Operation Chaos

by Matthew Sweet

  Bill Jones is besieged by reporters at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sofia, Bulgaria, in July 1968.

  Clancy Sigal, stationmaster of the London safe house for Vietnam deserters, at home in West Hollywood, April 2016.

  Warren Hamerman, the subject of a successful campaign to persuade the Swedish government to extend humanitarian asylum to draft resisters.

  The Stockholm deserters become movie stars.

  Lyndon LaRouche lectures striking students on the lawn of Columbia University in April 1968.

  Using bare fists and nunchakus, members of the National Caucus of Labor Committees carry out Operation Mop-Up in Philadelphia in 1973.

  Presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche gives a press conference in Concord, New Hampshire, in September 1987. Among his subjects that day was the evil nature of Senator Joe Biden.

  Kerstin Tegin, leader of the European Workers Party, the Swedish arm of the LaRouche organization, in Stockholm, September 1984.

  Former Vietnam deserter and LaRouche strategist Clifford Gaddy speaks at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, October 2014.

  Blood on the pavement where Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated on the night of February 28, 1986.

  Victor Gunnarsson, whose association with the European Workers Party helped to make him a suspect in the assassination of Olof Palme.

  Michael Vale, the “Rasputin” of the American Deserters Committee, in a Paris café, May 2016.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book would not exist without the generous cooperation of my principal interviewees. Michele Lloyd, Jim McGourty, Christina Nelson, Chuck Onan, Mark Shapiro, Michael Vale, and Chris and Carol White told their stories, gave their time, and answered hundreds of questions about their experiences. I hope I have done them justice.

  Many other people provided valuable information, some anonymously, some on the record. Rob Argento, Barry Fockler, Steve Kinnaman, Lon W. McDaniel, Don McDonough, David Minugh, Bill Schiller, Vincent Strollo, Thomas Taylor, and George Wood shared their experiences of desertion. The deserters and their milieu was described to me by George Carrano, Robert Doyon, Dee Drake, Karen Fabec, Maggie Gambell, Eric Hamerman, Margareta Herrmann, Patton Lindsley Hunter, Dan Israel, Ray Jones IV, Shelley Marshall, Jan-Erik Nyberg, Michel P. Richard, Richard Rucker, Harold and Rebecca Sadin, Olle Sjögren, Mats Widgren, and Izzy Young.

  Bo Burlingham, Larry Cox, Ed Dubinsky, Don Filtzer, Norm Fruchter, Gerald Gray, Clancy Sigal, Tony Whelan, and Mike Zagarell were my guides to the culture of 1960s and ’70s radicalism. Gunnar Ekberg, Frank Rafalko, Michael Schneeberger, and Richard Starnes discussed counterintelligence matters. Michael E. Miller helped me communicate with Lamont Claxton Underwood. William Rambo gave me a portrait of Victor Gunnarsson. Valuable information and assistance was also provided by Edward Bromberg, Gilli Bush-Bailey, Roger Choate, Sarah Churchwell, Jonathan Clements, Walter Donohue, Margaret Harman, Mike Higgins, Zachary Leader, John Quigley, Mel Rothenberg, Carl-Gustaf Scott, Bob Sharlet, David Smith, Miriam Spectre of the Anti-Defamation League, Jan Stocklassa, Hillel Ticktin, Janice Tidswell, Larry Turk, and Susan Weissman.

  Many former followers of Lyndon LaRouche helped me to navigate the labyrinthine history of his many organizations. I am grateful to Nicholas Benton, Tessa DeCarlo, Rachel Douglas, Torbjörn Jelerup, Dennis King, Yves Messer, Sky Shields, and Nick Syvriotis. Peter Bourne, Eugene Galanter, and Lennart Levi shared their experiences of LaRouchian harassment. The pseudonymous author Hylozoic Hedgehog gave lavish help and saved me from dozens of errors. His books Smiling Man from a Dead Planet (2009) and How It All Began (2012) are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how political groups can mutate into cults. They can be found on his website, http://www.laroucheplanet.info—a warning to the curious, which has doubtless stopped many from wasting their lives in the service of Lyndon LaRouche. I hope there is still time for current members I encountered—Margaret Greenspan, Bill Jones, Margaret Scialdone, Renee Sigerson, Dennis Speed—to spend their final years beyond its barren territory.

