GroupWatch: Profiles of U.S. Private Organizations and Churches, was compiled
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Council for Inter-American
Security
Acronym/Code: CIS
Updated: 2/91
Categories:
Political
Background:
The Council for Inter-American Security (CIS) was founded in l976 by Ronald Docksai with the objectives of clarifying the common security interests of nations of the Western hemisphere, recommending approaches for the protection of those interests, and popularizing its recommendations. (10,14) Now claiming a membership of nearly 200,000--up from 70,000 in l986--CIS has been described as a "hybrid institution," which combines the features of a public policy research institution and a citizens' lobby. One of its major objectives is, therefore, to provide information to Congress, to the executive branch, and to the American public concerning its analyses of national security policy. (14,28) It consequently sponsors educational programs, seminars, conferences, and briefing sessions; conducts direct mail and advertising campaigns; and produces publications, radio shows, films, and television documentaries on various issues relating
to foreign policy and national defense posture. (28,32) In the early years of the Reagan administration, the organization was one of the more influential think tanks of the New Right, providing both policy and policymakers to the
new administration. In the heyday of its influence, one observer noted, top officials of CIS "shuttle[d] to and from key policy-making and advisory roles in the administration... ."(24) Among those tapped for administration positions were Patrick Buchanan, who became President Reagan's communications director; Lewis Tambs, initially a consultant to the National Security Council
(NSC) and later appointed ambassador first to Colombia and then to Costa Rica;
Gordon Sumner, named as special consultant to the State Department's Bureau
of Inter-American Affairs; and Roger Fontaine, assigned to the NSC as a specialist
on Latin America. (24,26)
This initial influence was not to last, however.
CIS--like other radically conservative groups--always had the ear of President
Reagan but were often incapable of working within Washington's bureaucratic
system and were inclined to frustrate and antagonize more pragmatic conservatives
both in and out of government. Roger Fontaine, for example, was eased out
of the National Security Council, and Pat Buchanan eventually resigned his
position with the White House. (34,37)
Despite the less dogmatically conservative
political climate of the late l980s, CIS continues its efforts. In l988, the
Committee of Santa Fe released a new document, Santa Fe II, with recommendations
for the next administration. Although it is somewhat less ideological and
more pragmatic than the original "Santa Fe Document," this second
publication is unlikely to have the impact of the first simply due to the
changing political tenor of the country and the absence from the White House
of a truly ideological president. (13)
CIS publications and analyses focus primarily
on Latin America but include coverage of other regions of the world as well,
particularly the Soviet Union. These analyses are formed by a perspective
which, for the most part, frames issues in East-West terms. Groups and individuals
which opposed President Reagan's Central America policy or supported nuclear
disarmament, for example, were repeatedly and vociferously accused by CIS
of being tied to or dupes of the Soviet Union. (14) Among other projects,
the group has campaigned to defeat the Panama Canal and Salt II treaties and
has opposed attempts to normalize relations with Cuba. (32) Its publications
call for a vigorous and muscular defense posture in the United States, and
CIS has asserted that "Soviet-Cuban adventurism in this hemisphere started
after Jimmy Carter was elected."(14) The Inter-American Security Educational
Institute (ISEI), an offshoot of CIS, sponsors a speakers bureau of individuals
with expertise in a variety of areas, including economics, theology, politics,
warfare, and diplomacy. (4,30)
CIS is a membership group and claims to have
nearly 200,000 members. (14)
Funding:
Activities:
The Council for Inter-American Security conducts
analysis of U.S. national security issues, produces policy recommendations,
and acts as a citizens' lobby. It produces books, monographs, television documentaries,
films, and special reports as components of its educational activities. In
addition, its members or representatives have testified before Congress on
assorted policy issues, and the organization escorts congressional leaders
and other policymakers on fact-finding tours to Central America. (14,32) During
l985, for example, CIS organized trips to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
and Nicaragua for an assortment of members of Congress and their staffs. It
also arranged a trip to Guatemala for congressional aides to observe the elections
in December of that year. (32)
In l980, CIS produced the influential report
A New Inter-American Policy for the Eighties,
known popularly as the "Santa Fe Document." This document became
a central building block in the construction of Reagan's foreign policy in
Central America during his first term. (1,12,14,23) The document argued that
the U.S. was "engaged in World War III," and proposed that "in
war there is no substitute for victory." Describing Central America
as "the soft underbelly of the United States," the report called
for the restoration of the Monroe Doctrine as the underpinning of U.S. foreign
policy in the region. (23)
Its recommendations included increased military
ties with "friendly" Central American governments, the provision
of military training and assistance programs, and both technical and psychological
assistance programs to help those countries fight "terrorism."
