The Dossier DiseaseThe Truth About Government Agency False FilesPublished by the Church of Scientology (r) Ministry of Public RelationsCommentator's opinions The name of this booklet, according to its introduction, is based in part upon a book, Dossier: The Secret Files They Keep on You, written by the head of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Aryeh Neier. One of the chief connections between the ideas advanced by the "Church of Scientology" (CoS) and Neier, according to the introduction is that "crime is not breeding the 'dossier society' [...], but dossiers breed crime. | This is a commented abridged version of a booklet which is copyright 1979 by the Church of Scientology. Scientology and Dianetics are registered names. It accompanies Founding Church of Scientology Public Affairs Officer Greg Layton's undated note to SPOTLIGHT containing a press release called "Is It Bigger than a Breadbox?" CONTENTSIntroduction ........................... 1 From Nixon With Love .................. 2 The Foley Memo 1967 ................. 6 The Air Force Memo 1961 ............... 10 Not by Bread Alone ................... 14 The International Carriers ............. 16 The Disease Strikes "Down Under" ........ 18 The High Cost of Harassment ........... 22 The Paper Informant ................... 24 Symptoms & Handling of Dossier Disease . 26 Conclusion ........................... 31 |
Commentator's opinions
In the introduction of this booklet, CoS suggests that an "accurate analogy" would be to "characterize dossiers as an infectious disease transmitted not only from person to person but from agency to agency, contaminating the attitudes of anyone who comes into contact with the poisoned information."
The CoS writers do not point out the possibility that the above analogy could also be viewed as "accurate" when applied to this booklet by their critics. This is distressing if it indicates the CoS does not encourage others to have an independent point of view.
Commentator's opinions
A good technique that CoS uses is to try to fit its own plight in with that of any well known victim in the press. In a section that might put the idea of substituting the word "Russia" for Nixon, "From Nixon With Love," CoS identifies itself as victims of the same government agencies that used "dirty tricks" to target civil rights groups and plot assassinations.
While reading material from the CoS, it cannot hurt to remain somewhat sceptical about the conclusions drawn from the data presented. Even though the data presented may be verifiably factual, there are a number of contradictions that can be found, not just in this booklet, but in most popular media, especial advertisements.
For instance, note these paragraphs from the material below:
Pronouncements by Scientology officials that their Church was the target of conspiratorial agencies was lost in the media's daily revelations of Federal agencies literally gone mad with their own sense of power.
According to the press, the agencies had done everything from fomenting violence by the use of agents provocateurs (the FBI's COINTELPRO activities) to overthrowing governments and plotting assassinations (the CIA).
This is a case of bad-media/good-media. In the latter case, CoS relies on the accuracy of reports from the media for critically reporting on government agencies, while in the first paragraph, CoS faults the media for playing the role of a modern-day prophet in the "daily revelations" of those same agencies. This cross-wiring of the media goes back and forth throughout this booklet. When the media reports something CoS does not agree with, CoS asserts they're being taken advantage of; when the media reports something CoS approves of, CoS approves of the media.
The "Church" of Scientology and the "Guardian's Office," predecessor of today's "Office for Special Affairs," come under the same organizational umbrella, but are kept separate to protect the church's tax-exemption status and avoid other legal complications.
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
It should have been ample forewarning for the Scientologists when, in the spring
of 1958, Secret Service agents tromped into the Founding Church of Scientology
in Washington, D.C., and demanded an explanation of the Church's unsympathetic
treatment of then Vice President Nixon's name in a Church publication regarding
a controversial mental health bill. Then, however, the Church was but a few
years old and admittedly, the naiveté with which the government was
viewed and approached by the Church prevented any premonition that Scientology
would become a bone in the throat of some bureaucrats for the next 20 years.
When the Freedom of Information Act became a reality in 1967, the Church began
to employ it to pry loose thousands of pages of documents from dozens of
agencies. At the same time, the American public was being exposed to agency "dirty
tricks" campaigns and lawlessness by Federal officials.
Pronouncements
by Scientology officials that their Church was the target of conspiratorial
agencies was lost in the media's daily revelations of Federal agencies literally
gone mad with their own sense of power.
According to the press, the
agencies had done everything from fomenting violence by the use of agents
provocateurs (the FBI's COINTELPRO activities) to overthrowing governments and
plotting assassinations (the CIA).
During this time, the Church of
Scientology initiated a program to trace the difficulties it had had with
various agencies not only in the United States but in other countries as well.
The challenge was to penetrate the bureaucratic labyrinths that had frustrated
even the most honest and dedicated officials.*
To locate and handle the
source of false reports on the Church of Scientology that had spread in the
preceding two decades, the Guardian's Office** initiated a False Report
Correction (FRC) program. The program had a series of basic steps:
*A complete account can be found in Omar Garrison's book, The Hidden Story of Scientology. Mr. Garrison is not a Scientologist but became interested in the Church's allegations. It follows the documentation of agency abuses in his earlier book, Spy Government.
**The Guardian's Office is that part of the Church that handles matters external to the functions of the Church, e.g., anything not related to the religious practices of parishioners. This would include all social reform programs, responding to queries about the Church from the government, media, etc. A full explanation of the Guardian's Office can be found in The Guardian's Office published by the Church of Scientology.
[ . . . ]
Locating false reports is not unlike fighting a contagious disease. Not only
does one have to find the origin of that disease (or that false report) but one
also has to combat every infected carrier as a new source.
When the
Guardian's Office began to search it was discovered that agency personnel had
distributed copies of unverified and often false reports on the Church to dozens
of other agencies not only at the federal level but at the state and local
levels as well, and that these agencies in turn had distributed them to others
without any verification of the reports ever being made.
Distribution was
not limited to the United States. In fact, as Church officials followed the
distribution of false reports and traced them out on a world map, the problems
the Church has faced for a quarter of a century and the source became apparent.
Like a contagious disease transmitted from person to person, a plague of false
reports had infected thousands of agencies in dozens of countries.
Chart from booklet.
1. Locate the false report;
2. Prepare a False Report Correction that
presents documents to the contrary;
3. Trace the false report to locate its source;
4. Repeat 2 and 3
until the original source is located and corrected.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
Memorandum
TO :
FILES DATE: 11/29/67
FROM: FOLEY - - CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
SUBJECT: The investigation concerning the Church of Scientology was made in
order to form an opinion as to whether the body can, be considered a bona fide
religions organization for the purpose of alien employment certification.
Contacted the National Council of Churches, New York City, 212-070-2561. Mr.
Jacquett, Director of Research stated that this organization will never give an
opinion or statement as to whether an organized group is a bona-fide church
organization. They feel that they have no criteria by which to judge and will
therefore issue no opinion: Mr. Jacquett, however, did advise that we accept as
a basis for decisions, any opinion which may have been reached by the U.S. Dept
of Internal Revenue as regards "tax-exempt" status inasmuch as this
used only for non-profit organizations.
Contacted the U.S. Dept of Internal
Revenue. Atty June Norris, Supervisor of Lawyers at Internal Revenue, 184-3843
and Atty Charlotte Murphy (in charge of litigation in the case of the U.S. vs
the Church of Scientology) 186-4240 gave me very comprehensive review of
investigations made by the U.S. Internal Revenue Dept as to the organization and
operation of the Church of Scientology in the United States. In the course of
the conversation the following was reported:
One, Mr Hubbard, organizer and
founder of the Church of Scientology, moved to England a few years ago after
deserting his wife and children in Washington, D.C. Mr. Hubbard has always
been the chief recipient of all contributions and profits from this
organization, which was established around 1955 and has used several different
names since it has been in existence. The cult has spread to many parts of the
world and Mr. Hubbard is now a very wealthy man and lives in a castle in
England.
