ANATOMY OF A FAKE DEFECTION

Greg Parker walk into the corner of the room, see my friends in high places I don't know which is which and whom is whom, they've stolen each other's faces Nick Cave

Intro In their syndicated column published February 27/28, 1964 across the US, obert S !llen and "aul Scott #rote an article indicatin$ that %s#ald had been inter&ie#ed not 'ust by embassy o((icials )Snyder*, but had also met #ith a +I! a$ent, In a letter dated -arch 18, 1964 to . /ee an0in o( the 1arren +ommission, ichard 2elms described the alle$ation 3as utterly unfounded as far as the CIA is concerned,3 4his denial should be considered alon$side re&elations (rom the recently released 3Family .e#els3 that !llen and Scott #ere the tar$ets o( a co&ert +I! sur&eillance operation includin$ the use o( #iretaps, 4he reason $i&en (or the operation #as the amount o( classi(ied material the pair had been ma0in$ public &ia their syndicated column, Unli0e other 'ournalists, apparently !llen and Scott #ere not lea0in$ reports that the +I! actually wanted lea0ed, In any e&ent, there #as no indication in the Family .e#els document that they had (abricated any o( their published articles,

%n %ctober 51st, 1969, the date that the ancient +elts belie&ed that the boundary bet#een #orlds dissol&es, %s#ald attempted to renounce his citi7enship inside the o((ice o( 1st US +onsul in -osco#, ichard Snyder, 1hat (ollo#s may re&eal this to be the charade it has been #idely re$arded as bein$ and (inally &indicate !llen and Scott,

Some background In(ormation on So&iet roc0etry ad&ancements obtained in the early 1968s &ia a 'oint 9ritish:US intelli$ence pro'ect code:named ;< !=%> ?4U >; led to the +I! de&elopin$ t#o ne# operations, %ne #as the U2 o&er:(li$ht pro$ram 0no#n #ithin +I! as ;!@U!4%>?;, 4he other, commencin$ a(ter Stalin;s death in 1965 #as 0no#n as ; ?<SAI>;, and o((icially in&ol&ed the use o( those le$ally tra&ellin$ to the USS such as businessmen, sportsmen, members o( the cler$y, 'ournalists and scientists, 1ith the ad&ent o( student eBchan$e pro$rams, students #ould be added to that list, !(ter studyin$ their itinerary, the +I! brie(ed them on tar$ets in those areas in #hich in(ormation #as sou$ht, Any in(ormation #as o( potential importance to analysts tryin$ to determine the current state o( ussian missile technolo$y and production, as #ell as #hat it #ould be 18 years hence, 4his o((icial &ersion ho#e&er as #ith other +I! pro'ects, does not indicate the (ull eBtent o( actions and methods employed, ?<SAI> did not 'ust use people #ho coincidentally happened to be $oin$ to ussia (or pri&ate or business purposes, +I! documents released in the late 1998s sho# that the process o( selection #as Cuite di((erent, and the tas0s allotted more compleB, !s an eBample, one (emale student recruit #as used in a honey trap operation a$ainst =re$ory =olub, the So&iet consulate o((icer in 2elsin0i #ho issued those Cuic0ie &isas to !mericans he deemed to be Do0ayE F4he &ery same Cuic0ie &isas no one in State or the +I! seemed to 0no# anythin$ about #hen as0ed by the 1arren +ommission to in&esti$ate ho# %s#ald $ot his #ithin a day or t#o, 4hat in(ormation simply #ent do#n the memory holeG, "otential candidates (or ?<SAI> #ere (ound throu$h a net#or0 o( spotters then o&ertly assessed by (ield o((icers Fand (rom the early 1968s, by psycholo$ists posin$ as representati&es o( industry or educationG, 4hey #ould then be "contacted by case-officers to ascertain willingness and availability for travel in the

USSR on intelligence missions." %nce all o( those boBes #ere tic0ed, they #ould be sent to 1ashin$ton (or (ull 2eadCuarters assessment and possible recruitment, Success(ul recruits no# had the status o( 3a$ents3, ?<SAI> ?+ UI4-?>4 -?-% %U4/I>I>= "%/I+H +2!>=?