It suggested an "economic and ideological campaign" to deal with
such issues as energy, Latin American debt, industrial and agricultural development,
and education to "win the minds of mankind." To undermine the communist
goverment of Cuba, it recommended the establishment of Radio Marti and the
Caribbean Basin Initiative. It urged the U.S. to revitalize the Rio Treaty
and the Organization of American States but simultaneously called for the
United States to "assume the role of the unquestionably cohesive force
in building a Western Hemispheric community." The "Santa Fe Document"
criticized isolationism, containment, and detente as ineffective responses
to the Soviet threat in the Americas. Instead, the U.S. was exhorted to take
an activist stance in the region as well as in the world, mindful that "the
very survival of this republic is at stake."(23)
A subsequent document, published in late l988,
Santa Fe II offered the CIS policy recommendations on Latin America for the
l990s. While lacking much of the hyperbole of the original "Santa Fe
Document," this second report argued that "the Americas are still
under attack," and listed communist subversion, along with terrorism
and the drug trade, as manifestations of that attack. An underlying assumption
of the document was the assertion that communist organizations were connected
to and allies of the terrorist and narcotics networks which formed the other
two components of the "attack" on the Western hemisphere. The report
criticized a "continuation of the attitude of strategic indifference"
on the part of the United States toward Latin America and a failure to establish
a bipartisan consensus on a long-term, pro-active (as opposed to reactive)
set of policies toward the region. Noting the economic stagnation characteristic
of the region, CIS called for U.S. policies which support the formation of
national capital markets, deregulation, and privatization in order to stimulate
Latin American economies. It also noted that the present Latin American debt
burden "has to be lessened because it can never be repaid at current
terms," although it suggested market-oriented approaches to resolving
that dilemma. The document asserted that liberation theology and intellectual
leftist social criticisms are based on a Gramscian attempt to establish Marxist
cultural hegemony. In response, Santa Fe II proposed that the United States
must set up institutions and programs which "support democracy
among the permanent bureaucracy including the military and the political culture,"
as well as among labor unions, business groups, trade associations, and educational
organizations. It also urged the U.S. to recognize the "need" of
newly democratic governments or governments in transition to democracy to
"restrain anti-democratic parties." Among its other suggestions
were bolstering the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program,
strengthening the budget of the U.S. Information Agency and the Office of
Public Diplomacy, revitalizing and expanding the Caribbean Basin Initiative,
setting agricultural policies based on comparative advantage, eliminating
U.S. and Latin American trade protectionism, protecting and restoring tropical
rain forests, implementing structural changes in the U.S. defense establishment
to accommodate the requirements of low intensity conflict (LIC) strategy,
renovating the Organization of American States, expanding military assistance
to Latin America, utilizing a "sophisticated" version of LIC to
support the "democratization" of Nicaragua, and educating the American
media and public about the nature of communist subversion in the hemisphere.
In a section on "Coming Regime Crises in Latin America and U.S. Responsibilities,"
the document's authors highlighted Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, and Panama.
