By Foster Gamble Conspiracy It is a little-known though well-documented fact that the origin of the campaign to ridicule research into conspiracies was initiated by the CIA in 1967 to undermine the credibility of those who questioned the official claims of the Warren Commission regarding the so-called facts of the Kennedy assassination. Given the challenge we and others feel when speaking out about conspiracies, I think Lance deHaven-Smith is right when, in his new book Conspiracy Theory, he suggests “the CIA’s [covert and illegal] campaign to popularize the term ‘conspiracy theory’ and make conspiracy belief a target of ridicule and hostility must be credited…with being one of the most successful propaganda initiatives of all time…” Of course not all proclaimed conspiracies are true. There are competent conspiracy analysts and incompetent ones, just as there are skilled and shoddy reporters, historians or practitioners of any discipline. What Does “Conspiracy” Actually Mean? The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “conspire” as: “to plot, to contrive, to scheme — to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act.” It is well documented that many conspiracy theories are true. (See resources below.) Just a few days ago, the CIA admitted to what conspiracy analysts have been saying for 40 years: that the agency helped organize the coup that deposed Mohammad Mosaddegh and imposed the Shah in 1953 to get access to Iranian oil. Nonetheless, I have seen many otherwise intelligent people close their minds to credible information as soon as the term “conspiracy” is evoked — even though America itself was founded on what would now be called a “conspiracy theory.” After all, the American Revolution was fought on the basis of the alleged “conspiracy” of King George of England to control and unfairly tax the new world. Conspiracy theories are such a threat to the status quo that infiltration, censorship and bans have even been proposed. In 2008, Cass Sunstein, the former Administrator of the Obama Whitehouse Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and former Professor at the University of Chicago, wrote a paper on “Conspiracy Theories”. His prescription for dealing with ‘conspiracy theorists’? … “cognitive infiltration of “extremist” groups, and, if it gets bad enough, possible censorship of free speech. He actually suggests that the US Government use such tactics as: Ban conspiracy theorizing. Impose some kind of tax, financial or otherwise, on those who disseminate such theories. This is especially interesting given that even Sunstein admitted that some “conspiracy theories” are actually true — including Operation Northwoods, a plan by the Department of Defense (DoD) to simulate acts of terrorism and to blame them on Cuba to falsely justify invasion. That one, fortunately, President Kennedy discovered and shut down. 1UnlikeUnlike ·
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 02:31:18 +0000
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