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Washington, April 11, 1966 WR 66-14 COMMUNIST PLANS FOR GUERRILLA WARFARE IN T HE U.S. At this moment, while Communist forces throughout the worl d are engaged in attempts to overthrow a number of governments , here, in the United States, the Prog r essive Labor Party (PLP) and the Revolutionary Action Movem e nt (RAM) are actively involved in the first-step operations of guerrilla warfare. Both of these groups are storing arms, training people in sabotage and terrorism and actively preparing a group of people to institute armed insurrection. Progressive Labor, acting in its capacity as the American arm of the Chinese Communist International, has prepared a number of its members for any eventuality. During the summer of 1964 the PLP initiated a plan dividing various 11 trusted 11 members into secret groups of four and then preparing them to go "underground" if a police crackdown became imminent. The PLP members were not simply to change th e ir names and alter their physical appearance but also were to use the weapons provided to aid and promote a guerrilla operation in those cities where Progressive Labor had any strength, such as in N e w York and San Francisco. The PLP' s Role in the 1964 Harlem Riots ·w hen Harlem e rupted that same summer the Progressive Labor leader there, Bill Epton, used his previous training to instigate further rioting. He actually trained p e ople in the t e c hni ques of preparing ahd using Molotov cocktails. Epton is presently out on bond, pending the appeal of the one-year prison sentence he received as a result of his role in the r iots. Onc e the Harle m r iot s reached th e ir peak the PL leadership considered spreading the chaos to other p arts of the city. The editor of Challenge, the PL weekly new sp ape r , signed an e ditorial published during the riots which stated: "The vision of half - a - million - o r a million - ang r y black men and women, supported by allies in the P u erto Rica n a nd ot h er w o r king clas s c ommunities , standing up t o their oppres sors , Editor's Note: Guest E ditor , P h illip Abbott Lu ce, one-tim e l ea der of the "New Left was associ a t ed w ith the Progress i ve L abor M o vement fr om April, 1963 u ntil Janua ry, 1965. He and h is wife, a form e r cop y editor fo r P LP new spapers, broke w it h t he organizati on becaus e of its terror t actics and a d vo cacy of v i ol ence. He has since cooperated wit h g overnment agencies and has ju s t compl eted a book fo r the David McKay Company entitled T he New Left . ANALYSIS OF DEVE L OPMENTS AFFEC T ING THE NATION'S SECUR I TY �- 3 - - 2 - is haunting the ruling class. People have already begun to speak of •guerrilla warfare• and •revolutionaries. 111 The only reason that PL did not try to spread the riots to New York 1 s Lower East Side was later explained to us at a secret meeting of the PL National Committee. Alice Jerome, the head of PL 1 s club on the Lower East Side explained: We felt that we could not carry an action through with any kind of success or value, other than a blood bath. . . If the opportunity comes again - the big question is how to consolidate whatever gains are made." the summer of 1964. This Black Liberation Front was merely a "front 11 operation for RAM. Even the extreme left-wing has now admitted this fact. · Robert Taber, one of the founders of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and still an apologist for Fidel Castro, documents this relationship in his book on guerrilla warfare, The War of the Flea, Max Stanford has made it perfectly clear that RAM favors any means to wrest control of the government from "white" people. Writing in the Detroit, Michigan monthly, Correspondence, he relates that RAM was formed by "Afro-Americans who favored Robert F. Williams and the concept of organized violence. 11 He stated that the philosophy of RAM was "revolutionary nationalism and just plain blackfsm . 