In each, they suggested ways in which the United States might influence the
changes likely in those political systems over the next decade. (13)
The Council was an ardent supporter of the
Nicaraguan contras, and the group argued for continued pressure on the Sandinistas
in three areas: the diplomatic front, the internal front represented by domestic
opposition groups, and the military front as represented by the rebels. According
to West Watch, the group provided financial aid to the contras and worked
with youth and civic groups which provided political and material support
for the rebels. (14,18,32) The group's 1985 tax return showed grants totalling
more than $8,000 given to contra supporters such as Humberto Belli, Jose Rebelo,
Harris Whitbeck, Jefferson Education Fund, and the Nicaraguan Development
Foundation. In the same year CIS made a contribution to the largest contra
group, the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN) of $1,650. (46) Prior to the
1990 electoral defeat of the Sandinistas by the U.S. -backed National Opposition
Union, Bouchey said there was "no long-term possibility for peace"
as long as the Sandinistas were in power and called for "the [Reagan]
administration and Congress to do whatever is necessary to remove the Sandinista
regime."(1,24)
In March l985, CIS sponsored a "Nicaraguan
Freedom Gala" at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in California for contra
commanders Fernando Chamorro and Steadman Fagoth. The event cost $100 a couple
and generated $8000 in proceeds, including donations. Bouchey said the money
was to be used for a radio advertisement campaign which targeted 50 congressional
districts thought to be swing votes in the next contra aid legislative battle.
Part of the funds were to be used for a television documentary called Central
America: Before It's Too Late, narrated by Rep. Robert Dornan. (20) The following
year, CIS sponsored another Nicaraguan Freedom Gala, this one in Washington
DC In attendance were Richard Viguerie, direct mail wizard of the New Right,
Enrique Bermudez, top contra commander, and Adolfo Calero, a member of the
contra political directorate. (31) Former contra leader Edgar Chamorro notes
that Bouchey visited contra forces in Honduras. (15)
CIS distributed a Special Report in March
of l986, prior to a congressional vote on aid to the Nicaraguan rebels, which
argued for resumption of military aid to the contras. Written by William Pascoe
III of the Heritage Foundation and Timothy Goodman, the report's purpose,
according to the authors, was to "provide a new rationale for the President's
support of renewed military aid."
It framed its arguments in strategic, political, moral, ideological, legal,
and economic terms, proposing that U.S. support of the contras was moral,
legal, and in keeping with broad security and economic interests. (29) During
the debate surrounding the congressional vote in l986, CIS hired a telephone
marketing operation to call voters in selected districts, urging them to press
their congressional representatives for a yes vote on contra aid. The project
involved four days of calls into 25 congressional districts and was part of
a $600,000 campaign to support the aid program. (35) CIS co-sponsored a press
conference in l986 on the Sandinista incursion into Honduras During the week
of March 31 to April 3 of that year, Michael Waller and FDN representative
Jorge Rosales toured college campuses in Massachusetts to "articulate
President Reagan's Nicaraguan policy." When the Cuban Interests Section
at the Czechoslovakian Embassy in Washington DC (a substitute for a diplomatic
delegation) gave CIS a check to cover materials it was purchasing, CIS signed
the check over to the FDN. (30)
Prior to the Congressional vote in February
l988, CIS spent over $1 million on a campaign in support of renewing aid to
the contras. The organization sent out more than two million pieces of direct
mail in the effort and also produced radio and newspaper ads. One of the ads
referred to House Speaker Jim Wright as "Commandante Wright."(19)
As part of its campaign, CIS ran five advertisements in eight newspapers in
key congressional districts, as well as radio ads on Christian and news/talk
stations. The group also sent "action kits" to 500 activists in
25 districts. The kits included a video on Nicaragua, a copy of The Real Secret
War, and a letter-writing guide on aid to the contras. (9) CIS and WYES-TV
(New Orleans) co-produced a halfhour television documentary called "The
Contra Connection." The documentary, broadcast on the public broadcasting
network, focused on the aid provided by private organizations to the contras.
