Is the CIA Big Brother? (Part 1)

In Orwell’s novel 1984, Big Brother (the government) was always watching you and trying to manipulate how and what you think.

Today, the CIA seems to be Big Brother for taxpaying Americans who pay the CIA’s salary.  The CIA seems to be involved with everything from manipulation of the media, January 6th events, recruitment of journalist, recruitment of clergy, assassination of presidents, drug trafficking, flipping of governments, determining if Russia is “serious about” Ukrainian peace, work against presidential candidates, ensuring Hunter’s laptop is deemed Russian misinformation, to determining what characters are in television shows and what ideas are portrayed in Hollywood movies.  Lastly, the CIA is spying on Americans.  That is an impressive list, or should we say, an “oppressive” list?

Manipulation of the Media

“Operation Mockingbird is an alleged CIA project that recruited [,‘blackmailed’, or ‘threatened’] journalist to write fake stories promoting government ideas while dispelling communist ones,” or at least that is how is started.  The operation was begun in the 1950s recruiting “American journalists into a propaganda network,” but it was expanded to include influencing foreign media as well. 

In the 1970s the U.S. Senate established the “Church Committee” to examine “potential abuses by the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, and the IRS.”

In 2007, about 700 pages of documents for the 1970s investigation were declassified and released by the CIA in what is called, “The Family Jewels.”  The documents pertain to scandals and misconduct of the agencies during the 1970s.

In these files there is only one mention of Operation Mockingbird.  No one knows if the program has ever been “officially discontinued” or how the program has morphed from its original intent.

Recruitment of journalist and clergy

A 1996 Select Committee on Intelligence Report details the use of journalists, clergymen, and Peace Corps members in intelligence operations.  This report contains numerous details.  In the report former ABC news anchor Ted Koppel stated, “Let me begin by giving you the perspective of someone who has been a working journalist for more than 35 years.  As things already stand, most governments, police, and intelligence agencies around the world assume that many, if not most American journalists working overseas are, at the very least sharing information with the CIA and probably work for the Agency.  Since that is the way most of them operate, it is only natural that they assume we do also. …The gathering of intelligence is a difficult, dangerous, and sometimes dirty operation.  That is not my judgment.  That is what we have repeatedly been told by senior intelligence officers. …When as they sometimes do, U.S. intelligence officers circumvent or even break American laws, they must reckon with the possibility that they will one day be held to account.  If their arguments are persuasive…Congress can be expected to be lenient. …If the CIA must on occasion use the role of an American journalist to conceal one of its operatives and to protect the greater national interest, it will do so, regardless of what is decided by Congress.  But let that continue to be in the knowledge that a free press is being endangered and that American law is being broken.”  The report is 42 pages long.

Assassination of presidents

Even Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, whose uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated, stated, “There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in his murder….I think it is beyond reasonable doubt at this point. …The evidence is overwhelming that the CIA was involved in the murder, and in the [60-year] cover-up.” 

Why would the CIA assassinate an American President?  Until the records are released, we may never fully know, and possibly not then, but there are some interesting speculations.  For example, trying to keep U.S. intervention covert, President Kennedy changed the invasion site and manipulated the CIA’s top-secret mission, Project Mongoose, which resulted in the project being a total failure, numerous deaths, and the Bay of Pigs incident in the 1960s.  Operation Mongoose had the goal of overthrowing Fidel Castro in Cuba through the coordination of “American intelligence, Cuban exiles, and organized crime.”  In addition to his already misguided judgment, in the middle of the operation, “Kennedy, who’s number one goal was hiding the hand of the U.S. government,” made the decision to “cancel the air strikes set to destroy the remaining fleet of Cuban bombers.”  Additionally, artillery and weapons drops were bumbled because of interference “at the highest U.S. Government levels.”  These bumblings caused multiple deaths of CIA contract pilots.  These decisions “seethed” Tampa’s Mafia boss Santo Trafficante Jr., who had given Senator Kennedy “a three-call-girl orgy at the Hotel Commodoro,” infuriated Mafia boss, New Orleans Carlos Marcello, who “sent Kennedy to the White House by rigging the Illinois presidential vote,” for both Mafia bosses “lost lucrative investments in the Cuban casinos when the …Communist took over” (Real-Life stories of America’s Most Notorious Crime Lords, American Media, Inc. (ISSN 1056-3482), p25.) for Castro rid Cuba of the Mob.  A CIA tied Mafia boss claims he put the “hit” on Kennedy.  Robert Kennedy, John Kennedy’s Attorney General, decided to team up with the FBI and go after the Mafia.  Robert was also assassinated.  The House Select Committee in the mid-70s “couldn’t rule out JFK was killed by the Mob” for they had “motive, means, and opportunity.” (Real-Life stories of America’s Most Notorious Crime Lords, American Media, Inc. (ISSN 1056-3482), p25.)  “Even the veteran spy William Harvey called the CIA’s covert collaboration with the gangsters a ‘hand grenade’ waiting to explode.  Harvey, who ran the CIA-Mafia assassination operation in 1962-1963, warned CIA Deputy Director for Plans (DDP) Richard Helms that there was a ‘very real possibility’ that the Mafia would use its inside knowledge of the plotting to blackmail the CIA.” 

This article will continue in Part 2.