The group is made up primarily of teen-agers. and young adults.
There is evidence that LSD and perhaps other drugs are widely used by the
members while assembled. There is evidence that an initiation ceremony is held
for all members at which time electric shock is administered to them. There is
evidence that members of several families in different parts of the U.S. have
been shot but not killed by unknown persons because they objected to their
teen-age children becoming members. It is not unusual to find that many of
the young members come from homes where the parents are well-to-do persons.
The 'Saturday Evening Post,' in the March 21, 1964 edition on Page 31 carried an
article entitled "Have You Ever Been A Boohoo?" In the article the
Church of Scientology is "described as a self-interest group, organized for
the sole purpose of making Mr. Hubbard the founder rich.
Tentative
revokation of the tax-exempt status was extended to the Church of Scientology of
Michigan, located at 10138 West McNichols, Detroit, Michigan, April 3, 1967, and
the same action was taken against the Church of Scientology ....
Commentator's opinion on alleged usage of LSD by church members during services: This allegation can be more easily understood when the circumstances are taken into account. One circumstance is that the period referred to is the late 1960s, when LSD use was at its height. Secondly, Scientology buildings were often established near the popular centers where young people "hung out," and, as likely as not, were already under the influence of drugs. Finally, Scientology centers sent out recruiters among people walking the streets to literally grab them by the arms and pull them off the streets in for "processing," or "services," as it is now called. That's another one of the many risks that substance abusers expose themselves to.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR
WASHINGTON DC 10110
NOV 28, 1975
The Reverend Vaughn Young
National Offices Church of Scientology
5930 Franklin Avenue Los Angeles,
California
90028 Dear Mr. Young:
The purpose of this letter is to
advise you that we have recently submitted our recommendation to the Employment
and Training Administration (formerly the Manpower Administration) concerning
your request for recognition under Schedule A and for an acknowledgment that the
"Foley memorandum" contained unverified and questionable data. The
Employment and Training Administration has accepted our recommendations.
In
our recommendation we advised the Employment and Training Administration that a
review of the relevant data had led us to conclude that the Church of
Scientology had established itself as a bona fide religious organization and
that it should, therefore, be recognized as such for the purposes of Schedule A.
In like manner we advised the Employment and Training Administration that the
information contained in the "Foley memorandum" was irrelevant,
unverified and based on hearsay and that, in light of the above-mentioned
determination, the memorandum should be destroyed. Under the disposal procedures
dictated by Government regulations, the "Foley memorandum" will be
retired to the Archives where it will be destroyed in due course. To insure that
the questionable data contained in that memorandum is properly rebutted,
however, a copy of our recommendation will be attached prior to such retirement
and copies will be distributed to the pertinent government agencies and to
Employment and Training Administration field offices. We feel that our action,
as outlined above, meets your desires in this regard.
Sincerely,
Craig
A. Derrington
Associate Solicitor for Manpower
Commentator's opinions
This material is informative in, among other things, that it shows how Scientology became a religion. Namely, if a minority of communities sign off on Scientology as religion, other communities must do the same, or else be put on the spot in having to explain why. In the initial case, the burden of proof is on the new church before an unsuspecting public, but in subsequent cases, after the public wises up a little bit, the burden of proof is on the local government. Apparently Scientology followed up this bureaucratic malfunction on a nationwide, then international, basis.
These articles also provide some background on how Scientology found out the highest authority on religion status in the land was not the Council of Churches, but the Internal Revenue Service. Apparently, the best criterium the Council of Churches could suggest was to check with the IRS if an organization had tax exemption. This may help explain why it was that the IRS, not religion, came under attack in the Scientology movement toward power and affluence.
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
[ . . .]
One of the most classical instances involved the admission of
foreign Scientology students and ministers into the United States for the
purpose of study. Since 1969, Scientologists had been denied the recognitions
normally given theological students of different faiths, but it took the FOIA to
pry loose the source of the State Department's reluctance.
When a husband
and wife from South Africa were denied entry into the United States and told
that Scientology was too much a "subject of controversy," a member of
the Guardian's Office flew to Washington, D.C., to trace the source of the
report and determine if there were any false reports behind the denial.
While one State Department official blurted out that he was going to "investigate"
the Church even though he had already made up his mind as to the outcome,
another confided to the Guardian staff member that the refusal seemed to be
based upon an "investigation" by the Labor Department. After firing
off a letter to the State Department indicating prejudicial conduct, a visit was
paid to the Department of Labor.
Ironically, as it later turned out, the
Labor Department official who met with the Guardian's Office representative was
one Shirley Foley, who pleaded ignorant of any Labor Department "investigation"
and even produced a Scientology file that contained only a couple of out-dated
newspaper clippings. Puzzled, the Scientologist returned to his office to await
the decision of the State Department with regard to the South African couple. '*
A couple of months later, an FOIA request to the Coast Guard produced a two-page
memo written by none other than Mr. Foley. The memo was dated November 29, 1967,
and summarized the results of his "investigation" which consisted of a
telephone call to the IRS.
The "investigation" was "to form
an opinion as to whether (the Church of Scientology)
*The State Department subsequently admitted the couple without even waiting for Labor's forthcoming change of heart.
can be considered a bona fide religious organization for the purpose of alien
employment certification."
A call to the National Council of Churches
produced only a refusal to give such an opinion about any group, but they did
say they would abide by IRS decisions. So Mr. Foley called the IRS and spoke to
one of the attorneys handling the Church's tax case. She gave him a "very
comprehensive review" of IRS investigations, he stated in the memo to the "files."
He summarized part of his conversation:
"There is evidence that LSD and perhaps other drugs are widely used by members while assembled. There is evidence that an initiation ceremony is held for all new members at which time an electric shock is administered to them. There is evidence that members of several families in different parts of the U.S. have been shot, but not killed, by unknown persons because they have objected to their teenage children becoming members."
Nowhere does Mr. Foley say what "evidence" the IRS cited during the
phone conversation despite the fact that he was listing felonies. The IRS
attorneys simply urged that the Labor Department "withhold alien employment
certification on any basis for the Church of Scientology" and Foley
complied.
For the next eight years, the Foley Memo infected the thinking of
the Labor and State Department officials and Scientology ministers were denied
entry into the United States.
When the document was obtained, the same
Guardian Office staff member who had met with Mr. Foley before took the memo to
Washington to meet with him again. Mr. Foley remembered meeting with the
Scientologist, but went speechless when the memo was shown to him.
The
Department of Labor subsequently granted the Church its alien employment status,
recognized the Church as a bona fide religious organization and stated that:
... The information contained in the "Foley memorandum" was irrelevant, unverified and based on hearsay and that, in light of the above-mentioned determination, the memorandum should be destroyed.
Thus a casual remark to a couple in South Africa had to be traced through the
State Department, Labor Department, Coast Guard and back to the Labor Department
before the source of the statement could be found and handled.
The earlier
carrier, the IRS, is still holding firm. At last report they have well over 33
linear feet of files on the Church and have flatly refused to release them under
the FOIA. Not surprisingly, the IRS was unable to substantiate its "evidence"
of felonies being committed by Church members and apparently left the Labor
Department to gag on IRS false reports.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Washington. D.C. 20520
December 30, 1974
The Reverend Vaughn Young
National Offices
Church of Scientology
5930 Franklin Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90028
Dear Mr. Young:
I am happy to inform you that our review of the full record relating to your church has led us to conclude that it is a religious denomination having a bona fide organization in the United States.