(32)
In 1989 CIS put out a news bulletin warning
U.S. citizens that its prediction that "communist-instigated political
turmoil, coupled with acute economic stagnation" could result in up to
20 million refugees entering into the United States. CIS claimed that the
flood of refugees had begun, with more than 2,000 Nicaraguans flooding the
border into Texas weekly. The plea went on to claim that immediate steps must
be taken to stem the flow of refugees or "President Bush will face one
of the gravest domestic, social and political problems of the decade."(43)
CIS advocates a "hard line" policy on refugees including using the
National Guard to beef up the Border Patrol and denial of welfare benefits
to undocumented people. (51) Its long term solution is to expand and promote
the maquiladora industry along the Mexican border. (51) In another border
issue CIS chairman Gordon Sumner, Jr. recently testified before the House
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation in favor of promoting legislation
to permit authorities to shoot down aircraft used in trafficking illegal drugs
into the United States. (53)
CIS produces a newsletter called West Watch.
(3) Through the Inter-American Security Educational Institute speakers bureau,
CIS provides speakers for business, student, and religious organizations in
the U.S. (4) At a news conference co-sponsored by CIS and the National Conservative
Political Action Committee (NCPAC) in 1987, Rep. Bob Walker announced legislation
that "would legally bar American leftists from helping the Sandinista
government or Marxist revolutionary movements while traveling in the region." CIS (with NCPAC) pushed for Congress to investigate "the secret
fundraising networks in the U.S. for the MarxistLeninist FMLN guerrillas
in El Salvador."(5)
CIS says that it brought the following "scandals"
to the public eye: the Sanctuary Movement's
hidden agenda; the exposing of the "Pledge of Resistance"; the "first
hard look at Witness for Peace"; how many "liberal members of Congress
work with the Sandinistas and others in an effort to sabotage the President's
(Reagan's) Central America policies"; a list of 12 congressmen-the `Dangerous
Dozen'--considered by CIS "most responsible for the sabotage of U.S.
efforts to derail Communist expansion in Central America"; how pro-Sandinista
groups use unsuspecting congressmen to disseminate propaganda prior to key
votes on Contra aid; and "the fraudulent reports by the Washington Office
on Latin America (WOLA)."(5)
In September 1986, CIS sponsored a forum with
Accuracy in Media (AIM) to "brief congressional staff members on Sandinista
disinformation" and its effect on Congress. CIS information was used
to discredit Frank Varelli as a witness when he accused the FBI of illegally
monitoring groups which opposed President Reagan's Central America policy.
(5) West Watch editor Michael Waller testified before the House Subcommittee
on Western Hemisphere Affairs in May 1987, that some U.S. organizations "want
more American citizens to get killed by the contras for propaganda purposes." He also said, among other points, that U.S. citizens who are working
in Nicaragua as supporters of the revolution are being given terrorist training
in military camps by Nicaraguan, Cuban, Bulgarian, and Libyan personnel. (18)
Bouchey went on a six-city tour with NCPAC
President Brent Bozell III to talk about FMLN fundraising in the U.S. (5)
Then Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's visit to the Vietnam Memorial in
DC was disrupted by CIS staffers who heard about the visit ahead of time
and called around DC to rally a crowd of contra supporters to show up at
the memorial and confront Ortega, yelling "Murderer Go Home."(6)
Bouchey can be heard doing his radio talk show,"Spotlight on the Americas,"
on over 1000 radio stations nationwide. (6) West Watch sponsors a hotline
to "keep up with the facts" on such issues as: the "Nicaraguan
freedom fighters," the "latest actions of the Sandinista government,
instructions on how to follow up on CIS reports, and votes and pending legislation
before Congress" (202-737-5610). CIS supports the revised version of
the Caribbean Basin Initiative. (6,16)
CIS wrote and published The Real Secret War:
Sandinista Political Warfare and Its Effects on Congress, which argues that
the Sandinistas and their supporters manipulate the human rights issue to
their advantage. The book also contends that there has been a systematic attempt
