business to protect workers, consumers and the environment.
> So, on behalf of American business, and often with their help, the
> CIA mobilizes the opposition. First it identifies right-wing groups
> within the country (usually the military), and offers them a deal:
> "We'll put you in power if you maintain a favorable business climate
> for us." The Agency then hires, trains and works with them to
> overthrow the existing government (usually a democracy). It uses
> every trick in the book: propaganda, stuffed ballot boxes, purchased
> elections, extortion, blackmail, sexual intrigue, false stories
> about opponents in the local media, infiltration and disruption of
> opposing political parties, kidnapping, beating, torture,
> intimidation, economic sabotage, death squads and even
> assassination. These efforts culminate in a military coup, which
> installs a right-wing dictator. The CIA trains the dictators
> security apparatus to crack down on the traditional enemies of big
> business, using interrogation, torture and murder. The victims are
> said to be "communists," but almost always they are just peasants,
> liberals, moderates, labor union leaders, political opponents and
> advocates of free speech and democracy. Widespread human rights
> abuses follow.
>
> This scenario has been repeated so many times that the CIA actually
> teaches it in a special school, the notorious "School of the
> Americas." (It opened in Panama but later moved to Fort Benning,
> Georgia.) Critics have nicknamed it the "School of the Dictators"
> and "School of the Assassins." Here, the CIA trains Latin American
> military officers how to conduct coups, including the use of
> interrogation, torture and murder.
>
> The Association for Responsible Dissent estimates that by 1987, 6
> million people had died as a result of CIA covert operations. (2)
> Former State Department official William Blum correctly calls this
> an "American Holocaust."
>
> The CIA justifies these actions as part of its war against
> communism. But most coups do not involve a communist threat. Unlucky
> nations are targeted for a wide variety of reasons: not only threats
> to American business interests abroad, but also liberal or even
> moderate social reforms, political instability, the unwillingness of
> a leader to carry out Washingtons dictates, and declarations of
> neutrality in the Cold War. Indeed, nothing has infuriated CIA
> Directors quite like a nations desire to stay out of the Cold War.
>
> The ironic thing about all this intervention is that it frequently
> fails to achieve American objectives. Often the newly installed
> dictator grows comfortable with the security apparatus the CIA has
> built for him. He becomes an expert at running a police state. And
> because the dictator knows he cannot be overthrown, he becomes
> independent and defiant of Washington's will. The CIA then finds it
> cannot overthrow him, because the police and military are under the
> dictator's control, afraid to cooperate with American spies for fear
> of torture and execution. The only two options for the U.S at this
> point are impotence or war. Examples of this "boomerang effect"
> include the Shah of Iran, General Noriega and Saddam Hussein. The
> boomerang effect also explains why the CIA has proven highly
> successful at overthrowing democracies, but a wretched failure at
> overthrowing dictatorships.
>
> The following timeline should confirm that the CIA as we know it
> should be abolished and replaced by a true information-gathering and
> analysis organization. The CIA cannot be reformed " it is
> institutionally and culturally corrupt.
>
> 1929
>
> The culture we lost " Secretary of State Henry Stimson refuses to
> endorse a code-breaking operation, saying, "Gentlemen do not read
> each others mail."
>
> 1941
>
> COI created " In preparation for World War II, President Roosevelt
> creates the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI). General
> William "Wild Bill" Donovan heads the new intelligence service.
>
> 1942
>
> OSS created " Roosevelt restructures COI into something more
> suitable for covert action, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
> Donovan recruits so many of the nations rich and powerful that
> eventually people joke that "OSS" stands for "Oh, so social!" or
> "Oh, such snobs!"
>
> 1943
>
> Italy " Donovan recruits the Catholic Church in Rome to be the
> center of Anglo-American spy operations in Fascist Italy. This would
> prove to be one of Americas most enduring intelligence alliances in
> the Cold War.
>
> 1945
>
> OSS is abolished " The remaining American information agencies cease
> covert actions and return to harmless information gathering and
> analysis.
>
> Operation PAPERCLIP " While other American agencies are hunting down
> Nazi war criminals for arrest, the U.S. intelligence community is
> smuggling them into America, unpunished, for their use against the
> Soviets. The most important of these is Reinhard Gehlen, Hitlers
> master spy who had built up an intelligence network in the Soviet
> Union. With full U.S. blessing, he creates the "Gehlen
> Organization," a band of refugee Nazi spies who reactivate their
> networks in Russia. These include SS intelligence officers Alfred
> Six and Emil Augsburg (who massacred Jews in the Holocaust), Klaus
> Barbie (the "Butcher of Lyon"), Otto von Bolschwing (the Holocaust
> mastermind who worked with Eichmann) and SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny (a
> personal friend of Hitlers). The Gehlen Organization supplies the
> U.S. with its only intelligence on the Soviet Union for the next ten
> years, serving as a bridge between the abolishment of the OSS and
> the creation of the CIA. However, much of the "intelligence" the
> former Nazis provide is bogus. Gehlen inflates Soviet military
> capabilities at a time when Russia is still rebuilding its
> devastated society, in order to inflate his own importance to the
> Americans (who might otherwise punish him). In 1948, Gehlen almost
> convinces the Americans that war is imminent, and the West should
> make a preemptive strike. In the 50s he produces a fictitious
> "missile gap." To make matters worse, the Russians have thoroughly
> penetrated the Gehlen Organization with double agents, undermining
> the very American security that Gehlen was supposed to protect.
>
> 1947
>
> Greece " President Truman requests military aid to Greece to support
> right-wing forces fighting communist rebels. For the rest of the
> Cold War, Washington and the CIA will back notorious Greek leaders
> with deplorable human rights records.
>
> CIA created " President Truman signs the National Security Act of
> 1947, creating the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security
> Council. The CIA is accountable to the president through the NSC "
> there is no democratic or congressional oversight. Its charter
> allows the CIA to "perform such other functions and duties] as the
> National Security Council may from time to time direct." This
> loophole opens the door to covert action and dirty tricks.
>
> 1948
>
> Covert-action wing created " The CIA recreates a covert action wing,
> innocuously called the Office of Policy Coordination, led by Wall
> Street lawyer Frank Wisner. According to its secret charter, its
> responsibilities include "propaganda, economic warfare, preventive
> direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and
> evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including
> assistance to underground resistance groups, and support of
> indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the
> free world."
>
> Italy " The CIA corrupts democratic elections in Italy, where
> Italian communists threaten to win the elections. The CIA buys
> votes, broadcasts propaganda, threatens and beats up opposition
> leaders, and infiltrates and disrupts their organizations. It works
> -- the communists are defeated.
>
> 1949
>
> Radio Free Europe " The CIA creates its first major propaganda
> outlet, Radio Free Europe. Over the next several decades, its
> broadcasts are so blatantly false that for a time it is considered
> illegal to publish transcripts of them in the U.S.
>
> Late 40s
>
> Operation MOCKINGBIRD " The CIA begins recruiting American news
> organizations and journalists to become spies and disseminators of
> propaganda. The effort is headed by Frank Wisner, Allan Dulles,
> Richard Helms and Philip Graham. Graham is publisher of The
> Washington Post, which becomes a major CIA player. Eventually, the
> CIAs media assets will include ABC, NBC, CBS, Time, Newsweek,
> Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst
> Newspapers, Scripps-Howard, Copley News Service and more. By the
> CIAs own admission, at least 25 organizations and 400 journalists
> will become CIA assets.
>
> 1953
>
> Iran " CIA overthrows the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh
> in a military coup, after he threatened to nationalize British oil.
> The CIA replaces him with a dictator, the Shah of Iran, whose secret
> police, SAVAK, is as brutal as the Gestapo.
>
> Operation MK-ULTRA " Inspired by North Koreas brainwashing program,
> the CIA begins experiments on mind control. The most notorious part
> of this project involves giving LSD and other drugs to American
> subjects without their knowledge or against their will, causing
> several to commit suicide. However, the operation involves far more
> than this. Funded in part by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations,
> research includes propaganda, brainwashing, public relations,
> advertising, hypnosis, and other forms of suggestion.
>
> 1954
>
> Guatemala " CIA overthrows the democratically elected Jacob Arbenz
> in a military coup. Arbenz has threatened to nationalize the
> Rockefeller-owned United Fruit Company, in which CIA Director Allen
> Dulles also owns stock. Arbenz is replaced with a series of
> right-wing dictators whose bloodthirsty policies will kill over
> 100,000 Guatemalans in the next 40 years.
>
> 1954-1958
>
> North Vietnam " CIA officer Edward Lansdale spends four years trying
> to overthrow the communist government of North Vietnam, using all
> the usual dirty tricks. The CIA also attempts to legitimize a
> tyrannical puppet regime in South Vietnam, headed by Ngo Dinh Diem.
