ALLEGED KKK DEATH THREATS TO THIRD WORLD OLYMPIC ATHLETES: A SOVIET ACTIVE MEASURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00287R001400750001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 17, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

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, Central Intelligence Agency
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE
17 July 1984
Alleged KKK Death Threats to Third World Olympic
Athletes: A Soviet Active Measure
Summary
We believe the Soviets are involved in producing and
disseminating forgeries of Ku Klux Klan letters threatening
the lives of, Olvmoic athletes from numerous Third World
countries.
The National Olympic Committees of eleven Asian and African
countries have recently received letters threatening the lives of
their Olympic athletes. The letters, allegedly sent from the United
States by the Ku Klux Klan, are extremely racist and violent in
tone. They describe lynchings and shootings which would take place
if Asian athletes or black athletes from Africa attend the games in
Los Angeles. The countries which have received the letters are
was prepared by the Office of Soviet Analysis. It was written by 25X1
the Policy Analysis Division. Comments and queries may be
addressed to Chief, Policy Analysis Division, 25X1
SOVA M 84-10116
Copy No. ~
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Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Cameroon,
Zambia, China, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong.
We believe the letters are forgeries produced and disseminated
by the Soviet Union or Soviet agents in order to bolster Moscow's
claim that athletes' security .cannot be guaranteed at the Olympics,
to reduce Third World participation at the L.A. Games, and to
discredit the United States. This conclusion is supported by the
following facts:
? The letters do not appear to have been written by a
native English speaker. They contain errors in grammar
and syntax that a native speaker would not commit.
? The letters spell "Ku Klux Klan" with a. hyphen between
the first two words, a construction not used in
English. Moreover, according to the State Department,
material published by Klan groups usually contains the
full name of the organization and not simply "Ku Klux
Klan" alone.
? The multiple surfacing of the letters is typical of a
large Soviet active measures effort. In a similar
mailing operation of late June, the Soviets are believed
to be involved in circulating a 1976 CIA document to
newspapers in Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Great
Britain.
? The mailing of the letters appears to have been timed to
coincide with Secretary of State George Shultz's
appearance in Malaysia this week. The sender could count
on extensive coverage by the international press corps
accompanying the Secretary--coverage which the Soviet
Union would certainly desire.
? The story of the letters was very quickly picked up by
Soviet media. The typical Soviet active measures modus
operandi is to disseminate disinformation abroad and
subsequently replay it in the Soviet press. According to
Soviet calculations, this replaying enhances the
credibility of both the original disinformation and any
later versions.
? The letters were mailed to the correct addresses of
National Olympic Committees, which included post office
box numbers in some cases. The Klan would probably
experience some difficulty in obtaining such information.
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? The FBI has no information that the Klan is involved in
the mailings.
? According to the FBI, the Klan has never targeted Asians
and has never addressed the issue of Third World
participation in the Los Angeles Olympics.
? None of the pro-Soviet African or Asian nations
boycotting the Olympics--North Korea, Ethiopia, Angola,
Vietnam, Laos--has received a threatening letter. The
Soviets probably excluded these states as a result of
removing their firm commitment to boycott the Games. ~
25X1
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Distribution: Alleged KKK Death Threats to Third World Olympic
Athletes: A Soviet Active Measure
Copy #:
- DCI
- DDCI
- ED/DCI
- Exec Registry
- DDI
6 - DDI Regi stry
7-11 - OCPAS/IDCD/C8
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Chief, SOVA/TWA
Chief, SOYA/DI
Chief, SOVA/EA
Chief, SOVA/SE
Chief, SOVA/SF
Chief, SOVA/TF
Chief, SOVA/PA
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60 HO
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Distribution: Alleged KKK Death Threats to third World Olympic Athletes: A
Soviet Active Measure
1 - Mr. Jeremy Azrael
Policy Planning Member, S/P
Office of Director of Political-and
Military Affairs
Department of State
Room 7311 NS
1 - Mr. Robert Baraz
Director, Office of Analysis for the Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe, INR/SEE
Department of State
Room 4758
1 - Mr. Richard Combs
Director, Office of East European Affairs
Bureau of European Affairs
Department of State
Room 4217 MS
1 - Mr. John Danylyk
Chief, INR/EC/USSR
Department of State
Room 8662 NS
1 - Mr. Robert Dean
' Deputy Director, Bureau of Political
and Mi 1 itary Affairs
Department of State
Room 7428
1 - Mr. Darryl N. Johnson
Special Assistant, Office of Under Secretary
for Political Affairs
Department of State
Room 7240
1 - Mr. Philip Kaplan
Chief of Staff of Policy Planning
Department of State
Room 7316
1 - Mr. Hugh Montgomery
Director/INR
Department of State
Room 6531 NS
1 - Mr. Mark Palmer
Deputy Assistant Secretary
for European Affairs
Department of State
Room 6219 NS
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1 - Mr. Thomas W. Simons, Jr.
Director, Office of Soviet Union Affairs
Bureau of European Affairs
Department of State
Room 4217 NS
1 Mr. Raymond Firehock
Chief, Intelligence Division
Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Room 6510A, NS Annex
1 - General Richard G. Stilwell, USA (Ret.)
Deputy Under Secretary for Policy
Department of Defense
Room 2-E-812, The Pentagon
1 - Dr. Wynfred Joshua .
DIO European and Soviet Political Affairs
Defense Intelligence Agency
Room X238, Pentagon
1 - Major General William Odom
HQDA (DAMI-ZA)
Department of the Army
Room 2E464, Pentagon
1 - Mr. Byron Jackson
Director, Office of Intelligence Liaison
Department of Commerce
Room 6854, Main Commerce
1 - Ms. Paula J. Dobriansky
Staff Member NSC
Room 368 E06
1 - Mr. John Lenczowski
Staff Member, NSC
Room 368, E06
- Mr. William Knepper
Deputy Assistant Secretary
INR/INC
Department of State
1 - John Ordway
EUR/SOV/BI
4219 Department of State
1 - Sheldon Rapaport
INR/IC/CD
Department of State
for Intelligence Coordination
25X1
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