by Cuban, Soviet, and Nicaraguan communists to influence Congress and public
opinion in the United States. (6,16)
CIS says that it has provided proof that Michigan
Democratic Congressman George Crockett has been cooperating with the Communist
Party. (7) Bouchey did a speaking tour in 1987 with Xavier Arguello (of the
Nicaraguan Resistance and journalist for La Prensa) and former Costa Rican
Foreign Minister Gonzalo Facio. (8) CIS reported allegations by Max Friedman
that freelance journalist Tony Avirgan had a role in sabotaging three Hercules
C-130 Air Force transport planes in a 1972 peace protest. (8) The organization
is working on breaking apart the Christic Institute's case against the Iran-Contra
affair players. That suit was brought on behalf of Avirgan following a bombing
in Nicaragua in l984 in which the journalist was injured. (8) CIS offered
to provide camera-ready work to anyone wishing to run pro-Contra aid ads in
their congressional districts. (9)
The organization has attempted to refute charges
that the far right in El Salvador and Guatemala was involved in the death
squads. (10) CIS claims that there are a plethora of groups on the radical
left in the United States such as the Committee in Solidarity with the People
of El Salvador (CISPES) that are led by communist infiltrators. CIS sees the
discrediting of these groups supporting the FMLN in El Salvador and the Sandinistas
in Nicaragua as one of its major "responsibilities. (14) It sent out
a "confidential" report to its members revealing that a number of
groups within the U.S. were working to restrict military aid to the government
of El Salvador, claiming that this could lead to communist domination of El
Salvador by the FMLN guerrillas in the 1990s. The subversive groups named
included the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Nicaragua Network,
SANE/FREEZE, Quest for Peace, and the National Assembly of Religious Women.
The report also targets members of Congress "honored" by the "Far
Left" and implies that they are supportive of communist objectives. (45)
One of the named congresspersons, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) was later attacked
by CIS as a "member of the procommunist Left" and a vigorous worker
for support of the "revolutionaries in Central America."(48) CIS
president L. Francis Bouchey and director of Research David Hirschmann were
part of an official observer mission to the March 1989 presidential elections
in El Salvador. (47) Bouchey was invited by president-elect of El Salvador,
Alfredo Cristiani to attend the Salvadoran president's inauguration in June
1989. (49)
CIS has offered generous praise to the Guatemalan
military for its "innovative and highly successful counterinsurgency
operation" against Marxist insurgents while completely ignoring the army's
campaign of terror against the Guatemalan population. (16)
The Council for Inter-American Security and
the Inter-American Security Educational
Institute co-sponsored the American Quincentennial Inaugural Ball, a salute
both to the new president, George Bush, and to the 500th anniversary of the
arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Western hemisphere. Proceeds were designated
for CIS and ISEI projects, including West Watch, Congress Watch, the John
Davis Lodge Fellowship Program, and the Center for Liberation Strategy. (12)
Waller took a week-long visit to Chile to
investigate conditions surrounding its political transition away from direct
military rule. While there, he met with civilian and military government leaders,
members of the political opposition, and the Catholic Church. The trip was
sponsored by the Adolfo Ibanez Foundation, a Chilean foundation which promotes
free enterprise. (5) CIS authors wrote of Chile's "transition to democracy"
in several issues of West Watch, arguing against economic and diplomatic sanctions
and overlooking the Pinochet regime's often-brutal policies. (5,12)
CIS publicized a memo said to be an internal
document of the Sandinista government. In the memo, then-commandante Daniel
Ortega was briefed on how best to approach three important "friends of
our revolution," U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd and congressmen Mike Barnes
and George Miller. (21,36) CIS has contended that prominent Democrats in the
House of Representatives have used "propaganda and disinformation, much
of which has been paid for or organized by the Sandinista government,"
to justify their opposition to contra aid. (22)