We are authorizing our Consulate General at Johannesburg to proceed with the consideration of Mr. and Mrs. Silcock's immigrant visa applications. I am sure that the consular officer will take final action on their cases as soon as they are found otherwise qualified to receive visas.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen A. Dobrenchuk Chief,
Public Services Division, Visa Office
The U.S. Department of State finds the Church of Scientology to be a bona fide religious denomination.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
File A11 232 265 Kansas City
In the Matter of JUNE MARGARET LAKE ) Respondent IN RESCISSION PROCEEDINGS Under Section 246 of the Immigration and Nationality Act APPLICATION: Termination of proceedings
IN BEHALF OF RESPONDENT
Alan C. Kohn. Esq.
411 North 7th Street
St. Louis, Missouri
IN BEHALF OF SERVICE:
Olga M. Springer
Trial Attorney
Chicago,
Illinois
ORAL DECISION OF THE SPECIAL INQUIRY OFFICER
ENTERED OCTOBER 19, 1972
These proceedings were brought about by a Notice of Intention to Rescind, dated December 15, 1970. On January 4, 1971, Mrs. Lake requested the present hearing. The Notice of Intention contains 13 numbered factual allegations in support of the conclusion that Mrs. Lake was not in fact a minister of religion of a bona fide religious organization. There is no question raised in the enumerated paragraphs as to Mrs. Lake's qualifications as a minister. The only question is whether the Church of Scientology is a bona fide religious organization in the United States. I will limit my decision to that issue.
On December 16. 1968, June Margaret Lake was accorded lawful permanent residence status under the provisions of Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Her eligibility was predicated on her being a special immigrant within the definition of Section 101(a) (27(D)(1) of the Act. In support of her application, an ordination certificate of the Church of Scientology was presented along with letters from various church organizations attesting to her being a minister for a sufficient length of time. It is noted that the ordination certificate was issued by the Church of Scientology of Florida, a non-profit organization. It does not appear that at that time the question of the bona fides of the Church of Scientology in the United States was in issue. A careful reading of the Notice of Intention to rescind, however, would show that subsequent acts of the United States Internal Revenue Service and of the Parliament of Western Australia brought into question the bona fides of the Church in the United States, even though allegation No. 11 indicated that the Church of Scientology was incorporated in and enjoyed tax exempt status in Florida, Michigan and California. I am at a loss to understand on the basis of these 13 numbered factual allegations how one could draw the conclusion that the Church of Scientology is not a bona fide religious organization.
The burden of proof upon the Service in a rescission proceeding is a heavy one (Wazin v U.S. INS, 392 F. 2d 55 (9 Cir 1968)). The Government must establish by clear, convincing and unequivocal evidence that Mrs. Lake was not in fact eligible for adjustment of status at the time that her status was adjusted. The evidence in support of the Service's case consisted solely of an Act to proscribe the activities of Scientologists in Western Australia, and a letter from the National Council of the Church of Christ, dated August 14, 1464. In considering this evidence it would appear that the Act enacted by Western Australia would, if enacted in the United States, be an abridgment of the First Amendment. I find that the letter from the National Council of the Churches of Christ does not support the conclusion that the Government would have me reach in this case. On the other hand, the respondent testified and submitted substantial evidence concerning the recognition of the Church in various states as a religious organization. Mrs. Lake presented as a witness a Minister of Scientology, Reverend Snider, who testified about the church and its organization.
In Matter of N. 5 I&N Dec. 173, the Salvation Army was held to be a bona fide religious organization in the United States within the meaning of the predecessor statue to 101(a)( 27)( D)( 1). The criteria in in making that determination was set out as follows:
... has been incorporated under the laws of many of the States in this country, is a worldwide religious organization having a distinct legal existence, a recognized creed and form of worship. a definite and distinct ecclesiastical government, a formal code of doctrine and discipline; a distinct religious history; a membership, not associated with any other church or denomination; officers ministering to their congregation, ordained by a system of selection after completing prescribed courses of training; a literature of its own, established places of religious worship, religious congregations and religious services, a Sunday school for the religious instruction of the young, schools for the preparation of its ministers, who in addition to conducting religious services, perform marriage ceremonies, bury the dead, christen children, and advise and instruct the members of their congregations.
I believe that this criteria has been substantially met by the respondent's presentation. The Service failed to establish by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence that the Church of Scientology is not a bona fide religious organization in the United States. I am satisfied therefore that the respondent was lawfully accorded permanent residence status.
ORDER: IT IS ORDERED that these proceedings be and the same are hereby terminated.
Jay Segal
Special Inquiry Officer
Commentator's opinions
The following is presented as an example of Dossier Disease spread by CoS PR Ministry itself in reference to the following section:
Undaunted by the lack of information, he still asserts that, "it is known that these SCIENTOLOGY members engage in the ... study (of) a Russian textbook on brainwashing"
While the Brainwashing book was distributed by CoS, the textbook was not for course application by the "church" side of Scientology, but by the Guardian's Office (see "Intelligence Officer checksheet".). This is an example of how functions can be divided between two different offices in the same of the organization to give multiple appearances to the public.
Another negative observation about Scientology concerns the administering of a "serum" to CoS members during church services. The church was actually raided and charged in manufacturing and selling various medical preparations in the late '50s. There are also references to experimentation with drugs in the early practices of "Dianetics," by Dr. J. Winter for instance. In today's practice, this medical ministration corresponds to the preparations, now out-sourced to apparently independent companies, sold for the "Purification Rundown" and other home remedies.
Finally, the "hypnosis" referred to is the trance Scientology members go into when they are steered back into moments of embarrassment and unconsciousness by what today are called "spiritual counselors."
A critic of CoS might bring up these points to "characterize [this] dossier [...] as an infectious disease transmitted not only from person to person but from agency to agency, contaminating the attitudes of anyone who comes into contact with the poisoned information."
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
[ . . . ]
Although it cannot be definitely proven without the IRS's
documents, parts of the Foley Memo's allegations can be traced (via other
documents the church has obtained) to an Air Force memo of July 19, 1961, which
in turn, had its own "telephone game" to arrive in the form that it
did.
The memo was the culmination of several years of discussion that
started with a routine security check of a civilian employee who also happened
to be a member of the Church and was studying Dianetics, which is a substudy
of Scientology.* One official confused Dianetics with dialectics, which is a
Marxian concept that formed a basis for Communist dialectics. Obviously
understanding neither, Dianetics became "Communist" (although
had he asked rather than relied upon others he would have found a very strong
and outspoken anti-Communist philosophy).
Once this change was made, a
Church publication on the evils of brainwashing became a book for brainwashing
(in order to substantiate the original error) and thus Scientologists "study
brainwashing."
This [ ... ] game was being played for real and
culminated in an Air Force memo of July 19, 1961, in which the Chief of the
Clearance Branch of the Security Division stated that "a determination (on
Scientology) cannot be favorable, even though the present files contain no
information . . ."
Undaunted by the lack of information, he still
asserts that, "it is known that these SCIENTOLOGY members engage in the ...
study (of) a Russian textbook on brainwashing" ** and "apparently
uphold the Russian definition of psychopolitics . . ."
