The CIA for Kids?

Matthew Gaylor freematt at coil.com
Mon Feb 19 09:54:05 PST 2001


The CIA for Kids?

The Central Intelligence Agency now has a web site for children.  And 
I'm not kidding. http://www.cia.gov/cia/ciakids/index.html

At their site you can "Fly High On Intelligence, NOT Drugs".  Kids 
get to learn why the CIA is involved in thwarting nacrotraffic and 
finding money launders while playing such games as "Break the Code" 
or the "Geography Trivia Quiz".  Or budding junior spies can bone up 
with the "Intelligence Book List" or take a virtual tour of the CIA.

Most of the alphabet soup agencies have rushed head long into 
providing content for children both overtly as evidenced by sites 
such as the CIA's and much more ominously, covertly.

You may have heard that the White House's Office of National Drug 
Control Policy (ONDCP) http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/ pays 
popular Hollywood TV programs to insert anti-drug messages into the 
story lines of the shows.  After some protests among civil 
libertarians, the ONDCP in conjunction with the TV producers agreed 
to mention in the credits that the program was supported by ONDCP. 
This is the same agency that was forced last June to stop tracking 
computer users who viewed their anti drug advertisements on the 
Internet.  Their use violated federal privacy guidelines.  See: 
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/06/biztech/articles/22net.html

What is less widely known and is not in my opinion publicized due to 
political reasons, is the US Justice Department's practice of 
inserting anti-gun propaganda in various TV programming. Much of the 
anti-gun messages are cloaked in anti-violence material.  In 1999 
MTV, the popular music television station owned by Viacom 
International, released a CD Rom titled "Fight For Your Rights: take 
a stand against violence".  The CD included works by Lauryn Hill, The 
Dave Matthews Band, Everclear, The Backstreet Boys, Alanis 
Morrissette, Tori Amos and included sound bites from other popular 
artists.  Adam Yauch of the Bestie Boys on track 13, the last track 
of the CD, mentioned that the only way to stop violence was to ban 
guns.

I received my free copy of the CD-Rom directly from the US Justice 
Department's Office of Juvenile Justice.

And nary a ripple surfaced last year by the mainstream media when it 
was revealed that the US Army's Psychological Operations Units do 
Internships at CNN and other news outlets.

In March of 2000 I posted some information to my worldwide mailing 
list, Freematt's Alerts, on the subject of Psychological Operations 
On The Internet. I had posted some information on UKUSA's Echelon, 
the global spy network.

I posted some info from John Young's <jya at pipeline.com> excellent 
site:   http://cryptome.org/

In particular I posted this quote from http://cryptome.org/madsen hmhd.htm

"They constantly broadcast disinformation to television and radio 
audiences in Haiti, Serbia, Colombia, Mexico and elsewhere."

Lo and behold, I got contacted by a member of the US Army Reserve's 
246th Psychological Operations Company from Columbus, Ohio who took 
exception with that comment.  His title is All-Source Intelligence 
Analyst and Psychological Operations Specialist.

He claims to have contacted me as a private citizen and he mentioned 
that he didn't tell me anything that wasn't open information. I 
engaged with him over several emails then I switched into an IRC 
channel for a couple of hours and I quizzed him on several issues 
that some of you may find noteworthy.  I'll refer to him as Agent X 
out respect for his privacy.

Agent X wrote:
I find it interesting how people with very little information about 
what information the U.S. Actually does put out are so quick to 
judge.  The USIA/USIS and Army Psyop do try to  earn people's support 
for U.S. policy.    This "disinformation" that is put out is Mine 
awareness so that children don't end up dead or maimed, they try to 
get civilians to clear military convoy routes so that relief aid can 
be  transported to the needy, like the orphanage in Haiti that had 
run out of food because a tropical storm had knocked out the bridge 
on the only road to  them.  The U.S. did not engage in the use of the 
Internet as an information tool in Bosnia as the legality of the 
issue was still under debate.  Under U.S. law and Army Policy no 
Psyop may be conducted on U.S. citizens.  The internet being an open 
medium would have allowed U.S. citizens to be subjected to the 
information.  As such the internet was not used.

An article written about my Psychological Operations Unit in Haiti:

http://www.dtic.mil/soldiers/may95/p40.html

Matthew Gaylor's response: I opinioned that sending troops down to 
Haiti to perform community service seems like a total waste of money 
as the service could have been done by a well equipped Boy Scout 
troop.

Agent X continued:
The goal of psyop is to win the hearts and minds...the nuns were 
greatful...do you think they supported our mission there after that? 
My  units mission is tactical meaning we coordinate radio broadcasts, 
distribute  fliers and do loudspeaker broadcasts.  I know the 
internet was not used for  psyop in bosnia for a fact.  The army was 
still developing its policy on that  medium.  There is a terrific 
after action report online that discusses the failure of the US to 
seize this medium.

http://www.dodccrp.org/bosend.htm

This is the end notes that discusses the internet failure.  I warn 
you its  quite dry and the psyop bit is towards the end.  At the base 
of the page is  URLs to the rest of the site for the full article.