  Molly Kronberg was a warm and generous witness. Her late husband, Ken, ran the printing company that produced the LaRouche organization’s literature. On the morning of April 11, 2007, Ken Kronberg opened the briefing document emailed each morning to every member of the organization, in which its leader attacked Kronberg’s printing business as a symptom of the failure of the generation of members who joined in the 1960s and ’70s. “The Boomers will be scared into becoming human,” it declared. “Unless they want to commit suicide.” An hour or so after reading those words, Ken parked his car on a highway overpass on Route 28 and jumped to his death. Molly saw it as a gesture of defiance: “the bravest political act of his life.” I would like to pay tribute to her, and to those who share her pain—particularly Erica and Hugo Duggan, whose son, Jeremiah, died in mysterious circumstances after attending LaRouche meetings in Germany in 2003. You can learn more about Ken at http://www.kennethkronberg.com. The campaign to discover the truth about Jeremiah’s death can be followed at http://justiceforjeremiah.yolasite.com.

  Peter Walsh provided three years of exemplary research assistance, scouring Swedish archives on my behalf. Additional research was provided by Madeline Coffey and Scott Russell. I also benefited from the wisdom of Johan Erlandsson, author of Desertörerna [The deserters] (2016). My thanks is also due to the staff of the Arbetarrörelsens arkiv och bibliotek, Stockholm; the British Library; the Danville Public Library, Virginia; the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam; the Library of Congress; the National Library of Stockholm; the New York Public Library; the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum; Swarthmore College Library; Alexander Correctional Institute, North Carolina; the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Virginia; and the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick. The manuscript was read by Samira Ahmed, Mark Gatiss, Simon Guerrier, David Sweet, Nicola Sweet, Laura Thomas, and Phil Tinline, who know how highly I value their advice and opinions.

  Simon Trewin, Jay Mandel, and their colleagues at William Morris Entertainment gave this book the best start I could have hoped for. During its progress into print, Luke Brown, Chris O’Connell, Bill Drennan, Fiona Lowenstein, Michael Cantwell, and Felicity McMahon offered indispensable advice on the text. It was a pleasure to be edited by Paul Baggaley and Paul Golob—particularly Paul Golob, who worked on the text with tireless patience and good humor. His influence improved the book immeasurably. As for any errors that remain, the buck stops with me.

  And to Nicola, Gracie, and Connie Sweet, I am grateful for everything, as ever.

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  ABBA

  abortion

  Abzug, Bella

  Afghanistan

  African Americans

  Aftonbladet (newspaper)

  Agee, Philip

  AIDS

  Albania

  Alexander, Kendra

  Algeria

  Ali, Muhammad

  Alice in Wonderland (Carroll)

  Allende, Salvador

  al-Qaeda

  alt-right. See also far right

  American Capitalism (Galbraith)

  American Deserters Committee (ADC). See also specific members

  Callicoat informs on

  CIA records on

  dissolution of

  FBI records on

  fear of infiltrators

  fear of repatriation

  films and

  founding and early years of

  Gaddy joins

  Gray report on

  Hayes and

  LaRouche and alumni of

  McGourty joins

  media and

  radio propaganda and

  split o
f 1968

  split of 1972

  Statement of Principles

  strange nature of

  Swedish anti-war movement and

  Swedish authorities and

  Swedish intelligence and

  Vale’s role in

  U.S. desertion trials and

  World Festival of Youth and

  Amnesty International

  Anderson, Craig (Will Hart). See also Intrepid Four

  Anderson, Irene

  Anderson, Shandra

  Andersson, Benny

  Andropov, Yuri

  Angelou, Maya

  Angleton, James Jesus

  Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

  Angry Brigade

  Animal Farm (Orwell)

  Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

  anti-nuclear activists

  anti-war movement

  Apocalypse Now (film)

  Applewhite, Edgar

  Arbetet (newspaper)

  Argento, Robert

  Armfield, John. See Vale, Michael

  Army Times

  Arnett, Edwin C. “Pappy,” xii

  Arp, Merl

  Ashley, John

  Associated Press

  Babcock, John

  Baez, Joan

  Bailey, Rick. See also Intrepid Four

  Bakker, Jim

  Baldwin, James

  Barbarella (film)

  Barilla, John. See also Intrepid Four

  Battlestar Galactica (TV series)

  Bay of Pigs invasion

  BBC

  Beacon Press

  Beatles

  Beethoven, Ludwig van

  Beheiren

  Bellow, Saul

  Benedict, Dirk

  Bentham, Jeremy

  Bergman, Ingmar

  Berl, Christine

  Berlin

  East

  Wall

  Berlin Embassy (Russell)

  Beuys, Joseph

  “Beyond Psychoanalysis” (LaRouche)

  Biden, Joe

  Bildt, Carl

  Birds, The (Vesaas)

  Birth of a Nation, The (film)

  Björklund, Jan

  “Black American Deserters in Sweden” (Boggs)

  Black Guelph

  Black Panthers

  Black Power

  Black Section (CIA)

  Blair, Bruce

  Blake, George

  Boggs, Vernon

  Boston University

  Bourne, Peter

  Bourne Identity, The (Ludlum)

  Boys Town (film)

  Bradlee, Ben

  brainwashing

  Brandt, Willy

  Bransome, Mike

  Bride of the Gorilla (film)

  British Empire, conspiracy theories about

  British intelligence

  Brodie, Bill

  Brookings Institution

  Brooks, Mel

  Brothers Mozart, The (play)

  Bucklin, Richard

  Bulgaria

  Burdman, Mark

  Burlingham, Bo (Arlo Jacobs)

  Burma

  Bush, George W.

  CACTUS

  Cahiers du Cinéma

  CALCAV

  Calder, Alexander

  Callicoat, Edward N.

  Callicoat, Philip

  Cambodia

  Cameron, David

  Campaigner (NCLC magazine)

  Câmpeanu, Pavel

  Cam Ranh Bay

  Camus, Albert

  Canada

  Canna Church Rocks

  Cannes Film Festival

  Cape Fear (film)

  Carlsson, Ingvar

  Carragher, Desmond

  Carrano, George

  Carter, Jimmy

  Caruso, Vana

  Castro, Fidel

  Catholicism

  Catholic University of America

  CBS

  Ceaușescu, Nicolae

  Cellar (Russell)

  Center for Justice and Accountability

  Central Committee of the Communist Party (USSR)

  Central Documentary Film Studios

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). See also Chaos, Operation

  ADC and deserters fear of

  anti-war groups and deserters tracked by

  Castro and

  charter

  Chemical Abstracts and

  congressional hearings on

  documents destroyed by

  Duke study and

  EAP seen as front for

  GLADIO and

  LaRouche documents released by

  LaRouchian paranoia about

  Ober’s career in

  South Vietnam and

  Swedish Information Bureau and

  Turner’s reform of

  William Russell and

  Channel TV-2 (Sweden)

  Chaos, Operation (CIA operation)

  created

  data harvesting and

  deserters tracked by

  Next Step and

  Ober and

  PETUNIA and MHYIELD and

  press revelations about

  Rockefeller report on

  Rositzke and

  shut down

  Swedish Information Bureau and

  UFOs and

  vault of

  Chaos and Confusion, Operation (LaRouchian fantasy)

  Chemical Abstracts

  Chetniks! The Fighting Guerillas (film)

  Children of God

  Children of Satan III (LaRouche)

  China

  China Daily

  Chinese Embassy (Cairo)

