I stepped out to do my homework when stevesim posted an excerpt from an attack on Dr. Sharp from Voltaire.net, that portrayed him as an active participant in a CIA manipulation scheme.
I'm not familiar with Voltaire.net, so last night, when I should have been sleeping, I set out to find out what exactly stevesim has dropped among us.
I found an English translation of the piece about Gene Sharp's nefarious doings, and read it, and the references, and everything else I could find about the men who supposedly played supporting roles in the chaotic collage of travels, doings, influences and damnable duplicity it describes.
Ivonne, who speaks quite good French, worked her way through the original as well as what supporting material in French we could find.
At 2AM Paris time, we quit, having dug the hole as deep as we could.
First, here's a snippet to set the tone:
"When the U.S began its rearmament in 1998, [8] the Albert Einstein Institution became part of an expansionist strategy. It provided ideology and technique to Otpor («Resistance»), a group of Slobodan Milosevic's young opponents. Simultaneously, it intervened in Kosovo province to train Ibrahim Rugova's LDK, but it turned useless for Washington during the Kosovo war. Then, Otpor quickly became a choice to overthrow Milosevic who was very popular for resisting NATO. Colonel Helvey trained Otpor's leaders through seminars hosted at Hilton Hotel in Budapest. Money was not a problem to overthrow Europe's last communist government. The person in charge of commanding the operation was agent Paul B. McCarthy, discreetly settled at Moskva hotel in Belgrade until Milosevic's resignation in October 2000.
In September 2002, Gene Sharp went to The Hague to train the members of the Iraqi National Council who were preparing themselves to return to Iraq, along with the American army.
In September 2003, it was also the Albert Einstein Institution who advised the opposition to question the electoral results and go on demonstrations to force Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation [9] during the «revolution» of the roses in Georgia.
When the CIA-organized-coup against Venezuela failed in April 2002, the State Department counted again on the Albert Einstein Institution which advised the owners of enterprises during the organization of the revocatory referendum against President Hugo Chávez. Gene Sharp and his team led the leaders of Súmate during the demonstrations of August 2004. As done before, the only thing they had to do was questioning the electoral results and demanding the resignation of the president. They managed to get the bourgeoisie out in the street but Chavez's popular government was to strong. All in all, international observers had no other choice but to recognize Hugo Chávez's victory."
Note the footnote (8).
So. Is it true? From the article itself and from the footnotes, we'll never know. Here's why.
This footnote is like almost all the other footnotes. Which is to say, not a link to an outside, supporting source at all, but a link to other internally authored documents, statements of editorial and political opinion, or a link to similar articles, which in turn link to other Voltaire.net documents. Taken together, they form a bubble, as hermetic as any anti-communist or right-wing tabloid. There are a few links that lead out of the bubble, but they are rare, and tend to lead to other like-minded sites or documents.
But--what of the picture? There he is- our boy, right there with the two mentioned figures, Srdja Popovic and Robert Helvey, flanking Gene Sharp.
Unless we want to maintain the thing was a shopped image, which seems a bit over the top, it would seem they were at least all together.
The most effective lies are those which are mixed with true events or ideas, and endlessly repeated. It was our conclusion, after a lot of work, that Voltaire net, in this case at least, was jiving us.
As I read around in Voltaire net, and in the rest of the documents that comprised the attack on Gene Sharp referenced in the Zinn-Chomsky letter of defense, I began to get a whiff of an old, rank smell- one long buried in memory, but a scent linked with something important. It finally emerged- it was this:
Two personal discoveries from my childhood:
None Dare Call it Treason, by John Stormer, 1964, and
I Led Three Lives, A television serial, 1953-1956.
None Dare Call it Treason was a paranoid screed and serial character assassination piece which became the bible of the John Birch Society. It described the infiltration of American government and society by communists, and helped us to understand such things as the true nature of Rock N' Roll as a communist plot to poison the minds of American youth. Its style and substance served as a key element in my as-yet uncompleted personal crap detector. Its style bore a strong resemblance to many of the pieces on Gene Sharp- descriptive, almost dead-pan narration with an admixture of fact and references to more self-composed screed. Actually, NDCT had real footnotes that referenced real events outside the bubble, but it then told you how to see the true nature of, say, the United Nations as a commie plot to suck off American Sovereignty and substitute a red-controlled one-world government. It was not subtle.