* "Dianetics" comes from "dia-" and "nous" which mean "through the soul" and addresses the human condition prior to Scientology, which addresses the spiritual condition.
** He was referring to a booklet published by the Church titled "Brainwashing: A Synthesis of the Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics." It was never used in Church courses but printed as a public service.
An Air Force memorandum falsely charged Scientologists with engaging in the
study of a Russian textbook on brainwashing, administering serum at meetings and
practicing hypnosis. Because of these false charges, a Scientologist employed by
the Air Force was singled out for his connection with Scientology as a security
risk for Secret and Top Secret Information.
Interestingly enough, the book they claimed was on brainwashing was
actually anti-brainwashing and is now used by the Air Force to teach their men
the evils of brainwashing and Russian psychopolitics.
When the error was realized, the matter was not only corrected, the Air Force obtained copies of "Brainwashing" from the Church and began to use it in its counterinsurgency courses. The Air Force civilian was subsequently denied the required security clearance for his job and was forced to seek other employment, all because one official confused Dianetics with dialectics.
However, his clearance was restored several years later. Nevertheless, other Scientologists have not fared as well and have been coerced by diseased agency officials to choose between their livelihood or their religion.
The Air Force eventually requested copies of the anti-brainwashing book for its use in counter-insurgency courses.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
[illegible first line]
CENTRAL CONTRACT
MANAGEMENT REGION (AISC)
Air Force Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
- INV 4, 19 July 1961
0SI Dist. 11. Tinker AFB Okla.
l. Reference is
made to your file number 43-2373 on SUBJECT and to investigation in process on
[blank]
2. Although Mr. [blank] case was reported CLOSED on 10 July 1961,
we are unable to make a final determination to clear him at the TOP SECRET level
until we have "full information on the precepts of SCIENTOLOGY and the
national or international sponsors of that organization".
3. It. is
fully realized that this is a big order mainly because this group is not a
designated organization, nor has it been cited. However, a determination cannot
be favorable, even though present files contain no information, when it is known
that these SCIENTOLOGY members engage in
a. Study a Russian textbook on brainwashing.
b. Administer serum at meetings.
c. Practice hypnosis at meetings.
d. Apparently uphold the Russian definition of psychopolitics as "the science of controlling the thoughts and loyalties of people and effecting the conquest of enemy nations"
c. Believe in materialism.
4. In order to consider revocation or denial action, positive information is
requested which will enable us to evaluate all subversive aspects of group and
their beliefs. One question to be settled from this is: "Shall these group
members continue to have daily access to DOD SECRET and TOP SECRET information."
FOR THE COMMANDER
ROBERT J . GUERINS
Chief. Clearance Branch
Security
Division (IG)
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
USAF SPECIAL OPERATIONS
SCHOOL (TAC) ECLIN AF AUXILIARY FIELD N0. 9, FLORIDA 22544
3 Nov 70
Dear Mr Pilat
Sorry for not answering sooner, about the books I ordered, "Brainwashing",
I did receive them in good time, and 1 have been using them for instruction in
our USAF Counterinsurgency Course here in our Special Operations School.
Our mission is to educate officers in the tactics and objectives of Communism.
Most of our officers are on their nay to Southeast Asia so our training and
education is pointed that way. However, we do cover Russian and Chinese
Communist objectives too.
I must say that the ideas covered in your book "Brainwashing"
have been confirmed by recent events in Russia, many articles have been leaked
out about the tactics of putting people in insane asylums to remove them from
public life. The articles have been written by such scholars as Solzhenitsyn end
Medvedev and confirmed by many respected scholars in the U.S. who are recognized
experts in the study of Russia. A friend of mine, Dr Whiting, is such a scholar
who has studied Russian history and has spent his life studying Russia.
You
may find of great interest a book entitled, "Will the Soviet Union Survive
Until 1984?" by Andrei Amalrik. He is now in prison, since the book was
smuggled out thru the underground. I received a previous letter fax from your
organization and it requested permission to mention that we were using the book
"Brainwashing" in our school to the founder (1 think) Of Scientology.
1 have no objection, and would welcome the Idea of explaining that we have found
the book to be useful In our instruction. I have been teaching In this school
for the past 7 five years so I guess I am an Amateur student of Communism, and I
would welcome any other books that are good for this type of instruction. You
see, 1 have found, that although we as americans think we understand
Communism, In reality, we do not.........
Another strong conviction I have
is that our greatest strength is our faith, our spiritual values. 1 fond
myself explaining this to good americans who for some reason have forgotten that
is our real strength.
I think one of our real, problems is that we take for
granted that most of we believe in a God and let it go at that. Not realizing
that this is our greatest strength. We in the military start talking about a
better weapon system, as if our guns are going to solve our problem.
My parting comment is that if organizations such as yours could someway "Wake
up" the American public, to this obvious fact, we would not have a serious
threat ---
Our spiritual values if recognized, would enable us as a
nation to act in the right way, with the proper timing to deter Communism.
Respectfully yours,
/sig/
Peter F. Kosutic
Lt Colonel USAF 577
Pocahontes Drive
Fort walton beach, Florida Phone # 904 242 8849
A Synthesis of the Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics
PSYCHOPOLITICS-the art and science of asserting and maintaining dominion over
the thoughts and loyalties of individuals, officers, bureaus, and masses, and
the effecting of the conquest of enemy nations through "mental healing."
CONTENTS
Editorial Note 3
An Address by Beria
CHAPTER I:
The History and Definition of Psychopolitics 5
CHAPTER II: The Constitution
of Man as a political Organism 8
CHAPTER III:
Man as an Economic
Organism 13
CHAPTER IV:
State Goals for the Individual and Masses 17
CHAPTER V:
An Examination of Loyalties 19
CHAPTER VI:
The
General Subject of Obedience 29
CHAPTER VII:
Anatomy of
Stimulus-Response Mechanisms of Man 35
CHAPTER VIII:
Degradation,
Shock and Endurance 41
CHAPTER IX:
The Organization of Mental Health
Campaigns 45
CHAPTER X:
Conduct Under Fire 50
CHAPTER XI:
The Use of Psychopolitics in Spreading Communism - 53
CHAPTER XII:
Violent Remedies 54
CHAPTER XIII
Recruiting of Psychopolitical Dupes
56
CHAPTER XIV:
The Smashing of Religious Groups 58
CHAPTER XV
[blank]osals Which Must Be Avoided 61
Summary 64
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
[ ... ]
In October 1977, she ["Marie"] chose to give up the
Church after an FBI agent told her that her participation with the Church
jeopardized her security rating for a civilian company engaged in classified
work. She was told that if she "got off the mailing list of the Church and
wrote a letter through the Attorney General's office, that maybe in a month or
so she would be allowed to have the new position at that she desired."* It
is not known if she was given the job.
Carl is another Scientologist who
was forced to choose. Employed at another civilian company engaged in classified
work, Carl required a clearance from the supersecret National Security
Agency to hold his position. Carl's boss informed him in March, 1978, that the
NSA had told him that Carl "could not continue his association with the
Church without losing his security rate" and his job. He chose his job.
Carl and Marie's cases are not isolated. The Church has collected affidavits in
a number of instances where Church members were told their religious beliefs and
affiliation with the Church of Scientology was not acceptable to agency
officials.
Such blatant religious persecution calls to mind the prejudice
expressed against Irish, Catholics, Jews and Blacks that still exists in some
quarters. [...]
*Affidavit dated Nov. 22, 1977, in the possession of Church counsel and withheld
to protect her privacy.
