Operation CHAOS

Operation CHAOS was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency for monitoring and spying of 300,000 opponents of the Vietnam War and civil rights groups in the United States. The background was that control of the diverse citizens and protest movements of the '68 movement was suspected in the United States by Soviet secret agents. Although this could be disproved quickly by the espionage activities, the activities have been maintained for many years and in some cases even increased.

The action was illegal because the CIA can not be active at home and violated the monitoring of the Constitution of the United States. It was revealed in 1974 by the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. Hersh's article had been instrumental in the establishment of an investigative commission of the U.S. Congress about illegal activities of the CIA, the so-called Church Committee.

The operation was led by Richard upper. As part of the operation were, inter alia, thousands of citizens recorded in an electronic database ( ' computerized file' ) named ' HYDRA ' and recorded their travel movements. The CIA also received information from other agencies and even foreign intelligence services, such as the FBI and European secret services of friendly.

From the NSA a watchlist with tens of thousands of names of U.S. citizens was made ​​available, which " endanger national security" because of their position on the Vietnam war.

Around the same time, a similar group of target individuals and groups became active infiltrated in the operation of the FBI COINTELPRO and prevented with sometimes illegal methods to further political activity.

Although CHAOS and similar programs for illegal spying on U.S. citizens (Domestic Spying ) in several interim reports to various high-ranking U.S. government officials no evidence of an influence of foreign powers, especially the Soviet Union, which resulted in citizen and protest movements, this met with strong skepticism two successive U.S. presidents - the scope of the monitoring measures each still increased in order to be absolutely sure that the reported lack of results was indeed correct.

Timely or simultaneous operations of the CIA

The following CIA operations (selection) found in a timely manner or at the same time with the Operation Chaos instead (most of them by the Office of Security):

  • HTLINGUAL ( HGLINGUAL )
  • Project 2
  • Project MERRIMAC
  • Project RESISTANCE
  • Domestic Contact Service
621837
de