Enrique Rueda, representing the Inter-American
Security Educational Institute, testified to Congress about liberation theology
and its purportedly Marxist roots, links, and applications. (27)
CIS has deftly expanded its operations to
Eastern Europe to take advantage of recent political changes. Recent editions
of West Watch have cautioned about a premature acceptance of the end of the
Cold War and the dangers of the decade ahead. The group sponsored a tour led
by Cold Warrior Jack Wheeler to East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary,
Romania, and Bulgaria. At their first stop tour members were treated to a
State Department briefing. (44)
Government Connections:
As noted above, Lewis Tambs, Roger Fontaine,
Gordon Sumner, and Patrick Buchanan each had positions in the Reagan administration
(see Background). Gordon Sumner was the chair of the National Bipartisan Commission
on Central America, known as the Kissinger Commission. (34) Sam Dickens served
as an adviser to the Kissinger Commission. (33)
CIS personnel also had connections with major
players in the Iran-contra affair. Michael J. Waller was photographed with
Oliver North's former secretary, Fawn Hall. Bouchey's name appears in North's
diary. Elliott Abrams publically supports CIS. (7)
The following members of Congress have used
and praised CIS publications: Sen. James McClure (R-ID) and representatives
Bill McCollum (R-FL), Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Beau Boulter (R-TX), Bob Smith
(R-NH), and Robert K. Dornan (R-CA). (16) The following members of Congress
from California were on the host committee for the l985 CIS Nicaraguan Freedom
Gala: Bob Dornan, David Dreier, Robert J. Lagomarsino, Daniel E. Lungren,
and Carlos Moorhead. None, however, attended the reception. (20)
At the invitation of the Reagan administration,
Bouchey participated in a 12-person official U.S. delegation to observe the
l985 presidential elections in Honduras. (32) Bouchey was invited to speak
at the White House in April l984 on the subject of "The Manipulation
of Human Rights Statistics in El Salvador." His sponsor was the White
House Outreach Working Group on Central America. (3)
The following is a brief summary of John Singlaub's
military and intelligence activities. Singlaub was an officer in the Office
of Strategic Services during World War II. He became CIA deputy chief in South
Korea during the Korean War and served for two years in Vietnam during the
1960s. At that time, he was commander of the Joint Unconventional Warfare
Task Force, known as MACSOG. In that role, he was one of the commanders of
Operation Phoenix, although he denies having had a part in that program's
infamous assassination and counterterror aspects. In 1978, as chief of staff
of the United Nations Command in South Korea, he publicly condemned the decision
of President Jimmy Carter to reduce the number of U.S. troops in the country.
He was then forced to retire. (10)
James R. Whelan received Chile's highest award
for foreigners, the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins, in 1990. Whelan received
the award for his book, Out of the Ashes: Life, Death and Transfiguration
of Democracy in Chile which relates the fall of Marxism in Chile. (51)
L. Francis Bouchey and David Hirschmann were
invited by Nicaraguan president-elect Violeta Chamorro to attend her inauguration
celebration in April 1990. (52)
Private Connections:
CIS has worked with the Natl Conservative
Political Action Committee (NCPAC) and Accuracy in Media (AIM). A CIS-sponsored
forum included Herb Romerstein (US Information Agency), Joshua Muravchik (neoconservative
member of the Coalition for a Democratic Majority and a fellow with the American
Enterprise Institute), and Max Friedman. (5,38,39)
Anthony Bouscaren and retired General John
Singlaub have served as advisers to CIS. (10) Singlaub is connected to a great
number of rightwing anticommunist groups including the U.S. Council for World
Freedom, the U.S. branch of the World AntiCommunist League; the rightwing
strategy group, Council for National Policy; the mujahedeen support group,
the Committee for a Free Afghanistan; and domestic surveillance groups such
as Western Goals and the American Security Council. Singlaub is a member of
the Natl Defense Council Foundation and former president of the World Anti-Communist
League. He is also a member of Refugee Relief International Inc. , a humanitarian
aid group set up by the Omega Group, publishers of Soldier of Fortune. (1,10,40,41).