> These efforts fail to win the hearts and minds of the South
> Vietnamese because the Diem government is opposed to true democracy,
> land reform and poverty reduction measures. The CIAs continuing
> failure results in escalating American intervention, culminating in
> the Vietnam War.
>
> 1956
>
> Hungary " Radio Free Europe incites Hungary to revolt by
> broadcasting Khruschevs Secret Speech, in which he denounced Stalin.
> It also hints that American aid will help the Hungarians fight. This
> aid fails to materialize as Hungarians launch a doomed armed revolt,
> which only invites a major Soviet invasion. The conflict kills 7,000
> Soviets and 30,000 Hungarians.
>
> 1957-1973
>
> Laos " The CIA carries out approximately one coup per year trying to
> nullify Laos democratic elections. The problem is the Pathet Lao, a
> leftist group with enough popular support to be a member of any
> coalition government. In the late 50s, the CIA even creates an
> "Armee Clandestine" of Asian mercenaries to attack the Pathet Lao.
> After the CIAs army suffers numerous defeats, the U.S. starts
> bombing, dropping more bombs on Laos than all the U.S. bombs dropped
> in World War II. A quarter of all Laotians will eventually become
> refugees, many living in caves.
>
> 1959
>
> Haiti " The U.S. military helps "Papa Doc" Duvalier become dictator
> of Haiti. He creates his own private police force, the "Tonton
> Macoutes," who terrorize the population with machetes. They will
> kill over 100,000 during the Duvalier family reign. The U.S. does
> not protest their dismal human rights record.
>
> 1961
>
> The Bay of Pigs " The CIA sends 1,500 Cuban exiles to invade Castros
> Cuba. But "Operation Mongoose" fails, due to poor planning, security
> and backing. The planners had imagined that the invasion will spark
> a popular uprising against Castro -" which never happens. A promised
> American air strike also never occurs. This is the CIAs first public
> setback, causing President Kennedy to fire CIA Director Allen
> Dulles.
>
> Dominican Republic " The CIA assassinates Rafael Trujillo, a
> murderous dictator Washington has supported since 1930. Trujillos
> business interests have grown so large (about 60 percent of the
> economy) that they have begun competing with American business
> interests.
>
> Ecuador " The CIA-backed military forces the democratically elected
> President Jose Velasco to resign. Vice President Carlos Arosemana
> replaces him; the CIA fills the now vacant vice presidency with its
> own man.
>
> Congo (Zaire) " The CIA assassinates the democratically elected
> Patrice Lumumba. However, public support for Lumumbas politics runs
> so high that the CIA cannot clearly install his opponents in power.
> Four years of political turmoil follow.
>
> 1963
>
> Dominican Republic " The CIA overthrows the democratically elected
> Juan Bosch in a military coup. The CIA installs a repressive,
> right-wing junta.
>
> Ecuador " A CIA-backed military coup overthrows President Arosemana,
> whose independent (not socialist) policies have become unacceptable
> to Washington. A military junta assumes command, cancels the 1964
> elections, and begins abusing human rights.
>
> 1964
>
> Brazil " A CIA-backed military coup overthrows the democratically
> elected government of Joao Goulart. The junta that replaces it will,
> in the next two decades, become one of the most bloodthirsty in
> history. General Castelo Branco will create Latin Americas first
> death squads, or bands of secret police who hunt down "communists"
> for torture, interrogation and murder. Often these "communists" are
> no more than Brancos political opponents. Later it is revealed that
> the CIA trains the death squads.
>
> 1965
>
> Indonesia " The CIA overthrows the democratically elected Sukarno
> with a military coup. The CIA has been trying to eliminate Sukarno
> since 1957, using everything from attempted assassination to sexual
> intrigue, for nothing more than his declaring neutrality in the Cold
> War. His successor, General Suharto, will massacre between 500,000
> to 1 million civilians accused of being "communist." The CIA
> supplies the names of countless suspects.
>
> Dominican Republic " A popular rebellion breaks out, promising to
> reinstall Juan Bosch as the countrys elected leader. The revolution
> is crushed when U.S. Marines land to uphold the military regime by
> force. The CIA directs everything behind the scenes.
>
> Greece " With the CIAs backing, the king removes George Papandreous
> as prime minister. Papandreous has failed to vigorously support U.S.
> interests in Greece.
>
> Congo (Zaire) " A CIA-backed military coup installs Mobutu Sese Seko
> as dictator. The hated and repressive Mobutu exploits his
> desperately poor country for billions.
>
> 1966
>
> The Ramparts Affair " The radical magazine Ramparts begins a series
> of unprecedented anti-CIA articles. Among their scoops: the CIA has
> paid the University of Michigan $25 million dollars to hire
> "professors" to train South Vietnamese students in covert police
> methods. MIT and other universities have received similar payments.
> Ramparts also reveals that the National Students Association is a
> CIA front. Students are sometimes recruited through blackmail and
> bribery, including draft deferments.
>
> 1967
>
> Greece " A CIA-backed military coup overthrows the government two
> days before the elections. The favorite to win was George
> Papandreous, the liberal candidate. During the next six years, the
> "reign of the colonels" " backed by the CIA " will usher in the
> widespread use of torture and murder against political opponents.
> When a Greek ambassador objects to President Johnson about U.S.
> plans for Cypress, Johnson tells him: "**** your parliament and your
> constitution."
>
> Operation PHEONIX " The CIA helps South Vietnamese agents identify
> and then murder alleged Viet Cong leaders operating in South
> Vietnamese villages. According to a 1971 congressional report, this
> operation killed about 20,000 "Viet Cong."
>
> 1968
>
> Operation CHAOS " The CIA has been illegally spying on American
> citizens since 1959, but with Operation CHAOS, President Johnson
> dramatically boosts the effort. CIA agents go undercover as student
> radicals to spy on and disrupt campus organizations protesting the
> Vietnam War. They are searching for Russian instigators, which they
> never find. CHAOS will eventually spy on 7,000 individuals and 1,000
> organizations.
>
> Bolivia " A CIA-organized military operation captures legendary
> guerilla Che Guevara. The CIA wants to keep him alive for
> interrogation, but the Bolivian government executes him to prevent
> worldwide calls for clemency.
>
> 1969
>
> Uruguay " The notorious CIA torturer Dan Mitrione arrives in
> Uruguay, a country torn with political strife. Whereas right-wing
> forces previously used torture only as a last resort, Mitrione
> convinces them to use it as a routine, widespread practice. "The
> precise pain, in the precise place, in the precise amount, for the
> desired effect," is his motto. The torture techniques he teaches to
> the death squads rival the Nazis. He eventually becomes so feared
> that revolutionaries will kidnap and murder him a year later.
>
> 1970
>
> Cambodia " The CIA overthrows Prince Sahounek, who is highly popular
> among Cambodians for keeping them out of the Vietnam War. He is
> replaced by CIA puppet Lon Nol, who immediately throws Cambodian
> troops into battle. This unpopular move strengthens once minor
> opposition parties like the Khmer Rouge, which achieves power in
> 1975 and massacres millions of its own people.
>
> 1971
>
> Bolivia " After half a decade of CIA-inspired political turmoil, a
> CIA-backed military coup overthrows the leftist President Juan
> Torres. In the next two years, dictator Hugo Banzer will have over
> 2,000 political opponents arrested without trial, then tortured,
> raped and executed.
>
> Haiti " "Papa Doc" Duvalier dies, leaving his 19-year old son "Baby
> Doc" Duvalier the dictator of Haiti. His son continues his bloody
> reign with full knowledge of the CIA.
>
> 1972
>
> The Case-Zablocki Act " Congress passes an act requiring
> congressional review of executive agreements. In theory, this should
> make CIA operations more accountable. In fact, it is only marginally
> effective.
>
> Cambodia " Congress votes to cut off CIA funds for its secret war in
> Cambodia.
>
> Wagergate Break-in " President Nixon sends in a team of burglars to
> wiretap Democratic offices at Watergate. The team members have
> extensive CIA histories, including James McCord, E. Howard Hunt and
> five of the Cuban burglars. They work for the Committee to Reelect
> the President (CREEP), which does dirty work like disrupting
> Democratic campaigns and laundering Nixons illegal campaign
> contributions. CREEPs activities are funded and organized by another
> CIA front, the Mullen Company.
>
> 1973
>
> Chile " The CIA overthrows and assassinates Salvador Allende, Latin
> Americas first democratically elected socialist leader. The problems
> begin when Allende nationalizes American-owned firms in Chile. ITT
> offers the CIA $1 million for a coup (reportedly refused). The CIA
> replaces Allende with General Augusto Pinochet, who will torture and
> murder thousands of his own countrymen in a crackdown on labor
> leaders and the political left.
