Authors: John Newman
Through Gibson, the CIA learned important details of the policy, personnel, and Cuban financial backing of the FPCC. The CIA had carefully evaluated his background and his activities, as this extract from an Agency report demonstrates:
Gibson apparently received a Columbia University fellowship from Columbia Broadcasting Company before he was ousted. Now they will not take it away from him because it would cause a scandal-he uses it as a cover for his work. FPCC is working in Africa and particularly with the Lamumba faction. Roa wants to send Gibson to Africa since money from Cuba promotes "the thing" in Africa. FPCC is also involved in the Algerian situation. Gibson and his French wife were in Paris after the war and also in Algeria. He has been to Russia and to Ghana. Robert F. Williams is also apparently instrumental in stirring up trouble (in the US over racial issues?). Gibson has no love in his heart for the US. The FPCC is stirring up the Negroes in the South-says their plans have lots of loopholes and they expect to be arrested but they intend to carry on war against the US.6
Remarkably, the CIA saw the FPCC and Gibson as the instruments for a Castro-financed effort to foment insurrection in America. This was as menacing a thought as Hoover's July 15, 1960, allusion to a Cuban-inspired Mexican attack on Texas. While these threats were obviously exaggerated, knowledge about the FPCC and its activities was a matter of some urgency in the CIA in view of ongoing assassination planning for Lamumba and Castro. A counterintelligence officer in Phillips' WHJ4 Branch wrote this in a memo to Jane Roman (liaison for Angleton's counterintelligence staff): "As you know, the FBI has expressed an interest in such information that Subject [Cobb] can provide concerning the Fair Play Committee [sic]."'
Not everybody at the CIA was happy about June Cobb's association with the Agency. In particular, Birch O'Neal of Angleton's mole-hunting unit, CUSIG, did some sniping with his pen. On November 22, 1960, O'Neal wrote a memorandum critical of the "liberal press" in general and of June Cobb in particular for promoting an English-language edition of an old Castro speech "to show that Castro is not a Communist." O'Neal's memo said:
The first edition was paid for by Miss Cobb and the second edition was paid for by the Cuban Consulate in New York. As far as we know, Miss Cobb is a rather flighty character. She comes in and out and we have not been able to find out where she lives or where she is now. Perhaps she is tied up with the so-called Fair Play for Cuba Committee.'
The innuendo radiating from this last sentence illuminates O'Neal's hostility toward Cobb, a view that may have had other adherents within the Agency's counterintelligence staff. From their perspec tive, Cobb's connections seemed to carry with them as many potential risks as awards.
In any event, the combination of Agency elements most closely associated with the "take" from Cobb at that time was O'Neal's CI/SIG, CIJOPS/WH (Counterintelligence/Operations/Western Hemisphere), and WH/4/CI. As CI/Liaison, Jane Roman also had access to the results of the Cobb debriefs and surveillance operations.'
In early 1961, eleven weeks before the Bay of Pigs invasion, the CIA seized an opportunity to become more actively involved in running operations against the FPCC. CIA Security Office and Western Hemisphere elements had identified an Agency employee who knew Court Wood, an American student just returned from Cuba under the sponsorship of the FPCC. This opportunity to surveil Court Wood, which developed at the end of January, was irresistible in the judgment of the person in the CIA's Security Research Service (SRS) of the Security Office who conceived and authorized the operation. That person was James McCord, the same James McCord who would later become embroiled in the scandal during the Nixon Presidency.
On February 1, 1961, McCord met with people from Western Hemisphere Division to discuss the "case" of an Agency employee who happened to be Court Wood's neighbor and former high school classmate. At issue was whether to use this employee operationally to extract intelligence information from Wood. The employee, conveniently, worked in WH/4, the very branch that McCord wanted to run the illegal domestic operation he had in mind. The memo of record for this meeting states the following:
1. On this date Subject's case was coordinated with Mr. McCord of SRS in connection with Subject's operational use within the US by WH/4/Propaganda. The implications of a Cl operation with[in] the US by this Agency and the possibility Subject might come to the attention of the FBI through association with Court Wood were discussed.
