-'---------------_.__.

iSSN 1173·2679

December 1996 P.O. Box 2258

Number 11 Christchurch
New Zealand

Spying by the GCSB and Waihopai

above, beyond, outside the law?
(set' page 2)

CONVICnm! Three protesters outside the Blcnheim �om1 in .hul" l'i'l6 .iust alter
c<H1vidioll on cha..ges oftresp"" at Ih" \",,;hopai satellik spy base. The judge did not
a/low preselltation of aefe"". argull,,'nts challenging the legality of GCSE activities.

III tllis issue: page

.. Is the GCSB a lawless agency? 2
" Okinawa - Historic referendum votes for bases out 6
'" Philippines - Former bases still contaminated by toxic wastes 7
" NZ secret anti-terrorism conference in the Philippines 8
" SIS break-in - Ombudsman shields details 9
" Woman offered cash to spy on peace group 11
" The CTB - push for ratification 11
e Non-proliferation lreaty conference - seizing the opportunity 12
$ Depleted uranium weapons - expose them, oppose them 12
.. US magazine exposes CIA assassinations, plots, coups and disinforrnation 13
" CIA File 15
$ Spooky Bits 17
" The risks of protesting 'The Bomb" 19
" The US Navy gradually departs Deep Freeze 20
 IS THE CSBA
by Bob leonord
Does the satellite station at Waihopai spy on New Zealanders?
Does the Government Communications Security Bureau obey the law oj the land?
Is the GCSB exemptedfrom provisions oj/he law?
Nicky Hager is the author of Secret Power, the
authoritative book that reveals more than you ever
dreamed o f asking about the Government
Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and its
highly secretive operations (see PR 10 for a review),
But despite massive research files and detailed
documention, Nicky still cannot say whether or not the
GCSB spies on New Zealanders, Domestic spying is
one of the stickiest problems you face in attempting to
investigate the GCSB and its two spy stations, Waihopai
and Tangimoana, Waihopai intercepts international
satellite communications; Tangimoana intercepts high
frequency radio communications,
Waihopai is the station that concerns me most because
it is capable of listening to and recording the
international emails, faxes, telexes and even telephone
calls that ordinary New Zealanders send and receive
every hour of every day, That capability is not in doubt.
But because the agency is so secretive, it is difficult to
determine with any certainty whether Waihopai actually
intercepts domestic communications,
What is a "domestic communication"? Overseas, the
GCSB's sister organisations claim any communications
that either originate or end outside the country
concerned are "foreign" and the interception of these
does not constitute domestic spying, The American
National Security Agency (Big Daddy in the UKUSA
group - see below) won a court case allowing it to target
conversations that had one leg outside the US although
it is prohibited from spying within the US,, In Canada,
Section 7 of the Official Secrets Act makes it legal -
under warrant - for its spy agency to intercept
communications that either originate or end in Canada
as long as only one party is in Canada,'
The GCSB denies that it engages in domestic spying,
In response to my letter to the editor ( 10 July 1996)
alleging domestic spying by the GCSB, the editor of
the Christchurch Press stated: "The GCSB is subject
to the provisions of section 2 16 of the Crimes Act,
although it is not mentioned in the act, and this formed
the basis of our comment that the organisation is
prevented by statute from spying domestically".' We
suspected thi� �ditorjal comment was saurced in the
GCSB itself; oUr suspicions were reinforced by 11
Pa.,qe2
lESS A ENCY?
subsequent exchange in which the GCSB weighed in
directly, a most unusual event - "The GCSB's foreign
intelligence function involves p roviding the
Government with information that is derived from the
analysis of foreign communications, not the
communications of New Zealanders'"
Ray Parker, the Director of the GCSB, even referred to
the latter Press statement in a letter to me dated 22
August. The single substantial paragraph in the short
letter is as follows:
"The answers to both your questions aTe contained
in the statement published by the Christchurch
Press under your letter to the Editor dated 23 July
1996, I would only add that the legal status of the
Bureau is that of a non-statutory agency of the
executive government of New Zealand, established
under the prerogative," 5 [The royal prerogative is
exercised in NZ by the executive government of
the day,]
These exchanges of letters and comments underscore
a number of important legal issues that surfaced in our
defence preparations prior to trial on charges of trespass
at Waihopai in January 1996, I am not a lawyer, but I
believe there is good reason to question the legal status
of the GCSB, The legal issues involve not just
suspicions of domestic spying but the legal basis for
the very existence of the GCSB and its operations,
The relevant legal documents are the Trespass Act
(1980), the Bill of Rights Act ( 1990), the Privacy Act
( 1993), the Crimes Act ( 1964), The Intelligence and
Security Agencies Acts ( 1996), the International
Telecommunications Convention (Nairobi Convention,
1982), and the Security Intelligence Service Act ( 1969),
There were six arrests at the January 1996 Waihopai
action, all for simple trespass on government property,
Three of us were tried in Blenheim and presented our
own defence in court, I decided to base my defence on
a clause in the Trespass Act involving "".trespass for
his own protection",", Since there is no definition of
the word protection in the act, or in the Acts
Interpretation Act, I attempted to develop my defency
using a broad interpretation of that key word, I was
Peoce Researcher
motivated to trespass in order to protect my,right to he
secure against unreasonable search anliseizure and
to privacy t h a t I b e l i e v e to be threatened b y
comm1111ications interception a t Waihopai, The judge
did not even allow presentation of my defence and each
of us was convicted on a narrow interpretation of the
act of trespass. We had accepted that we did indeed
trespass. We (and our lawyer) believed there was a
strong basis for appeal of the conviction but we chose
not to go that route. But the legal issues remain. What
follows is my view of the issues, based in part on my
prepared court defence.
The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (1990)
I am convinced that the operations of the GCSB at the
Waihopai station violate my rights as protected under
the Bill of Rights.
Section 21 of this act reads: "Unreasonable search
and seizure - Everyone has the right to be secure
against unreasonable search or seizure, whether of the
person, property, or correspondence or otherwise."
"Correspondence or otherwise" can be reasonably
interpreted to include telecommunications. [The term
"correspondence" is used in a telecommunications
context in Article 22 of the Nairobi Convention (see
below).] In my defence argument I alleged that the
operations of the Waihopai station, in the interception
of international telecommunications without legal
warrant, violate my rights and those of all other New
Zealanders to protection from unreasonable search and
seizure under the provisions of the Bill of Rights Act.
The Privacy Act (1993)
My defence argument also invoked provisions of the
Privacy Act, and here the legal issues begin to get a bit
sticky because of special treatment of intelligence
agencies in the act.
Section 6 of the Act sets out twelve information privacy
principles. But the government in its wisdom has seen
fit to exempt (in sec 57) intelligence agencies (named
as the GCSB and the SIS) from nine of those principles
(l to 5 and 8 to 11). Principles I and 4 were particularly
relevant to my defence.
Principle I states, "Personal information shall not be
collected by any agency unless - (a) The information
is collected for a lawful purpose connected with a
function or activity of the agency..." (emphasis added)
Principle 4 states, "Personal information shall nol be
collected by an agency - (aJ By unlawful means " ...
(emphasis added)
Peace Researcher
The Privacy Act thus appears to contain a loophole for
the conduct of unlawful acts by intelligence agencies­
the GCSB and the SIS - by excluding them from legal
liability in the relevant sections of the act. In other
words, the Privacy Act would seem to specifically allow
actions by the GCSB to collect personal information
for unlawful purposes using unlawful means. Can
intelligence agencies be said to act unlawfully when
Parliament appears to have excused them from the law?
It is easy to put this stuff in the too-hard basket and
simply say that Parliament can do whatever it wants,
But I think ordinary citizens should not be content to
leave this one to the politicians and the lawyers.
I object most strenuously to the two intelligence
agencies being placed above the law of the land. As a
private citizen, I believe I have a right to take action to
inform New Zealanders of this appalling situation in
our body of law and to attempt to protect others and
myself from violation of our right to privacy (thus, my
arrestable actions at Waihopai).
The Crimes Act (1964)
As described at the beginning of this article, my debate
with the GCSB and editors through the letters column
of The Press evolved into arguments about the Crimes
Act, not personal rights or privacy. My original letter
was in response to a Press editorial which said nothing
of substance about the GCSB but praised the newly
passed Intelligence and Security Agencies Act (rSA
Act). I alleged boldly that the GCSB spied on New
Zealanders. If we could prove that it does, would the
Crimes Act really apply? Possibly only in part.
According to one N e w Zealand barrister who
specialises in information and privacy law, "The Crimes
Act contains an offence of intercepting private
communications by means of a listening device.
However, this prohibition is on eavesdropping on oral
communication s only. There is no offence of
intercepting data, or facsimile transmissions, which are
more and more commonly being sent across telephone
lines". (Emphasis added.) We should add electronic
mail (email) to this updated list The old Crimes Act
simply hasn't kept up with technology. The barrister
goes on to say that, "The fact that snch interceptions
are not expressly prohibited under s.216, means that
the lawfulness or otherwise of such interceptions is
governed by default, by the Privacy Act 1993".6
I addressed a question about the above interpretation
to GCSB director Parker in a recent letter. He
responded:
"The statement in the Christchurch Press that the
GCSB is not exempt from the provisions of the
Page3
 Crimes A c t 1961 was correct, as is your
iuterpretation of the relevant provisions. Your
analysis in relation to the Privacy Act 1993 is,
however, faulty; it is incorrect to assert (as you
do) that since the Crimes Act does not cover the
interception of non-oral communications they are
'by default' governed by the Privacy Act. The
privacy legislation - from which, as you point out,
the GCSB is to a large extent exempt - is of no
application to the foreign signals intelligence
function of the GCSB. In any event, that Act applies
only to personal information, that is 'information
about an identifiable individual', where 'individual'
means a 'a natural person' (Privacy Act 1993,
section 2(1»".7
Mr Parker accepts that only interception of oral
communications is covered by the Crimes Act. That is
a very significant admission for the GCSB to make.
He then skirts the issue of non-oral communications
(i.e., all but the telephone) by moving directly to tbe
Privacy Act and dismissing its relevance to the GCSB.
Parker says that act "is of no application to the foreign
signals intelligence function" - a predictable statement
in view of the flat denial of domestic spying by the
