Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare

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On October 15 1984, six days before the second presidential debate between President Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale, the Associated Press reported that the CIA had written a manual for the contras, entitled Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare (Operaciones Sicologicas en Guerra de guerillas). The ninety-page book of instructions focused mainly on how "Armed Propaganda Teams" could build political support within Nicaragua for the contra cause through deceit, intimidation, and violence.[1]

The CIA manual described the proper instances when violence and terror was to be used against certain targets, including court judges, mesta judges, and police officials.

Contents

[edit] Political reaction

A Reagan administration official stated privately that the manual had been written by an "overzealous" independent low-level employee under contract to the CIA. Further, the manual had not been cleared for publication and was "clearly against the law",[2] and the manual violated Reagan’s 1981 executive order banning political assassinations.[3]

On October 18, 1984 President Reagan ordered William Casey to initiate an investigation by the CIA's inspector general. Reagan stated that "whoever is guilty [of preparing the manual], we will deal with that situation and they will be removed."[4][2]

In a news conference the day after his reelection victory, Reagan dismissed the entire controversy as “much ado about nothing.”[3]

The next month a White House spokesman said Reagan had approved the inspector general's report recommending discipline of several mid-level officials. Five mid-level CIA employees received punishments from written reprimands to suspension without pay for “poor judgment and lapses in oversight” because of the manual. In 1987 it was found that Casey blocked any punishment of the two senior CIA officials involved with producing and distributing the manual, including one, Duane Clarridge, who after initially denying that he had anything to do with the manual, admitted he was “fully responsible” for the document. In closed testimony to a congressional committee, Casey reportedly declared, “There’s no reason to discipline them for one little slip-up.”[3][4]

[edit] Contents

The manual recommended “selective use of violence for propagandistic effects” and to “neutralize” (i.e., kill) government officials. Nicaraguan Contras were taught to lead:

demonstrators into clashes with the authorities, to provoke riots or shootings, which lead to the killing of one or more persons, who will be seen as the martyrs; this situation should be taken advantage of immediately against the Government to create even bigger conflicts.

The manual also recommended:

selective use of armed force for PSYOP [psychological operations] effect.... Carefully selected, planned targets — judges, police officials, tax collectors, etc. — may be removed for PSYOP effect in a UWOA [unconventional warfare operations area], but extensive precautions must insure that the people “concur” in such an act by thorough explanatory canvassing among the affected populace before and after conduct of the mission.[3]

[edit] Nicaragua v. US

The manual was one of the issues the International Court of Justice analyzed in the Nicaragua v. US 1986 I.C.J. 14 case.

The I.C.J. held that the manual encouraged the commission of acts that were illegal under international law, but did "not find a basis for concluding that any such acts which may have been committed as imputable to the United States of America as acts of the United States of America."[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Leogrande, William M. (February 1 2000). “Peace Offensive”, Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992. University of North Carolina Press, 363. 0807848573.
  2. ^ a b (October 19 1984) "U.S. Orders Probe of CIA Terror Manual". Facts on File World News Digest: p. 764 A2.
  3. ^ a b c d James Bovard (June 9, 2004). Terrorism Debacles in the Reagan Administration. The Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved on April 14, 2006.
  4. ^ a b Roland, Neil (February 8 1987). "Casey spared top officials of discipline for Contra manual". United Press International.
  5. ^ Kepner, Timothy J. (Spring 2001). "Torture 101: The Case Against the United States for Atrocities Committed by School of the Americas Alumni". Dickinson Journal of International Law (19 Dick. J. Int'l L. 475) 19: 487.

[edit] Further reading

  • Cold War Episode 18: Backyard. CNN. Retrieved on February 18, 2006.
  • (Author Unknown) (October 21 1984). "The CIA's Murder Manual". The Washington Post: C6.
  • (January 1, 2000) Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua V. United States of America). United Nations Publications. ISBN 9210708261. The "manual, several thousand which were produced, was distributed ordering political assassinations, hiring of criminals ad other forms of terrorsim. Some of it was excised; but the part dealing with political terrorism was continued." p. 178.
  • Leogrande, William M. (February 1 2000). “Peace Offensive”, Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992. University of North Carolina Press, 363. 0807848573.
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