July 19, 1984

INTRODUCTION*

While most Ameri-cans would readily list the names Hart, Mondale, and Jackson as among this year's contenders for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, viewers of late-night television might also mention the name Lyndon H. LaRou'che. Since the onset of the primary season in January, LaRouche has been featured in a series of periodic, late-night television broad- casts promoting his candidacy, and his bizarre political and economic theories. F- Billing himself as a "conservative Democrat" LaRouche has regaled his audience with predictions of imminent disaster that can only be averted through his leadership. Coupled with his ominous forecasts of catastrophes that range from "global thermo- nuclear war" to worldwide economic collapse have been his wild assertions that individuals such as Henry Kissinger and Lt. Gen. Daniel Graham are "Soviet agents of influence." What makes such claims particularly ironic is that this "conservative Democrat" was in fact a self-proclaimed Communist, who once called himself "the American Lenin,"' who helped found the violence-prone U.S. Labor Party, and who leads what may well be one of the strangest political groups in American history.

2

3

ACCESS TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS

A major concern regarding the LaRouche network arises from its apparent ability to penetrate high government circles-- especially within the intelligence and police communities. This ability was underscored by a documentary which aired earlier this year as part of the NBC newsmagazine "First Camera." The broad- cast featured, among others, Dr. Norman Bailey, a former member of the National Security Council Staff. In the press release announcing the program NBC stated that Dr. Bailey "spoke of LaRouche's value to the Administration.112 Moreover, reports by former members3 of the LaRouche network indicate that it main- tained regular and frequent contacts with officials of the Depart- ment of State, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and even the Central Intelligence Agency. While some of these claims may be overstated, and some of the contacts may have been low-level or self-generated, the potential for security breaches and other problems arising from such relationships remains very real. A recent incident in France illustrates this point.

4

WHO IS LYNDON LAROUCHE?

Born of Quaker parents in Rochester, New Hampshire in 1922, LaRouche spent most of his formative years in Lynn, Massachusetts. Initially a conscientious objector during World War II, LaRouche had an apparent change of heart while performing alternative service, and subsequently served in the Army in Burma and India. It was also at this time that LaRouche was first attracted to communist ideology.

5

ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH TIES WITH CONSERVATIVES

In 1974, the LaRouche network began an active campaign to establish links with conservative groups. An internal memorandum written at the time stated "Right wing organizations offer four opportunities: 1) Sources of fund raising related to our organiz- ing, 2) Political contacts to circulate our perspectives in anti-Rocky political financial military circles, 3) opportunity to expose and discredit Rocky's Buckley-FBI-CIA penetration of' the right, 4) potential USLP members and periphery. 16 The "Rocky" refers to the late Nelson Rockefeller, while the Buckley is William F. Buckley, editor of National Review.

6

ANTI-SEMITISM AND TIES WITH HATE GROUPS

One of the most disturbing turns in the path of LaRouche's ideology has been his incorporation of strong anti-Semitic themes into the grand conspiracy he claims steers world events. As part of this move, LaRouche has established ties with organizations which promote racial hatred and anti-Semitism, including the Ku Klux Klan and the Liberty Lobby.7

7

LAROUCHE AND THE PRESIDENCY

It is LaRouche's attempts to gain the U.S. presidency, more than anything else, that have brought him into the public eye.

8

WHAT DOES LAROUCHE WANT?

In trying to determine just who Lyndon LaRouche is, and what it is that he wants, a confused picture emerges. on the one

hand, his known links to hate groups might place him beyond the respectable political spectrum; yet his continuing advocacy of communism would tend to place him at the far left. To further confuse matters, he has recently taken to attacking the Soviet KGB, and accusing various individuals of being "Soviet agents of influence" or KGB moles, while at the same time taking positions which in the end advance Soviet foreign policy goals. Some insight into the possible motivations behind LaRouche's seemingly erratic ideological shifts can be gained from a March 1979 expose of the U.S. Labor Party written by Gregory Rose, a former member of that group.

writing in National Review, Rose noted that LaRouche main- tained contact w-Pth @theSoviet government through Gennady Nikolayevich Serebreyakov, an official with the Soviet Mission to the U.N. in New York. Moreover, LaRouche himself was reported to have met with Serebreyakov at least twice. Rose reports that after these meetings, "The NCLC's Trotskyite line was replaced with a pro-Soviet line." More important, he speculates that "The NCLC is in a position to promote a pro-Soviet line on such issues as U.S. defense posture within certain conservative circles, whereas the Soviets could not make such an approach directly. It is equally obvious that information on conservative attitudes and personalities gained from NCLC contacts would be helpful to Soviet intelligence." Rose conclu(ies 11 ... the evidence of a Soviet connictionois extensive and well-founded. Conservatives should regard the NCLC with hostility and should warn, and if necessary repudiate those on the Right whom it has ensnared."

Since Rose's article appeared in March 1979,,other evidence to suggest that the LaRouche network is at a minimum supporting some of Moscow's foreign policy goals has continued to mount. For example, in its August 6, 1981 issue, New Solidarity, the principal LaRouche political publication, stated "One year ago Poland was the 10th-ranking industrial nation in the world. Today--after one year of destabilization by the British-infil- trated Solidarity union--the country faces economic ruin, starva- tion, and social chaos .... 11 In January 1982, commenting again on Poland, New Solidarity called U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig "a i'eading spokesman for the forces Pravda charged are seeking to provoke direct Soviet military n-tervention in Poland."

LaRouche network publications also frequently engage in attacks on leading opponents of Soviet-inspired terrorism, includ- ing such well-known experts in the field as Robert Moss and Arnaud de Borchgrave and on leading anti-communist figures such as the late Reps. John Ashbrook and Larry McDonald. More important, they have also on occasion attempted to obtain sensitive defense information from contacts on Capitol Hill, and within the govern- ment. In one specific instance, a member of the LaRouche network attempted to obtain from a member of the House Armed Services Committeee staff the range of the U.S. cruise missile--one of America's most sensitive military secrets.

Whether witting or unwitting, it remains clear that ulti- mately the publications and rhetoric of the LaRouche network will end up with positions that are favorable to the Soviet Union. The fact that their positions are cloaked in ostensibly conserva- tive rhetoric merely makes-their pro-Soviet slant harder to perceive. what remains true, however, is that their efforts in the long run can only serve to further Soviet propaganda aims within a sector of the population that Moscow could never reach directly.

}}