Then in 1982, then FBI Director William Webster stated that the
largest number of FBI investigations for that year involved international
terrorism. At that point in time the FBI was in the middle of the its
infamous CISPES (Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador)
probe where it investigated Catholic nuns, teachers, labor unions,high school
students, and others who allegedly were part of an alleged conspiracy
involving foreign counterintelligence/terrorism.( See, Center for
Constitutional Rights Press Release of CISPES 1/1/88). Despite the
guidelines cited above, the Smith guidelines for FBI foreign
counterintelligence operations were ordered classified. Some of what became
known of them is that they had no external (congressional) control approval
mechanisms for operations. Apparently the FBI was given even more latitude
under these rules than it had for domestic terrorism activities. . How much
latitude is evidenced by dint of details from FBI records about CISPES which
became known through a lawsuit brought by CISPES.
Furthermore, there is strong evidence that the FBI exchanged information
about CISPES and its supporters with the Salvadoran National Guard which
resulted in a wave of more than 200 threats, a rape and torture, a shooting,
two kidnappings, an assault, vandalism, and burglaries during the summer of
1987 alone. The perpetrators of this violence were believed to be agents of
the Salvadoran government. They operated right here in the United States. I
bet that what people don't know about domestic ops of the FBI (let alone
other intelligence agencies and their buddies) would raise more than a few
eyebrows!
Phil Althouse, Esq.
Cleveland