Richard Snyder and Edward L Keenan Snyder #as used as a spotter (or the eds0in "ro$ram at 2ar&ard by >elson 9ric0ham o( the So&iet ussian <i&ision #ithin the <irectorate o( "lans, 9ric0ham #as responsible (or runnin$ blac0 propa$anda, (alse (la$ recruitments and the $atherin$ o( in(ormation on So&iet missile silos, Aeenan #as a 2ar&ard student at the time Snyder #as recruitin$,

!t the 68th anni&ersary o( the <a&is +enter F(ormerly the 2ar&ard ussian esearch +enterG, Aeenan, durin$ a speech, recalled his stay in ussia as bein$ "tric y" #ith a "few little problems! li e getting arrested and harassed. And you had to worry about the vulnerability of your sources." Snyder told the 1arren +ommission that he and %s#ald had been alone durin$ %s#ald;s &isit, 4hat #as a lie, Aeenan #as present, and this #as recorded in the boo0s Oswald and the CIA and Marina and Lee,

?Bcerpt (rom -arina I /ee "#he e$change lasted less than an hour! but it had so nasty a tone that it was remembered long afterward by three Americans! besides Snyder and %swald! who were present during parts of it & 'ohn (c)ic ar! the )ice Consul! (arie Cheatham! the receptionist! and *dward +

,eenan down for the wee end from +eningrad.(arina . +ee by "riscilla .ohnson -c-illan, p68

Snyder became Second Secretary and +onsul at the US ?mbassy in .uly, 1969 and stayed in that position until .uly, 1961 #hen he #as trans(erred to .apan, Aeenan #as amon$ the (irst students to study in the So&iet Union under the ne# Student ?Bchan$e "ro$ram coordinated by the State <epartment, 2a&in$ $raduated (rom 2ar&ard #ith a de$ree in Sla&ic lan$ua$es and literature, he attended the /enin$rad State Uni&ersity (rom 1969 until mid 1961, 4his #as the same time (rame as SnyderJs tenure, Aeenan;s (undin$ came throu$h a Ford Foundation (ello#ship : #hich almost certainly meant +I! money, 9ut Aeenan had not le(t ussia &oluntarily, 2e had been 0ic0ed out (or alle$ed spyin$, 4his, alon$ #ith his ties to %peration ?<SAI>, is re&ealed in a +I! cable sent (rom !leBandria to the <irector o( In(ormation, +airo on .uly 14, 1961, 4he cable #as mar0ed 3 ybat3, connotin$ eBtreme sensiti&ity, and dealt #ith Aeenan ha&in$ met #ith >S! de(ector, 1illiam -artin, 9y contrast, other +I! documents concernin$ US citi7ens encounterin$ -artin in the So&iet Union ma0e no re(erence to ?<SAI> or any other operations, nor are they mar0ed 3 ybat3,

In re&ie#in$ Snyder;s +I! (ile, the 2S+! disco&ered a routin$ indicator that sho#ed that up until 1974, the (ile had been 3red:(la$$ed3 because o( a <+I F<irector o( +entral Intelli$enceG statement, and a matter o( 3co&er3, 4he +I! #as unable to adeCuately eBplain the 3co&er3 comment in the li$ht o( its pre&ious ad&ice that he had not #or0ed (or the +I! directly or indirectly, since 1968 : a story the 2S+! 0ne# to be a lie $i&en it had 0no#led$e o( his role as 3spotter3 at 2ar&ard in the 66:67 period, HSCA REPORT: Section: 5. The Secret Service, !I, and CIA were not involved in the assassination o" President #enned$ %&'5