GCSB? But if the act doesn't appy to the GCSB, why
did its authors see fit to exempt it from key privacy
principles? And it's precisely personal information on
real people that we are concerned about.
The wording of both the Crimes Act and the Privacy
Act leaves the legal status of the GCSB in limbo when
it comes to spying on you and me. But what this legal
uncertainty does do is call into serious question the
following GCSB statement contained in their rcsponse
to my letter in The Press: "The GCSB, which is subject
to oversight and review by the Inspector General of
lntelligence and Security (one of wbose statutory
functions is to examine the legality ofthe GCSB's
activities), complies at all times with the law of New
Zealand".' Parker tooks pains to repeat the "complies
with ilw law" bit in his most recent letter. A more
accurate statement would be that the GCSB is above
the law orthe land - i.e., a law unto itself.
It is also worth noting that as we go to press the oft1ce
oflnspector General of Intelligence and Security has
jnst been filled by Lawrence Greig, a former High Court
Judge with no knowledge of intelligence agencies.
There is as yet n o Parliamentary oversight committee
as created in one of the new ISA Acts. In the meantime,
there is little or no oversight of intelligence activities.
There is yet another restraint on the activities of our
intelligence agencies that is worth considering. It is
theoretical in that it is apparently totally ignored in New
Page4
Zealand and probably every other signatory country.
The Internation,,1 Telecommunications Conventio!!
(Nairobi Convention 1982)
New Zealand is a signatory member of the Nairobi
Convention (184 member nations). Article 22 is
entitled "Secrecy of Communications". It contains the
following two sections:
"1. Members agree to take all possible measures,
compatible with the system of telecommunication
used, to ensuring the secrecy of international
correspondence.
"2. Nevertheless, they reserve the right to
communicate such correspondence to the
competent authorities in order to ensure the
application of their internal laws or the execution
of international conventions to which they are
parties."
From what we know about Waihopai, its spying on
satellite communications appears to violate the secrecy
protection provisions (section 1) of the Nairobi
Convention. Section 2 can be logically interpreted to
mean that any interception of correspondence (i.e.,
phone, fax, telex, email) must be for use only by
"competent authorities" for lawful purposes. GCSB
activities probably violate this section as well because
much of its spying is not covered by the Crimes Act
and it is exempted
- from key principles of the Privacy
Act.
Signatory countries probably pay little attention to such
prohibitions. Spying on your neighbours is big business
and "everybody does it". Meanwhile, the public may
feel reassured that New Zealand has signed the
convention, but it means nothing in practical terms.
One reason often given for this is that the convention
is not part of New Zealand law. We do have our own
Telecommunications Act (1987), but it says nothing
about adhering to the international convention.
However, adherence to the Nairobi Convention cannot
be dismissed lightly. In a current New Zealand
controversy surrounding a fatal plane crash near
Palmerston North last year, police are trying to gain
access to the plane's cockpit voice recorder tape.
According to a newspaper account, "The Transport
Accident Investigation Commission has refused to
release the tape, saying it is protected under the
International Civil Aviation Organisation's Chicago
Convention annex".8 Counsel for the police has argued
that the annex is not part of NZ law. But the TAl
Commission lawyer "...told the court the convention
. was part of New Zealand law. New Zealand ratified it
Peace lCiesearcher
in 1947 and has consented to be bound by it".' Although
the legal issues are far from resolved, international
conventions should not be ignored. The government
should be taken to task for its lax attitude to the Nairobi
Convention.
Gcse Legislation
There is none. The GCSB is not like the SIS, which has
its own statute and whose intelligence gathering activities
are restrained by the need for warrants and by other
provisions of the act. The GCSB is a "non-statutory
agency" (quoting director Parker) which sprang out of
thin "executive-government" air in 1977 (not quite as
old as the Universe, but with similarly mysterious
origins). There is nothing in law, or elsewhere as far as
we can determine, that restrains the activities of the
GCSB. There is no effective way anyone outside the
operational centres of the GCSB can know what is being
intercepted or what is being done with the information.
The new ISA Act, which is supposed to provide
parliamentary oversight of the GCSB and SIS, is
seriously inadequate and is unlikely to provide effective
protection of New Zealanders from excesses of either
agency (see PR 8).
International Agreements and Democracy
While the executive government of NZ ignores the
Nairobi Convention, it abides rigidly by the rules of the
five-nation UKUSA agreement.' That agreement, not
Parliament, directs the activities of the GCSB and the
ultimate fate of the information it generates by spying.
Are we a signatory to that agreement by virtue of public
discussion, and a democratic decision by Parliament?
No. In fact, " ... a significant proportion of law-making
in New Zealand - relating to international agreements -
is undemocratic", according to the Clerk of Parliament,
Mr David McGee. "He says that the executive, the
cabinet, is empowered to enter into international
agreements without reference to Parliament. ... 'I think
that is not just unsatisfactory, it is unsupportable and
anti-democratic'." 10
McGee goes on to say, "I suggest thatthe ordinary person
should be involved before the Government assumes the
international obligation." The UKUSA agreement
(dating from 1948) is a prime example of anti-democratic
behaviour with potentially serious consequences for
References
1. Richelson, Jeffrey. Transcript for "The Hill", Dispatches TV
documentary, 6 September 1993.
2. The Globe and Mail (Canada), 15 November 1995.
3. Letter to the editor, and reply, in The Press, 19 July 1996.
4. GCSB reply to letter to the editor, in The Press, 9 August 1996.
5. Letter from Mr Ray Parker to the author, 22 August 1996.
6. Edwards, John. 1995. Current privacy issues in
telecommunications. Unpublished paper for a conference.
Peace Researcher
ordinary persons in New Zealand. If you choose to
protest at Waihopai you are attempting legitimately
to assert your rights in a democracy. You are calling
into question the anti-democratic actions of a
government that created the GCSB, Waihopai, and
Tangimoana under pressure of foreign intelligence
powers beholden only to the ultra-secret UKUSA
agreement.
Natural Law and Justice
The legal systems of New Zealand, Britain and many
other western countries derive their authority from
natural law. And natural law is based on "the rule of
reason". In placing its intelligence agencies above
the law (in provisions of the Privacy Act) the New
Zealand Parliament is seriously eroding the bedrock
authority of our legal system.
It is somehow oddly appropriate to close this essay
on the nasty business of spying with a perspective on
natural justice from the ongoing Winebox Saga. Ian
Wishart has reported on the squirming of Serious
Fraud Office witnesses under intense questioning
before Sir Ronald Davison' s Commission of Inquiry.
The SFO has been attempting to defend itself against
charges that it failed to investigate tax fraud in the
face of compelling evidence i n the wine box
documents. In desperation, and at taxpayers' expense,
the SFO brought over an official of the British SFO,
a Mr Tate, to tell the inquiry that the NZ SFO had
acted competently in the investigation. Sir Ronald
took an hour to decide whether or not to let Mr Tate
take the stand. "Despite his ' expressed reservations',
he would let Mr Tate take the stand, apparently
because of SFO concerns that it would be denied
naturaljustice. 'The SFO is in the position of being
a party to this inquiry and it is at risk of having adverse
findings made against it,' said Sir Ronald. 'In such
circumstances, it should be given every reasonable
opportunity to defend its position '. " II (emphasis
added)
It seems to me that's not a bad precedent to cite if
you protest at Waihopai, get arrested, and find
yourself trying to mount a defence in Blenheim
District Court. But then, I'm not a lawyer.
7. Letter from MrRay Parkerto the author, 14 November 1996.
8. The Press, 30 October 1996, page 6.
9. See Hager's Secret Power and PR 3 (Feb. 1983, 1st series)
for details of the UKUSA agreement.
10. "Law-making seen as not democratic", New Zealand Herald,
29 October 1996.
11. "UK former fraud chief backs SFO" by Ian Wishart, The
Press, 2 November 1996.
Page 5
 OKINAWA
Historic Referendum Votes for Bases Out But leases Renewed
Peace Researcher has been
following, for several issues Okinawa's US military installations
now, the Olympian struggle
being waged by the people of
Okinawa t o get rid of the
massive US military presence
on their island. They host
2 8,000 of the 4 7,000 US troops
in Japan, and American bases Telecoms >taI.lOIll_-.
occupy fully 20% of the island
(which constitutes less than 1%
of Japan's total land area).
Okinawans have paid a heavy site
price since being forcibly
colonised by the Japanese in T",.ll
1879, and then by the
Americans after one of the
bloodiest b a t tles of WWII. Kadena
When the island was returned to Air Base
Japan in 1 972, the bases
remained. The US and Japan are Futen.ma
semce AirField
very happy with the area
arrangement - the Japanese
taxpayer pays most of the $US7 N
billion required to maintain the Naval
lJS military in Jap a n ; the port
Americans get a major military
presence in North East Asia,
adjacent to China and Korea (the
Pentagon's two Asian hot spots)
at a never to be beaten price. The
only flies in the ointment are the
Okinawans, who want to be rid of the lot of themo Governor, Masahide Ota, who declared that, unlike
previous governors, he would refuse orders from Tokyo
A head of steam has been building up over many years to renew the leases.
bnt what blew it was the brutal rape in 1995 of a 12
year old Okinawan schoolgirl by three American In August 1996 the Okinawan provincial government
military personnel. They were arrested and convicted; mounted a legal challenge to the bases through the
they could have got life but they got seven years, to be Japanese Supreme Court. The 15 judges rejected the
served in a Japanese prison (and even that is a change plea that it is unconstitutional to seize private land for
from the privileges enjoyed by the US military under use by the US military and ordered Ota to rcnew the
the 1960 Status of Forces Agreement). This was the leases (one of which had already expired). Undaunted,
last straw to Okinawans goaded beyond endurance by Okinawa held a September non-binding referendum on
thousands of crimes committed by US servicemen; by the issue, the first prefectural (i.e. provincial)
constant noise and danger from jet aircraft based in referendum in Japanese history. Okinawans voted 10
their midst; by great chunks of their island being cut to I that the bases must go.
off by barbed wire and all the other stylistic niceties of
military bases. They erupted in huge mass rallies (one Sadly that was as far as the Governor's resistance went.
of which attracted nearly 10% of the total population); Faced with relentless pressure from Tokyo, he
they hacked 35 landowners who refused to renew their relnctantly agreed to sign. "This is the most difficult
leases with the U S military; and they cheered on their decision I have had to make in my six years in office"