2. Mr. McCord expressed the opinion that it was not necessary to advise the FBI of the operation at this time. However, he wishes to review the case in a month. The file of the Subject, along with that of the WH man who is supervising the operation (David Atlee Phillips #40695) will be pended [suspended] for the attention of Mr. McCord on 1 March 1961.1°
It is fitting that one of the Agency's legendary disinformation artists, David Atlee Phillips, should have been in charge of the CIA's Cl and propaganda effort against the FPCC. Phillips would reappear in Mexico City at the time Oswald visited there, taking over the antiCuban operations of the CIA station in Mexico during the very days that CIA headquarters and the CIA Mexico City station exchanged cables on Oswald's visit to the Mexican capital.
"At the request of Mr. Dave Phillips, C/WH/4/Propaganda," wrote the fortunate CIA employee picked to spy on his neighbor, "I spent the evening of January 6 with Court Wood, a student who has recently returned from a three-week stay in Cuba under the sponsorship of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee." The employee said that Court and his father both were pro-Castro and "extremely critical" of American foreign policy. "I've been advised by Mr. Phillips," the employee wrote, "to continue my relationship with Mr. Wood and I will keep your office informed of each subsequent visit.""
Indeed, the employee did keep Jack Kennedy, Chief of Security for Western Hemisphere Branch 4 (C/WH/4/Security), apprised. The next occasion occurred on March 3, 1961, after which the employee had new information, as reported March 8:
Several months ago I wrote you a letter concerning the proCastro sentiments of Court Wood, son of Foster Wood, a local attorney. Since that time I've seen Court only once, on March 3, 1961, and he appears to be actively engaged in the organization of a local chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee.
Little did Court Wood know that he was organizing his new chapter under the watchful eye of the CIA.
Our budding spy was beginning to blossom in his new assignment for David Phillips. Wood's neighbor also had this to say in his March 8 report:
Complete with beard, Court has been meeting with "interested groups" and lecturing to students in several eastern cities. He specifically mentioned Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. Apparently there are a number of students envolved [sic] in this activity; I met David Lactterman from George Mason High School in Falls Church, Va. and Walt MacDonwald, a fellow student of Court's, and both are obviously active. What action, if any, should I take in regard to my relationship with Court and his father?"
It seems comical, that a group of high school students, led by a college student who had grown a beard to emulate Castro's appearance were the subjects of such CIA reporting. But it is actually sad.
Our spy now wanted more time to get additional intelligence. "Court Wood seems to be extremely naive about my position with the Agency," said the neighbor's next bulletin. Dated March 18, 1961, and, again, addressed to Mr. Jack Kennedy, the memo boasted that Wood "is very open and frank with me in all areas." Phillip's spy had spent "hours" with Court Wood and was sure his naivete could be further exploited. "I am certain that if given enough time," the spy wrote, "I can obtain a great deal of information on the backgrounds and activities of many of his associates." The report also contained this passage:
While visiting his apartment I observed that both Court and hisfather are interested in a large number of Communist publications. These included "USSR," "The Worker," and many prop. pamphlets that were obviously published in England. Court is an extreme Leftist in his political views and he believes fanatically in Castro's Cuba.
Mr. Wood mentioned to me that he and several of his friends are making plans to enter Cuba in June; illegally if necessary. He apparently wants to become a teacher for the Castro government and to make his permanent home there. Members of the "26th of July Movement" are in close contact with Court and they are involved in this proposed move to Cuba. Court does have some money and he seems to be very serious about this thing. Within the next few days I have to be able to get some names and specific facts concerning their plans."
Not a bad bit of work for three weeks, especially considering that this kind of assignment was not in the fellow's job description.
Ironically, just when our fledgling spy was about to acquire more intelligence, the matter came to the attention of the FBI, and his mission came to an abrupt end. In an October 7, 1961, memo to FBI Liaison Sam J. Papich, CIA Acting Director of Security, R. F. Bannerman wrote this about the case of Court Wood:
Reference is made to a 25 March 1961 and a 6 July 1961 investigative report on captioned Subject which have previously been furnished to this Agency.
[redacted] who is a current Agency employee, has recently been interviewed concerning his knowledge of Court Foster Wood whom [redacted] had known since mutual attendance in high school. Attached is a detailed report of the information furnished by [redacted] concerning his knowledge of Wood.
