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page 53 there is a special section upon this subject, and the lead sentence said:

A while back Americans were shocked to find that Communists had infiltrated our churches.

And, again:

Are there Communist ministers? Sure

is the answer here. That jibes with your own conclusions, Colonel? Coloney WAGASKY. In the sense that I gave the answer; yes, sir. Senator BARTLETT. I have no further questions. Thank you. Senator THURMOND. Mr. Kendall, do you have any questions? Mr. KENDALL. No questions, Senator.

Thank you.

PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF AIR FORCE PAMPHLET "AIR"

Senator THURMOND. I will proceed, then.

I might say, in speaking about this publication, that it is published by the Continental Air Command, is it not, "Air"?"

Colonel WAGASKY. I am responsible for the makeup. It is actually physically printed by the 22

Senator THURMOND. I mean it is put out by the Continental Air Command?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. And not by the Department of the Air Force? Colonel WAGASKY. It is an official publication of the Department of the Air Force, with Continental Air Command responsible for its issuance.

Senator THURMOND. But this pamphlet, “Air", Intelligence training bulletin, if it were published by the Department of the Air Force, it would get a wider distribution, would it not, than if it was published by your command alone?

Colonel WAGASKY. Not necessarily, sir.

They could tell us to

Senator THURMOND. It is such an excellent publication that I would like to see it disseminated very widely, and I was just wondering if some similar publication was published by the Department of the Air Force, if, then, it would cover all air commands and more units and receive a wider distribution?

Colonel WAGASKY. It would have stronger support at the Headquarters, USAF, level, sir, no question about it; however, CONAC could be directed to increase distribution without any extra burden to the present staff and reach any audience that would be directed by Headquarters, USAF.

Senator THURMOND. And a wider distribution?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir; no question about it.

Senator THURMOND. It is very excellent. I want you to know my opinion.

Colonel WAGASKY. Thank you, sir.

However, I would like to emphasize that we could produce as many copies as would be desired because once the plates are made you can print with this offset system an unlimited amount of copies.

Senator THURMOND. And if the Air Force saw fit to do so, it could instruct you?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. To give a wider distribution than it is now receiving, could they not?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir; because there would not be any additional work required by the Continental Air Command.

It would be a matter of the printing plant just printing and distributing that many more.

ATTACKS AGAINST FILM "OPERATION ABOLITION"

Senator THURMOND. Colonel, I would also like to draw your attention to a cartoon which appeared in the Washington Post on November 30, 1960. This laid the groundwork for the nationwide agitational program against the film "Operation Abolition." I think you will agree that it conveys the idea that the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities, in fact, doctored the film to distort the truth about the student riots.

The same month, on the 24th of November, the Reporter magazine published an attack on the film "Operation Abolition," which, in turn, was reproduced by a wide variety of pro-Communist organizations to be passed out as handbills whenever a patriotic organization attempted to show the film at community level.

The Bay Area Student Committee for the Abolition of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, at 1732 Francisco Street, Berkeley, Calif., which was one of the student groups participating in the student riot, produced a flood of propaganda material for dissemination from coast to coast. On the back page of their leaflet the Washington Post cartoon was reprinted under the heading of "The Reporter," which is a reprint of the original attack on the film by Paul Jacobs.

Do you see that article!

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. The Emergency Civil Liberties Committee also joined in on the attack of this film.

Did you know that this was a cited organization?

Colonel WAGASKY. No, sir; I did not.

Senator THURMOND. The Emergency Civil Liberties Committee? Colonel WAGASKY. I did not.

Senator THURMOND. Editorials from The Living Church entitled "Why Fake It" apologized for the Communist agitation portrayed in this film.

The National Conference of Christians and Jews, on March 2, 1961, labeled the film "Operation Abolition"-"McCarthyism"-in a confidential letter from Claude D. Nelson to all members of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Do you see that?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. Of course, the Worker attacked the film with great vigor. You know who publishes the Worker, do you not? Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. Who publishes it?

Colonel WAGASKY. It is an organ of

Senator THURMOND. The Communist Party.

Colonel WAGASKY. The Communist Party, yes, sir.

Senator THURMOND. The Worker attacked the film with great vigor, and student newspapers, which were provided access to expression of the party line, attacked the film.

The New York office of the Civil Liberties Union, 156 Ffth Avenue, New York, N.Y., issued misleading statements about the activities of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and, as a side issue, attacked the New York Port Customs Department, particularly Mr. Fishman, because of

his role to break open a sealed sack of incoming foreign mail and dramatically produce what would be described as Communist propaganda.

The film "Opeartion Abolition" and any other effort to expose Communist propaganda were the targets of this special bulletin produced by the New York Civil Liberties Union in April 1961. Did you see that bulletin?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

OSI RESPONSIBILITY FOR AIR FORCE COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

Senator THURMOND. Dozens of other apologists for communism joined in the propaganda fight to compromise the educational value of the film "Operation Abolition" and to embarrass the work of our Federal agencies concerned with exposure of Communist subversion and propaganda.

Colonel, I have provided this lengthy explanation only to obtain your comments as to what the Air Force Intelligence has done to adequately inform military commanders and troops of the growing threat of Communist manipulation of American public opinion through their own publications and hard-core infiltration of news media, front agencies, and by misguiding those Americans, who in a sincere quest for peace, are prone to fall for the fallacious Communist propaganda and to undermine our knowledge and alertness toward Communist cold war techniques.

