Difference between revisions of "Claire Sterling"
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| − | '''Claire Sterling''' was an American author and journalist who was affiliated to the [[CIA]] and produced a number of | + | '''Claire Sterling''' was an American author and journalist who was affiliated to the [[CIA]] and produced a number of articles and books which were influential on the American right. |
==CSIS Conference on Italy== | ==CSIS Conference on Italy== | ||
Revision as of 14:45, 17 April 2009
Claire Sterling was an American author and journalist who was affiliated to the CIA and produced a number of articles and books which were influential on the American right.
CSIS Conference on Italy
In early 1976, three months before the Italian election, Sterling attended a conference on the 'Communist threat' to Italy hosted by the CIA affiliated think-tank CSIS. Sterling was a panellists at the conference along with William E. Colby, Ray Cline, John Connally and Clare Booth Luce. A day after the conference the New Republic published an article by Sterling and Michael Ledeen claiming that the Italian Communist Party had recieved secret funding from the Soviets. The New Republic was at that time published by Robert J. Myers, a friend of CSIS man Ray Cline. Myers appeared with Cline a January 1978 congressional hearing on the CIA and the media where he stated: "The reciprocal relationship between the CIA and the American press has been of value to both parties and often to the individuals themselves whose careers may have mutually benefited by such connections." Sterling and Ledeen's article was also republished just before the elections by the Rome Daily American (which was funded by the CIA). Sterling and Ledeen even appeared on Italian television on the night of the election. They featured as commentators from 4pm to 2am on Channel 1 which was controlled by the Christian Democrat Party - the main recipient of CIA funds in Italy.
The CSIS conference on Italy also led to activism back in the U.S. As a result of the conference a political action committee was set up called Citizens' Alliance for Mediterranean Freedom. The group took out adverts in major U.S. papers urging Americans to write to any relatives in Italy and urge them to vote against the Communists. The group's executive director Bill Gill warned American journalists against talking to the Italian media, which he claimed was "Infiltrated by the Communists". Instead he suggested they consult Sterling or Ray Cline if they needed information on Italian politics.
Resources
- Claire Sterling, extract from The "Terrorism" Industry section from Edward S. Herman and G. O'Sullivan, The Terrorism Industry, 1989