Singlaub founded the U.S. Council for World Freedom and Bouscaren served
on its board of directors. (10)
In the l960s, Anthony Bouscaren worked for
the Pioneer Fund, an organization which attempted to prove that blacks are
genetically inferior to whites. Bouscaren signed the "Declaration of
San Salvador," as a proxy for John Singlaub and the USCWF. The declaration
resulted from a rightwing conference held in San Salvador in l985 which included
many members of WACL and focused on ways to involve civilians in anticommunist
efforts. The document announced the Central American AntiCommunist Defense
Accord, intended to create an anticommunist combative force known as the Central
American Civilian Military Alliance. (10)
Lynn Bouchey was a member of the Nicaragua
national support committee during the early l980s. That committee was part
of a multinational project coordinated by the Council for the Defense of Freedom
with help from the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation. Other
CIS members who were on country committees for this project were Andy Messing,
then with the Conservative Caucus and Fr. Enrique Rueda, of the Free Congress
Foundation. (26) Bouchey organized conferences in Latin America for the Unification
Church's political arm, CAUSA, and has been affiliated with other projects
of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon as well. In l981, for instance, he was "specially
commissioned" by Moon's World Media Conference to prepare and present
a "content analysis" of the coverage of U.S. policy in El Salvador
conducted by the New York Times and the Washington Post. (10,26) Bouchey is
a coalition adviser to The Coalition for America At Risk, a group backing
President Bush's decision to use military force against Iraq. (42)
Roger Fontaine, after leaving the National
Security Council, became a reporter and news analyst at the Washington Times,
a newspaper owned by the Moon organization. (26) Fontaine was director of
Latin American studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
As director he made two trips to Latin America in 1980 and reported that Guatemala
was being threatened by an armed communist-inspired minority that was being
abetted by Cubans. (10)
Gordon Sumner was co-chair of a conference
sponsored by the International Security Council, a CAUSA project. (10) In
addition, Sumner was named an ambassador-at-large by the Reagan administration.
During the l970s, he served as chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board
and was earlier assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff as chief of the Plans
and Policy Directorate of the Western Hemisphere division. (13)
Ronald Docksai was a member of the American
Council for World Freedom, the forerunner to the U.S. Council for World Freedom
(USCWF). Both organizations served as the United States affiliate of the World
Anti-Communist League. (10)
Michael Waller is a John M. Olin Fellow in
Defense Journalism at Boston University. (12) John Lenczowski is Adjunct Professor
of National Security Studies at Georgetown University. He worked on the National
Security Council from l983 to l987 as director of European and Soviet Affairs.
(12)
CIS has promoted the work of Humberto Belli
of the Puebla Institute. Belli is an author who was critical of the human
rights performance of Nicaragua's Sandinista government. He reputedly received
funding, production and marketing assistance, information, and other services
from the CIA. (12,15)
Gonzalo Facio served as Costa Rica's Ambassador
to the U.S. and the Organization of American States. He is a member of the
Council for Inter-American Security's speakers bureau. (8)
The Adolfo Ibanez Foundation in Chile sponsored
a trip to that country for Michael Waller (see Activities). (5)
The public relations firm of Stewart-Ohanesian
acted as the coordinator for the Nicaraguan Freedom Gala held in l985. (20)
College chapters of the Young Americans for Freedom and College Republicans
have sponsored speaking engagements by CIS representatives. (30)
Les Csorba III, then-executive director of
Accuracy in Academia, has written for
the CIS newsletter. (30)
Members of the ISEI speakers bureau include
Frank Aker, Adolfo Calero, Col. Lawrence Tracy (who worked with the State
Department's Office of Public Diplomacy), Daniel James, Gonzalo Facio, Laura
Ingraham, Ernesto Rivas-Gallont (former Salvadoran Ambassador to the U.S.