  Chomsky, Noam

  Christian Democratic Party (Sweden)

  Christie, Agatha

  Chris White Affair

  Church Committee

  CIA-KGB psy-war fantasy

  CIA’s Secret Operations, The (Rositzke)

  Citizenship and Immigration Services

  civil rights movement

  Civil War

  Clansman, The (Dixon)

  Classical KGB Disinformation Campaign, A (Jones and Engdahl)

  Cleaver, Eldridge

  Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam

  Clinton, Hillary

  CNN

  Coates, Randy

  Cohen, Leonard

  Colby, William

  Cold War

  Columbia University

  Communist Party (India)

  Communist Party (Sweden)

  Communist Party (USA)

  Conan Doyle, Arthur

  “Concerning CIA Agent Vale’s Recent Activities” (McGourty)

  Condon, Gerry

  Congress for Cultural Freedom

  Con Thien ambush

  Contra (magazine)

  Conversations with Americans (Lane)

  Cooper, David

  Counterintelligence Staff (CIA)

  Country Joe and the Fish

  Cox, Larry

  Critique (journal)

  Crowley, Aleister

  C-SPAN

  Cuba

  Cuban Embassy (Tokyo)

  Cuban Embassy (Warsaw)

  Curiel, Henri

  Czechoslovakia

  Dagens Nyheter (newspaper)

  Dahl, Birgitta

  Daily Worker

  Danville Bee

  Danville Register

  Dartmouth College

  Dass, Jerry

  Dean, John W.

  de Beauvoir, Simone

  DeCarlo, Tessa

  Defense Department

  de Gaulle, Charles

  Democratic Party

  Deneuve, Catherine

  “Denial, The” (film script)

  Denmark

  Deserter as Political Deviant, The (Richard)

  deserters. See also American Deserters Committee; Next Step; and specific individuals

  aftermath of exile of

  asylum in Sweden and

  asylum in Sweden ended

  Callicoat informs on
>
  Carter clemency and

  CIA tracking of

  combat experience of

  crimes by

  film appearances

  forcible repatriation of

  Gaddy’s route to join

  Gray report on

  Hayes aids

  Lane interviews

  LaRouche and

  Next Step and

  pamphlets and guides

  penalties for

  poverty of

  radicalism and

  Sigal aids

  suicides and

  suspicions among

  Swedes cool toward

  Swedish intelligence on

  Vale and ego-stripping of

  William Russell woos

  women and

  working- vs. middle-class

  World Festival of Youth and

  Deserter USA (film)

  Destruction, Operation

  Deutscher, Isaac

  Disraeli, Benjamin

  “Dissolution Statement of the American Deserters Committee” (Gaddy et al.)

  Dixon, Thomas, Jr.

  Dohrn, Bernardine

  Dope Inc. (LaRouche)

  Dotson, James

  Dowling, John

  Doyon, Robert

  “Draft Resister” (Steppenwolf song)

  draft resisters

  Carter pardon of

  drugs

  Dubček, Alexander

  “Duet for Cannibals” (Sontag)

  Duggan, Jeremiah

  Duke University

  Duras, Marguerite

  Durkheim, Émile

  EAP. See European Workers Party

  Eastern Europe

  East India Company

  Eco, Umberto

  Edgar Allan Poe, Operation

  ego-stripping. See also brainwashing

  Eisenstein, Sergei

  Ekberg, Gunnar

  Elizabeth II, queen of England

  Ellis, Wayne

  Ely, Ron

  Emergency National Committee of Inquiry

  Enerström, Alf

  Engdahl, John Louis

  Engdahl, Walfrid

  Engdahl, William “Bill”

  Erlander, Tage

  European Labor Committees (ELC)

  European Workers Party (EAP, Sweden; also known as European Labor Party)

  Oslo conference of 1983

  Palme assassination and

  Swedish suspicions of

  Executive Intelligence Review

  Executive Order 11967

  Expressen

  Fabec, Karen

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