Similarly, (Credit:Wikipedia)
"I Led Three Lives is an American drama series which was syndicated by Ziv Television Programs from October 1, 1953 to January 1, 1956. The series stars Richard Carlson. The show was a companion piece of sorts to the radio drama I Was a Communist for the FBI, which dealt with a similar subject and was also syndicated by Ziv from 1952 to 1954.
It was loosely based on the life of Herbert Philbrick, a Boston advertising executive who infiltrated the U.S. Communist Party on behalf of the FBI in the 1940s and wrote a bestselling book on the topic, I Led Three Lives: Citizen, 'Communist', Counterspy (1952). The part of Philbrick was played by Richard Carlson.
I Led Three Lives lasted 117 episodes. Philbrick narrated each episode and served as a technical consultant -- and all scripts were approved by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Nonetheless, the episodes often had very little to do with the actual events of Philbrick's life, with plotlines taking Philbrick on journeys to Europe and South America. They gradually became more and more outlandish, featuring such supposed "Communist plots" as an attempt to convert vacuum cleaners into bomb launchers.
The show was a favorite of accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald when he was a teenager."
As a child I watched enough of these episodes to add their style, their feel and flavor- their scent- to the crap detector.
Voltaire.net offers no real chance to verify the truth of their accusations. One has every reason to doubt the usefulness of what little evidential support they offer for their interpretation of events.
Still, there was the picture, the seemingly-damning chain of events, and that tempting, easy guilt by association. So I read as much of the rest of the attacks on Sharp as I could find, and it was the same- the smell of what I have come to call
"Bubble-Think".
After a lot of work, it seems far more likely to me that Gene Sharp is the one who is on the wrong end of a determined, professional campaign to discredit him. Sharp, and all others who are effective in helping people come together and successfully oppose the existing power structure.
I accept that only a scholar with detailed knowledge of the times and players would be in a position to make a systematic judgement on the truth or falseness of the chronology, or unravel the individual knots that hold the picture together.
A "smell of corruption", personally sensed, is not enough.
Fortunately, we all have such a judgment. We have the collective judgment of a host of scholars of the times and players.
I ask your patience for the length of this quote, but I felt that to edit out the names of supporters, or to paraphrase the document would have been gauche, disrespectful, just as to paraphrase Stephane Hessel would be. Their service and stature deserves a full reading.
Here it is:
" Open Letter in Support of Gene Sharp and Strategic Nonviolent Action
As scholars and activists in longstanding opposition to efforts by the U.S. government - either
directly or indirectly - to overthrow, undermine, subvert, or otherwise intervene in the internal affairs
of other nations, we wish to go on record in defense of Dr. Gene Sharp and the Albert Einstein
Institution.
Dr. Sharp is widely recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on strategic nonviolent
action. He serves as the founder and senior scholar of the Albert Einstein Institution, a small nonprofit
organization advancing the study and utilization of nonviolent conflict in defense of freedom, justice
and democracy.
During the past year and a half, Dr. Sharp and the Albert Einstein Institution have been
subjected to a series of false accusations by a number of foreign governments of receiving guidance
and financial support from the Bush administration, working with the CIA, and engaging in activities
designed to promote U.S. imperialism. These and other groundless charges have also appeared in a
series of articles which have been posted in recent months on a number of progressive web sites and
elsewhere as if they were true. We, however, reject such claims categorically.
We are aware of, and are adamantly opposed to, efforts by the National Endowment for
Democracy (NED), the International Republican Institute (IRI) and other U.S. government-funded
efforts to advance U.S. strategic and economic objectives under the guise of "democracy promotion."
We recognize, however, that Dr. Sharp and the Albert Einstein Institution are not part of such an
agenda.