), Alejandro Salazar, Dolf Droge (former consultant to the White House Office
of Public Liaison, longtime employee of the Agency for Intl Development, adviser
to Presidents Johnson and Nixon on national security issues), Sam Dickens,
James Darenblum, Jennelee Hodgson, Geraldine Macias, Juan Maldonado, Roberto
Quinonez (former Ambassador from El Salvador to the United states), John Singlaub,
and Jon Basil Utley. (33) CIS promoted the Shoebox for Liberty project of
Louisiana State Rep. Louis (Woody) Jenkins when Jenkins worked with the Caribbean
Commission. Jenkins is now head of the Friends of the Americas, and the Shoebox
for Liberty project is part of that organization's operations. (3)
Misc:
In a telephone interview with investigative
reporter Allan Nairn, Gordon Sumner defended the Guatemalan regime of Gen.
Lucas Garcia, a government known to be conducting a murderous campaign of
institutionalized terror against members of the opposition."The policy
of the Carter Administration," Sumner told Nairn,"is to destabilize
the Lucas government and there's no excuse for it. That is a government that
was elected by the people."(11)
In the early l980s, Robert Moffit, one of
the directors of the group, wrote an essay calling for a "new international
politics of reciprocity" aimed at a strategy of "peaceful coexistence"
with the Soviet Union based on U.S. strength."The principle of reciprocity
is an equitable principle," he wrote."If it is legitimate for the
Kremlin to launch massive and vituperative propapganda campaigns against the
American Republic and its allies, roundly condemning th `evils' of capitalism,
and to use venomous language in describing Western leaders as `exploiters,'
`racists,' `imperialists,' and `warmongers,' then it is perfectly legitimate
for the American Republic to exploit, through the airwaves or through whatever
media are available, the glaring ideological inconsistencies, economic weaknesses,
and routine injustices of the Soviet Union and its Eastern block satellites." He also called for the U.S. to distinguish between communist elites
and the masses in communist countries."American policymakers must attempt
to ingratiate themselves with the Soviet and Eastern European peoples...
. Crafting such a policy of distinctions will be a delicate undertaking, but
it holds out the possibility of reaping significant psychological and political
rewards. If this be characterized as a form of subversion, then we should
make the most of it."(25)
The organization's DC office is 1 floor
below the CAUSA USA office. (2) In March
1987, CIS West Watch photographer Pete Bertie was shot while working in Nicaragua.
(5)
Comments:
U.S. Address: 122 C Street NW, Suite 710,
Washington, DC , 20001 (202-393-6622).
Principals:
L. Francis Bouchey, pres; Lt. Gen. Gordon
Sumner, Jr. (USA-Ret. ), chair. (13) Larry D. Pratt, sec; Richard W. Powell,
treas; Michael Connelly, gen counsel. Directors: Robert W. Searby (Deputy
Undersecretary for Intl Affairs, Dept of Labor), Patrick J. Buchanan (former
communications director for President Reagan); Michael Carricarte (Carricarte
Corp), Col. Samuel T. Dickens (American Security Council), Ronald F. Docksai
(pres emeritus), Francis P. Graves (Republican Natl Committee), Lewis A. Tambs
(U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, Costa Rica), Andy Messing (National Defense
Council), Robert Emmet Moffit (former senior Legislative Assistant for Foreign
Affairs). (1,17) David Hirschmann, research dir; Max Primorac, research fellow;
Clemens Michel, research fellow; David Spencer, research fellow; Michael Caputo;
John Lenczowski, consultant. (12) James Whelan, president of the Inter-Security
Educational Institute, co-publisher of West Watch. (50) Michael Waller, West
Watch editor and former research director. (14) Gen. John K. Singlaub (USA,
Ret. ), advisory board. (30) Members of the first Committee of Santa Fe: L.
Francis Bouchey, Roger W. Fontaine, David C. Jordan, Gordon Sumner, Lewis
Tambs, editor. (23) Members of the second Committee of Santa Fe: L. Francis
Bouchey, Roger Fontaine, David C. Jordan, Gordon Sumner. (13) Inter-American
Security Educational Institute: Fr. Enrique T. Rueda, project director. (27)