Page 6 Peace Researcher

(Time, 23 September 1996; "Eviction notice;
Okinawans vote overwhelmingly to send US troops
packing"). UnsUl'prisingly, Okinawans were outraged.
Shoichi Chibana, one of the refusenik landowners,
described it as a sellout.
Tokyo offered carrots as well as the stick. Prime
Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto promised $US47 million
in special funds to improve the economy of the
prefeclUl'e, the poorest in Japan, with an average income
half that of Tokyo. Hashimoto also promised to
implement an April 1996 US/Japan agreement to close
down or move nine of the island's multitude of bases.
Other inducements included the offer of a free trade
zone, to attract businesses. Hashimoto made an
unprecedented public apology: "When I think of the
great sacrifices that the people of Okinawa made during
World War II and the great suffering that Okinawans
have so far endured, I realise our efforts have been
insufficient" (ibid). Governor Ola's backdown was so
vital to the central government that it was the
determining factor in naming the date for the October
1996 general election.
PHILIPPINES
former US Bases Still Contaminated By Toxic Wastes
PR 3 (December 1994) ran a report on the problems
caused by toxic waste contamination of the former US
military bases in the Philippines, principally the two
big ones at Subic Bay and Clark Air Force Base (the
Pentagon was forced to leave in 1992, after the historic
1991 Philippines Senate vote not to renew the bases
treaty, ending nearly a century of American military
presence).
The toxic wastes problem is still unresolved. A 1991
US Defense Department report and a 1992 US General
Accounting Office report both concluded that improper
waste storage and disposal turned Subic into a potential
toxic hotspot. US Navy reports said Subic generated
more than 500 tons of toxic waste per year in 1990 and
1991, but disposed of less than 20%. In mid 1996, a
coalition of the Philippine Task Force for Bases
Cleanup and the US Working Group for Philippine
Bases Cleanup charged the World Bank and the Subic
Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) with negligence
for not releasing the results of an environmental
baseline survey on Subic Bay, conducted by the
American company Woodward Clyde and funded by
the World Bank.
Presidents Clinton and Ramos briefly discussed the
question of toxic waste cleanup during Clinton' s State
Peace Researcher
For its part, the US has started seriously looking at
substantial troop reductions on Okinawa. It has been
argued that the 18,000 strong Third Marine Division
could be withdrawn without jeopardising any military
response to events in Korea or Taiwan. Shunji Taoka,
a defence analyst on the A sahi Shimbun newspaper,
says: "The only purpose of the Third Division is to
secure the jobs of its commanders" (ibid).
None of this is likely to mollify the Okinawans, who
have consistently demonstrated, with their feet, their
voices and their votes, that they overwhelmingly want
to be rid of the American military occupation of their
home. Things are still at boiling point - only days after
the referendum, two US Marines allegedly assaulted
and robbed a 56-year-old female bar owner. And the
3,000 landowners, whose leases with the US military
expire in May 1997, have vowed to fight on, despite
Governor Ota' s promise to sign. Uncle Sarn is far from
out of the woods in Okinawa, and the people of that
benighted island deserve all the help and support they
can get from anti bases activists throughout the Asia!
Pacific region.
visit to the Philippines in late 1994, but nothing more
has been heard of the subject from either government
since. The Filipino and American environmental groups
say that they have identified at least 14 known
contaminants at both Subic and Clark. For its part, the
SBMA strongly denies suggestions that the water
supply of the Subic Bay Free Port has been seriously
contaminated for three years. The stakes are high here
- the SBMA has attracted $US 1.3 billion worth of
foreign investors, who would get decidedly squeamish
if it is confirmed that the place is one big toxic waste
dump. President Ramos is touting Subic as a
replacement for Hong Kong once that is repossessed
by Chiua in mid 1997 and he is intent on staging major
international events there, such as the November 1996
Leaders Summit of the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum (APEC).
As for the gigantic former airbase which was destroyed
by the 1 9 9 1 Mt Pinatubo eruption, the Clark
Development Corporation has signed a memorandum
of agreement with the Malaysian based AsiaStar
Weston Environment Services (Awes) to conduct an
environmental site study, to determine if there is any
toxic waste dumped there. Awes has experience of
research, site assessment and actual cleanup at more
than 100 former American bases worldwide. The US
Page 7
military has agreed to turn over official records to the
Philippines govermnent to assist this site studyo So even
though it is several years since the US military actually
quit the Philippines, L'1e country is still bedevilled by
Uncle Sam's toxic legacyo
A major international conference on bases cleanup was
NZ SECRET ANTI ... TERR
C NFERENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES
Ombudsman Upholds Government Ban On All Details
PR 9 (June J 996) reported that New Zealand officials
were among the 128 delegates from 19 countries who
participated in the February 1996 International
Conference on Counter Terrorism, hosted by
Philippines President, Fidel Ramos, in Baguio Cityo
Apart from the fact that it happened (which we learned
from Filipino sources; it was never announced in this
counily) everything about it was secret We do know
that the delegates were security ministers, high ranking
intelligence officials and counter terrorism expertso The
only communique issued said that its goal was to
strengthen international cooperation against terrorism
in the areas of intelligence exchange, policies and joint
counter measures.
ABC applied to the Department of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet, under the Official Information Act, for
details of the New Zealand delegates; copies of papers
presented by the New Zealand delegation; and the
delegation's conference report We got a blanket
refusaL
We appealed and many months later, in October 1996,
we got a decisiono Surprise, surpriseo Sir Brian Elwood,
the Chief O mbudsman, fully supported the
Government's blanket ban on any details" He cited
Section 6 of the Official Information Act - this covers
security, def,mce, international relations, the entrusting
of information t o the government of New Zealand on a
basis of confidence, and protection of personal safetyo
"I am advised that it was agreed at the Conference in
Baguio that there was to be no publicity, that the
Conference proceedings were to be confidential and
that the Conference communique was to be the only
statement released to the mediao There was also a
Consensus at the Conference that the names and
designations of officials would remain confidentiaL The
Conference was held to enhance international
cooperation against all forms of terrorism and included
Page 8
held in Subic in November 1996, to coincide with the
APEC Leaders Summit thereo
The Nuclear Free Philippines Coalition can be
contacted at Room 5 1 1, J&T Building, 3894 K
Magsaysay Boulevard, Stao Mesa, Manila, Philippines,
ph/fax (632) 7 1610840
RIS
consideration of material and information of a very
sensitive naturcoooTaking those factors into account, I
am satisfied that if the information were released there
would be a real and substantial risk that the future
entrusting of information to the Government of New
Zealand on the basis of confidence by an overseas
government or authority would be prejudicedooJ! was
also the consensus of the Conference that the names
and designations of officials would remain
confidentiaL I understand that the reason for this was
a risk that should this information, or information which
may identify those officials, find its way into the hands
of a terrorist group or its supporters, the safety of such
persons would likely be endangeredo I am tillable to
explain my reasons further without especially
prejudicing the interests that section 6(d) of the Act
seeks to protecL" (letter to ABC, 9 October 1996)0
We had one last attempt at pointing out some of the
glaringly obvious to Sir Briano
"Naturally we are disturbed by this trend to repress
anything that NZ officials do in conjnnction with
those from other countrieso
"We specifically appeal your upholding the
confidentiality of the NZ delegates' designationso
For example, it is illegal to identify by name
anybody who works for the NZ Security
Intelligence Service (except the DirectOl} So what
hann can it do to say, for argument's sake, that the
SIS Deputy Director attend e d the Baguio
Conference? We don't know hislher name, and if
we did, it is illegal to identify him/heL
"We take with a grain of salt claims that identifying
any oHhe NZ delegates would endanger them from
international terroristso Presumably, international
terrorists know who they are anywayo The only
provable time that international terrorists came here
Peace Researcher
 to bomb and kill, the target was not NZ intelligence
or police officials, but the civilian crew of the
Rainbow Warrior. In that instance, all NZ
intelligence agencies were worse than useless in
detecting or preventing this murderous covert
operation by a foreign intelligence agency on our
soil. On that subject, we refer you to "Secret Power"
by Nicky Hager ...." (ABC fax to Chief
Ombudsman, 25 October 1996).
But, alas, Sir Brian was baving none of it. His final
letter to us (3 1 October 1996) reiterated that he could
not explain his reasons without prejudiciug the very
section of the Act (6[d]) which he was invoking. But
he did respond to one of our specific points: "I think
the presumption would need to be that international
terrorists would not know the identity of the NZ
delegates at the Conference. The terrorist attack on the
Rainbow Warrior, to which you refer, involved a
completely different set of circumstances and in my
view is not relevant to the facts and circumstances of
this case ..."
To which we have but one reply. Crap! This simply
continues the pattern of the Government, backed up by
the Ombudsman, of suppressing any information
relating to the domestic and international activities of
our "intelligence" agencies. We pay the wages of these
bastards. How about some accountability and
transparency, to use the favourite jargon of the
numbercrunching ideologues. Rest assured that their
activities are not being kept secret from "international
terrorists", but from the long suffering taxpayers who
foot their bills, are the target of their bungling
incompetence, and in whose name they act. Don't be
shy, boys. Let's see some value for money.

515 BREAK IN
Ombudsman (Again) Back.s Ban On
Intelligence Agency Details; SIS Director Shy
PR 10 (September 1996) had a
lengthy lead story about the very
strange sequence of events arising
out of a bungled Security
Intelligence Service (SIS) break
in to the home of Christchurch
activist, Aziz Choudry, during the
July 1996 Trading With Our Lives
Alternative Forum on Free Trade
(he was the principal organiser).
This also involved police raids on
his home and that of David Small,
because o f their alleged
involvement in a hoax bomb
planted outside the Christchurch
City Council building. The bomb
was alleged to be in protest at the
city hosting the Annual Meeting
of the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum
Trade Ministers. The whole
shambles became a major media
story which ran nationwide for
David Small and Aziz Choudray their questions remain unanswered
•

weeks.