Matthew Gaylor responded:
I can fully believe that the Internet wasn't used in Haiti, after all 
it isn't used in Cuba either, because hardly anybody has a decent 
supply of toilet paper let alone Internet access.

Agent X responds:
As to the internet and haiti... the comment had to do more with our 
supposed  "disinformation" then on the use of the internet but you're 
right in Haiti that would be a poor medium.

The US is just now bringing its Psyop units up for capability to use 
the  internet.  All information distributed must be approved by the 
National  Command during peace time.  SO everything we get is drawn 
up by others.  That  way the entire campaign is coordinated 
effectively and no messages that would  offend are put out.

What I'm saying is that up to 1997 the US had not been involved in 
psyacts on  the internet.  That was Bosnia...now as to Kosovo in 1999 
the situation
hasn't changed much...but we will use any means to cripple an enemies 
communication systems...such as denial of service and such in serbia.

###

The following interchanges occurred between myself (Wagthedogy) and 
Agent X using an instant message service. Some of the comments 
started out specific to Ohio, but then branched out.

Wagthedogy:	What does Sen. Mike Dewine (R) Ohio have?
Agent X:	Influence in Washington
Wagthedogy   I mean, what issues?
Agent X	He's pretty standard party line republican
Wagthedogy: You mean gun control, larger government etc.?
Agent X:	well theoretically...republicans want smaller government
Wagthedogy:  Don't listen to what they say watch what they do.  In 
psyopps you should know that.
Agent X:	yes but I'm not a total libertarian either
Agent X:	is why I pick and choose
Wagthedogy:	It doesn't matter how libertarian you are.  What 
matters is if you believe in freedom and the constitution.
Agent X:	I believe in strong national defense
Wagthedogy:	Me too
Wagthedogy:	But we have troops in Columbia fighting the drug war 
as an example.
Agent X:	we provide MI support
Agent X:	and occasionally we send units to train with the columbians
Wagthedogy:	Delta is on the ground in Columbia running missions
Agent X:	Yes and usarso has done it too and one of my good 
friends was there.

Wagthedogy:	What major issue to you differ with the Libertarians?
Agent X:	yes but I don't think we should have no government either
Wagthedogy:	Me either
Agent X:	I believe in some foreign aid and intervention
Wagthedogy:	How much and to who?
Agent X:	To any ally strategically of interest to us. Georgia 
is a huge one at the moment. It is important we keep russia from 
redominating half the world
Wagthedogy:	Like Chile?  Kissinger once remarked it was a giant 
dagger pointed towards antarctica <grin>
Wagthedogy:	3 billion to Israel?
Agent X:	Georgia is at the center of a sphere of influence 
that surrounds the majority of the worlds oil.

Wagthedogy:	Here's a question for you.  What is your world view? 
What do you believe?
Agent X:	world view? meaning?
Wagthedogy:	Ideology, culture, religion, you're relationship to 
others, etc.
Agent X:	As an american I was brought up in one of the most 
ethnocentric cultures in the world as to religion I'm atheist as to a 
christian god...agnostic as to a God. I was raised lower income 
protestant Am now middle income. Is that what you wanted to know or?
Wagthedogy:	What about your political ideology.  What 
thinkers/writers have influenced you?
Agent X:	well not really political but I like Nietzsche...as 
to politics I haven't read much I've read Machevellis "The Prince", 
Thomas More's "Utopia", I've read Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 
451, Animal Farm...all those sorts of things.
Wagthedogy:	That's a good start.
Wagthedogy:	Do you plan to enter the Army full time?
Agent X:	no...having dual job specialties in the army...with 
psyop and mi always short handed I can be on active duty as much as I 
want

Agent X:	SWIC is the Special Warfare Instruction Center...well 
the John Fitzgerald Kenenedy SWIC...its at Ft. Bragg anyway their 
website will probably tell you more
Wagthedogy:	What schools in the Army have you been to?
Agent X:	basic training ft leonard wood, ait ft huachuca - all 
source intel analyst course,basic airborne ft benning,jrtc ft polk, 
ft knox psychological operations specialist.
Wagthedogy:	I sure hope you didn't help set up the loudspeakers at WACO
Agent X:	No
Wagthedogy:	That's an example of psyopps.
Agent X:	if any psyop was there at all it was the 321s or 5th 
I forget out of dallas. But I'm pretty sure that was FBI stuff not 
Army. National guard was there but they have no psyop assets. For 
psyop to have been there they would have had to be called up by 
presidential order.
Wagthedogy:	FBI with Delta advisors.

[End note from Matthew Gaylor: I edited the above text for clarity 
and I sniped some irrelevant commentary.]

Regards, Matt-


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