Central Intelligence Agency. "International Connections of U.S.
Peace Groups." November 15, 1967.
 EXCERPTS
15 November 1967
MEMORANDUM FOR: The President
Preparation of this study, "International Connections of the U.S. Peace Movement"
involved extensive research and examination of the Agency's own files as well as access to data
in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency. From this
intimate review of the bulk of the material on hand in Washington, we conclude that there are
significant holes in the story. We lack information on certain aspects of the movement which
could only be met by levying requirements on the FBI, which we have now done.
First, we found little or no information on the financing of the principal peace movement groups.
Specifically, we were unable to uncover any source of funds for the costly travel schedules of
prominent peace movement coordinators, many of whom are on the wing almost constantly.
Second, we could find no evidence of any contact between the most prominent peace movement leaders
and foreign embassies, either in the U.S. or abroad. Of course, there may not be any such
contact, but on the other hand we are woefully short of information on the day-to-day activities
and itineraries of these men.
Finally, there is little information available about radical peace movement groups on U.S. college
campuses. These groups are, of course, highly mobile and sometimes even difficult to identify,
but their more prominent leaders are certainly visible and active enough for monitoring.
Richard Helms
Director
4. One explanation for the diversity of motivation and outlook is the fact that the anti-war
sentiment has taken root in separate sectors of the society having little else in common. In
addition to the professional pacifists, activists come from the student world, from militant
elements of the Negro and other minority communities, from the labor movement, and from the
intellectual sphere. In some cases -- the civil rights and labor movements specifically -- the
rank and file are largely disinterested in international problems. But their leaders may not be;
some are as active as the intellectual and student leaders both at home and abroad. Each projects
his own personal attitudes and prejudices, which frequently are not representative of the group
he speaks for.
5. The advocates of "Black Power" are a group apart. Their specialized interest when
it comes to Vietnam is not peace, but the war as a case study of the "liberation
struggle." They make an effort to relate the Vietnam problem to their non-white
"Third World," focusing particularly on the position of the Negro serving in Vietnam
and on resistance to the draft. While joining in certain aspects of the peace campaign, the
"Black Power" elements remain aloof from the leftist mainstream.
5. STUDENT NON-VIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE (SNCC)
SNCC was one of the earliest groups to popularize the call for "Black Power." Through
the energies of its demagogic leaders, Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown, SNCC has become the
leading exponent of militan Negro action.
SNCC has become involved via the back door in the campaign against the war in Vietnam. Its
leadership now makes a point of trying to turn Negro-Americans against the US government,
particularly with respect to the draft and service in Vietnam.
Carmichael recently has traveled extensively throughout the "Third World," railing
against US "imperialism" and domestic repression. SNCC will be well represente, as
it was at the Bratislava Conference in September, at any activity which offers it a chance to
expound on its concepts of guerrilla warfare and racial violence.
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