**Affidavit dated March 17, 1978, on file with the
Church's counsel and withheld to protect his privacy.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
The Independent Journal Published by the Church of Scientology
A SPECIAL FREEDOM REPORT
"Thomas Jefferson wrote, I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal
hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.' To the conformist
and the shapers of the conformist mentality, this must surely sound like a most
dangerous and radical doctrine. Have we permitted the lamp of independent
thought and individualism to become so dim that were Jefferson to write and live
by these words today we would find cause to harass and investigate him? If
Americans permit thought-control, business-control and freedom-control to
continue, we shall surely move within the shadows of fascism. "
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
The international character of Scientology has afforded agency officials the
opportunity to disseminate diseased reports to dozens of other nations, thus
providing the Church with a task so massive that extra personnel were taken on
to help trace the false reports around the world.
A State Department
Airgram of August 24, 1968, for example, drew upon one false report included in
the Air Force memo of 1961. The embassy in London reported to Washington (with
copies to Belfast, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Melbourne -giving Guardian Office
staff four more cities to check and correct) that
... Scientology has gained such a foothold in the United Kingdom and acquired so many British proponents that legal action against the organization itself, which would have to be preceded by new legislative authority, will eventually prove necessary.
The reason cited for this blatant plan that "legal action against"
Scientology would "eventually prove necessary" simply because the
Church had "acquired so many British proponents" was an old false
report.
The state Department Airgram states that
British authorities have several times referred to the possibility that personal information obtained from "students" under hypnosis and other treatment could be used for blackmail and other coercive purposes, but Miss Hillson stated that no such cases are actually known. (Emphasis added.)
The charge of "hypnotism" was traced back to the same persons who confused "dianetics" and "dialectics." In the Air Force memo of July 19, 1961, cited earlier, it was cited that Scientologists "practice hypnosis at meetings." The report was subsequently withdrawn along with "brainwashing." However, in 1968, it was serving as the basis for State Department plans for "legal actions against the organization itself."
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
A-4444 LIMITED OFFICIAL USE
TO: Department of State
INFO: BELFAST,
EDIBURGH, LIVERPOOL, MELBOURNE
FROM: Amembassy LONDON
SUBJECT: British
Moves Against Scientology
Begin UNCLASSIFIED. The British Government last month announced the first
official steps against the practice of Scientology in the United Kingdom by
refusing to admit foreigners coming to this country to attend Scientology
courses or conferences and by refusing to extend the stay of those already here.
As a result, several hundred persons who sought to attend the just concluded
International Congress of Scientology, the majority of who were believed to be
Americans, were refused admittance. The Congress nevertheless ... has been the
subject of ... for several years [cut off]
[last half of signature page]
She said the Government hopes that the leaders will become so discouraged by
immigration difficulties as to retreat from their British base. Miss Millson
expressed her personal conviction, however, that scientology has gained such a
foothold in the United Kingdom and acquired so many British proponents that
legal action against the organization itself, which would have to be preceded by
new legislative authority, will eventually prove necessary. British authorities
have several times referred to the possibility that personal information
obtained from "students" under hypnosis and other treatment could be
used for blackmail and other coercive purposes, but Miss Millson stated that no
such cases are actually known.
That British officials may be contemplating
other steps might be suggested by the fact that the Embassy's Legal Attache has
had requests from British police for information concerning some of the
Americans involved. These inquiries revealed that Hubbard and others have petty
criminal records in the United States. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service office
in London has for some time been compiling information on Hubbard and his
organizations for tax purposes.
BRUCE
[ ...]
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
Two years before, in 1968, an inquiry into Scientology in Melbourne, Australia,
resulted in a ban on the religion in three states. No law had been broken. It
was simply and suddenly illegal to be or practice being a Scientologist.*
Scientologists took the matter in stride and simply changed the name of their
religion to the "Church of the New Faith" and continued, much to the
frustration of officials who had dutifully collected old false reports and
created new ones to effect the ban. In February, 1973, the Attorney General of
Australia fully recognized the Church. The following month an "Act to
repeal the Scientology Act, 1968," was passed. [...] On June 27, 1969, a
State Department memo noted there had been a "thorough" investigation
in Australia that the South Africans should "avail themselves of." The
memo also notes that the FBI had "furnished a report" on the Church
that State Department officials were free to disclose. However, the memo stated,
"no mention of it may be attributed to the FBI. There would be no
objections to describing it as a Confidential source."
[ . . . ]
* The chilling similarity to Nazis forcing Jews to wear a Star of David for identification comes easily to mind. For a full rendition of the hearing and its methods see Garrison's Hidden Story of Scientology, Chapter 7.
Commentator's opinions
The above section is not incoherent because of any editing done for this web page. There really is a comprehensive report presented in Australia in 1965, and it was not authored by the FBI, the State Department, nor by Shirley Foley, the Air Force, NSA or CIA. It is the
1965 Victoria
REPORT of THE BOARD OF INQUIRY INTO SCIENTOLOGY
Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of His Excellency the Governor
To His Excellency Major-General Sir Rohan Delacombe, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, Governor of the State of Victoria and its dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia.May it Please Your Excellency:
I, KEVIN VICTOR ANDERSON, Q.C., having been constituted and appointed by Order in Council made the 27th November, 1963, and published in the Victoria Government Gazette of the 28th November, 1963, No. 931, at p. 3547, to be a Board to inquire into, report upon, and make recommendations concerning Scientology as known, carried on, practised and applied in Victoria, HAVE THE HONOUR TO REPORT that, pursuant to and in accordance with the said Order in Council, I have inquired into Scientology and I herein report upon and make recommendations concerning Scientology as known carried on, practised and applied in Victoria.
... otherwise known as the "Anderson Report," and is probably still available on the Internet, and worth reading, not only for South Africa, but the rest of the English-speaking world. The big scandal exposed in this booklet seems to be: "no mention of it [the Anderson Report" may be attributed to the FBI. There would be no objections to describing it as a Confidential source."
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
No. 11 of 1973.
AN ACT to repeal the Scientology
[Assented to 25th
May, 1973
. BE It enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of
Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of
the same, as follows:
1. This Act may be cited as the Scientology Act
Short title Repeal Act, 1973. 2. The Scientology Act, 1968 is hereby
repealed. Repeal.
16910/3/73
By Authority: WILLIAM C BROWN Government Printer
Attorney-General
Canberra
-7 FEB 1973
Dear Mr. Graham,
I refer to your correspondence last year with my
predecessor requesting him to recommend that the Church of the New Faith
Incorporated be declared under section 26 of the Marriage Act 1961-1966 to be a
recognized denomination for the purposes of that Act.
I am pleased to be
able to inform you that I decided that the Church should be declared under
section 26. I so advised the Governor-General, who has made the necessary
declaration by Proclamation dated 18 January 1973.
As you are no doubt
aware, the declaration of a religious body or organization as a recognized
denomination under section 26 is made for the more convenient administration of
the Marriage Act. It means that the Church may now nominate persons under
section 29 of the Act for registration as authorized marriage celebrants. My
Department will be in touch with you about steps that your Church should take in
consequence of the declaration under section 26.
Yours sincerely,
LIONEL MURPHY
Attorney-General of Australia
The Reverend M.T. Graham,
President,
The Church of the New Faith
Incorporated,
37 Cleaver Street,
Perth. W.A. 6000
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
July 27, 1969.