>
> CIA begins internal investigations " William Colby, the Deputy
> Director for Operations, orders all CIA personnel to report any and
> all illegal activities they know about. This information is later
> reported to Congress.
>
> Watergate Scandal " The CIAs main collaborating newspaper in
> America, The Washington Post, reports Nixons crimes long before any
> other newspaper takes up the subject. The two reporters, Woodward
> and Bernstein, make almost no mention of the CIAs many fingerprints
> all over the scandal. It is later revealed that Woodward was a Naval
> intelligence briefer to the White House, and knows many important
> intelligence figures, including General Alexander Haig. His main
> source, "Deep Throat," is probably one of those.
>
> CIA Director Helms Fired " President Nixon fires CIA Director
> Richard Helms for failing to help cover up the Watergate scandal.
> Helms and Nixon have always disliked each other. The new CIA
> director is William Colby, who is relatively more open to CIA
> reform.
>
> 1974
>
> CHAOS exposed " Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh
> publishes a story about Operation CHAOS, the domestic surveillance
> and infiltration of anti-war and civil rights groups in the U.S. The
> story sparks national outrage.
>
> Angleton fired " Congress holds hearings on the illegal domestic
> spying efforts of James Jesus Angleton, the CIAs chief of
> counterintelligence. His efforts included mail-opening campaigns and
> secret surveillance of war protesters. The hearings result in his
> dismissal from the CIA.
>
> House clears CIA in Watergate " The House of Representatives clears
> the CIA of any complicity in Nixons Watergate break-in.
>
> The Hughes Ryan Act " Congress passes an amendment requiring the
> president to report nonintelligence CIA operations to the relevant
> congressional committees in a timely fashion.
>
> 1975
>
> Australia " The CIA helps topple the democratically elected,
> left-leaning government of Prime Minister Edward Whitlam. The CIA
> does this by giving an ultimatum to its Governor-General, John Kerr.
> Kerr, a longtime CIA collaborator, exercises his constitutional
> right to dissolve the Whitlam government. The Governor-General is a
> largely ceremonial position appointed by the Queen; the Prime
> Minister is democratically elected. The use of this archaic and
> never-used law stuns the nation.
>
> Angola " Eager to demonstrate American military resolve after its
> defeat in Vietnam, Henry Kissinger launches a CIA-backed war in
> Angola. Contrary to Kissingers assertions, Angola is a country of
> little strategic importance and not seriously threatened by
> communism. The CIA backs the brutal leader of UNITAS, Jonas Savimbi.
> This polarizes Angolan politics and drives his opponents into the
> arms of Cuba and the Soviet Union for survival. Congress will cut
> off funds in 1976, but the CIA is able to run the war off the books
> until 1984, when funding is legalized again. This entirely pointless
> war kills over 300,000 Angolans.
>
> "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence" " Victor Marchetti and John
> Marks publish this whistle-blowing history of CIA crimes and abuses.
> Marchetti has spent 14 years in the CIA, eventually becoming an
> executive assistant to the Deputy Director of Intelligence. Marks
> has spent five years as an intelligence official in the State
> Department.
>
> "Inside the Company" " Philip Agee publishes a diary of his life
> inside the CIA. Agee has worked in covert operations in Latin
> America during the 60s, and details the crimes in which he took
> part.
>
> Congress investigates CIA wrong-doing " Public outrage compels
> Congress to hold hearings on CIA crimes. Senator Frank Church heads
> the Senate investigation ("The Church Committee"), and
> Representative Otis Pike heads the House investigation. (Despite a
> 98 percent incumbency reelection rate, both Church and Pike are
> defeated in the next elections.) The investigations lead to a number
> of reforms intended to increase the CIAs accountability to Congress,
> including the creation of a standing Senate committee on
> intelligence. However, the reforms prove ineffective, as the
> Iran/Contra scandal will show. It turns out the CIA can control,
> deal with or sidestep Congress with ease.
>
> The Rockefeller Commission " In an attempt to reduce the damage done
> by the Church Committee, President Ford creates the "Rockefeller
> Commission" to whitewash CIA history and propose toothless reforms.
> The commissions namesake, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, is
> himself a major CIA figure. Five of the commissions eight members
> are also members of the Council on Foreign Relations, a
> CIA-dominated organization.
>
> 1979
>
> Iran " The CIA fails to predict the fall of the Shah of Iran, a
> longtime CIA puppet, and the rise of Muslim fundamentalists who are
> furious at the CIAs backing of SAVAK, the Shahs bloodthirsty secret
> police. In revenge, the Muslims take 52 Americans hostage in the
> U.S. embassy in Tehran.
>
> Afghanistan " The Soviets invade Afghanistan. The CIA immediately
> begins supplying arms to any faction willing to fight the occupying
> Soviets. Such indiscriminate arming means that when the Soviets
> leave Afghanistan, civil war will erupt. Also, fanatical Muslim
> extremists now possess state-of-the-art weaponry. One of these is
> Sheik Abdel Rahman, who will become involved in the World Trade
> Center bombing in New York.
>
> El Salvador " An idealistic group of young military officers,
> repulsed by the massacre of the poor, overthrows the right-wing
> government. However, the U.S. compels the inexperienced officers to
> include many of the old guard in key positions in their new
> government. Soon, things are back to "normal" " the military
> government is repressing and killing poor civilian protesters. Many
> of the young military and civilian reformers, finding themselves
> powerless, resign in disgust.
>
> Nicaragua " Anastasios Samoza II, the CIA-backed dictator, falls.
> The Marxist Sandinistas take over government, and they are initially
> popular because of their commitment to land and anti-poverty reform.
> Samoza had a murderous and hated personal army called the National
> Guard. Remnants of the Guard will become the Contras, who fight a
> CIA-backed guerilla war against the Sandinista government throughout
> the 1980s.
>
> 1980
>
> El Salvador " The Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, pleads
> with President Carter "Christian to Christian" to stop aiding the
> military government slaughtering his people. Carter refuses. Shortly
> afterwards, right-wing leader Roberto DAubuisson has Romero shot
> through the heart while saying Mass. The country soon dissolves into
> civil war, with the peasants in the hills fighting against the
> military government. The CIA and U.S. Armed Forces supply the
> government with overwhelming military and intelligence superiority.
> CIA-trained death squads roam the countryside, committing atrocities
> like that of El Mazote in 1982, where they massacre between 700 and
> 1000 men, women and children. By 1992, some 63,000 Salvadorans will
> be killed.
>
> 1981
>
> Iran/Contra Begins " The CIA begins selling arms to Iran at high
> prices, using the profits to arm the Contras fighting the Sandinista
> government in Nicaragua. President Reagan vows that the Sandinistas
> will be "pressured" until "they say ~uncle." The CIAs Freedom
> Fighters Manual disbursed to the Contras includes instruction on
> economic sabotage, propaganda, extortion, bribery, blackmail,
> interrogation, torture, murder and political assassination.
>
> 1983
>
> Honduras " The CIA gives Honduran military officers the Human
> Resource Exploitation Training Manual " 1983, which teaches how to
> torture people. Honduras notorious "Battalion 316" then uses these
> techniques, with the CIAs full knowledge, on thousands of leftist
> dissidents. At least 184 are murdered.
>
> 1984
>
> The Boland Amendment " The last of a series of Boland Amendments is
> passed. These amendments have reduced CIA aid to the Contras; the
> last one cuts it off completely. However, CIA Director William Casey
> is already prepared to "hand off" the operation to Colonel Oliver
> North, who illegally continues supplying the Contras through the
> CIAs informal, secret, and self-financing network. This includes
> "humanitarian aid" donated by Adolph Coors and William Simon, and
> military aid funded by Iranian arms sales.
>
> 1986
>
> Eugene Hasenfus " Nicaragua shoots down a C-123 transport plane
> carrying military supplies to the Contras. The lone survivor, Eugene
> Hasenfus, turns out to be a CIA employee, as are the two dead
> pilots. The airplane belongs to Southern Air Transport, a CIA front.
> The incident makes a mockery of President Reagans claims that the
> CIA is not illegally arming the Contras.
>
> Iran/Contra Scandal " Although the details have long been known, the
> Iran/Contra scandal finally captures the medias attention in 1986.
> Congress holds hearings, and several key figures (like Oliver North)
> lie under oath to protect the intelligence community. CIA Director
> William Casey dies of brain cancer before Congress can question him.
> All reforms enacted by Congress after the scandal are purely
> cosmetic.