11 Guerrilla Training Underground" By December, 1964 the PL leadership had embarked on yet another "underground" program which was to include a trip abroad during which the members would receive further training in guerrilla techniques. Today this program is operative; a number of PL people hav e already dropped from sight. Jake Rosen, a former member of the Communist Party, USA, a traveler to China (1958) , and the man responsible for bringing a number of guns to New York from the South, is in charge of this "underground" project. (Rosen casually left a wife behind when he went into hiding nearly a year ago . ) PL 1 s latest contact with the world guerrilla movements came when it sent Rick Rhoades, in violation of passport regulations, to the Tri-Continental Conference in Havana in January (see WR 66-2). Rhoades, who previously had been sent to City College in New York by PL to head up the May Second Movement there, shared the spotlight with Robert Williams as the only "invited observers" from the United States. Upon his return to New York Rhoades reported on his various meetings with guerrilla leade rs at two closed meetings of Progressive Labor. Rhoades also admitted to having h ad conferences with the Viet Cong about plans to try to increase agitation in this country against the war in Vietnam and also made contacts with the Chinese about the possibility of a trip to that country by a group of young Americans. Such a trip w ould violate current State Department travel regulations. R. A. M. The other organization in the United States that is preparing to launch a guerrilla warfare operation is the Revolutionary Action Movement (see WR 65-21). Founded in P h iladelphia in the w inter of 1963, RAM is headed by Max Stanford ·and Robert Franklin Williams. RAM is active in the large city ghettos and has a hard-core memb e rship of about 250 people. RAM closel y follo w s Williams who is listed as its "Chairmanin-Exile" and as the " Premier of the African-American-Government-in-E xile." Williams acknowledged his role while spe aking in Hanoi in November, 1964: "As a representative of the Revolutionary Action Mo vement, I am here to give support to the Vietnamese people in their struggle against U.S . imperialist a ggression ." Nearly a year ago a group of RAM followers attempted to destroy a number of national shrines and had planned a bombing raid on the nation's capital before they were rounded up by the New York police. The three Americans involved in thi s bi z arre plot were all members of the Black Liberation Front which was formed in Cuba during One Detroit group which amalgamated with RAM is UHURU which means "freedom" in Swahili. The program of UHURU was· described by one of its leaders, who also traveled to Cuba in 1964, as "Mau Mau Maoist. We are strong supporters of the Chinese. If you 1 re in doubt of any position we have, look it up in Peking Review." RAM and the Red Chinese Although the RAMers advocate strong support for the Chinese revolutionary philosophy they cannot be considered a part of the official Chinese Co'.mmunist International. While Progressive Labor has a number of direct contacts (including financial ones) with the Chinese Communist government, the Revolutionary Action Movement is not considered by the Chinese as their American agent. RAM utilizes a philosophy that is a strange mixture of black nationalism, white hatred, misread Marx ism and kamikaze radicalism. They idolize the Chinese because of the rhetoric th e y use and because the Chinese are a part of the "colo red" world . T e rror in the Cities RAM has been explicit in its outline of how it will take power in this country. Advocating a guerrilla war different in nature from that described in the writings of Mao and the Chinese, RAM envisions using the urban areas as the base of operations. The revolutionaries in RAM believe that the black ghetto areas of our major cities hold the key to a successful guerr illa w ar. They specifically propose that black people be organized into small guerrilla units which will use the night to spread terror through a city. According to the plans of RAM, terror will be the major weapon--terror which w ill, in turn, lead to a demoralization of the will of the governm e nt. Bombs will be placed in New York's Grand C e ntral Station or other public places; key personalities w ill be assassinated; snipers will indiscriminately murder innocent citizens; theatr es will be fired. Max Stanford puts it this way in a recent issu e of "Black America, " RAM 1 s official publicat ion: " When war breaks out in the country, if the action is directed toward taking over institutions of power and I complete annihilation of the racist capitalist oligarchy' then the black revolution will be successful. . . The revolution will ' strike by night and spare none. 1 Mass riots will occur in the day with the AfroAmeri cans blocking traffic, burning buildings, etc. Thousands of Afro-Americans �- 4 - will be in the street fighting: for they will know that this is it. 11 RAM's Guerrilla War: A Racial Civil War This type of guerrilla