There have been a couple of subsequent developments.
Aziz Choudry applied for the police file on the break
in (which had been interrupted by David Small, who
had called by to collect a TV and VCR needed for the
Forum). The cops had refused, citing Section 10 of the
Official Information Act, a very curious section indeed,
one which neither confirms nor denies the existence of
the information in question. Aziz appealed this to the
Ombudsman, and received Anand Satyanand's
decision, in October 1996. He changed tack and pointed

Peace Researcher Page 9

out that the Police's refusal to provide any file
constituted proof that such information did exist
However, he then justified the refusal by invoking
Section 6 of the Act (the very same one used to refuse
all details of New Zealand's involvement in the
International Counter Terrorism Conference in the
Philippines). Once again it was "regretted" that the very
same section of the Act, dealing with "security or
defence of New Zealand", prevented any elaboration
of the reasons why. "However, I can assure you that
the arguments for withholding have not been accepted
at face value" (letter from Ombudsman, 9 October
1996). Really, this is a dead giveaway that it was the
SIS; why else would the State play hard to get over a
humdrum break in that wasn't even a burglary?)
Aziz succinctly expressed the feelings of many: "It is
scandalous. that the police and their political masters
can collude with breaking into the house of someone
involved in entirely above ground, legitimate political
activity, with impunity. Apparently the Government
feels so threatened by democratic dissent that it has to
resort to dirty tactics like this" (Press, 15 October 1996)
PR 10 also reported that, in August 1996, a group of
representatives of various groups called to the
unmarked Christchurch office of the SIS (4th floor, 70
Gloucester Street), and delivered individual requests
for their SIS files. In September, all those who had
requested their SIS files received a reply from the
Director, Don McIver, refusing to confirm or deny that
the SIS held anything on them.
"My concern is that skilled observers could,
SPECIOUS REA SONING IN SIS REfUSA LS -
JUST WHO IS PA RA NOID HERE?
The irony of SIS Director's refusal to "confirm nor
deny whether the service holds any information" about
individuals is its own palpable form of paranoia. Mclvor
is concerned people might conspire together and gather
information o n modus operandi by collating
information on the "type" of person the spooks are
interested in. W e should be most concerned that the
"type" of person invigilated is commonly not those the
SIS is legally permitted to put under surveillance.
McIvor's rationale are shot through with
inconsistencies. In periods when only one or (wo people
apply for files then his conspiracy theory doesn't hold.
Obviously asking for your file draws attention of the
agency - hardly a sound. procedure if you are acting
with nefarious intent. The spooks have the right to
Page 70
through a systematic series of requests, gain an
overview of the uature and range of infonnation
held by the Service iu respect of certain individuals.
These observers could then develop a reasonably
accurate picture of the 'type' of person that the
Service might be interested in as well as the
Service's ability to obtain, correlate and evaluate
any intelligence information. This would in turn
enable observers, who might otherwise be of
interest to the Service, to identify how they could
order their activities to avoid coming to Service
attention" .
In the case of Murray Horton, McIver also included a
copy of a 1985 letter from him as secretary of
CAFCINZ (now CAFCA) asking for any SIS material
held on it. The reply from his predecessor, John Smith,
was the same as in 1996. So Murray knows that his
SIS file contains at least one letter - from him to the
SISt Next time he writes they'll probably send him his
1996 letter.
So the cone of silence continues to be invoked over
anything remotely connected with the SIS. If you should
come home one evening and find strangers of a certain
"type" crashing around in your backyard, only to be
told by the cops and all other officials that you must
have been seeing things, then rest assured that you have
been visited by the shy and elusive SISsies (who live
at the bottom of the garden). You could save them a lo!
of puffing and blowing by leaving anything you think
might be of interest in the letterbox for them.
Remember, they are here to protect us from ...whom?
And who protects us from them?
delete any material which could give away vital
national security-threatening secrets, and could easily
allow a viewing of file material that does not allow
removal of any information. They could acknowledge
they hold files where they refer to previous letters but
refuse to confirm or deny they hold files!
Unofficially it is said that those requesting files are
generally of no consequence but would like to think
themselves important enough to be under surveillance.
If this is so it is very hard to imagine how release of
their files could in any way threaten the service except
to reveal that they waste their time on matters which
are outside their brief. Remember that under the SIS
Act there must be no surveillance of those going about
legal political activism. Either those on file are
significant or they should not be on the files!
Peace Researcher
 WOMAN FFERED CASH TO Spy
ON PEACE GR
Special Branch officers in Britain offered a former
policewoman 200 pounds a month ($500) plus expenses
if she would inform on friends in Ploughshares. Some
Ploughshares members were recently acquitted on a
charge of damaging British fighter-bombers bound for
Indonesia. Lancashire police described this attempted
recruitment as "not unusual".
Janet Lovelace, who had served five years in the police
force, said two detectives came to her house and told
her they wanted her to infiltrate the Ploughshares
movement and report back on people's names. When
they met a second time in a pub the two men tried to
persuade her that Ploughshares' actious would cost
local people their jobs.
As well as paymeut Ms Lovelace was offered child­
mindiug fees, petrol, a mobile phone, bonuses for top­
grade information, and immunity from prosecution. The
Special Branch officers were particularly interested in
names of Ploughshares members and who the
organisers were. They also wanted early warning of
actions as the group only releases information about
some of its protests half an honr before they are carried
out. One of them gave her his pager number and asked
her to adopt a codename. Lovelace told them she was
not interested in doing this work and that she had left
the police force to get away from things like that.
Local police agreed that the woman had been spoken
THE CTB OR PUSH FOR RATIFICATION
The three reports that follow come from Felicity Hill, DisarmamentlDevelopment Intern,
Womens League for Peace and International Freedom
After 42 years in the making, the text of a
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty passed through the
UN General Assembly on September 24, 1996 and was
signed by III governments in the first 11 days it was
opened for signature. The treaty requires the 44 nations
with nuclear facilities to sign and then ratify it through
their national legislatures before it can come into force.
Thirty eight of the required forty-four are among those
who have already signed, leaving India, Algeria,
Bangladesh, Egypt, North Korea and Pakistan.
Although India, one of the 44, has vowed never to sign
"this unequal treaty, not now, not later", it is still very
much worth pushing for the ratification of the CTBT
through the New Zealand parliament.
Peace Researcher
UP
to and said "It's part of ongoing efforts to ensure the
force plays an effective role in preventing criminal
offences being committed at BAe' s Warton site".
(Warton is the place where the protesters' attack on
the Hawk aircraft took place. There has been more than
one incident of damage to aircraft there.) The police
spokesperson went on to say "This sort of inquiry is
not unusual, indeed she is one of several people who
have been approached". One of the women acquitted
in August [see PR 10] claimed a friend of hers had
been asked by a man from MI5 if she would infiltrate
Ploughshares. [Based on The Guardian, 28 September
1996]
POLICE SPY AT MENWITH
The August 1996 newsletter from the Women's
Camp at Menwith reports the distress caused by
the admission of one of the protestors that she is a
police informer. Justine Taylor, also known as
Justine Woods, stole the (fe)mailing list and made
photocopies for the Miuistry of Defence police and
the local Harrogate police. The issue of how to
respond to such an admission has proved a very
difficult one for the anti-base activists. The courage
and commitment of the women at the camp can
only be admired as such harrassment is added to
the problems of ongoing court battles and the
horrors of another English winter on the roadside.
The 38 who have signed are the five nuclear weapons
powers, and Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Finland,
Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan,
Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania,
Slovakia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vietnam and Zaire.
The treaty requires a conference in three to four years
for members to decide how to accelerate the ratification
process should India and others still refuse to join the
pact. In the meantime, the treaty places a large taboo
on testing and with all five declared nuclear weapons
states imposing voluntary moratoriums on testing, the
Page 71
world should never again experience nuclear test
explosions.
The treaty text was blocked through the Conference
NON-PROLIFERATIONTREATY CONFERENCE
- SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY
In April of next year, the world's governments will
have a unique chance to concretely demonstrate their
commitment to the spirit of the CTBT and to the stated
goals of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
The first Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) of the
NPT's new, strengthened review process will take place
in New York and will be closely watched by citizens
from all around the globe. An important document,
Principles and Objectives for Non-Proliferation and
Nuclear Disarmament, will have its trial run in a forum
that has almost nniversal membership second only to
the UN Charter. Both the principles and objectives and
the new review process documents are politically bound
to the legally-binding extension decision, which were
tied together in a package format by the conference
president at the review and extension conference last
year.
The pressure will be on the nuclear and other western
powers to address the specific list of topics outlined in
the principles and objectives document. In what
amounted to an exchange for a vote to indefinitely
extend the NPT, many conntries demanded that these
DEPLETED URA NIUM (DU) WEA PONS -
EXPOSETHEM,OPPOSETHEMI
During the Gulf War, mnnitions and armor made with
Depleted Uranium (DU) were used for the first time in
combat history. Over 940,000 30-millimeter uranium
tipped bullets and "more than 14,000 large caliber DU
rounds were consumed [sic1 during Operation Desert
StonnlDesert Shield." (U.S. AEPI Report 1994) These
largely untested weapons were used indiscriminately
throughout the siege of Iraq with no concern for the
health and environmental consequences of their use.
Between 300 and 800 tons of DU bnllets are now
scattered on the ground in Iraq and Kuwait Up to 70%
of the depleted uranium within these weapons
disintergrates to fine particles on impact and as
radioactive dust it is easily ingested. As a result,
hundreds of thousands of people, both victims of war
(All t.l:iree reports above come from WILPF. For more information, contact P.O. Box 8390 Christchurch. A brief
item on exposure to chemicals in the Gulf War also appears in CIA File later in this issue.)
Page 12
on Disannament in Geneva by India and was taken to
the UN General Assembly by Australia supported by
many other states.
powers agree to concentrate on the issues found in the
principles. The time has come to "pay the piper", as it
were, and actively take up issues like: universality,
disarmament, NWFZs (Nnclear Weapon Free Zones),
security assurances, safeguards and peacefhl uses of
nuclear energy. The spirit of the document was that
this would be a list of living, changeable items which
would be updated and replaced as individual elements
were achieved (e.g. the CTBT). To achieve this laudable
goal, strong, decisive action will need to be taken at
the Preparatory Committee meeting.
The principles and objectives must become the
yardstick by which future progress on nuclear non­
proliferation and disarmament is measured. If it fails
in that objective, then an important opportunity and
tool for future action will have been lost There exist
few, if any, similar opportunities for this type of
coordinated international action. Activity is already
beginning in governments and NGO circles around the