>
> Haiti " Rising popular revolt in Haiti means that "Baby Doc"
> Duvalier will remain "President for Life" only if he has a short
> one. The U.S., which hates instability in a puppet country, flies
> the despotic Duvalier to the South of France for a comfortable
> retirement. The CIA then rigs the upcoming elections in favor of
> another right-wing military strongman. However, violence keeps the
> country in political turmoil for another four years. The CIA tries
> to strengthen the military by creating the National Intelligence
> Service (SIN), which suppresses popular revolt through torture and
> assassination.
>
> 1989
>
> Panama " The U.S. invades Panama to overthrow a dictator of its own
> making, General Manuel Noriega. Noriega has been on the CIAs payroll
> since 1966, and has been transporting drugs with the CIAs knowledge
> since 1972. By the late 80s, Noriegas growing independence and
> intransigence have angered Washington] so out he goes.
>
> 1990
>
> Haiti " Competing against 10 comparatively wealthy candidates,
> leftist priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide captures 68 percent of the
> vote. After only eight months in power, however, the CIA-backed
> military deposes him. More military dictators brutalize the country,
> as thousands of Haitian refugees escape the turmoil in barely
> seaworthy boats. As popular opinion calls for Aristides return, the
> CIA begins a disinformation campaign painting the courageous priest
> as mentally unstable.
>
> 1991
>
> The Gulf War " The U.S. liberates Kuwait from Iraq. But Iraqs
> dictator, Saddam Hussein, is another creature of the CIA. With U.S.
> encouragement, Hussein invaded Iran in 1980. During this costly
> eight-year war, the CIA built up Husseins forces with sophisticated
> arms, intelligence, training and financial backing. This cemented
> Husseins power at home, allowing him to crush the many internal
> rebellions that erupted from time to time, sometimes with poison
> gas. It also gave him all the military might he needed to conduct
> further adventurism " in Kuwait, for example.
>
> The Fall of the Soviet Union " The CIA fails to predict this most
> important event of the Cold War. This suggests that it has been so
> busy undermining governments that it hasnt been doing its primary
> job: gathering and analyzing information. The fall of the Soviet
> Union also robs the CIA of its reason for existence: fighting
> communism. This leads some to accuse the CIA of intentionally
> failing to predict the downfall of the Soviet Union. Curiously, the
> intelligence communitys budget is not significantly reduced after
> the demise of communism.
>
> 1992
>
> Economic Espionage " In the years following the end of the Cold War,
> the CIA is increasingly used for economic espionage. This involves
> stealing the technological secrets of competing foreign companies
> and giving them to American ones. Given the CIAs clear preference
> for dirty tricks over mere information gathering, the possibility of
> serious criminal behavior is very great indeed.
>
> 1993
>
> Haiti " The chaos in Haiti grows so bad that President Clinton has
> no choice but to remove the Haitian military dictator, Raoul Cedras,
> on threat of U.S. invasion. The U.S. occupiers do not arrest Haitis
> military leaders for crimes against humanity, but instead ensure
> their safety and rich retirements. Aristide is returned to power
> only after being forced to accept an agenda favorable to the
> countrys ruling class.
>
> EPILOGUE
>
> In a speech before the CIA celebrating its 50th anniversary,
> President Clinton said: "By necessity, the American people will
> never know the full story of your courage."
>
> Clintons is a common defense of the CIA: namely, the American people
> should stop criticizing the CIA because they dont know what it
> really does. This, of course, is the heart of the problem in the
> first place. An agency that is above criticism is also above moral
> behavior and reform. Its secrecy and lack of accountability allows
> its corruption to grow unchecked.
>
> Furthermore, Clintons statement is simply untrue. The history of the
> agency is growing painfully clear, especially with the
> declassification of historical CIA documents. We may not know the
> details of specific operations, but we do know, quite well, the
> general behavior of the CIA. These facts began emerging nearly two
> decades ago at an ever-quickening pace. Today we have a remarkably
> accurate and consistent picture, repeated in country after country,
> and verified from countless different directions.
>
> The CIAs response to this growing knowledge and criticism follows a
> typical historical pattern. (Indeed, there are remarkable parallels
> to the Medieval Churchs fight against the Scientific Revolution.)
> The first journalists and writers to reveal the CIAs criminal
> behavior were harassed and censored if they were American writers,
> and tortured and murdered if they were foreigners. (See Philip Agees
> On the Run for an example of early harassment.) However, over the
> last two decades the tide of evidence has become overwhelming, and
> the CIA has found that it does not have enough fingers to plug every
> hole in the dike. This is especially true in the age of the
> Internet, where information flows freely among millions of people.
> Since censorship is impossible, the Agency must now defend itself
> with apologetics. Clintons "Americans will never know" defense is a
> prime example.
>
> Another common apologetic is that "the world is filled with unsavory
> characters, and we must deal with them if we are to protect American
> interests at all." There are two things wrong with this. First, it
> ignores the fact that the CIA has regularly spurned alliances with
> defenders of democracy, free speech and human rights, preferring the
> company of military dictators and tyrants. The CIA had moral options
> available to them, but did not take them.
>
> Second, this argument begs several questions. The first is: "Which
> American interests?" The CIA has courted right-wing dictators
> because they allow wealthy Americans to exploit the countrys cheap
> labor and resources. But poor and middle-class Americans pay the
> price whenever they fight the wars that stem from CIA actions, from
> Vietnam to the Gulf War to Panama. The second begged question is:
> "Why should American interests come at the expense of other peoples
> human rights?"
>
> The CIA should be abolished, its leadership dismissed and its
> relevant members tried for crimes against humanity. Our intelligence
> community should be rebuilt from the ground up, with the goal of
> collecting and analyzing information. As for covert action, there
> are two moral options. The first one is to eliminate covert action
> completely. But this gives jitters to people worried about the Adolf
> Hitlers of the world. So a second option is that we can place covert
> action under extensive and true democratic oversight. For example, a
> bipartisan Congressional Committee of 40 members could review and
> veto all aspects of CIA operations upon a majority or super-majority
> vote. Which of these two options is best may be the subject of
> debate, but one thing is clear: like dictatorship, like monarchy,
> unaccountable covert operations should die like the dinosaurs they
> are.
>
>
> Endnotes:
>
> 1. All history concerning CIA intervention in foreign countries is
> summarized from William Blums encyclopedic work, "Killing Hope: U.S.
> Military and CIA Interventions since World War II" (Monroe, Maine:
> Common Courage Press, 1995).
>
> Sources for domestic CIA operations come from Jonathan Vankin and
> John Whalens "The 60 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time" (Secaucus,
> N.J.: Citadel Press, 1997).
>
> 2. Coleman McCarthy, "The Consequences of Covert Tactics" Washington
> Post, December 13, 1987.
>
>
> =================================================================
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> Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
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>
>
> A Timeline of CIA Atrocities (through 1993) & Beginner's
> Bibliography
>
> Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
>
> Introduction:
>
> This Timeline only goes through 1993, when it was apparently
> composed. But it's a very useful history for those who don't know
> about the early days of the CIA's crimes. It is primarily based on
> William Blum's great book "Killing Hope." To read more from Blum,
> see his website from which
> you an also order his books. Parts of this book, and his others are
> all available to read on his site, http://www.killinghope.org/
> Blum's Books include:
>
> Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2
> Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
> West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir
> Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire
>
> Blum also produces a monthly "Anti-Empire Report" which NY Transfer
> distributes.
>
> Other valuable sources not listed here by Kangas include Philip
> Agee's "Inside the Company: A CIA Diary" (1974) and his later book
> "On the Run," as well as an invaluable book on the Iranian
> Revolution and the US agents among those captured at the American
> Embassy (aka The Nest of Spies) in Tehran on Nov 4, 1979; "Diry
> Work: The CIA in Western Europe" by Agee and Louis Wolf (Editor);
> "Dirty Work 2: The CIA in Africa" edited by Ellen Ray, William
> Schaap, K. Van Meter and Louis Wolf; the periodical "Covert Action
> Information Bulletin" (CAIB), which became the less-frequently
> published and tamer "Covert Action Quarterly" after the Intelligence
> Agents' Identity Protection Action was passed; as well as the
> journal "CounterSpy," somewhat less reliable than CAIB.
>
> There are a host of books on the CIA's secret air war in Laos from
> 1955-1975 and a similar large bibliography just on Vietnam; on
> Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk's "My War with the CIA" (1974); and
> several excellent studies by Alfred McCoy on the CIA's
> guns-for-drugs trade including on The Golden Triangle: "The politics
> of heroin in Southeast Asia."
