It is a period of unrest for the United States. The republic has been infiltrated by Russian agents using false reports & propaganda to spread confusion in the population. Few can be trusted. The Senators & Representatives who remain loyal to America have formed investigative committees in congress to expose public officials with secret ties to the Russian government. And that is how the stage was set for the opening scene of 2017 — or 1957. It doesn’t matter — either would work. Of course, the situation in the US during the 1950s & ’60s was different from now in a lot of ways but the similarities are still amusing — national fears of secret Russian activity, blacklisting, leaked papers exposing corruption, & fiery socialists inspiring young folks to protest. They say that history repeats itself and it often looks that way. But what about the history we do not see — does that repeat itself? To answer that question, we must look at the dark edges of US history that we almost never learned — that we were not supposed to learn — like COINTELPRO.

COINTELPRO :

The Co unter Intel ligence Pro gram

The story of COINTELPRO ( which is short for counter-intelligence program ) is one of the most terrifying chapters of recent US history and — if the state had gotten to decide — no one would have ever known about it. If COINTELPRO’s existence had not been verified by the US Senate, it would be hard to believe that the enforcement division of the Department of Justice, the FBI, oversaw a long-term program to infiltrate, discredit, disrupt, & even murder socialist, anti-war, & civil rights activists.

The FBI’s so-called counter intelligence program was kept secret for 15 years and was approved by democrats & republicans alike at the highest levels of government. COINTELPRO began in 1956 as a series of covert actions against the Communist Party USA to “increase factionalism, cause disruption and win defections.” The program expanded quickly. By 1957, the FBI had decided that Black leaders & civil rights groups, such as Martin Luther King Jr. & the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) were “communists” and, by the mid-60s, virtually all “New Left,” anti-war, & dissident groups were included. Among the many targets of COINTELPRO were the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCS), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the American Indian Movement (AIM), & the Black Panther Party, along with countless of individuals.

The program ended in 1971 — but only because a heroic group of 8 activists exposed the program by breaking into an FBI office & leaking stolen documents to the press. They called themselves the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI.

The Tactics of “Counter Intelligence “

According to the final report of the US Senate’s Church Committee:

“Many of the techniques used would be intolerable in a democratic society even if all of the targets had been involved in violent activity, but COINTELPRO went far beyond that… the [FBI] conducted a sophisticated vigilante operation aimed squarely at preventing the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech and association…”

The tactics used for the counter intelligence operations included:

Publishing fake pamphlets, flyers, & other papers in the name of targeted activists or groups

Placing false information about group meetings, information, or events

Collaborating with news-media to write or broadcast fake stories to damage reputations

Creating fake groups led by government agents

Forging letters, making anonymous calls, & spreading false rumors

Provoking rivalries & conflicts between activist groups

“Bad-jacketing” or making a target look like an infiltrator or informant Intimidating, bullying, & manipulating employers, landlords, or school officials to have a target fired, evicted, or expelled

Conspiring with local police to threaten & conduct illegal break-ins to search activists' homes

Lying under oath, making false arrests, & presenting false evidence to justify wrongful imprisonment

Following, harassing, "investigating," & issuing grand jury subpoenas to intimidate or silence activists

Assaulting, beating, & vandalizing targets' homes

Assassinating group leaders & important targets

Whether it was the killing of Black activists like Fred Hampton or the psychological warfare that ripped activists' communities apart, COINTELPRO's goal was always to keep progressive & leftist movements squabbling, splintered, & ineffective. The 1971 leaks show that US government officials, as well as other intelligence agencies, cooperated with the Bureau to achieve that goal. The media also collaborated to slander leftists and inserted fake news into their programming -- even respected news-outlets like NBC, CBS, WGN, Daily News, the Sun Times, & the Joliet Herald were involved.

What COINTELPRO Tells Us About Today



Listing all of the crimes against basic human decency committed by US intelligence agencies is beyond the scope of this article. At least several books would be needed to do that. The real purpose of this article is to highlight what the existence of COINTELPRO might teach the activists of today. The social & political movements of today -- movements like Black Lives Matter, #NoDAPL, & Bernie Sanders' progressive revolt -- are not so different from the movements of the 50s, 60s, & 70s that were targeted by the state-backed terror & repression of COINTELPRO ( & similar programs, such as the CIA's Operation CHAOS ).

One thing is certainly different, however -- today, thanks to the brave folks who burgled the FBI's papers, we have the chance to learn from the repressive tactics that were used against our forerunners. Unless, of course, you believe that all of that is in the past -- even though no measures were taken to prevent it from happening again.

The Activists & Reformers of Today

Must Remember Why COINTELPRO Existed

For the moment, let's assume that the FBI & all other US intelligence agencies totally changed their ways after their crimes were exposed in 1971 and, even though nobody was punished, they decided to do the right thing, which was to end COINTELPRO ( & all similar programs ) forever. Now, if that were true -- which, of course, it isn't -- it would look like today's left have achieved the goals of the counter intelligence program with no help whatsoever from the spooks in their shiny, secret agent shoes.

In the end, it does not make much difference whether the movement for radical change is broken into petty factions by the FBI, the CIA, or the movement itself.

Blessed Be the Peace-Makers :

Resist Factionalism & Listen to Each Other

Ideas like socialism, anti-racism, progressivism, & environmentalism depend on bringing a lot of different folks together who come with a lot of different stories. And that means the left naturally has a lot more differences to work out. That has the potential to become the greatest strength of the left -- but it could just as easily be made to serve reactionary forces.

There are, of course, many reasons to assume that programs similar to COINTELPRO not only still exist but are more sophisticated than ever. From the Snowden leaks to #Vault7 to the media's collusion with the DNC, there is ample evidence that the political establishment, their media, & the state are just as determined as ever to maintain the capitalist plutocracy. It would be stupid of us to do their work for them.

In solidarity,

John Laurits