world to ensure that the commitments made in 1995
are not forgotten.
and combat soldiers, have suffered the effects of
exposure to these highly toxic, radioactive weapons.
Of the 697,000 US troops who served in the Gulf,
90,000 have reported medical problems ranging from
respiratory, liver and kidney dysfunction, to memory
loss, headaches, fever, low blood pressure, and birth
defects among their newborn children. However, none
of these reports has addressed the use of DU weapons,
which could potentially be the greatest health and
environmental risk of the entire war. Given the number
of G1's seeking medical attention for problems linked
to Gulf War service, the media and NGOs have a
responsibility to investigate this connection.
Peace Researcher
 US M AGAZIN E EXPOSES CIA ASSASSINATIONS,
PLOTS, COUPS AND DISINFORMATION
lorry Ross reviews Covert Action Quarterly
The American magazine Covert Action Quarterly
(formerly Covert Action Information Bulletin)haB been
exposing the secret activities of the American Central
Intelligence Agency and other intelligence groups since
1978. The magazine's mission is to expose the criminal
activities of the CIA, which have been directed against
foreign countries and governments as well as against
the American people themselves. Covert Action reports
have covered CIA assassinations of foreign leaders, the
instigation of wars and coups against governments the
US wishes to get rid of, various techniques of
destabilisation used against foreign societies, and the
planting of disinfonnation and propaganda in both the
US and foreign media.
Many writers, editors and journalists are on the payroll
of the CIA (and the other intelligence agencies). In 1983
and 1988 the magazine revealed that the Reader 's
Digest carried false stories and propaganda at the
" U N B REAKABLE" COD E
CRACKED
The New Scientist reports that two Israeli
mathematicians have developed a code-breaking
strategy that is capable of penetrating "virtually
all major encryption systems". [9 November 1996]
The electronic spying agencies like the NSA and
GCHQ will go into overdrive on the implications
of these revelations. Until now, says the New
Scientist, concern about vulnerability of
confidential data has focused on compnter
techniques for finding prime number "keys" used
to encrypt the data. These methods have limited
applicability and can be defeated by using longer
keys. The new technique requires only a desktop
computer and a microwave generator. It is said to
work no matter how long the key is, and without
any knowledge of the encryption system used. The
strategy is based on exposing the encryption device
to a series of bursts of electromagnetic radiation
which progressively trigger random errors in the
circuitry storing the secret keys. By comparing
messages as the system breaks down the operators
can work out the form of the original key. The
method was based on studies which showed data
on smart cards could be cracked by tracking errors
prompted by exposure to microwaves.
Peace Researcher
request of the CIA. The Winter 1988 issue of Covert
Action highlighted the activities of the US in the South
Pacific, including the role of the US in the March 1987
Fiji Coup. Other issues have included stories on the
CIA's war against environmental and peace groups.
As Ralph McGehee ( a former CIA officer whom the
Nuclear Free Peacemaking Association brought to New
Zealand in 1986) has said "the CIA is not an
intelligence organisation at all, but a covert action ann
of the Presidency, distorting and falsifying the facts
whenever it suited its operational purposes." Covert
Action affirms this contention.
Much of New Zealand's foreign and defence policy
seems to have been based on CIA disinfonnation and
fabricated intelligence designed to influence allies in
directions that support US policy. The "China threat",
the "Soviet threat", the excuses for US attacks against
Vietnam, the "bomber gap", the "missile gap": all have
been shown in various issues of Covert Action to be
fabrications. This influence on public views and policies
in many countries, including New Zealand, will
continue as long as most citizens and Members of
Parliament are not aware of how their thinking and
perceptions are guided b y CIA disinformation
campaigns.
In addition to overt disinformation stories planted in
the media to influence public opinion, false intelligence
is distributed to influence government decisions.
Because this is classified as "secret" there is no outside
and independent assessment of the validity of such
intelligence. There is not even an awareness that such
faulty 'designer' information is working away at the
minds of officials and influencing the advice they give
to government. The system seems designed to ensure
that the only officials allowed access to secret
intelligence are those that can be trusted not to question
its validity. Thus, the myths upon which New Zealand's
foreign and defence policy are based tend to be
venerated, protected and perpetuated like religious
doctrines. This is in spiv� of overwhelming evidence
in Covert Action and other sources, that the myths are
untrue, and a threat to NZ interests and security.
A complete index of Covert Action Quarterly articles
follows. Copies of Covert Action are available from
the NZ Nuclear Free Peacemaking Association,
Box18541, Christchurch.
Page 73
 o IUHR
B A C K s S U E
FO R M .-=- --=-
No. 1 (July 1978) Philip Agee on CIA; Cuban exile trial; Consumer research in
Jamaica.*
No. 2 (Oct. 1978) How the CIA recruits diplomats; Researching undercover officers;
Ten years as double agent in the CIA.*
No. :3 (Jan. 1979) CIA attacks CAlB; SecretAnny manual; Spying on hostcoun­
tries."
No. 4 (Apr.-May 1979) U.S. spies in Italian services; CIA in Spain; CIA recruiting for
Africa; Subversive academics in Africa; Angola.*
No. 5 (Aug. 1979) UB. intelligence in Asia; CIA in Denmark; Sweden; Grenada;
AIFLD.*
No. 6 (Oct. 1979) U.S. in Caribbean; Cuban exile terrorists; Philip Agee on CIA plans
for Nicaragua; CIA's secret Perspectives for InteUigence.*
No. 7 (Dec. 1979·Jan. 1980) Media destabilization in Jamaica; CIA uses cockroaches;
Robert Moss; CIA propaganda budget; �edia operations; UNITA; Iran.*
No. 8 (Mar.-Apr. 1980)Attacl<..$ on PhilipAgee; V.S. intelligence legislation; CArB
statement to Congress; Zimbabwe; Northern Ireland.
No. 9 (June 1980) NSA in Norway; Glomar Explorer; Mind control; NSA.
No. 10 (Aug Sept. 1980) Caribbean overview; Destabilization in Jamaica; Guyana;
.•
Grenada bombing; The Spike; ClA De£lp Cover Manual."
No. n (Dec. 1980) Right'Wing terrorism; South Korea; KCLA; Portugal; Guyana;
Caribbean; AFlO; NSA intervinw.
No. 12 (Apr. 1981) U.8. in El Salvador & Guatemala; New Right; William Casey;
CLAin Mozambique; Mail surveillance.*
No.. 13 (July-Aug. 1981) S. Africa documents; BOSS; Namibia; mercenaries; Globe
Aero; Angola; OL-'\ jn Mozambique; Central America; Klan in Caribbean; Max Hugel;
Mail surveillanc&.
No. 14-15 (Oct. 1981) Index to Nos. 1-12; Review ofintelligence legislation; CAIB
plans; Extended Naming Names.
No. 16 (Mar. 1982) Green Beret t.orture in El Salvador; Argentine death squads; CIA
media operations; Seychelles; Angola; Mozambique; Constantine Menges; Klan in
Caribbean; Nugan Hand. *
No. 17 (Summer 1982) CBWbistory; DoD nerve gas sales pitch; Cuban dengue epi­
demic; Scott Bames and �yellow rain� lies; Mystery death in Bangkok; CIA assassi­
nations.'!'
No. 18 (Winter 1983) CIA & religion; �Secret" war in Nicaragua; Miskitos; Opus Dei;
Evangelicals in Guatemala; Summer Itwt. ofLinguistics; World Medical Relief; CIA
& BOSS; S. Mrican torture; NSA; Vietnam defoliation.'"
NQ. 19 (Spring-Summer 1983) CIA & media; History of disinfonnat.ion; "Plot"
against the Pope; Grenada airport-Reagan's big lie; Georgie Anne (}eyer.
No. 2() (Win.ter 1984) Invasion of Grenada; War in Nicaragua; Ft. Huachuca buildup;
Israel and South Kotea connections in Central America; Mooniesj KAL Flight 007;
CIA aMassinations.
No. 21 (Spring 1984) New York Times and the Salvadoran election; Time and
Newsweek distortions; Accuracy in Media; Nicaragua; CIA occult research
No. 22 (Fall 1984) Mercenaries & terrorism; Soldier of Fortune; CAlB investigates
Special Forces camps; Jonathan Inst.; "Privatizing" war in Nicaragua; CIA terror
manual; U.S.··South Afric:>..n terror; Italian fascists.
NI). 23 (Spring 1985) "Plot" to kill the Pope/"Bulgarian Connection"; St. Peter's Sq.
phow manipUlation; CIA tie� to Thrkish and Italian noofascists; Paul Henu on
human rights; Claire Sterling.
No. 24 (Summer 1985) State repression, FEMA, infiltrators, provocateurs; sanctuary
movement; American Indian Movemeot; Leonard Peltierj NABBCO strike; Arnaud de
Bo.rchgravfJ, Moon and Robert Moss; Tetra Tern.
No• .25 (Winter 1986) U.S., Nazis, and Vatican; IDaus Barbie; "Project Paperclip" & J.
Peter Grace; James Angleton & Roger Pem-son; Nuremberg prosecutor interview;
Specialized torture in Brazil; Knights of Malta; Greek civil wart'Eleni�; WACL.
No. 26 (Summl!r 1986) Index to Nos. 13-25; U.S. state terrorism; Noam Chomsky;
Vemon Walters; Libya bombing; contra agents.; Israel & South Africa; Dua.rte; media
manipulation in Costa Rica; Jonathan. Pollard; Democracy in Nicaragua:"
No. 27 (Spring 1987) Special-Religious Right: Christian underground; Christian
'
Right & African f\merica.n.,'I.; New York Times and Pope Plot; Frank Carlucci; Moon s
law; SouthernAir Transport; Oliver North & Michael Ledoon.*
No. 28 (Spring 1987) Special-CIA and drugs: S.E. Asia, Afghanistan, Central Amer­
ica; Iran-Contra documents; Nugan Hand; William Casey; MK-ULTRA in Canada;
. sia, PrivatE: Seeurity Guards, Waiter Reuther.
Delta Force; AIDS theories & CBW."
No. 29 (Winter 1988) Special-·Pacific: Philippines counterinsurgency & Religious
Right; Fiji., N, Zealand; Belau, Vanuatu; Atom testing; Mediai.Nicaragua; CIA in
Cub$.; Tibet; CiA. & &ader's Digest; AIDS."
No. 30 (Su.mmer 1988) Spe(:ial�Middle East: lntifada, Abu Jihad's asSMSination;
Israeli anns sales & nuclear arsenal; Israel & Contraslin Africa; Libya disinforma­
tioni CIA's Williem Buckley; Mghan arms pipeline & contra lobby; CIA "role models.�
No. 31 (W:nter 1989) Special-Domestic surveillance: 'I'hi) Unew" FBI; CIA on cam­
pus; Off. of Pub. Diplomacy; Vigiloo1wrepression; Geronimo Pratt; Lerington Prison;
Puerto Rico; State defense forces; World wlo War Coun.; Int. Freedom Foun.; New
York Times disinformation.
No. 32 (Summer 1989) Thnth Year Anniversary Issue: Best ofCAIB Naming Names;
CIA at home, abroad, and in the media. Eleven�year perspecl.ive by Philip Agee,
No. 33 (Winter 1990) Bush is1:lue: CIA agents for Bush; Terrorism Task Force; 8 years
of covert action; NED in Nicarat,'1.m; El Salvador election & state terror; Bush & Nor­
iega; Skull & Bones; Repuh. Party & fascists; FEM..<\. & NSC; Cuba & drugs disinfor·
mation; Chile.
No. 34 (Summer 1990) FBI/CIA Role in Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination;
Nicaraguan election & NED; CIA in Costa Rica; El SalvadOr" Noriega & CIA' South
� ;
African death sq�ads; U.S. & Pol Pot; Marcos & murder; Tai illl; Council fo Nation­
.
al Policy; Operation CHAOS.
No. 35 (Fall 1990) Special-Eastern Europe: Destabilization of USSR; CIA's
prospects, NED in Lithuania, Balkan Nazis, Free Congress Foun. Goes East; C.D.
Jackson; Cuba; Other Iran-Contra Cases; CIA and Banks; CLA and Indonesian Mas­
sacres.
No. 86 (Spring 1991) Special--Racism & Nat. Security. FBI vs. Arab-Americans &
Black Officials; Dhoruba bin-Wahad; MumiaAhu..Jamal; DestabiJizing Africa: Chad,
S. Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zaire; Haiti; Panama; Gulf War' COINTELPRO
Uart�; Nat. Security "Humor."
No. 37 (Summer 1991) Speeial--GulfWar; Media; "Clean War�; CIA's Iraq Radio;
Evangelicals for Nuclear War; UN; Libya; Iran; Domestic costs; N. Korea Next?; Ille­
gal Arms Deals; Georgie Anne Geyer.
No. 38 (Fal!. 1991) Special-DoD, CIA recruitment ofU.S. & international students;
Militarism campus guide; ArifDurrani.'s Iran·Contra case; S. African state terror;
Rev. Moon & Acaderrua; Targeting environmentalists; CIABase database.
No. 39 (Winter" 1991·92) Special--The "Good� Agencies: NED, Peace Corps, USAID &
AIDS inAfuca, Nat. Cancer Inst., Population Control; Casolaro; FBI & Supreme
Court; Rooort Gates; USSR destabilization; BCCI.
No. 40 (Spring 1992) Special-Indigenous Peoples: N. America, toxic dumps,
Leonard Peltier interview. Guatemala; East Timor Massacre; VB. in Pacific'' Cambo-
dia; GATI, David Duk('.
No. 41 (Summer 1992) Special-Next Enemies; LA Uprising; Geo. Bush & CIA;
Bush Fam.ily; Eqbal Ahmad; UN: D.S. Tool; Nuclear Proliferation; Environmentalist
Attacked; V.S. Economic Decline; Dissent as Subversion,
No. 42 (Fall 1992) Philip Agee on Covert Ops; Peru; Fluoride; VP Bush & CIAlNSC''
Nicaragua; SO/LIe; Militarizing the Drug War; CIATargets Henry Gonzalez; Bush
Inaugural Leak; Rov. Moon Buys University; Inside LA Police.
No_ 43 (Winter 1992·93) Chemical and Biological War: Zimbabwe, So. Africa and
anthrax, Gulf War Syndrome, Agent Orange; Yellow Rain & Wall Street Journal; &i­
entific racism; Plus: Yugoslavia destabilization; V.S. Religious Right; Somalia.