>
> Other histories are "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence" by Steven
> Marchetti and John Marks (1974); Joseph Burkholder Smith's CIA
> memoir "Portrait of a Cold Warrior" (1976); John Stockwell's "In
> Search of Enemies" (1978), Ralph McGehee's "Deadly Deceits: My 25
> Yeers with the CIA" 1983), which he permitted the CIA to censor,
> alas; David C. Martin's "Wilderness of Mirrors"; a book edited by V.
> Chernyavsky, published in the USSR, called "CIA in the Dock: Soviet
> Journalists on Internationalist Terrorism" (1983); "Blond Ghost" by
> David Corn; numerous books on the CIA's coups and destabilization
> campaigns in Guatemala, Jamaica, Grenada, Nicaragua and Chile -- too
> many to list here -- and whole libraries of books on the decades of
> unsuccessful efforts to reverse Cuba's Revolution.
>
> Finally an invaluable resource online for domestic and foreign
> intelligence is Daniel Brandt's Namebase at http://www.namebase.org
> which includes names, books, articles, and intelligence-related
> cluster analysis diagrams.
>
> On the NSA, the best sources are "The Puzzle Palace" and "Body of
> Secrets" by James Bamford.
>
> Domestic CIA and FBI Operations like MK-ULTRA and COINTELPRO require
> their own bibliographies, but "The Search for the Manchurian
> Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control" (1979), by John Marks is a good
> place to start for MK-ULTRA history. And that's just a beginner's
> reading list.
>
> Serious study of COINTELPRO, other FBI domestic spying, and the
> JFK Assassination are each careers of their own. -NY Transfer
>
>
>
> Liberal Resurgent
> http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/CIAtimeline.html
>
> A Timeline of CIA Atrocities
>
> By Steve Kangas
>
> The following timeline describes just a few of the hundreds of
> atrocities and crimes committed by the CIA. (1)
>
> CIA operations follow the same recurring script. First, American
> business interests abroad are threatened by a popular or
> democratically elected leader. The people support their leader
> because he intends to conduct land reform, strengthen unions,
> redistribute wealth, nationalize foreign-owned industry, and
> regulate business to protect workers, consumers and the environment.
> So, on behalf of American business, and often with their help, the
> CIA mobilizes the opposition. First it identifies right-wing groups
> within the country (usually the military), and offers them a deal:
> "We'll put you in power if you maintain a favorable business climate
> for us." The Agency then hires, trains and works with them to
> overthrow the existing government (usually a democracy). It uses
> every trick in the book: propaganda, stuffed ballot boxes, purchased
> elections, extortion, blackmail, sexual intrigue, false stories
> about opponents in the local media, infiltration and disruption of
> opposing political parties, kidnapping, beating, torture,
> intimidation, economic sabotage, death squads and even
> assassination. These efforts culminate in a military coup, which
> installs a right-wing dictator. The CIA trains the dictators
> security apparatus to crack down on the traditional enemies of big
> business, using interrogation, torture and murder. The victims are
> said to be "communists," but almost always they are just peasants,
> liberals, moderates, labor union leaders, political opponents and
> advocates of free speech and democracy. Widespread human rights
> abuses follow.
>
> This scenario has been repeated so many times that the CIA actually
> teaches it in a special school, the notorious "School of the
> Americas." (It opened in Panama but later moved to Fort Benning,
> Georgia.) Critics have nicknamed it the "School of the Dictators"
> and "School of the Assassins." Here, the CIA trains Latin American
> military officers how to conduct coups, including the use of
> interrogation, torture and murder.
>
> The Association for Responsible Dissent estimates that by 1987, 6
> million people had died as a result of CIA covert operations. (2)
> Former State Department official William Blum correctly calls this
> an "American Holocaust."
>
> The CIA justifies these actions as part of its war against
> communism. But most coups do not involve a communist threat. Unlucky
> nations are targeted for a wide variety of reasons: not only threats
> to American business interests abroad, but also liberal or even
> moderate social reforms, political instability, the unwillingness of
> a leader to carry out Washingtons dictates, and declarations of
> neutrality in the Cold War. Indeed, nothing has infuriated CIA
> Directors quite like a nations desire to stay out of the Cold War.
>
> The ironic thing about all this intervention is that it frequently
> fails to achieve American objectives. Often the newly installed
> dictator grows comfortable with the security apparatus the CIA has
> built for him. He becomes an expert at running a police state. And
> because the dictator knows he cannot be overthrown, he becomes
> independent and defiant of Washington's will. The CIA then finds it
> cannot overthrow him, because the police and military are under the
> dictator's control, afraid to cooperate with American spies for fear
> of torture and execution. The only two options for the U.S at this
> point are impotence or war. Examples of this "boomerang effect"
> include the Shah of Iran, General Noriega and Saddam Hussein. The
> boomerang effect also explains why the CIA has proven highly
> successful at overthrowing democracies, but a wretched failure at
> overthrowing dictatorships.
>
> The following timeline should confirm that the CIA as we know it
> should be abolished and replaced by a true information-gathering and
> analysis organization. The CIA cannot be reformed " it is
> institutionally and culturally corrupt.
>
> 1929
>
> The culture we lost " Secretary of State Henry Stimson refuses to
> endorse a code-breaking operation, saying, "Gentlemen do not read
> each others mail."
>
> 1941
>
> COI created " In preparation for World War II, President Roosevelt
> creates the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI). General
> William "Wild Bill" Donovan heads the new intelligence service.
>
> 1942
>
> OSS created " Roosevelt restructures COI into something more
> suitable for covert action, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
> Donovan recruits so many of the nations rich and powerful that
> eventually people joke that "OSS" stands for "Oh, so social!" or
> "Oh, such snobs!"
>
> 1943
>
> Italy " Donovan recruits the Catholic Church in Rome to be the
> center of Anglo-American spy operations in Fascist Italy. This would
> prove to be one of Americas most enduring intelligence alliances in
> the Cold War.
>
> 1945
>
> OSS is abolished " The remaining American information agencies cease
> covert actions and return to harmless information gathering and
> analysis.
>
> Operation PAPERCLIP " While other American agencies are hunting down
> Nazi war criminals for arrest, the U.S. intelligence community is
> smuggling them into America, unpunished, for their use against the
> Soviets. The most important of these is Reinhard Gehlen, Hitlers
> master spy who had built up an intelligence network in the Soviet
> Union. With full U.S. blessing, he creates the "Gehlen
> Organization," a band of refugee Nazi spies who reactivate their
> networks in Russia. These include SS intelligence officers Alfred
> Six and Emil Augsburg (who massacred Jews in the Holocaust), Klaus
> Barbie (the "Butcher of Lyon"), Otto von Bolschwing (the Holocaust
> mastermind who worked with Eichmann) and SS Colonel Otto Skorzeny (a
> personal friend of Hitlers). The Gehlen Organization supplies the
> U.S. with its only intelligence on the Soviet Union for the next ten
> years, serving as a bridge between the abolishment of the OSS and
> the creation of the CIA. However, much of the "intelligence" the
> former Nazis provide is bogus. Gehlen inflates Soviet military
> capabilities at a time when Russia is still rebuilding its
> devastated society, in order to inflate his own importance to the
> Americans (who might otherwise punish him). In 1948, Gehlen almost
> convinces the Americans that war is imminent, and the West should
> make a preemptive strike. In the 50s he produces a fictitious
> "missile gap." To make matters worse, the Russians have thoroughly
> penetrated the Gehlen Organization with double agents, undermining
> the very American security that Gehlen was supposed to protect.
>
> 1947
>
> Greece " President Truman requests military aid to Greece to support
> right-wing forces fighting communist rebels. For the rest of the
> Cold War, Washington and the CIA will back notorious Greek leaders
> with deplorable human rights records.
>
> CIA created " President Truman signs the National Security Act of
> 1947, creating the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security
> Council. The CIA is accountable to the president through the NSC "
> there is no democratic or congressional oversight. Its charter
> allows the CIA to "perform such other functions and duties] as the
> National Security Council may from time to time direct." This
> loophole opens the door to covert action and dirty tricks.
>
> 1948
>
> Covert-action wing created " The CIA recreates a covert action wing,
> innocuously called the Office of Policy Coordination, led by Wall
> Street lawyer Frank Wisner. According to its secret charter, its
> responsibilities include "propaganda, economic warfare, preventive
> direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage, demolition and
> evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including
> assistance to underground resistance groups, and support of
> indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the
> free world."
>
> Italy " The CIA corrupts democratic elections in Italy, where
> Italian communists threaten to win the elections. The CIA buys
> votes, broadcasts propaganda, threatens and beats up opposition
> leaders, and infiltrates and disrupts their organizations. It works
> -- the communists are defeated.