To: AF/S - Mr. M. F. Byrne
From , SY/L - Lawrence E. [hand-written:
Gruze]
Subject: Narconcon [sic] and Church of Scientology
Reference is
made to your call/request on May 28. 1969, for information concerning Narconcon
and Church of Scientology to rable Am Embassy Capetown, [writing] to respond to
the request of a South African member of Parliament for such data, as reflected
in Capetown's telegram 764, dated May 27, 1969.
Inquiries by this office
produced the following results:
1. A check of SY files disclosed no trace
of either Narconcon or the Church of Scientology on May 28, 1969.
2. The
bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs reported on June 10, 1969, that it
possessed no details regarding these two organizations. On May 28, 1969, a
spokesman had indicated that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) had been
interested in them. The FDA spokesman said it would attempt to develop
information and furnish it to this office. He recalled that about 1961 the FDA
seized certain devices used by the Scientology Movement because of the latter's
claim that it could, among other things, cure cancer and other diseases
classified as incurable. lie said he would contact a Mr. Lester Edukin, FDA,
Code 161, Extension 1437 respecting this matter.
3. On June 10, 1969, a Mr.
V. N. Smart, FDA, informed this office that in 1968 after FDA seizure, the
District Court found against the Scientology Movement. On appeal, the Circuit
Court of Appeals overruled the lower court, holding that the Scientology
Movement was a religion. Mr. Smart stated that this matter was new in the hands
of the U. S. Solicitor General for consideration of a Government appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court. He added that several years ago, the Australian Government
caused a thorough investigation be conducted into the Scientology Movement in
Australia and published a "White Paper" containing the findings and
conclusions. He recommended that the South Africans avail themselves of
this publication since it contains approximately all the information available
to the FDA on this movement.
4. In response to a request from this office,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation furnished a report, a copy of which is
attached for your [education -- illegible] The contents of this report may be
disclosed, however no mention of it may be attributed to the FBI. There would
be no objection to describing it as a Confidential source.
5. Inquiries
were made at the Arizona State Prison on June [illegible] 1969, concerning this
matter. Attached is a copy of a Los Angeles SY Field Office Report, dated June
23, 1969.[illegible]
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material (referring to above letter)
A 27 June, 1969 State Department memorandum showed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation provided the State Department with reports about the Church of Scientology. According to the memorandum, these reports were to be forwarded to the Parliament of South Africa. The memorandum also indicated that the FBI did not wish to be known as the source of these reports.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
JOE L. ALLBRITTON Publisher JAMES G BELLOWS, Editor SIDNEY EPSTEIN, Managing Editor WASHINGTON, D.C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1976
By Vernon A. Guidry Jr. Washington Star Staff Writer
The National Security
Agency is the kind of operation in which the public affairs office telephone is
answered with a four-digit number rather than a name, a practice that even the
CIA has abandoned.
So perhaps it wasn't surprising when NSA time after time
told the Founding Church of Scientology of Washington that it could find no
information in its files about the church, nor its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
The church had made repeated requests over a number of months, asking NSA under
the Freedom of Information Act if that massive electronic spy agency had any
such information.
The church was no stranger to the federal government's
investigatory and information gathering arms, nor to controversy, most of which
centered over the use of a lie-detector like device called an E-meter to assess
the mental and spiritual condition of a subject.
But of late, the church
has been, striking back at the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the CIA and
the NSA, chiefly through the courts and the information act.
WHILE IT WAS
CARRYING on a game of thrust-and-parry with NSA through the mails, the church
was also suing the CIA. In the course of that suit, the CIA admitted that it had
16 documents relating to the church in its files - all received from NSA.
Armed with that information, the church went back to NSA this June and demanded
once again that the agency own up to having information in its files.
This
month, the reply from NSA was received. Yes, the agency acknowledged that it had
found at least 15 of the 16 documents identified by the CIA. But it still
claimed that the earlier denials were accurate.
That claim was made in a
letter to the church from John R. Harney, who identified himself as a "freedom
of information appeal authority."
Harney wrote that the documents "were
located in warehouse storage and were found only on the basis of the information
we received from the CIA; they could not be found on the basis of the subject
matter content.
"I must therefore reaffirm the NSA information
officer's previous statements that no information was located in agency files
concerning the Church of Scientology under any of the headings or in each of the
categories, as specified in your previous requests, in this agency's records,"
Harney wrote.
IN ANY EVENT, WOULD NSA now release the documents, whatever
they are? No. Wrote Harney: "The National Security Agency is precluded by
Title 18 U.S.C. 798 from providing information concerning classified
communications intelligence activities except to those persons authorized to
receive such information."
That admission didn't go unnoticed by the
scientologists. A spokesman, the Rev. Hugh Wilhere, declared that "the fact
that the NSA is holding files and conducting 'foreign intelligence activity' on
a church by their own admission is highly incriminating in itself."
There are those in NSA who apparently would like to say more in their own
defense on this issue. Information officer Norman Boardman, who was involved in
some of the correspondence that assured the church that no such documents
existed, is one of them.
Yesterday. Boardman was asked how, for instance,
the CIA could find the documents supplied by NSA, but NSA could not. While
supplying no direct answer, Boardman insisted that "there are two sides to
this thing."
When a questioner on the telephone asked him to expand on
that, he said he would call back. When he did, he said only, "I'm not
prepared to go beyond 'no comment.'"
True to the form it has been
developing, the church yesterday went to court. It filed a Freedom of
Information action in U.S. District Court here to force release of the
documents.
And, it asked the court to force NSA to make a search of its
records, a complete search this time.
Agency officials have gone to such extremes as to deny even having records about the Church and then being forced to admit they had made a "mistake."
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
Mr. Kilpatrick is quite right. It would be impossible to estimate the man-hours
spent by a dozen agencies over a quarter of a century. At this writing, they
have not given up. On July 8, 1977, 134 FBI agents were used to smash into the
Church and cart off approximately 100, 000 pages of documents that required two
agents each at 10 Xerox machines in 8-hour shifts for two days to copy, at an
expense to the taxpayers of about $30,000 for copying alone.
Columnist
James Kilpatrick wrote:
If the Scientologists' story were not so terrifying, it would have its comic aspects. But the story in fact is terrifying. Over a period of 23 years, commencing in 1954, the federal government has thrown its whole massive weight into a malicious persecution of this religious sect. A dozen different agencies have participated in the attack. Millions upon millions of tax dollars have been wasted. No statistician could compute the man hours of costly time that have been frittered away in blundering pursuit of these devotees.
[ . . . ]
*The estimate includes a 1963 raid on the Church by the FDA that dragged through the courts for 8 years before the Church won the case and got its materials back. The Church has filed F0IA requests with several key agencies to get the exact costs of 23 years of harassment.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
A CONSERVATIVE VIEW, by James J. Kilpatrick Thursday, August 18, 1971
A small army of FBI agents played another game of gangbusters last month with
the Church of Scientology. By apparent actual count, 134 agents burst into three
church offices in Washington and California. They hauled away tons of stuff. Now
church leaders are fighting back.
Speaking simply as a taxpayer, I
would say hooray for these scrappy reverends. They have sued the FBI, and they
have just published a large book of documents having to do with the government's
long campaign of harassment against them. Church lawyers pried the documents
loose from a reluctant government by means of the Freedom of Information Act. If
the Scientologists' story were not so terrifying, it would have its comic
aspects. But the story in fact is terrifying. Over a period of 23 years,
commencing in 1954, the federal government has thrown its whole massive weight
into a malicious persecution of this religious sect. A dozen different agencies
have participated in the attack. Millions upon millions of tax dollars have been
wasted. No statistician could compute the man hours of costly time that have
been frittered away in blundering pursuit of these devotees.