Rather than being a tool of imperialism, Dr. Sharp's research and writings have inspired
generations of progressive peace, labor, feminist, human rights, environmental, and social justice
activists in the United States and around the world.
There have also been a small number of individuals who have taken advantage of resources
offered by Dr. Sharp and the Albert Einstein Institution whose commitment to justice and equality are questionable. The nature of the Institution's work, however, is transpartisan, cutting across political boundaries and conceptions, making its resources available to virtually anyone who is interested in learning about strategic nonviolent action. Providing educational materials and consultation on strategic nonviolent action to particular individuals, therefore, should not be misinterpreted as endorsing their ideological agenda or as evidence of collaboration with any government.
As with similar false charges which have recently appeared regarding the work of the International
Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), the Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies
(CANVAS), and similar groups, critics confuse the Albert Einstein Institution's willingness to provide
generic information on the history and dynamics of strategic nonviolent action with nefarious efforts
by the U.S. government to undermine foreign governments critical of U.S. hegemonic goals and neoliberal economic policies.
Except for receiving a couple of small one-time grants from the NED and IRI (well prior to the
Bush administration coming to office) in order to translate some of Dr. Sharp's theoretical writings, the
Albert Einstein Institution has never received any money from any government or government-funded
entity. Nor does Dr. Sharp or the Albert Einstein Institution collaborate with the CIA, the NED, or any
U.S. government or government-funded agencies; nor has Dr. Sharp or the Albert Einstein Institution
ever provided financial or logistical support to any opposition groups in any country; nor has Dr. Sharp
or the Albert Einstein Institution ever taken sides in political conflicts or engaged in strategic planning
with any group.
The Albert Einstein Institution operates with a very minimal budget out of Dr. Sharp's home
with a staff consisting of two people - Dr. Sharp and a young administrator - and is quite incapable of
carrying out the foreign intrigues of which it has been falsely accused.
Unlike some U.S.-funded "democracy-promotion" projects which assist pro-Western elites in
top-down institution-building efforts and sophisticated political campaigns with the goal of seizing power, the Albert Einstein Institution, ICNC, CANVAS and related groups work primarily with
grassroots activists who seek to empower civil society through nonviolent direct action regardless of
their particular government's relations with the United States.
More fundamentally, these recent attacks against Dr. Sharp, the Albert Einstein Institution and
similar groups represent a gross misunderstanding of the nature of strategic nonviolent action in the
struggle for political freedom.
Indeed, those who attempt to dismiss recent popular nonviolent struggles against autocratic
regimes as somehow being instigated and controlled by Western powers invalidate the ability of the
millions of people who have placed their bodies on the line for freedom and justice to think for
themselves or play a decisive role in determining their own nations' future. The United States is no
more responsible for the recent nonviolent liberal democratic revolutions in Eastern Europe than the
Soviet Union was responsible for earlier armed leftist revolutions in Central America.
Every successful popular nonviolent insurrection has been rooted in the belief by the majority of
people that their rulers were illegitimate and the current political system was incapable of redressing
injustice, thereby no longer deserving their obedience or cooperation. Unlike a military coup or other
U.S.-backed efforts at "regime change," it is virtually impossible for any nonviolent insurrection to
succeed when the movement's leadership and agenda does not have the backing of the majority of the
population.
The popular nonviolent uprisings which led to the overthrow of corrupt and undemocratic
regimes in Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine earlier this decade - like similar movements which ousted
U.S.-backed dictatorships in the Philippines, Chile, Mali, Bolivia, and other countries in previous
decades - were a result of independent actions by the people of those nations struggling for their
rights. As a result, neither Gene Sharp nor any other foreign individual, organization or government
deserves the credit or the blame for their victories.
Nonviolent struggle has historically been the weapon of the poor and disenfranchised through
which they can gain an advantage over powerful and wealthy elites whose capacity to use violence
against them is usually far superior. It is therefore ironic that some of those who view themselves as
champions of oppressed peoples mis-characterize these popular nonviolent movements simply as tools
of U.S. imperialism and global capital.