>
> 1949
>
> Radio Free Europe " The CIA creates its first major propaganda
> outlet, Radio Free Europe. Over the next several decades, its
> broadcasts are so blatantly false that for a time it is considered
> illegal to publish transcripts of them in the U.S.
>
> Late 40s
>
> Operation MOCKINGBIRD " The CIA begins recruiting American news
> organizations and journalists to become spies and disseminators of
> propaganda. The effort is headed by Frank Wisner, Allan Dulles,
> Richard Helms and Philip Graham. Graham is publisher of The
> Washington Post, which becomes a major CIA player. Eventually, the
> CIAs media assets will include ABC, NBC, CBS, Time, Newsweek,
> Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst
> Newspapers, Scripps-Howard, Copley News Service and more. By the
> CIAs own admission, at least 25 organizations and 400 journalists
> will become CIA assets.
>
> 1953
>
> Iran " CIA overthrows the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh
> in a military coup, after he threatened to nationalize British oil.
> The CIA replaces him with a dictator, the Shah of Iran, whose secret
> police, SAVAK, is as brutal as the Gestapo.
>
> Operation MK-ULTRA " Inspired by North Koreas brainwashing program,
> the CIA begins experiments on mind control. The most notorious part
> of this project involves giving LSD and other drugs to American
> subjects without their knowledge or against their will, causing
> several to commit suicide. However, the operation involves far more
> than this. Funded in part by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations,
> research includes propaganda, brainwashing, public relations,
> advertising, hypnosis, and other forms of suggestion.
>
> 1954
>
> Guatemala " CIA overthrows the democratically elected Jacob Arbenz
> in a military coup. Arbenz has threatened to nationalize the
> Rockefeller-owned United Fruit Company, in which CIA Director Allen
> Dulles also owns stock. Arbenz is replaced with a series of
> right-wing dictators whose bloodthirsty policies will kill over
> 100,000 Guatemalans in the next 40 years.
>
> 1954-1958
>
> North Vietnam " CIA officer Edward Lansdale spends four years trying
> to overthrow the communist government of North Vietnam, using all
> the usual dirty tricks. The CIA also attempts to legitimize a
> tyrannical puppet regime in South Vietnam, headed by Ngo Dinh Diem.
> These efforts fail to win the hearts and minds of the South
> Vietnamese because the Diem government is opposed to true democracy,
> land reform and poverty reduction measures. The CIAs continuing
> failure results in escalating American intervention, culminating in
> the Vietnam War.
>
> 1956
>
> Hungary " Radio Free Europe incites Hungary to revolt by
> broadcasting Khruschevs Secret Speech, in which he denounced Stalin.
> It also hints that American aid will help the Hungarians fight. This
> aid fails to materialize as Hungarians launch a doomed armed revolt,
> which only invites a major Soviet invasion. The conflict kills 7,000
> Soviets and 30,000 Hungarians.
>
> 1957-1973
>
> Laos " The CIA carries out approximately one coup per year trying to
> nullify Laos democratic elections. The problem is the Pathet Lao, a
> leftist group with enough popular support to be a member of any
> coalition government. In the late 50s, the CIA even creates an
> "Armee Clandestine" of Asian mercenaries to attack the Pathet Lao.
> After the CIAs army suffers numerous defeats, the U.S. starts
> bombing, dropping more bombs on Laos than all the U.S. bombs dropped
> in World War II. A quarter of all Laotians will eventually become
> refugees, many living in caves.
>
> 1959
>
> Haiti " The U.S. military helps "Papa Doc" Duvalier become dictator
> of Haiti. He creates his own private police force, the "Tonton
> Macoutes," who terrorize the population with machetes. They will
> kill over 100,000 during the Duvalier family reign. The U.S. does
> not protest their dismal human rights record.
>
> 1961
>
> The Bay of Pigs " The CIA sends 1,500 Cuban exiles to invade Castros
> Cuba. But "Operation Mongoose" fails, due to poor planning, security
> and backing. The planners had imagined that the invasion will spark
> a popular uprising against Castro -" which never happens. A promised
> American air strike also never occurs. This is the CIAs first public
> setback, causing President Kennedy to fire CIA Director Allen
> Dulles.
>
> Dominican Republic " The CIA assassinates Rafael Trujillo, a
> murderous dictator Washington has supported since 1930. Trujillos
> business interests have grown so large (about 60 percent of the
> economy) that they have begun competing with American business
> interests.
>
> Ecuador " The CIA-backed military forces the democratically elected
> President Jose Velasco to resign. Vice President Carlos Arosemana
> replaces him; the CIA fills the now vacant vice presidency with its
> own man.
>
> Congo (Zaire) " The CIA assassinates the democratically elected
> Patrice Lumumba. However, public support for Lumumbas politics runs
> so high that the CIA cannot clearly install his opponents in power.
> Four years of political turmoil follow.
>
> 1963
>
> Dominican Republic " The CIA overthrows the democratically elected
> Juan Bosch in a military coup. The CIA installs a repressive,
> right-wing junta.
>
> Ecuador " A CIA-backed military coup overthrows President Arosemana,
> whose independent (not socialist) policies have become unacceptable
> to Washington. A military junta assumes command, cancels the 1964
> elections, and begins abusing human rights.
>
> 1964
>
> Brazil " A CIA-backed military coup overthrows the democratically
> elected government of Joao Goulart. The junta that replaces it will,
> in the next two decades, become one of the most bloodthirsty in
> history. General Castelo Branco will create Latin Americas first
> death squads, or bands of secret police who hunt down "communists"
> for torture, interrogation and murder. Often these "communists" are
> no more than Brancos political opponents. Later it is revealed that
> the CIA trains the death squads.
>
> 1965
>
> Indonesia " The CIA overthrows the democratically elected Sukarno
> with a military coup. The CIA has been trying to eliminate Sukarno
> since 1957, using everything from attempted assassination to sexual
> intrigue, for nothing more than his declaring neutrality in the Cold
> War. His successor, General Suharto, will massacre between 500,000
> to 1 million civilians accused of being "communist." The CIA
> supplies the names of countless suspects.
>
> Dominican Republic " A popular rebellion breaks out, promising to
> reinstall Juan Bosch as the countrys elected leader. The revolution
> is crushed when U.S. Marines land to uphold the military regime by
> force. The CIA directs everything behind the scenes.
>
> Greece " With the CIAs backing, the king removes George Papandreous
> as prime minister. Papandreous has failed to vigorously support U.S.
> interests in Greece.
>
> Congo (Zaire) " A CIA-backed military coup installs Mobutu Sese Seko
> as dictator. The hated and repressive Mobutu exploits his
> desperately poor country for billions.
>
> 1966
>
> The Ramparts Affair " The radical magazine Ramparts begins a series
> of unprecedented anti-CIA articles. Among their scoops: the CIA has
> paid the University of Michigan $25 million dollars to hire
> "professors" to train South Vietnamese students in covert police
> methods. MIT and other universities have received similar payments.
> Ramparts also reveals that the National Students Association is a
> CIA front. Students are sometimes recruited through blackmail and
> bribery, including draft deferments.
>
> 1967
>
> Greece " A CIA-backed military coup overthrows the government two
> days before the elections. The favorite to win was George
> Papandreous, the liberal candidate. During the next six years, the
> "reign of the colonels" " backed by the CIA " will usher in the
> widespread use of torture and murder against political opponents.
> When a Greek ambassador objects to President Johnson about U.S.
> plans for Cypress, Johnson tells him: "**** your parliament and your
> constitution."
>
> Operation PHEONIX " The CIA helps South Vietnamese agents identify
> and then murder alleged Viet Cong leaders operating in South
> Vietnamese villages. According to a 1971 congressional report, this
> operation killed about 20,000 "Viet Cong."
>
> 1968
>
> Operation CHAOS " The CIA has been illegally spying on American
> citizens since 1959, but with Operation CHAOS, President Johnson
> dramatically boosts the effort. CIA agents go undercover as student
> radicals to spy on and disrupt campus organizations protesting the
> Vietnam War. They are searching for Russian instigators, which they
> never find. CHAOS will eventually spy on 7,000 individuals and 1,000
> organizations.
>
> Bolivia " A CIA-organized military operation captures legendary
> guerilla Che Guevara. The CIA wants to keep him alive for
> interrogation, but the Bolivian government executes him to prevent
> worldwide calls for clemency.
>
> 1969
>
> Uruguay " The notorious CIA torturer Dan Mitrione arrives in
> Uruguay, a country torn with political strife. Whereas right-wing
> forces previously used torture only as a last resort, Mitrione
> convinces them to use it as a routine, widespread practice. "The
> precise pain, in the precise place, in the precise amount, for the
> desired effect," is his motto. The torture techniques he teaches to
> the death squads rival the Nazis. He eventually becomes so feared
> that revolutionaries will kidnap and murder him a year later.