What is the Air Force doing to counter such propaganda activities, if you know?

Colonel WAGASKY. I cannot speak for the Air Force or for the office that is responsible for this counterintelligence mission, which is the OSI.

The Continental Air Command, to the best of my knowledge, does not put out anything to counter Communist propaganda activities. This is the responsibility of the local OSI offices.

The contributions that we make in the Air Intelligence Training Bulletin on communism, as a positive approach, is a concrete example of fighting communism.

The Office of Information in Continental Air Command distributes news service articles to the Airman magazine and films to the troops concerning the Communist threat, Senator.

Senator THURMOND. This is really an educational job, is it not?
Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

ATTACKS ON "OPERATION ABOLITION"

Senator THURMOND. On January 16, 1962, the Bay Area Student Committee for Abolition of the House Committee on Un-American Activities made blanket distributions to Senators and Congressmen.

I have a copy of these letters and enclosures. I estimate that each individual mailing of these letters cost this student committee about $2.

I wonder where they get their funds and whether their propaganda campaign against the film "Operation Abolition" comes from tax-exempt sources.

Colonel, do you realize the scope and extent of these propaganda agencies?

Colonel WAGASKY. No, sir, I do not.

Senator THURMOND. Now, these were the enclosures here to the letter.

One is "San Francisco and the Un-American Activities Commitee," prepared by Carolyn L. Weiner, and this was published by the Northern California Chapter, Americans for Democratic Action, 41 Sutter Street, San Francisco.

Another publication enclosed with the letter was entitled, "Operation Abolition'-Some Facts and Comments," and this was published by the Department of Religious Liberty, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 475 Riverside Drive, New York 27, N.Y.

And it states on there, I believe, that that sells for 50 cents.

Another is, "The Meisenbach Case, The FBI and HUAC Convicted," by Irving Hall, reprinted from the June 1961, issue of the California magazine, second edition.

Another is, "The Meisenbach Case, the FBI and HUAC Convicted," on the front. This contains extracts from different California papers. One of the extracts in here is from the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin of April 20, 1961, and the title of the article is "Cop's Testimony Opposes FBI Report of Riot," and shows a picture of J. Edgar Hoover, and it has under it, "His Report Disputed."

Another article in here is entitled, "No Student Violence Say Five Riot Witnesses.”

Another article is entitled, "Meisenbach Called a Victim."

Another is the Washington Post editorial, which has been referred to earlier.

Another is an article from the New York Times dated May 8, 1961, on "Operation Abolition.”

DISCUSSION ON "FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION" ORGANIZATION

Colonel Wagasky, we recently had testimony from Dr. Beerstecher on the methods used by the Communists to undermine faith in our own military, our defenses, our weapons and our will to fight.

An organization which consistently promotes anti-U.S. military propaganda is the Fellowship of Reconciliation, 21 Audubon Avenue, New York 32, N.Y.

I would like to pass this leaflet to you for your perusal and direct your attention to the drawings in this leaflet. You will notice that they are directed specifically against the U.S. Military. The intent is to plant the idea that we have a gang of professional killers in the Pentagon.

It promotes the pacifist line that we do not need to defend ourselves, because the Communists may, after all, be very nice people.

The security officer at West Point told us recently that he judged propaganda material basically on content and on persons connected with propaganda organizations.

As you will notice, in this particular leaflet the names Alfred Hassler and Rev. A. J. Muste are included. Both attended the 16th National Convention of the Communist Party in 1958. While they claimed to be non-Communist attendants, their own report on this convention leaves little doubt that their propaganda line parallels that of the Communists.

Are you familiar with this type of pro-Communist propaganda, and, if so, would you care to elaborate on it?

Colonel WAGASKY. No, sir, I am not.

Senator THURMOND. Colonel, a most interesting point relating to Communist-front operations, and those who insist on providing support for Soviet objectives in our country, is a report published recently in a New York suburban newspaper April 9, 1962. The same groups which attacked the film "Operation Abolition" last year, and maintained continuous propaganda activity against this film, are now holding seminars in public high schools to attack the so-called radical right.

This article indicates that the key leaders of the anti-"Operation Abolition" campaign, which included doctors, lawyers, ministers, and rabbis, are now concentrating their propaganda attack on the "radical right," the "conservatives," the "ultra right," or just the "right."

The key speaker in this seminar was Alfred Hassler of the "Fellowship of Reconciliation,” who, I mentioned earlier, attended the 16th convention of the Communist Party.

Colonel, we have developed the facts with several witnesses that while the Communists may be few in number, they are a hard militant core of propagandists and agitators who have managed to dupe and influence well-meaning Americans into believing that we should not expose the Communist threat, nor should we defend ourselves against Communist cold war propaganda and infiltration.

WAGASKY VIEWS ON TECHNIQUES OF COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA

Can you give us your views on the techniques of Communist propaganda which apparently, due to American sense of fair play and gullibility, enjoys apparent success in the United States?

Colonel WAGASKY. The only comment I have on that, Senator, is they use the same institutions that they hope to destroy to their best advantage; for example, the free press. As these articles have just shown the institutions that they want to destroy, they use to their best advantage.

That is the best way I can answer that statement, sir.

Senator THURMOND. And their members or sympathizers join various organizations for the purpose of eventually taking an active part or becoming the leaders in it, and, if possible, twisting the organization around to play a part that will be favorable to the Communists, do they not?

Colonel WAGASKY. Yes, sir.

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