United States Department of State Active Measures: A Report on the Substance and Process of Anti-U.S. Disinformation and Propaganda Campaigns August 1986 © by Catherine Kanner Artwork from Los Angeles Times by Catherine Kanner © Catherine Kanner Department of State Publication 9630 Released August 1986 United States Department of State Active Measures: A Report on the Substance and Process of Anti-U.S. Disinformation and Propaganda Campaigns August 1986 Foreword This document contains the principal chapters of designed to discredit the US image abroad and a report submitted in August 1986 to the US Congress disrupt US foreign policy objectives. This program by the Secretary of State. It was prepared in has achieved successes in the past; without effective fulfillment of Section 1247 of H.R. 2086, passed in responses by the US, it constitutes a threat to US July 1985. The report was compiled by the national interests. interagency Active Measures Working Group, Soviet active measures have shown no diminution comprised of representatives from the Departments since General Secretary Gorbachev came to power. of State, Defense, and Justice, the Central During 1985-86, virtually the entire Soviet Intelligence Agency, the Arms Control and leadership directly responsible for active measures Disarmament Agency, and the US Information changed; the new leaders have a more eclectic view Agency. of world politics and are younger. Also, the The conclusion to be drawn from this report is International Department of the Central Committee that there is a massive and highly organized effort of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which by the Soviet Union and its proxies to influence is responsible for many active measures, has been world opinion. This effort includes public diplomacy reorganized. These changes indicate a renewed to enhance the Soviet image abroad and to further emphasis on active measures and perhaps an increase Soviet policy objectives. It also includes a persistent, in both quantity and quality of such deceptive widespread program of disinformation and deception activities for the foreseeable future. iii Table of Contents Page Foreword .....................................................................................................................iii Chapter 1. Executive Summary ................................................................................... 1 Definition ..................................................................................................... 1 The Soviet Foreign Propaganda Apparatus .................................................. 2 Soviet Active Measures in the United States ................................................ 2 Soviet Front Organizations ........................................................................... 2 Forgeries: An Instrument of Active Measures .............................................. 3 Agents of Influence ...................................................................................... 3 Chapter 11. The Soviet Foreign Propaganda Apparatus ............................................ 5 Outlets for Soviet Propaganda ..................................................................... 6 The Apparatus for Propaganda Management ............................................. 13 The Propaganda Process ............................................................................ 15 Soviet Propaganda Techniques and Recent Improvements . .................... 16 Conclusions and Prospects ......................................................................... 17 Appendix: The Soviet Campaign Against SDI ........................................... 18 Footnotes .................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 111. Soviet Active Measures in the US ...........................................................21 Soviet Forgery Operations ......................................................................... 22 Use of Soviet Media Representatives ........................................................ 23 Soviet Efforts To Influence Peace and Disarmament Movements ................................................................................................. 25 Soviet Efforts To Control the International Womens Movement .................................................................................................. 29 The Soviet Campaign To Influence Religious Organizations . .................. 29 Efforts to Influence US Presidential Elections ........................................... 30 The 12th World Festival of Youth and Students ......................................... 31 Soviet Influence in the United Nations ...................................................... 32 An Assessment of Soviet Active Measures in the US .............................. 33 Chapter IV. Soviet Front Organizations .....................................................................35 Table A: International Communist Front Organizations, 1985 .................. 36 World Peace Council (WPC) ..................................................................... 37 World Federation of Trade Unions............................................................. 38 The Womens International Democratic Federation (WIDF) ..................... 38 The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY)............................... 39 International Union of Students (IUS) ....................................................... 39 Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization (AAPSO) ............................. 39 The Christian Peace Conference (CPC) ..................................................... 40 International Organization of Journalists (IOJ) .......................................... 41 International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) ........................ 41 World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW) ..................................... 41 World Federation of Teachers Union (FISE) ............................................. 42 Asian Buddhists Conference for Peace (ABCP) ........................................ 42 Esperantists Movement for World Peace ................................................... 42 v Chapter V. Forgeries: An Instrument of Active Measures ...................................... 43 Operational Aspects ................................................................................... 43 Themes and Timing of Forgeries ............................................................... 44 Technical Aspects ...................................................................................... 44 Impact ........................................................................................................ 46 Examples of Forgeries ............................................................................... 47 Embassy Rome Cables .............................................................................. 47 The von Damm Letter................................................................................ 49 The Defense Mapping Agency Letter ........................................................ 52 The Olympic Hate Letters ......................................................................... 54 The Jorgenson Letter ................................................................................. 57 The Schweitzer Letter................................................................................ 60 The Tyner Letter ........................................................................................ 63 AIDS in Jamaica Pamphlet ........................................................................ 65 The USIA Questionnaire ........................................................................... 68 The General Skantze Letter ....................................................................... 71 The Kirkpatrick Speech ............................................................................. 73 Footnotes ................................................................................................... 80 Chapter VI. Soviet Agents of Influence ....................................................................... 81 Types of Relationships .............................................................................. 81 Foreign Targets .......................................................................................... 81 The Arne Treholt Case ............................................................................... 82 Other High-Level Officials ........................................................................ 82 Penetrating the Opposition ........................................................................ 82 Targeting Journalists . ................................................................................ 83 Other Influence Channels .......................................................................... 83 vi Chapter I Executive Summary Definition Nonruling Communist and Leftist Parties The term active measures is a literal translation The ID is also responsible for liaison with from Russian, aktivnyye meropriyatiya, which denotes nonruling communist and leftist parties, covert or deceptive operations conducted in support including socialist and social democratic parties. of Soviet foreign policy. Active measures are distinct Contacts with these parties are usually overt, and both from espionage and counterintelligence and from are used to persuade the parties to carry out traditional diplomatic and informational activities. specific