>
> 1970
>
> Cambodia " The CIA overthrows Prince Sahounek, who is highly popular
> among Cambodians for keeping them out of the Vietnam War. He is
> replaced by CIA puppet Lon Nol, who immediately throws Cambodian
> troops into battle. This unpopular move strengthens once minor
> opposition parties like the Khmer Rouge, which achieves power in
> 1975 and massacres millions of its own people.
>
> 1971
>
> Bolivia " After half a decade of CIA-inspired political turmoil, a
> CIA-backed military coup overthrows the leftist President Juan
> Torres. In the next two years, dictator Hugo Banzer will have over
> 2,000 political opponents arrested without trial, then tortured,
> raped and executed.
>
> Haiti " "Papa Doc" Duvalier dies, leaving his 19-year old son "Baby
> Doc" Duvalier the dictator of Haiti. His son continues his bloody
> reign with full knowledge of the CIA.
>
> 1972
>
> The Case-Zablocki Act " Congress passes an act requiring
> congressional review of executive agreements. In theory, this should
> make CIA operations more accountable. In fact, it is only marginally
> effective.
>
> Cambodia " Congress votes to cut off CIA funds for its secret war in
> Cambodia.
>
> Wagergate Break-in " President Nixon sends in a team of burglars to
> wiretap Democratic offices at Watergate. The team members have
> extensive CIA histories, including James McCord, E. Howard Hunt and
> five of the Cuban burglars. They work for the Committee to Reelect
> the President (CREEP), which does dirty work like disrupting
> Democratic campaigns and laundering Nixons illegal campaign
> contributions. CREEPs activities are funded and organized by another
> CIA front, the Mullen Company.
>
> 1973
>
> Chile " The CIA overthrows and assassinates Salvador Allende, Latin
> Americas first democratically elected socialist leader. The problems
> begin when Allende nationalizes American-owned firms in Chile. ITT
> offers the CIA $1 million for a coup (reportedly refused). The CIA
> replaces Allende with General Augusto Pinochet, who will torture and
> murder thousands of his own countrymen in a crackdown on labor
> leaders and the political left.
>
> CIA begins internal investigations " William Colby, the Deputy
> Director for Operations, orders all CIA personnel to report any and
> all illegal activities they know about. This information is later
> reported to Congress.
>
> Watergate Scandal " The CIAs main collaborating newspaper in
> America, The Washington Post, reports Nixons crimes long before any
> other newspaper takes up the subject. The two reporters, Woodward
> and Bernstein, make almost no mention of the CIAs many fingerprints
> all over the scandal. It is later revealed that Woodward was a Naval
> intelligence briefer to the White House, and knows many important
> intelligence figures, including General Alexander Haig. His main
> source, "Deep Throat," is probably one of those.
>
> CIA Director Helms Fired " President Nixon fires CIA Director
> Richard Helms for failing to help cover up the Watergate scandal.
> Helms and Nixon have always disliked each other. The new CIA
> director is William Colby, who is relatively more open to CIA
> reform.
>
> 1974
>
> CHAOS exposed " Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh
> publishes a story about Operation CHAOS, the domestic surveillance
> and infiltration of anti-war and civil rights groups in the U.S. The
> story sparks national outrage.
>
> Angleton fired " Congress holds hearings on the illegal domestic
> spying efforts of James Jesus Angleton, the CIAs chief of
> counterintelligence. His efforts included mail-opening campaigns and
> secret surveillance of war protesters. The hearings result in his
> dismissal from the CIA.
>
> House clears CIA in Watergate " The House of Representatives clears
> the CIA of any complicity in Nixons Watergate break-in.
>
> The Hughes Ryan Act " Congress passes an amendment requiring the
> president to report nonintelligence CIA operations to the relevant
> congressional committees in a timely fashion.
>
> 1975
>
> Australia " The CIA helps topple the democratically elected,
> left-leaning government of Prime Minister Edward Whitlam. The CIA
> does this by giving an ultimatum to its Governor-General, John Kerr.
> Kerr, a longtime CIA collaborator, exercises his constitutional
> right to dissolve the Whitlam government. The Governor-General is a
> largely ceremonial position appointed by the Queen; the Prime
> Minister is democratically elected. The use of this archaic and
> never-used law stuns the nation.
>
> Angola " Eager to demonstrate American military resolve after its
> defeat in Vietnam, Henry Kissinger launches a CIA-backed war in
> Angola. Contrary to Kissingers assertions, Angola is a country of
> little strategic importance and not seriously threatened by
> communism. The CIA backs the brutal leader of UNITAS, Jonas Savimbi.
> This polarizes Angolan politics and drives his opponents into the
> arms of Cuba and the Soviet Union for survival. Congress will cut
> off funds in 1976, but the CIA is able to run the war off the books
> until 1984, when funding is legalized again. This entirely pointless
> war kills over 300,000 Angolans.
>
> "The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence" " Victor Marchetti and John
> Marks publish this whistle-blowing history of CIA crimes and abuses.
> Marchetti has spent 14 years in the CIA, eventually becoming an
> executive assistant to the Deputy Director of Intelligence. Marks
> has spent five years as an intelligence official in the State
> Department.
>
> "Inside the Company" " Philip Agee publishes a diary of his life
> inside the CIA. Agee has worked in covert operations in Latin
> America during the 60s, and details the crimes in which he took
> part.
>
> Congress investigates CIA wrong-doing " Public outrage compels
> Congress to hold hearings on CIA crimes. Senator Frank Church heads
> the Senate investigation ("The Church Committee"), and
> Representative Otis Pike heads the House investigation. (Despite a
> 98 percent incumbency reelection rate, both Church and Pike are
> defeated in the next elections.) The investigations lead to a number
> of reforms intended to increase the CIAs accountability to Congress,
> including the creation of a standing Senate committee on
> intelligence. However, the reforms prove ineffective, as the
> Iran/Contra scandal will show. It turns out the CIA can control,
> deal with or sidestep Congress with ease.
>
> The Rockefeller Commission " In an attempt to reduce the damage done
> by the Church Committee, President Ford creates the "Rockefeller
> Commission" to whitewash CIA history and propose toothless reforms.
> The commissions namesake, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, is
> himself a major CIA figure. Five of the commissions eight members
> are also members of the Council on Foreign Relations, a
> CIA-dominated organization.
>
> 1979
>
> Iran " The CIA fails to predict the fall of the Shah of Iran, a
> longtime CIA puppet, and the rise of Muslim fundamentalists who are
> furious at the CIAs backing of SAVAK, the Shahs bloodthirsty secret
> police. In revenge, the Muslims take 52 Americans hostage in the
> U.S. embassy in Tehran.
>
> Afghanistan " The Soviets invade Afghanistan. The CIA immediately
> begins supplying arms to any faction willing to fight the occupying
> Soviets. Such indiscriminate arming means that when the Soviets
> leave Afghanistan, civil war will erupt. Also, fanatical Muslim
> extremists now possess state-of-the-art weaponry. One of these is
> Sheik Abdel Rahman, who will become involved in the World Trade
> Center bombing in New York.
>
> El Salvador " An idealistic group of young military officers,
> repulsed by the massacre of the poor, overthrows the right-wing
> government. However, the U.S. compels the inexperienced officers to
> include many of the old guard in key positions in their new
> government. Soon, things are back to "normal" " the military
> government is repressing and killing poor civilian protesters. Many
> of the young military and civilian reformers, finding themselves
> powerless, resign in disgust.
>
> Nicaragua " Anastasios Samoza II, the CIA-backed dictator, falls.
> The Marxist Sandinistas take over government, and they are initially
> popular because of their commitment to land and anti-poverty reform.
> Samoza had a murderous and hated personal army called the National
> Guard. Remnants of the Guard will become the Contras, who fight a
> CIA-backed guerilla war against the Sandinista government throughout
> the 1980s.
>
> 1980
>
> El Salvador " The Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, pleads
> with President Carter "Christian to Christian" to stop aiding the
> military government slaughtering his people. Carter refuses. Shortly
> afterwards, right-wing leader Roberto DAubuisson has Romero shot
> through the heart while saying Mass. The country soon dissolves into
> civil war, with the peasants in the hills fighting against the
> military government. The CIA and U.S. Armed Forces supply the
> government with overwhelming military and intelligence superiority.
> CIA-trained death squads roam the countryside, committing atrocities
> like that of El Mazote in 1982, where they massacre between 700 and
> 1000 men, women and children. By 1992, some 63,000 Salvadorans will
> be killed.