For the
record, I am as skeptical of the Scientologists - and as tolerant of their ideas
- as I am of every other organized religion. Scientology may be a racket, as the
government persistently contends, but this has never been proved as a matter of
law. These people believe they have found a path to man's peace of mind; they
profess to have founded an establishment of religion. And if church leaders seek
rich converts, and milk them for large contributions, what else is new?
The
story begins in 1954, when the United States Air Force, of all outfits, launched
an investigation of Scientology in the area of Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado.
The USAF Office of Special Investigation had some notion that the disciples were
Communists, homosexuals. or either, or both.
In 1959, the Food and Drug
Administration began an attack that would go on for years. Why the FDA, you may
ask? A fair question. The Scientologists use a simple skin galvanometer, which
they call an Emeter, as an aid in their metaphysical healing programs. The
FDA said the E-meter was a quack medical device, hence unlawful.
In 1960,
the United States Army moved up some troops. The Scientologists' book includes a
photostat of one Army Intelligence report. If that report is a fair sample of
the intelligence of Army Intelligence, God help the American Republic.
In
1961, the Air Force renewed its forays. In 1962, the FDA and the Bureau of
Customs gave the church a hard time. In January of 1963, two huge vans, escorted
by motorcycle police, rolled up to church headquarters in Washington. Government
agents seized three tons of material, including 5,000 books, 20,000 pamphlets,
and 65 of the devilish E-meters. It took 10 years of costly litigation before
the courts held the raid an unconstitutional abuse of power.
In 1967, the
Labor Department harassed the church by denying work permits to visiting
ministers from abroad. The CIA checked in. The Post Office brought up its
legions of postal inspectors, sniffing for mail fraud. The FBI kept surveilling
away. The Immigration and Naturalization Service joined the fun.
Finally
the government, having lost at every turn, threw the Internal Revenue Service
into the breach. The IRS prepared whole pages of instruction for its agents'
manual, dealing with special audits and investigations. The IRS now has 33
lineal feet of files on the sect, and all the government has for its trouble is
a series of court rulings to the effect that Scientology is indeed a church as a
matter of law. Who's crazy? I ask you, seriously, now, who's nuts? These
meter-reading reverends? Or the government's klutzes who trample the First
Amendment under foot?
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
When the Justice Department attorneys told Federal District Judge Thomas Griese
that the FBI would be willing to concede a $40 million suit being brought by the
Socialist Workers Party rather than disclose 18 informant files, the move was
unprecedented.
Attorney General Griffin Bell had already been charged with
contempt of court for refusing to turn the files over to Judge Griese on the
grounds that his agency would not violate a "pledge of confidentiality"
made to the informants.
On the surface, the Justice Department had taken a
strong ethical stance that could, ironically, put the Attorney General in the
same position as that of a newsman refusing to disclose his source(s) of
information.
However, an FBI agent who retired from the Bureau after nearly
30 years offers a more likely explanation for the Bureau's willingness to part
with $40 million.
In an exclusive interview with a researcher from the
Church-sponsored American Citizens for Honesty in Government that was printed in
the December, 1978, issue of the Church's national monthly journal, FREEDOM,
the former agent states that a high percentage of FBI informants have been
fabricated on paper, only.
In order to gain promotions in the FBI, he told
the ACHG, an agent was required to have informants. Some agents were incapable
of such a task and would "come up with some kind of scheme to qualify for
his grade-raises, to get a satisfactory annual performance rating." The "scheme,"
he said, "depended on the agent's personality" and ingenuity. Some
went so far as to pick names out of phone books and write them up as informants
to meet the quota.
"It was an accepted procedure," he stated. "As
you went up in the organization you had to go through this process and so
everyone was aware of what was going on with informants. It was never put down
on paper that someone had phoney informants. That's ridiculous. You don't put
that on paper."
Information would then be attributed to the "paper
informants," he stated, in a number of ways. An agent may go find the
information and credit the informant or glean it from another report. In some
cases, he told the ACHG later, material was fabricated as well. Such information
might then be distributed to other agencies, he stated.
The implications
are harrowing; to get a pay-raise an agent fabricates informants and information
that goes not only into FBI files but also the files of other agencies.
Meanwhile, to keep Bureau officials happy with the statistics, supervisors and
inspectors for the FBI turn their backs on a massive scandal regardless of the
serious effects such fabrications could have on individuals and groups being
reported on.
Such an abusive system clearly offers an excellent opportunity
for the planting of reports from a so-called informant. Since an agent was
allowed to insist that the informant not be contacted, information could be
attributed to the fictitious source with impunity. Thus a citizen would never be
able to face his or her accuser, a right long recognized, and would be in this
way denied this basic Constitutional guarantee. Thus Justice Department
attorneys may be saying that the confidentiality of the informants is an issue,
but the former agent who watched the fabrication of informant files offers a
much better motive for the willingness of the FBI to part with $40 million
rather than disclose what is in the files.
Excerpts from other sources cited in booklet.
LIBERTY - FRANKNESS - OUTSPOKENNESS. THE RIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP TO BE,
TO DO, TO HAVE. FREEDOM FROM ... FREEDOM TO ...
Feb 1979 ISSUE XXXVI
The
Independent Journal Published by the Church of Scientology 50cents
MEDIA MANIPULATION
By Michael Baybak
A tide of revelations stemming from a government
documents revealed through the Freedom of Information Act and from
Congressional hearings conclusively shows that the Federal Bureau of
Investigation ha engaged in a secret campaign of Orwellian proportion, to
manipulate the reporting of hundreds of named and unnamed journalists, news
executives and news organizations.
The purpose of the two-decades-old
media campaign has been to distort the public's perception of many law-abiding
groups that became targets of the FBI through quirks of capricious government
policy. These groups have included civil rights, anti-war, religious and
social reform organizations.
The manipulation of the news has been achieved
by the FBI not only through the systematic dissemination of false, inflammatory
and derogatory information, but has also entailed the use of newsmen as FBI
informers who, taking advantage of their role to gain confidential relationship,
piped their gleanings directly to the nearest FBI field office. The
pervasiveness of these practices was brought to light during Senate hearings on
domestic intelligence abuses in 1976, as reported by FREEDOM in the
preceding two issues.
(Continued on page 3)
CULT OF INTELLIGENCE
Documents detailing the top secret efforts of the Central Intelligence
Agency to perfect a form of "mind control" have revealed schemes that
range from prophetic and chilling to the bizarre and ridiculous.
Obtained
by the Church of Scientology's American Citizens for Honesty in Government, the
documents were part of a 25-year CIA campaign that went by various code names
before settling under the umbrella title of "MK ULTRA."
Literally
nothing was excluded in the spy agency's search for that element, drug or
technique that would make people into unwitting pawns capable even of killing
others and themselves. Drugs, hypnosis, electric shock, poisons and even
radiation have been used or reviewed by the CIA to perfect a program that was
allegedly phased out a few years ago when news services began to catch wind of
he stranger than science fiction activity.
Officially approved by the then
Director of Central Intelligence, Allen W. Dulles, on April 13, 1953, the spy
agency was quick to put their plans into action with the "ARTICHOKE"
project, a forerunner of MK ULTRA.
