Just this week, the declassification of the CIA's "Skeleton" files was announced.
Now you can view and read the declassified material online at the George Washington University National Security Archive website.
Just what are the "Skeleton" files, you ask...
They are records of illegal wiretapping and break-ins, failed espionage ventures (including the many, many, many failed, botched or abandoned attempts to kill or otherwise discredit Fidel Castro (the fixation on Castor's beard by the CIA is worthy of a paper on Freudian psychology!), and other underhanded efforts to spy on American citizens and others. While a lot may surprise, mystify, anger or dismay those reading the files, what is missing -- redacted out or not released-- is what many experts are disappointed by the obvious gaps in the documentation.
Case in point....
On the left, the 1977 release of the same document. On the right, the 2007 release
Some see the release of the documents as a smoke-cover to distract from current controversies [Cynics!
].Of course, others, like Mordecai Briemberg, a former political science professor at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University and other Canadians critical of the Vietnam War who were spied upon by the CIA during the late 1960s and '70s in an operation code-named "MH Chaos," finally have a chance to see just what lengths the CIA went to obtain information on those in opposition to the war.
Of course, as with all government activities, one has to wade through the mundane to get to the juicy stuff. Sadly, the juicy stuff is usually pretty unpalatable and quite often, after a lot of effort on the part of the likes of the CIA, turns up very little that could be construed as material of concern. A very clear demonstration of the "If you point a finger at someone, there are going to be three more pointing back at you"....
While we're on the subject.... you might want to check out this documentary film "638 Ways to Kill Castro"... Enlightening.
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