>
> 1981
>
> Iran/Contra Begins " The CIA begins selling arms to Iran at high
> prices, using the profits to arm the Contras fighting the Sandinista
> government in Nicaragua. President Reagan vows that the Sandinistas
> will be "pressured" until "they say ~uncle." The CIAs Freedom
> Fighters Manual disbursed to the Contras includes instruction on
> economic sabotage, propaganda, extortion, bribery, blackmail,
> interrogation, torture, murder and political assassination.
>
> 1983
>
> Honduras " The CIA gives Honduran military officers the Human
> Resource Exploitation Training Manual " 1983, which teaches how to
> torture people. Honduras notorious "Battalion 316" then uses these
> techniques, with the CIAs full knowledge, on thousands of leftist
> dissidents. At least 184 are murdered.
>
> 1984
>
> The Boland Amendment " The last of a series of Boland Amendments is
> passed. These amendments have reduced CIA aid to the Contras; the
> last one cuts it off completely. However, CIA Director William Casey
> is already prepared to "hand off" the operation to Colonel Oliver
> North, who illegally continues supplying the Contras through the
> CIAs informal, secret, and self-financing network. This includes
> "humanitarian aid" donated by Adolph Coors and William Simon, and
> military aid funded by Iranian arms sales.
>
> 1986
>
> Eugene Hasenfus " Nicaragua shoots down a C-123 transport plane
> carrying military supplies to the Contras. The lone survivor, Eugene
> Hasenfus, turns out to be a CIA employee, as are the two dead
> pilots. The airplane belongs to Southern Air Transport, a CIA front.
> The incident makes a mockery of President Reagans claims that the
> CIA is not illegally arming the Contras.
>
> Iran/Contra Scandal " Although the details have long been known, the
> Iran/Contra scandal finally captures the medias attention in 1986.
> Congress holds hearings, and several key figures (like Oliver North)
> lie under oath to protect the intelligence community. CIA Director
> William Casey dies of brain cancer before Congress can question him.
> All reforms enacted by Congress after the scandal are purely
> cosmetic.
>
> Haiti " Rising popular revolt in Haiti means that "Baby Doc"
> Duvalier will remain "President for Life" only if he has a short
> one. The U.S., which hates instability in a puppet country, flies
> the despotic Duvalier to the South of France for a comfortable
> retirement. The CIA then rigs the upcoming elections in favor of
> another right-wing military strongman. However, violence keeps the
> country in political turmoil for another four years. The CIA tries
> to strengthen the military by creating the National Intelligence
> Service (SIN), which suppresses popular revolt through torture and
> assassination.
>
> 1989
>
> Panama " The U.S. invades Panama to overthrow a dictator of its own
> making, General Manuel Noriega. Noriega has been on the CIAs payroll
> since 1966, and has been transporting drugs with the CIAs knowledge
> since 1972. By the late 80s, Noriegas growing independence and
> intransigence have angered Washington] so out he goes.
>
> 1990
>
> Haiti " Competing against 10 comparatively wealthy candidates,
> leftist priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide captures 68 percent of the
> vote. After only eight months in power, however, the CIA-backed
> military deposes him. More military dictators brutalize the country,
> as thousands of Haitian refugees escape the turmoil in barely
> seaworthy boats. As popular opinion calls for Aristides return, the
> CIA begins a disinformation campaign painting the courageous priest
> as mentally unstable.
>
> 1991
>
> The Gulf War " The U.S. liberates Kuwait from Iraq. But Iraqs
> dictator, Saddam Hussein, is another creature of the CIA. With U.S.
> encouragement, Hussein invaded Iran in 1980. During this costly
> eight-year war, the CIA built up Husseins forces with sophisticated
> arms, intelligence, training and financial backing. This cemented
> Husseins power at home, allowing him to crush the many internal
> rebellions that erupted from time to time, sometimes with poison
> gas. It also gave him all the military might he needed to conduct
> further adventurism " in Kuwait, for example.
>
> The Fall of the Soviet Union " The CIA fails to predict this most
> important event of the Cold War. This suggests that it has been so
> busy undermining governments that it hasnt been doing its primary
> job: gathering and analyzing information. The fall of the Soviet
> Union also robs the CIA of its reason for existence: fighting
> communism. This leads some to accuse the CIA of intentionally
> failing to predict the downfall of the Soviet Union. Curiously, the
> intelligence communitys budget is not significantly reduced after
> the demise of communism.
>
> 1992
>
> Economic Espionage " In the years following the end of the Cold War,
> the CIA is increasingly used for economic espionage. This involves
> stealing the technological secrets of competing foreign companies
> and giving them to American ones. Given the CIAs clear preference
> for dirty tricks over mere information gathering, the possibility of
> serious criminal behavior is very great indeed.
>
> 1993
>
> Haiti " The chaos in Haiti grows so bad that President Clinton has
> no choice but to remove the Haitian military dictator, Raoul Cedras,
> on threat of U.S. invasion. The U.S. occupiers do not arrest Haitis
> military leaders for crimes against humanity, but instead ensure
> their safety and rich retirements. Aristide is returned to power
> only after being forced to accept an agenda favorable to the
> countrys ruling class.
>
> EPILOGUE
>
> In a speech before the CIA celebrating its 50th anniversary,
> President Clinton said: "By necessity, the American people will
> never know the full story of your courage."
>
> Clintons is a common defense of the CIA: namely, the American people
> should stop criticizing the CIA because they dont know what it
> really does. This, of course, is the heart of the problem in the
> first place. An agency that is above criticism is also above moral
> behavior and reform. Its secrecy and lack of accountability allows
> its corruption to grow unchecked.
>
> Furthermore, Clintons statement is simply untrue. The history of the
> agency is growing painfully clear, especially with the
> declassification of historical CIA documents. We may not know the
> details of specific operations, but we do know, quite well, the
> general behavior of the CIA. These facts began emerging nearly two
> decades ago at an ever-quickening pace. Today we have a remarkably
> accurate and consistent picture, repeated in country after country,
> and verified from countless different directions.
>
> The CIAs response to this growing knowledge and criticism follows a
> typical historical pattern. (Indeed, there are remarkable parallels
> to the Medieval Churchs fight against the Scientific Revolution.)
> The first journalists and writers to reveal the CIAs criminal
> behavior were harassed and censored if they were American writers,
> and tortured and murdered if they were foreigners. (See Philip Agees
> On the Run for an example of early harassment.) However, over the
> last two decades the tide of evidence has become overwhelming, and
> the CIA has found that it does not have enough fingers to plug every
> hole in the dike. This is especially true in the age of the
> Internet, where information flows freely among millions of people.
> Since censorship is impossible, the Agency must now defend itself
> with apologetics. Clintons "Americans will never know" defense is a
> prime example.
>
> Another common apologetic is that "the world is filled with unsavory
> characters, and we must deal with them if we are to protect American
> interests at all." There are two things wrong with this. First, it
> ignores the fact that the CIA has regularly spurned alliances with
> defenders of democracy, free speech and human rights, preferring the
> company of military dictators and tyrants. The CIA had moral options
> available to them, but did not take them.
>
> Second, this argument begs several questions. The first is: "Which
> American interests?" The CIA has courted right-wing dictators
> because they allow wealthy Americans to exploit the countrys cheap
> labor and resources. But poor and middle-class Americans pay the
> price whenever they fight the wars that stem from CIA actions, from
> Vietnam to the Gulf War to Panama. The second begged question is:
> "Why should American interests come at the expense of other peoples
> human rights?"
>
> The CIA should be abolished, its leadership dismissed and its
> relevant members tried for crimes against humanity. Our intelligence
> community should be rebuilt from the ground up, with the goal of
> collecting and analyzing information. As for covert action, there
> are two moral options. The first one is to eliminate covert action
> completely. But this gives jitters to people worried about the Adolf
> Hitlers of the world. So a second option is that we can place covert
> action under extensive and true democratic oversight. For example, a
> bipartisan Congressional Committee of 40 members could review and
> veto all aspects of CIA operations upon a majority or super-majority
> vote. Which of these two options is best may be the subject of
> debate, but one thing is clear: like dictatorship, like monarchy,
> unaccountable covert operations should die like the dinosaurs they
> are.
>
>
> Endnotes:
>
> 1. All history concerning CIA intervention in foreign countries is
> summarized from William Blums encyclopedic work, "Killing Hope: U.S.
> Military and CIA Interventions since World War II" (Monroe, Maine:
> Common Courage Press, 1995).
>
> Sources for domestic CIA operations come from Jonathan Vankin and
> John Whalens "The 60 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time" (Secaucus,
> N.J.: Citadel Press, 1997).
>
> 2. Coleman McCarthy, "The Consequences of Covert Tactics" Washington
> Post, December 13, 1987.
>
>
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