Since [redacted] personally has sufficient reason to question the activities of Wood and the activities of the associates of Wood, [redacted] has been advised to discontinue any further contact with Wood.
It would be appreciated if your Bureau would furnish this Agency any additional information brought to your attention concerning Court Foster Wood and of particular interest would be any information received by your Bureau concerning past association of Court Foster Wood with N-[redacted]."
Thus it would appear that the FBI had learned of Court Wood's activities in March and again in July 1961, and had reported them to the Agency. The CIA then pulled its employee out of David Phillips's Cl operation against the FPCC.
What the operation tells us is that the Agency was sufficiently interested in countering the FPCC to engage in an illegal domestic operation. The fact that controversy would follow the two men in charge, McCord in connection with Watergate and Phillips in connection with the Kennedy assassination, causes this page in the Agency's anti-Cuban operations to stand out in hindsight.
While the Court Wood operation was grinding to a halt at the CIA, the FBI was gearing up for its own operation against the FPCC. Fragments of an FBI document released by the Church Committee suggest that Cartha DeLoach, assistant director of the FBI, was in charge of a Bureau operation to compile "adverse" data on FPCC leaders. A handwritten note at the bottom of the FBI headquarters copy of the document includes this detail: "During May 1961, a field survey was completed wherein available public source data of adverse nature regarding officers and leaders of FPCC was compiled and furnished Mr. DeLoach for use in contacting his sources." 15
The fact that an assistant director of the FBI was collecting dirt on FPCC leaders underlines the extent of the Bureau's interest. The "adverse" data in the FPCC files kept by DeLoach probably grew considerably as a result of another CIA operation in October 1961. As we have seen, this operation netted significant intelligence on the FPCC from the Gibson material collected in June Cobb's room. This material included certain derogatory statements by Gibson which appear to be the sort of "data" DeLoach was looking for.
In December 1961, the FBI launched another operation, using the incendiary tactic of planting disinformation. The handwritten note discussed above contains this account:
We have in the past utilized techniques with respect to countering activities of mentioned [FPCC] organization in the U.S. During December 1961, New York prepared an anonymous leaflet which was mailed to selected FPCC members throughout the country for the purpose of disrupting FPCC and causing split between FPCC and Socialist Workers Party (SWP) supporters, which technique was very effective.16
These tactics dramatize the lengths to which the FBI was willing to go to discredit the FPCC, whose chapters in Chicago, Newark, and Miami were infiltrated early on by the Bureau. As we will see in Chapter Sixteen, during Oswald's tenure with the FPCC, FBI breakins to their offices were a regular occurrence.
Oddly, the day Patrice Lumumba's death was announced, February 13, 1961, was the same day Snyder received Oswald's letter about returning to America. As the FBI and CIA became engaged in a campaign to discredit the FPCC, Oswald was nearing his goal of having obtained all the necessary authorizations to return with his family.
Oswald Returns
Oswald wrote to his mother on January 2, 1962, telling her that he and Marina would arrive in the United States sometime around March and asking her to have the local Red Cross request that the International Rescue Committee (IRC) assist them." It would take longer than Oswald anticipated. Letters from Oswald1e and the American Embassy,19 both dated January 5, crossed in the mail. Oswald's letter was a request that the U.S. government pay for his and Marina's return to America, while the embassy's letter said that because of "difficulties" in obtaining an American visa for Marina, he might want to leave by himself and bring his wife later. The replies also crossed in the mail. Oswald insisted (on January 16) that he would not leave alone," while the embassy (January 15) noted that Marina had no American visa, and suggested that a relative file an affidavit of support for her.21
Both responses were interesting. Oswald's January 16 letter revealed more than he may have intended, "Since I signed and paid for an immigration petition for my wife in July 1961," Oswald said with exasperation, "I think it is about time to get it approved or refused." The most intriguing aspect of the letter was this declaration: "I certainly will not consider going to the U.S. alone for any reason, particularly since it appears my passport will be confiscated upon my arrival in the United States."22 It is difficult to know his precise thinking; perhaps he was afraid he'd never see her again, or perhaps he viewed Marina as some form of protection when he returned to the U.S.23