Richard Bissell %n September 2, 1969, 9issell issued a memorandum titled 3O%erations a(ainst Soviet Tar(ets3, 4he operations listed #ere ?< +!", ?< S%K and ?<SAI>, ?< +!" and ?< S%K #ere concei&ed durin$ Fran0 1isner;s #atch as head o( the <irectorate o( "lans, 4heir inclusion in the 9issell memo is most interestin$ in that those pro$rams had been aimed solely at So&iet satellites and #ere deri&ed out o( the (ailin$ Lolunteer Freedom +orps, Mmi$rNs (rom +7echoslo&a0ia, 2un$ary, "oland and omania #ere trained at a base 'ust outside -unich #ith the aim o( in(iltratin$ them 3into the satellites at the optimum moment to foment or aid national uprisings against Soviet rule,3 4he (ailed 1966 uprisin$ in 2un$ary caused these operations to be deep:siBed Falon$ #ith the ?isenho#er policy o( 3rollbac03G, but the >ational Security +ouncil F>S+G resolution #hich $a&e birth to them : >S+ 145/2 : #as not rescinded until late <ecember, 1968, 4he 9issell memo opens by statin$ 3 #he effort of the Clandestine Services against the Soviets will be increased and e$panded. #his demands a coordinated clandestine attac by all operating elements of the CS which have operational opportunities,3 In e((ect, and in seemin$ de(iance o( the desire to abort ?< S%K and ?< +!", the +I! #as plannin$ on

eBpandin$ such operations into ussia itsel(, !dditionally, it also sho#s that ?<SAI> supported these operations, Section o" the !issell )e)o

Russell Langelle /an$elle #as a +I! o((icer #or0in$ under co&er o( embassy security, 2e #as arrested by the So&iets a(ter bein$ cau$ht #ith notes obtained (rom an inside a$ent he had been runnin$, /an$elle #as inter&ie#ed at +I! headCuarters by t#o sta(( counsel o( the 2S+!, >otes o( that inter&ie# ta0en do#n by obert =en7man include the (ollo#in$ illuminatin$ commentsO /an$elle 'oined the +I! in 1968 and #or0ed mainly in S 9 o( the So&iet ussian <i&ision, In >o&ember 1966 he resi$ned (rom the a$ency on the %rete*t that he was dis(r+ntled with his assi(n)ents. 2is +I! (ile #ould ha&e re(lected this termination o( employment, 4he only document to the contrary #ould ha&e been a memorandum (rom the <irector o( +entral Intelli$ence statin$ that /an$elle #ould retain all ri$hts #hen he returned to the +I!, In -arch o( 1966 he started to #or0 under co&er o( the State <epartment as a Security %((icer, !(ter a

stint at the Lienna ?mbassy, he commenced at the -osco# ?mbassy in <ecember 1967, 1or0in$ inside the ?mbassy also under deep co&er #ere =eor$e 1inters and (our others #hose names ha&e been redacted, %utside the ?mbassy #ere .ean /eberman and one other #hose name #as redacted, Additionall$ there were three or "o+r st+dents who handled orientation %ro,ects. I donJt 0no# (or certain #hat meanin$ the +I! $i&es to the #ord DorientationE P but the ordinary meanin$ o( the #ord su$$ests $ettin$ people used to ne# surroundin$s, customs etc indicatin$ the role may ha&e included brie(in$ others on their missions, 4he Cuestion is, #as ?d#ard Aeenan one o( those studentsQ !nd i( so, #as he perhaps in SnyderJs o((ice that day in order to brie( %s#ald on such mattersQ 4he e&idence laid out surely must ma0e this a distinct possibility, =en7manJs notes

Lee Harvey Oswald %n September 4, 1969, %s#ald #as trans(erred to 2 I 2 SCuadron, 2e applied (or his passport that same day, 4his

#as t#o days a(ter 9issell issued his memo ad&isin$ o( the eBpansion o( So&iet operations #hich $re# out o( >S+ 145/2, %n .anuary 4, 1961, %s#ald eBpressed his (irst thou$hts o( returnin$ to the US, %n February 15, 1961, he noti(ied the US ?mbassy o( his #ish, 4his chan$e o( heart about stayin$ #as #ithin a mere #ee0 or so o( >S+ 145/2 bein$ countermanded, #ith the (irst steps to#ards actual repatriation only a (e# more #ee0s a(ter that, 4hat the 2S+! could loo0 into the possibility o( %s#ald ha&in$ been an a$ent sent to the So&iet Union by the S <i&ision o( the <irectorate o( "lans, and decide that there #as nothin$ to indicate that this had been the case, is #orrisome, 4his (indin$ seems to ha&e been based primarily on the testimony o( +I! o((icers, and its o#n eBtremely narro# readin$s o( documents, It is to be hoped that any (uture in&esti$ation #ill not be so easily thro#n o(( by smu$ reassurances, nor #il(ully i$nore the (ull si$ni(icance o( the documents it accesses,