We therefore call upon people of conscience to reject the false allegations leveled against Gene
Sharp, the Albert Einstein Institute and other groups promoting strategic nonviolent action; to continue
to struggle against U.S. imperialism in all of its manifestations; and, to support popular democratic
movements engaging in nonviolent action in the cause of human rights and social justice in the United
States and throughout the world.
Signatories - organizations for identification purposes only
1. Howard Zinn
Author, historian
2. Noam Chomsky
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
3. George Lakey
Swarthmore College
4. Paul Ortiz
University of California -
Santa Cruz
5. Mary Bull
Greenwood Earth Alliance
6. Richard Deats
Fellowship of
Reconciliation
7. Mubarak Awad
Nonviolence International
8. Scott Kennedy
Resource Center for
Nonviolence
9. Patrick Coy
Kent State University
10. David Hartsough
Peaceworkers
11. Stephen Zunes
University of San
Francisco
12. Frida Berrigan
World Policy Institute
13. Bill Sutherland
Pan-Africanist activist
14. Greg Bates
Common Courage Press
15. Elizabeth McAllister
Jonah House
16. Sandino Gomez
Brown Berets
17. Matt Meyer
Peace & Justice Studies
Association
18. Michael Beer
Nonviolence International
19. Seelan Palay
Artist & Activist
20. Dr Clinton Fernandes
University of New South
Wales
21. Daniel Hunter
Training for Change
22. Evan Weissman
Playwright, Nonviolence
Teacher
23. Nanlouise Wolfe
Resource Center for
Nonviolence
24. Kathleen S Pearce
Private citizen
25. Howard Clark
War Resisters''
International
26. Daniel Ellsberg
Truth-telling Project
27. Bert Garskof
Quinnipiac University
28. Joseph J. Fahey
Manhattan College
29. Sam Diener
Co-Editor, Peacework
Magazine, AFSC
30. Randy Schutt
Vernal Education Project
31. Marc Pilisuk
Saybrook Graduate School
32. David Finke
Peace & Civil Rights
activist
33. Barry L. Gan
St. Bonaventure University
34. Esther Franklin
Retired Ed. Consultant
35. Jacob Freeze
http://jacobfreeze.com
36. Christine Schweitzer
Institute for Peace Work
and Nonviolent Conflict
Transformation, Germany
37. Andrew Rigby
Coventry University, UK
38. Jørgen Johansen
Coventry University
39. Martin Arnold
Arbeitsgruppe Guetekraft
40. Bob Manizza
Citizen
41. Shel Horowitz
Business Ethics Pledge
42. Karen Monroe
VSYR
43. John Sniegocki
Xavier University -
Cincinnati
44. James A. Joyce
retired professor of Peace
and Justice studies.
45. Dan Clore
The Soylent Green Party
46. B. Allan Ross
United Gay Force
47. Stephen R. Shalom
William Paterson
University
48. Galia Goodman
Galia Graphics
49. Herbert Standing
Iowa historian
50. Robert A. Irwin
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
51. Jacqueline Haessly
Peacemaking Associates
52. George & Lillian
Willoughby
60 years nonviolent social
change activism
53. Steve Chase
Antioch University's
Environmental Advocacy
and Organizing Program
54. Patty Lyman
Seattle Labor Chorus
55. Frances Delahanty
Pace University
56. Fred V. Cook
Social Movement
Empowerment Project
57. Martyn Lowe
Peace Activist &
Information Worker
58. Alice Maes
Vinegar Lane Associates
59. Ellie Clement
Commonweal Collection,
Bradford, UK
60. Emmett J Murphy
Sarasota Friends Meeting
61. Detlef Beck
Trainer for constrctive
conflict resolution and
mediator
62. Martha Dickinson
Ellsworth (ME) Area
Peace and Justice
63. John M Miller
War Resisters League
64. Paul A. Olson
University of Nebraska
65. Herb Ettel
Activist Media
66. Joan H. Drake
Women''s International
League for Peace &
Freedom
4
67. Shodo Spring
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
68. Michael D. Adams
Swamp Fox Brigade -
npcia@bellsouth.net
- Gayle Davies
- Matthew Rothschild
The Progressive Magazine
71. John Feffer
Foreign Policy In Focus
72. Dr Michael Randle
Writer & Researcher,
formerly Visiting Research
Fellow, Department of
Peace Studies, Bradford
Unversity, UK
- Anne Wright
- Paul Loeb
Author, Soul of a Citizen
75. Lynn Grasberg
Humor Relations
Associates
76. Christian Büttner
Archiv Aktiv e.V.