No. 44 (Spring 1993) Special-Public relations, buying infiuenC(l. Hill & Knowlton,
Burson-Marsteller, Clinton Cabinet; Somalia: "hurrum.itarian" intervention; Rio
Sununit Greenwash; BCCI.CIA; Clinton & Nat. Sec. Act; .Anti+Gay plans.
No. 45 (Summer 1993) So. Mrica Right's Links; German N(l{)+NaziB; RN Haitians;
Interview: Fred Weir in Russia; Police 'Im-get Black Youth; ADL Spying; Pelican Bay
Prison; Ireland's Youth; Angola Profiwers.
No_ 46 (Fall 1993) Economic intelligence; CIA's Hit List; Israel & Iran; NSA; School
o.f the Americas; Ex-adviser reveals El Salvador cover-up; Private prisons; Deltajua­
tice & Death Row; Savrumah River; French Bull; NSA's Clipper Chip; -CIA uses
bruill.
No. 47 (Winter 1993·94) 15th Anniversary: FBI YS. Ban; RU8llian October Coup;
Rocky li'lats Jury; NAF1'A Trila"teralists; Zinn on FBI; DeUinger on '9Os; Cold War
Quiz; Ginsberg on CIA; Mumia Ahu..Jamal; World BankJIMF; Evergreen Air UN/CIA
PropriBtary.
No. 48 (Spring 1994) Cbiapas Uprising; CIA & NAFTA; D.S. Sells Out Haiti; Iran­
Contra Report; LA-8; U.S. mercenaries in A:r,erbaijan; Council for Nat. Policy;
Guatemala's Drug Generals.
No. �9 (Summer 1994) Muntesinos, Fujimori, and Peru; TurabilSudan; Operation
Gladio; UB. atom "tests on humans; Armenia and Azerbaijan; So. Africa's Left; Sal·
vador's Ejections.
No. 50 (fall 1994) Operation Condor; Clinton's Crime Bill; Carte's Liberty Lobby;
Monforts Mea.tpackers; Low Intensity Democracy; NEO & IntelligenCB Budget.
No. 51 (Winter 1994-95) AI.D.ing U.S. Interests i.n Haiti; Canadian Intelligence
�ts N6Q-Nazis� Brookhaven Lab and Cancer; U.S. in Bulgaria; Repackaging Popu­
lation; Asylum Rights for Women; The CIA Budget; Paramilitary Vacations; Bud
McFarlane book review.
No. 52 (Spring 1995) Rwandan Genocide; Proposition 187; Rise ofMilitins; Noo­
Nazi/Anti-Abortion Li.n.k.s; Groom Lake; Wall Street Pressures Mexico; Human Rad.i�
ation Update; Corporations Fund Reaea.tch; NSA in Cyberspace; Internet Resources;
Warren Andetson located.
No. 53 (Summer 1995) GulfWar Syndrome Cover-Up; Militia and Military; Frank
Donner; Arab Bashing; Hiroshima: Cold War Bomb; Iraqi Embargo; Guatemala;
DeVooe Murder; Bhopal; FISA Court; Omnibus lmtiterrorism. Act; Kunstler 011
Fourth Amendment Violation.
No. M (J:i'a1l 1995) Chomsky on corporate propaganda; &srna fonllD.; V.S. in Kurdis­
tan; obit for Sasakawa; Labor Now: NAFTAlayoffs, Prison Labor, AFL-CIO in Rus-­
No. 56 (Winter 1995·96) Polit;e vs. Cithen Review; Corporate Assault on FDA; PR
Industry Wars on Activists; Colin Powell; UN at 50/Castro Speech; Economic lntelli*
g<:!nce; Spain's GAL Sc.andal; East 'I'irnor--Britain Ar:ma Indonesia; Bosnia Forum
continued.
No. 56 (Sprill€ 1996) Chomsky on �enduring truths"; High-Tech survci.llance; Milita*
rizing USlMexico border; Pepper Gas; Guy.ana mining disaster; Economics behind
fall ofYl.lgoslavia.; Russian nationalism; USIKorea partnership and Kwangju; La
.
Belle bombing.
No. 57 (Summer 1996) Six-pack of lies, Racism in the ranks, White-collar crime,
Common law courts, INS detention, Buying the Russian elections, Chornaky on the
US and Haiti, US·Israeli cooperation, Anonymous remailers, Nukes in Space.
No. 58 (Fall 1996) Burmese Gulag; Estrogen Mimickers & Endocrine Disrupters;
Globalization of Crime and Capital; �Co=tm:-ThrromID"� documents; Black church
burnings; AID and thfJ environmen.t; Br,y...hlu!.ven whi.a:tleblowers; AIDS Conspiracy
debunked.
 CIA F I LE
C I A DEBACLE ABANDONS
AlliES TO DEATH
In a little-publicised disaster in Iraq the Washington
spooks have once more abandoned a group they were
using to subvert a government they are hostile to, with
the result that dozens of their allies were tortured and
killed. This scenario has been a repeated and sorry
refrain in CIA history. In Cuba, Vietnam, Iran, and other
places, the CIA has encouraged local dissidents in
rebellion, then left them to their fate. The Kurds in Iraq
must be getting reconciled to it - this certainly isn't the
first time it has happened to them. When the Iraqi army
rolled into Erbil at the end of August, CIA officers
retreated, leaving behind a large number ofpeople they
had backed against Saddam Hussein. Nearly a hundred
employees of a CIA funded radio station that broadcast
anti-Saddam propaganda were interrogated and
executed. Other rebels had to flee to the mountains. To
add to the ignominy, much of the disaster was due to
the failure of the intelligence agency to predict that
Saddam would send his forces to take an active part in
the Kurdish disputes. Commentators say that the CIA's
reputation in Iraq has been thoroughly demolished. Last
June an anti-government paramilitary organisation
backed by the CIA had most ofits members in Baghdad
captured. Many were tortured and executed. [See Time
Magazine, 23 September 1996J
C ENTRAL STUP I DITY AGENCY
The CIA was forced to close down its World Wide
Web site in September when a hacker broke in and
altered the content of its home pages. The amended
version accused the agency of lying, and replaced the
main heading with "Welcome to the Central Stupidity
Agency". The embarrassed spooks hastened to assure
people that there was no access to any computers that
held files containing security information. A group has
been set up to find ways to protect the site in future.
[Press, 2 1 September 1996J
CRACK AGENCY
While spook-backers are saying that the CIA has used
traffickers, drug smugglers and criminals in its
operations, but there is no "proof" that this was
sanctioned by the Langley headquarters. Black
Americans have taken up the story of the CIA
originating much of the crack problem in California
with great interest. [See story, PR 10J According to
Time Magazine [30 September 1996] a web site dealing
with this issue has been getting 100,000 entries each
day. An authority on the way information spreads in
Peace Researcher
African American communities says much of the
interest comes from Blacks, even though only about
14% have computers.
D I D CUNTON WORK FOR THE CIA?
NameBase Newsline, a newsletter which monitors the
CIA and its personnel, features an article in its October­
December issue that suggests the newly-elected
President was recruited by the CIA. The story says that
Clinton was recruited while he was a Rhodes Scholar
at Oxford, possibly by a friend named Richard Steams.
Steams was an International Vice President of the
National Student Association which for many years
received CIA funding. Clinton's efforts to avoid the
draft may have been assisted by an understanding with
the spooks. Some people believe Clinton's trips to
Eastern Europe in 1969-70 were CIA-sponsored.
NameBase refers to evidence from a recent biography
of the Clinlons by Roger Morris, who worked for the
National Security Council until the bombing of
Cambodia in 1970 when he became a peace activist.
Morris cites inside intelligence sources for his assertion
and says Clinton's tolerance of CIA drug-running and
money-laundering in Arkansas during the 1980s
supports this conclusion.
I RAN BLAMED AGAIN
In August stories were released blaming Iran for the
crash of TWA Flight 800 which killed 230 people off
New York in July. Senior US intelligence officials were
given as the source for reports that the CIA was linking
Iran to the disaster. In spite of intensive investigation
efforts no confirmed reason for the crash has yet been
revealed. The event, however, has been useful as
another means of establishiug Iran and terrorism in the
public mind as enemies which justify the CIA empire.
EX-SPOOKS ALLEGE COVER-UP
Two former CIA analysts have written a book which
says the CIA and Pentagon are behind the smokescreen
put up over veterans' exposure to chemical agents in
the GulfWar. They say documents point to as many as
60 incidents of possible releases of chemical agents
near US troops. Over a thousand documents relating to
the Gulf War were released to the public last year but
since then more than half have been reclassified with
the CIA claiming some· of them revealed its sources
and methods. In August of this year the New York Times
reported that a 1991 intelligence document had alerted
the White House, CIA and State Department to the fact
that American troops may have been exposed to
Page 75
chemical weapons when an Iraqi ammunition dump
was blown up in March 1991. On April 26 1995 when
the then Assistant Secretary of Defense John Deutch
was testifying at confirmation hearings for his
appointment as CIA Director he repeatedly denied there
was evidence of chemical weapons. At the end of
October this year the Pentagon announced it will notify
20,000 US Gulf War veterans they may have been
exposed to chemical agents when the ammunition depot
was destroyed!
CiA H EALTH CHECK
"The CIA has infonnants at overseas hospitals who
watch for foreign officials checking in for treatment. It
employs a dozen doctors and psychiatrists to review
videos of world leaders for signs of physical or mental
ailments .... For example, agency physicians privately
concluded that the late French President Francois
Mitterrand had cancer more than a decade before he
made it public." But apparently the CIA missed the
big one - they didn't learn how ill Yeltsin was until his
doctor admitted weeks later on TV that he had suffered
a heart attack [Time, 28 October 1996]
CIA " K ILLS" BUT DOES NOT
"ASSASSI NATE"
After William Buckley, CIA Head of Station, was
kidnapped and killed in Beirut in 1984, Reagan issued
a new secret Presidential Directive. According to
Covert Action Quarterly [Fall 1996] still-classified
portions of the directive authorised establishing secret
FBI and CIA paramilitary squads and use of existing
Pentagon units to conduct guerrilla war against
guerillas. This meant sabotage, killing (though not
assassination) preemptive and retaliatory raids,
deception and a significantly expanded intelligence
collection programme aimed at suspected radicals and
people regarded as sympathisers. '" Assassiuation' in
CIA parlance, referred to the murder of heads of state
and was barred by a presidential order first issued
during the Ford Administration. Killing suspected
guerrillas and lower-level state officials, in contrast,
was regarded as 'preemptive self-defense. '"
MORE O N THE U N HOlY ALLIANCE
The story of the alliance between the Vatican and the
CIA gets a full airing in a new book by Carl Bernstein
and Marco Politi [His Holiness, Doubleday, 1996]
From early 1981, the Reagan administration maintained
an intelligence shuttle at the highest level between the
White House and Pope Jobn Paul lI. The Pope was the
beneficiary of some of the United States' most carefully
guarded secrets and sophisticated political analysis,
from satellites, intelligence agents, and electronic
eavesdropping. During the 1980s, while the covert
collusion proceeded, millions of dollars in American
Page 76
aid to family planning programmes around the world
were blocked on orders from the President. From the
CIA the Vaticau received intelligence information
about priests and bishops in Central and South America
who advocated liberation theology. Oliver North made
payments to priests loyal to the Pope in these areas,
though it is not certain that Wojtyla knew of this. [See
review in Sunday Star-Times, 3 November 1996]
DON'T EXPECT ANY CHANGES
A recent article in the Bulletin ofthe Atomic Scientists
[Sept/Oct J 996] tells us that reform of US intelligence
is uulikely to result from Congressional iuquiries into
the system. John Prados writes that although one
Senator wanted to abolish the CIA the investigating
Aspin-Brown Commission was mostly made up of
people "little disposed to question traditional roles and
missions". Control of spending has been given very
minor attention. Intelligence spending tripled between
1980 and 1990 and in 1996 money is spent on
intelligence "at a rate 80 percent higher than in 1980".
The Pentagon spends 85% of intelligence allocations,
the biggest share going to the National Security Agency
for electronic eavesdropping and the National
Recounaissance Office for satellite operations. (The
same issue of the Bulletin contains an excellent Jeffrey
Riche1son article describing the current capabilities of
sky spy systems.) Clandestine operations will remain
the province of the CIA. Prados says "Recent
revelations of how the CIA station in Guatemala misled
its own headquarters about actions undertaken with the
Guatemalan military make it plain that persisting with
this course is dangerous". One of the better aspects of
the Aspin-Brown report is that it recommends retaining
separate Congressional intelligence committees in the
House and the Senate. But accordiug to this article,
many key issues - including declassification of secret
records - have simply not beeu addressed.
ANOTHER CIA MOLE
As this issue of Peace Researcher goes to press it
is reported that another major security scandal
threatens the CIA. Harold Nicholson, an instructor
at the ageucy's training centre in Virginia, has been
arrested for selling secrets to Moscow. Nicholson,
variously described as bcing a former chief in
counter-terrorism, and a former head of station in
Romania and Malaysia, has been sel ling
information about CIA spies for cash since 1994.