warfare might be dest ructive in terms of men and money but it could not possibly succeed. One of the major ingredients of such guerrilla action is to confuse and isolate your opponent(in this case, the government) by keeping it from "knowing" the enemy. RAM, however, is proposing a racial civil war that would be a battle of black versus white. Under these.. conditions they would hope that the "enemy" would be mis -identified and that some whites would react violently against the innocent Negro majority, thereby intensifying the struggle. Immediate terror tactics might be effectively µtilized by the black revolutionaries but in the long run they would be involved in a kamikaze action. Fortunately, it should be stressed that RAM has not made any significant inroads into the Negro community but rather, has been disavowed by most Negro leaders . While neither RAM nor the PLP is in any position to topple the American gov ernment in the near future, the very fact that they are preparing for some t ype of insur r e ctional action places them w e ll outside the pale of democratic politics . A nd whil e our security agencies can control both groups, it is important to note that the Com munist "plan" of guerrilla wars includes the United States itself. PHILLIP ABBOTT LUCE GUEST EDITOR EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief . .. . . .... . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John M. Fisher International Politics Editor . . .. . . .. .. .. ... Dr. James D. Atkinson Managing Editor . .. . .. . .. .. . ..... . . . . . . ... . . . DeWitt S. Copp Economics Editor .. . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . Dr. Lev E. Dobriansky National Editor . ..... . . . . ... . . .... .. . .. .. . .... . . . William Gill Foreign Editor .. .. . . .. .. .. . . . .. .. . . . .. . .... Frank J. Johnson Research Director .... .. . .. . . ... . ... . . . Will iam K. Lambie, Jr. Associate Editor, Radio Producer ... . ........ .. .. John F. Lewis News Editor .. . . .... ... . .. . . . . .. .. .. . .. . Edgar Ansel Mowrer Chief, Washington Bureau . . ... . .. . .. . . .... . Lee R. Pennington Strategy and Military Affairs Editor . . . .... . Dr. Stefan T. Possony Law & Space Editor . . . .. . Rear Admiral Chester Ward, USN (Ret.l Associate Editor ..... . ... . ... . . .. , ...... . ... Michael J. Ward OFFICERS President . ... . . . . . . . . . . ... . ....... . .. . .. .... John M. Fisher Senior Vice President . . . . . . . .. . .. ... .. . . ... Kenneth M. Piper Vice President . . ... . . . . . . . . . .. .... .. . . . Stephen L. Donchess Vice President ...... .... . . .. . ...... . . .. .. . .. John G. Sevcik Vice President . . . .. . ......... .. .......... . . Russell E. White Secretary-Treasurer . . .. .... . ...... . ...... . . . Cyri l W. Hooper NATIONAL STRATEGY COMMITTEE Clifford F. Hood Robert W. Galvin, Chairman Wayne A. Johnston Loyd Wright, Co-Chairman William H. Kendall Lieutenant General Edward M. Almond, A. B. McKee, Jr. USA (Ret.l Admiral Ben Moree\\, USN (Ret.} Bennett Archambault Dr. Robert Morris Lloyd L. Austin Dr. Stefan T. Possony General Mark Clark Admiral Felix B. Stump, USN (Ret.l Charles S. Craigmile Dr. Edward Teller Henry Duque Rear Admiral Chester Ward, USN (Ret.l Wade Fetzer, Jr. General Albert C. Wedemeyer, USA (Ret.l Patrick J. Frawley, Jr. Major General W. A. Worton, USMC (Ret.l Fred M. Gillies Karl Baarslag Bryton Barron Dr. Anthony T. Bouscaren Anthony Harrigan Dr. Anthony Kubek T he Am e rican Security Council W ashington R eport is p ubl ished weekly by the Ame r_ica n Securi ty Cou ncil P ress . It repor ts on n a t ional a nd inte rna tiona l developments a ffect ing the na tion "s secu rit y for t he informa tion o f the Council"s over 3500 m embe r compa n ies a nd ins ti tutions . Annual s ubscriptio n ra te S12.00. Addi tional copies availa ble at 25¢ eac h postpa id for non-m embe rs a nd 10¢ each postpa id for m em bers. AMERICAN SECURITY COUNCIL STRATEGY STAFF Captain J. H. Morse, USN (Ret.l Dr. Gerhart Niemeyer Dr. T. L. Shen Duane Thorin Stanley J. Tracy Cop y righ t © 1966 by Am erican Security Cou ncil. All righ ts reserved excep t that permission is g ra n ted for reproduc tion in whole or in p a rt if context is p reserved, credit g ive n a nd two copies are forwa rded to the Ame rica n Security Council Executive Offices . Executive Offices and Research Center: 123 North Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606 Washington Bureau: 1101 • 17th Street , N. W., Washington, D. C. 20036 