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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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: "Fuck 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
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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
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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
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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
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"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
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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
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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
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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.
Related links:
The Origins of the Overclass.
Myth: Theres no "vast right wing conspiracy" to get Clinton.
Myth: Conservative think tanks are the answer to liberal academia.
Return to Liberalism Resurgent
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.