In a report dated January 22, 1954, less
than one year after Dulles had given his official blessing, the "ARTICHOKE
Team on first assignment" reported on a "hypothetical pro-
(Continued on page 7)
A FREEDOM EXCLUSIVE Part II of a Series
On Tuesday, January 16, 1979, a
page one story in the New York Times proclaimed "Ex-agent Accuses
FBI Exxmive of Perjury in Suit Over Informants".
The former FBI agent was M. Wesley Swearingen who had been interviewed in
the December Issue of FREEDOM by an investigator for the Church of
Scientology's American Citizens for Honesty in Govern . Requesting
originally to remain anonymous, Swearingen detailed in the interview how the
FBI's informant system truly operated. Many so-called informants, he told the
ACHG, were fictitious or fabricated to satisfy a strict FBI quota system that
demanded every agent have a certain number of informants. To satisfy supervisors
and inspectors, informants were fictionalized.
The implications became
staggering; from reports filed from an alleged informant who doesn't exist to
millions of dollars allegedly being paid to informants that is now unaccounted
for.
Attorney General Griffin B. Bell was found in contempt of court when he
refused to release the files of 18 informants to Federal District Judge Thomas
P. Grits, in a suit brought by the Socialist Workers Party and stated he was
seeking to protect confidentiality. Swearingen, with 26 years n the FBI, nearly
all of his tenure being in domestic intelligence, staled that corruption within
the FBI as well as the informant system would better explain the FBI's
reluctance to reveal the files to Judge Griese.
(Continued on page 5)
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
"Dossier Disease" is real, and the way to find it and to handle it
is not totally dissimilar to the way one finds any highly infectious disease -it
is handled with the truth.
Agencies have gone mad under the direction of
officials who have acted as self-appointed vigilantes and executioners. They
rely upon malicious campaigns of disinformation and false information to
selectively poison persons, groups, professions, and even entire populations as
certainly as if they were waging biological warfare. The primary difference
being that the weapon is the false report covertly planted and then
disseminated by others.
Commentator's opinions
The above is an example of an application of Hubbard's "Suppressive Person Doctrine" to the offbeat idea of "dossier disease," as if one more name for bureaucracy-gone-awry were not enough. This dossier, if one unquestioningly accepts it as "truth," can be used to find and handle government agencies what "have gone mad." A closer example of the above paragraph, though, shows that the emphasis, kept from the original, is the false report covertly planted and then disseminated by others. This is not analogous to biological warfare. It is analogous to a false report, such as official acceptance of Scientology as "religion," covertly planted and then disseminated by the IRS. The difference is that in the former case, Scientology does not benefit. With regard to Scientology's tax-exemption, it cannot be challenged because nobody knows what the basis of it is. As of December 2004, the entire basis of Scientology's tax exemption has never been revealed. See What Went on Behind Closed Doors by Dan Pilla in the July 8, 1999 SPOTLIGHT for more details.
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
As with any disease, there are symptoms. [ ... ] The signs are simple:
*The person or group has suddenly come under governmental investigation.
There will always be a "valid reason" cited; but, the investigation
invariably includes topics or items not fully germane to the issue, i.e., the
stated "reason" is actually an "excuse" to gather more more
information and put pressure on the party.
*The person or group suddenly comes under "public" attack or criticism. The media is often the most popular vehicle. Quite often the "investigation" is cited, if one has been initiated which, of course, heats up the probe.
*Difficulty is suddenly encountered in a routine area where there was none before. Examples can be as mundane as one's utilities or credit. Or an organization's membership drives or events suddenly encounter difficulty.
*Acts of violence are directed at the person or group. The Civil Rights
movement is an excellent example. Other minority groups have also been the
targets of violence following rumormongering.
It would be as
dangerous to ignore these signs of a disinformation or black propaganda campaign
as it would be to ignore the symptoms of a terminal disease, because one cannot
chance it.
[ ... ]
Commentator's opinions
Once upon a time, one of the few organizations in the Free World from which a person had to worry about "black propaganda" was Scientology. However, now that cult principles have become more popular as "covert marketing" and "negative campaigning" are on the rise, this is becoming more of a public problem.
Church of Scientology (CoS) Ministry of Public Relations material
1. ALWAYS DEAL IN INDIVIDUALS, NOT ISSUES. While the controversy surrounding a person or group may seem to revolve on certain issues, the matter can always be traced to certain individuals who are fomenting it as well as standing to profit in some way by the impaired efficiency of the person or group. This is not to say there may not be a key issue or two but it cannot be overstressed that controversies are kept alive by individuals.
2. TRACE DOWN THE SOURCE OF THE DIFFICULTY. A simple matter like a credit problem invites one to deal in the issue of one's credit and not who supplied the information that is false. Whether easily obtained or not, the source of the disinformation must be gathered and each source followed down, while checking to see who else received the same information. In this age of the Xerox machine, dissemination on a wide scale is too easy. If one is dealing with a governmental agency, a Freedom of Information Act request may be in order.
3. HANDLE EACH RELAY POINT WITH DOCUMENTATION TO THE CONTRARY. Once one knows what falsehoods one is facing, one simply prepares documentation that demonstrates the truth of the matter and demands a correction. Make that person responsible for the distribution of the falsehood correct the matter in their files and inform any others who may have been given the spurious information.
4. LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE FALSEHOOD(S) AND HANDLE. People do not concoct lies without a motive; one of the primary motives for covert character assassination is some sort of gain by the person(s) doing it. It may be as simple as financial gain or as human as jealousy. Who your original source is and who they work for will be your major clue.
5. PROMULGATE YOUR FINDINGS TO THOSE CONCERNED. "Joe Blow has admitted he falsified the membership rolls to gain control of the election and the organization while stirring others up to demand a Constitutional change." This would produce miracles if such were the case and the matter were given out to the members. One need not get into further controversy but only state the facts. Or, "The XYZ Credit Company has admitted that it accepted false information from ABC who are our competitors. It was this information, distributed to our suppliers, that caused the union dispute last months." Such matters should always be above board and done in writing.
MAXIM: DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS ARE COVERT AND ARE SUSTAINED BY THE SOURCE BEING HIDDEN AND DEALING IN GENERALITIES. One need not look far to hear "People are upset with . . ." which gives neither the source nor the specifics. Quite often it can be traced to "Joe Blow hates the new model because it is cutting into his sales" or some similar specific. ' Agencies quite often hide behind titles such as "the Department of Justice reports . . ." or 'the Internal Revenue says ... " when, in truth, it will come down to one or two persons. If one is willing to insist that the generalities be eliminated and that specific sources be identified, something can be done about it.
Disinformation campaigns waged as a Dossier Disease are conducted today on such a wide-ranging front that it is a rare group that is immune to the effects. The increasing computerization of records and files has given the rumormonger an even greater opportunity to destroy the credibility or integrity of an individual or group. The best defense is to (a) know that such tactics exist; (b) know that they are done with the purpose to destroy or discredit; (c) know that there is someone who stands to profit; and (d) know that such tactics can be successfully handled.
Commentator's opinions
Once upon a time, one of the few organizations in the Free World from which a person had to worry about "black propaganda" was Scientology. However, now that cult principles have become more popular as "covert marketing" and "negative campaigning" are on the rise, this is becoming more of a public problem. The information contained in this booklet, which advocates ALWAYS DEAL IN INDIVIDUALS, NOT ISSUES helps insure that every minor problem always gets personal, rather than resolved. To make progress, one is better off not to presume self-righteousness while all that remains for the rest of the world is to be "handled."