His job at the training centre would have given
him information on every uewly trained officer.
Having just finished brushing away the debris from
the Ames betrayals, the bosses at Langley will now
face more big battles to defend the agency from its
detractors.
Peace Researcher
 US A I D K illS - WITH THE H E LP O F BP
"United States' military equipment intended for anti­
drug operations in Colombia had been diverted to
counter-insurgency units responsible for the deaths of
thousands of civilians, Amnesty International said
yesterday." [Sydney Morning Herald, 3 1 October 1996J
Amnesty says the "aid" from Washington was going
to paramilitary squads who had killed large numbers
of people, particularly trade union leaders and human
rights activists. According to the British Observer,
intelligence on some of those killed was provided to
the army by the giant BP oil conglomerate which
operates extensively in Colombia. Workers striking at
the BP plant in Casanare have been identified, beaten,
and sometimes killed. BP pays tbe army to protect its
interests. President Clinton has recently given the go­
ahead for another SUS 40 million aid to Colombia and
the sale of seven helicopters.
CRI M I NALS' H I-TECH INTElliGENCE
According to Time Magazine [23 September 1996J
some of the massive Colombian drug cartels possess a
level of intelligence sophistication "about at the level
ofthe KGB when the Soviet Union fell apart". Police
and Drug Enforcement Agency raids have found signal
scanning equipment to intercept phone calls, fax
messages and air traffic control communications. A
mainframe computer has been used to store phone
records of millions ofcitizens and routinely cross-check
them against calls made to the US Embassy or Ministry
of Defence to identify Colombians cooperating with
the government. Time says that Italian police are
seriously concerned about the Mafia's use ofencryption
to protect it from government surveillance, and that
the Russian Mafia are using the latest technology to
rapidly expand their empire.
5TH AFRICAN H I TMAN KILLED SWEDISH PM
Swedish Prime Minister, OlofPalme, an outspoken foe
of the white apartheid regime, was assassinated as a
result of covert South African operations according to
courtroom testimony in South Africa. Two leading
participants in former death squads have testified that
the killing was part of 'Operation Long Reach' under
the control of a South African spook named Craig
Williamson. Williamson has admitted carrying out
bombings and murders of anti-aparthied activists, but
denies involvement in the Palme murder. The Swedish
leader was gunned down in a Stockholm street in
February 1986. [AucklandHerald, 28 and 30 September
1996J
Peace Researcher
ANOTHER lOCKERSIE THEORY -
IT WAS SOUTH AFRICA
An Austrian newspaper says that apartheid covert
operatives were also behind the bombing of the Pan
Am airliner destroyed over Scotland in December 1988,
Kronen Zeitung believes the real target was Bernt
Carlsson, a close associate ofOlofPalme and the man
nominated by the United Nations as the first governor
of an independent Namibia. Carlsson, who died in the
bombing along with 270 others, was an outspoken
opponent of the apartheid regime and thought to have
supported secret weapons deliveries to the African
National Congress. [Press, 9 October 1 996J
HUGE INCREASE I N NSW BUGGING
The New South Wales Government has ordered a
review of the state's wide powers to monitor telephone
and other conversations secretly, the Sydney Morning
Herald has reported . [3 1 October 1996J The review
follows a big increase in the number of bugging
operations by law endorcement agencies and the
frequency of their use. More than a thousand devices
are being installed each year compared with about 300
in 1990. There are about 200 phone taps per year where
there were about 90 three years ago. The Independent
Commission Against Corruption has doubled its use
of listening devices and court warrants have been
obtained to insta11 40 of these since January.
SPOOK TAKES H E R PLACE I N
NSW PARLIAMENT
A New Zealand-born woman has confirmed her seat
as a Liberal MP after revealing her spook credentials
in defence of her right to hold the seat. Iackie KeUy
won the traditionally Labor electorate of Lindsay in
the March election, but the Labor Party appealed,
saying she was a New Zealand citizen and not entitled
to take the seat. Kelly says she served six years in !be
Australian military and worked as a "legal advisor to
the Australian Air Force". She claims a top-secret
security clearance, and that she has "had to kick Kiwis
off courses when discussing intelligence they're not
meant to have access to." [Press, 5 June 1996] A full
CV might prove fascinating!
SWEDEN VERSUS RUSSIA
A Swedish aircraft on a surveillance mission crashed
into the Baltic Sea last October after an undisclosed
incident involving a Russian plane. The Swedish
Viggen had been shadowing a nuclear-powered Russian
Page 17
warship about 120 kilometres of the coast of Sweden,
and hit the water only a few hundred metres from its
surveillance target. The pilot was killed.
KOREA: NORTH VERSUS SOUTH
While Western spooks yawn over business documents
and computer screens, spy-games seem much more
entertaining in the East. An American being held by
North Korea on spying charges is said by his family to
be a missionary who was drunk when he accidentally
swam across the Amnok River and into North Korean
territory. His captors claim he cannot be a missionary
because he does not know the Ten Commandments, or
how to pray. [Press, 26 October 1996] In recent weeks
South Korean troops have been hnnting and executing
North Koreans they claim are infiltraters who landed
from a submarine that impaled itself on the South
Korean coast. Last July counter-intelligence officers
in Seoul arrested a respected nniversity historian whom
they said had disguised himself as a Filipino for many
years in order to spy for the North.
IT WAS THE RUSSIANS!
A French weekly magazine, L'Express, has claimed
that Charle Hernu, defence minister in France when
the Rainbow Warrior was bombed, was an agent of the
Soviet Union. The magazine alleges Hernu was
recruited by the Bulgarians in 1953 and spied for the
Eastern Bloc. Former President Mitterand was told
about this and covered it up. Hernu resigned after it
became public that France was responsible for the
terrorism that killed a Greenpeace activist on the
Rainbow Warrior at Auckland. Silly us. We should have
known all along that Moscow was behind it.
KGB DISINFORMATION
A recently published book by German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl says that the KGB and the East German
Stasi tried to preveut German unification after the
Berlin Wall collapsed by sending false reports of
upheaval to Gorbachev. Kohl writes that the KGB and
the Stasi wanted to provoke military intervention by
Soviet troops stationed in East Germany. To do this
they gave false reports to the Russian leader that
outraged masses were storming Soviet military
facilities. The book relates that Gorbachev took the
word of a Kohl aide and kept the Russian troops in
their barracks. [Press, I October 1996]
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE . . . .
I n February the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)
tried to stop the Oslo-based Bellona Foundation from
publishing a report on nuclear pollution in Northern
Russia. Agents arrested Russian employees of the
Foundation, including a retired Soviet admiral, and
Page 18
searched their homes and those of their relatives. In
spite of confiscating most of lhe material collected the
FSB was not able to stop the report going out - it was
sent to the Norwegian headquarters by E-Mail. The
report details the environmetal threats presented by
naval nuclear reactors and waste. A leading Bellona
employee has been charged with treason. Although the
defendant, Alexander Nikitin, based his work on
publicly available sources the FSB and Defence
Ministry claim they are subject to classification.
[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Sept 1996]
UNARMED IRA SUSPECT KILLED
A person alleged by British police to be a dangerous
terrorist was shot during a dawn raid in London in
September. Evidence in a coroner's court has shown
that Diarmuid O'Neill was unarmed when he died of
multiple gnnshot wounds. Several people were arrested
and police say they seized almost ten tonnes of
explosives in a series of raids in the city.
FRANCE SAVED BRITAIN I N THE
FALKLANDS WAR
When the Falklands War began, Argentina had five
Exocet Missiles. Three of the first four fired hit their
targets sinking two British ships. Acquisition of more
Exocets by the Argentines would have forced the
British to withdraw, especially if their aircraft carriers
were threatened. A story in Time magazine [9
September 1996] relates that President Mitterrand
immediately offered London assistance at the opening
of hostilities. He stopped Exocets going to Peru, which
may have handed them on to Argentina. He then
ordered his Defence Ministry to supply Britain with
technical details that would help defence against the
missiles, and French intelligence organisations handed
MI6 information from communications intercepts that
enabled covert operations to prevent procurement of
missiles on the blackmarket. With the Americans
supplying Britain with intelligence from its
communication intercepts, and Chile allowing the SAS
to operate from its territory, Argentina had little chance.
US OFFICER FOU N D DEAD
The body of a 27 year-old "Foreign Service Officer"
has been found dead in the Shenandoah National Park
in Washington State. lames Schneider had been nnder
suspicion "about his handling of secrets while aboard
the USS Chancellorsville during the Gulf War". [Press,
19 October 1996] Schneider was being investigated for
mishandling missile secrets. He is reported to have
committed suicide. What's the real story behind the
presence of a "Foreign Service Officer" with access to
missile secrets on board a major ship in a war zone?
Peace Researcher
 THE RISKS OF PROTESTING "THE BOMB"
Most people who protest against nuclear weapons don't 1 996) carried a brief report from a San Francisco paper
expect to be zapped by one, at least not while protesting. that a Soviet submarine that sank in 1 986 spilled
But that may have happened indirectly at Greenham plutonium from broken nuclear warheads into the
Common airbase as a result of an accident in 1 958. Atlantic Ocean. "Despite Soviet and US assurances at
British Ministry of Defence scientists concluded in a the time that there was no radioactive contamination,
classified 1 961 report " ...that the contamination the paper said it had learnt this was the first case in
originated from a fire which engulfed a parked US Air which weapons-grade plutonium leaked from a
Force B-47 bomber containing a nuclear weapon, after submarine in the ocean."
a tank of fuel was jettisoned by another bomber with
engine trouble on 28 February 1 958". (New Scientist,
20 July 1996). HAVE YOU HEA RD
Although the article in NS doesn't mention risks to the THE ONE A BOUT . . . ?
Greenham Common women being exposed to radiation This is the transcript of a n actual radio
during their long vigils at the base, it is a clear conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian
possibility. Excessive numbers of leukemia victims authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in
among children in the region surrounding Greenham October 1995.
were investigated in 1 989 with no definite conclusions
being drawn. That investigation is expected to be Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval
reopened in light of the revelations about the accident Operations 1 0 October 1 995 -
in 1 958. "Scientists detected uranium-235
contamination in two large circles to the east and west Americans: "Please divert your course 1 5
of Greenham Common. They calculated that between degrees to the North to avoid a
1 0 and 20 grams of powdered uranium-235 dust must collision."
have been released into the environment.. .. Canadians: "Recommend you divert YOUR
Contaminated dust would subsequently have been course 1 5 degrees to the South to
distnrbed by aircraft taking off and landing at the base. avoid a collision."
Foliage up to 1 3 kilometres away from Greenham Americans: "This is the Captain of a US Navy
Common was contaminated with uranium-235." ship. I say again, divert YOUR
course."
The usual denials of various kinds came from both Canadians: "No. I say again, you divert YOUR
American and British authorities over the years. course."
Initially they denied that a nuclear weapon was involved Americans: "THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT
in the accident. "The MoD insists that there was never CARRIER USS MISSOURI. WE
any risk to public health." But cancer researchers in ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF
Glasgow cite this "... as another instance when THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR
information was not passed on to us when it should COURSE NOW!
have been". In a separate incident, The Press (26 Nov Canadians: "This is a lighthouse. Your call."