77. Gerald W. Schlabach
University of St. Thomas
(MN)
78. John Braxton
Philadelphia Branch, US
Labor Against the War
79. Paul Engler
The Center For the
Working Poor
80. Larry Dansinger
Resources for Organizing
and Social Change,
Monroe, ME
81. Gordon Fellman
Brandeis University
82. Amentahru Wahlrab
Illinois State University
83. Ira Chernus
University of Colorado
84. Louis Kriesberg
Conflict resolution analyst
85. Leo R. Sandy
Plymouth State University
86. David Swanson
AfterDowningStreet.org
87. Parke Burgess
www.ourtragicflaw.com
88. Anthony Newkirk
American School of Kuwait
89. Dion Economopoulos
AGX
90. Lo Auer
Dandelion Salad blog
91. Tammy Murphy
School of Oriental and
African Studies, University
of London & Arcadia
University
92. Scott J. MacDonald
U.S.A.
93. Chris Hables Gray
The Union Institute and
University
94. Greg Guma
Author, Journalist
95. Kelly Rae Kraemer
College of St. Benedict/St.
John''s University
96. B. Beth Cohen
Ithaca, NY
97. Michael Nagler
Metta Center
98. Michael Bass
SOA Watch
- Frank Kolwicz
- Leyre Alejaldre Biel
UNIS
101. Pete Perry
Washington Peace Center
102. mark lance
philosopher, activist
103. John W Lango
Hunter College
104. Rene Wadlow
Association of World
Citizens
105. Dr Stellan Vinthagen,
Senior Lecturer
School pf Global Studies
106. Nina Huizinga
United for Peace and
Justice
107. Rubén Campos Palarea
Complutense University
(Madrid-Spain)
108. Binesh Hassanpour
Univeristy of Toronto
109. Donald Grayston
Simon Fraser University
110. Philippe Duhamel
Via Strategia
111. Cynthia Boaz
Sonoma State University
112. Kurt Schock
Rutgers University -
Newark
113. Catherine Morris
Peacemakers Trust
114. Dr Janet Cherry
Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University
115. Nathan Stoltzfus
Florida State University
116. Peter R Neumann
King's College London
117. David Hartsough
PEACEWROKERS
118. Carolyn Scarr
Ecumenical Peace
Institute/CALC
119. Jason C. Waite
United Aid |UA|
120. Jean Marichez
Ecole de la Paix Grenoble
121. Ray Torres
Witness for Peace
122. Prof. Dr. Theodor Ebert
Otto-Suhr Institut, Free
University of Berlin
123. Dr. Ute Finckh
Bund für Soziale
Verteidigung/Federation
for Social Defense,
Germany
124. Brian Martin
University of Wollongong
125. Kathrin Vogler
Federation for Social
Defence - Germany
126. Veronique Dudouet
Berghof Research Center
for Constructive Conflict
Management, Berlin
127. Anthony Kelly
Australian Nonviolence
Network
128. Markley Morris
Activist
129. Lisa Clark
Blessed Are the
Peacemakers
130. Charles Johnson
Molinari Institute
131. Daniel Buk
Manhattan College
132. Joseph Tonan
Private Individual
- Clark Rieke
- Metta Spencer
Peace Magazine
135. Ken Simons
Peace Magazine
136. Lee Smithey
Swarthmore College
137. Dr. Premraj Pushpakaran,
Pranavam, Kotte canal rd,
Kochi - 682018, Kerala,
India,
pranavam research
138. Jason MacLeod
the Change Agency