About Peace Researcher

Peace Researcher is published quarterly b y the Anti-Bases campaign, Christchurch. The editors are
Warren Thomson and Bob Leonard. Our journal covers a range of peace issues with emphasis on foreign
military bases and intelligence topics. Contributed articles will be considered for publication based on
subject matter and space requirements. We are particularly interested in reports of original research on
peace topics in Aotearoa and the wider region of Australasia and the Pacific. Our address is:

Peace Researcher
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Christchurch
Aotearoal New Zealand

Peace Researcher Page 79

 THE US NAVY GRADUAllY DEPARTS
DEEP FREEZE
November is a busy time for science and logistics
support in the Antarctic. A recent Press report (27
N ov 1996) described the mix of Hercules aircraft
present at Christchurch Airport on a recent day:
Wheeled Hercules from the RNZAF's Operation
Icecube and from the Italian program, and ski-equipped
Hercules from the US Navy and the New York Air
National Guard. The article erroneously describes the
109th Air Mobility Wing (AMC) as part of the Air
National Guard.
AMC is of course the new anagram for the old Military
Airlift Command (MAC) whose name has been
cleansed of military connotations. AMC is mainstream
US air force, not national guard, and has supported
Deep Freeze with its big Starlifter and Galaxy cargo
planes for many years. AMC also has a vital military/
intelligence role with its Channel flights through
Christchurch in support of major US bases in Australia,
including Pine Gap. Those flights operate under the
cover of Operation Deep Freeze and continue to be a
major concern of the Anti-Bases Campaign.
MAC or AMC is taking over all navy logistics functions
at Deep Freeze in a phased operation over the next few
years (see PR 9). Many of the "temporary" wooden
buildings that have been used by seasonal navy workers
over the years are being removed. The air force sees
itself as an elite arm of the US military; its personnel
wouldn't be caught dead using old navy barracks.

w BASE DECEPTION : w
The US Military at Christchurch Airport
A new ABC video now available

Copies of "Base Deception" can be purchased from ABC for $15 including postage.
Send cheques to ABC, Box 2258, Christchurch.

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