The Bishop's Pawn (Cotton Malone #13)(46)

When an opportunity is apparent to disrupt or NEUTRALIZE black nationalist, hate-type organizations through the cooperation of established local news media contacts or through such contact with sources available to the Director’s Office, in every instance careful attention must be given to the proposal to insure the targeted group is disrupted, ridiculed, or discredited through the publicity and not merely publicized.

You are also cautioned that the nature of this new endeavor is such that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROGRAM BE MADE KNOWN OUTSIDE THE BUREAU and appropriate within-office security should be afforded to sensitive operations and techniques considered under the program. No counterintelligence action under this program may be initiated by the field without specific prior Bureau authorization.

March 4, 1968

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Internal Security-C

TO ALL FIELD OFFICES ONLY

For maximum effectiveness of COINTELPRO, and to prevent wasted effort, long-range goals are being set:

1. Prevent the coalition of militant black nationalist groups. In unity there is strength, a truism that is no less valid for all its triteness. An effective coalition of black nationalist groups might be the first step toward a real “Mau Mau” [Black revolutionary army] in America, the beginning of a true black revolution;

2. Prevent the rise of a “messiah” who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement. MALCOLM X might have been such a “messiah;” he is the martyr of the movement today. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., STOKELY CARMICHAEL and ELIJAH MUHAMMED all aspire to this position. ELIJAH MUHAMMED is less of a threat because of his age. KING could be a very real contender for this position should he abandon his supposed “obedience” to “white, liberal doctrines” (nonviolence) and embrace black nationalism. CARMICHAEL has the necessary charisma to be a real threat in this way;

3. Prevent violence on the part of black nationalist groups. This is of primary importance, and is, of course, a goal of our investigative activity. It should also be a goal of the COINTELPRO to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them before they exercise their potential for violence;

4. Prevent militant black nationalist groups and leaders from gaining respectability, by discrediting them to three separate segments of the community. The goal of discrediting black nationalists must be handled tactically in three ways. You must discredit those groups and individuals to, first, the responsible Negro community. Second, they must be discredited to the white community, both the responsible community and to “liberals” who have vestiges of sympathy for militant black nationalists simply because they are Negroes. Third, these groups must be discredited in the eyes of Negro radicals, the followers of the movement. This last area requires entirely different tactics from the first two. Publicity about violent tendencies and radical statements merely enhances black nationalists to the last group. It adds “respectability” in a different way.

5. A final goal should be to prevent the long-range growth of militant black organizations, especially among youth. Specific tactics to prevent these groups from converting young people must be developed.

The primary targets of COINTELPRO should be the most violent and radical groups and their leaders. We should emphasize those leaders and organizations that are nationwide in scope and are most capable of disrupting this country. These groups include:

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM)

Nation of Islam (NOI)

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

The specific leaders to be targeted include:

STOKELY CARMICHAEL OF SNCC

H. RAP BROWN OF SNCC

ELIJAH MUHAMMED OF NOI

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. OF SCLC





Chapter Twenty-eight


Morning brought clear air and birds bickering outside the window. Daylight streamed into the hotel room, the sky clear and blue, the events of yesterday still fresh in my mind.

After reading everything from the waterproof case, I’d lain in bed for a couple of hours fighting a fool’s sleep. Twice I found myself wide awake, nowhere near the murky borderlands of dreams. But eventually I managed a few hours of fitful rest.

I rose from the bed a little before 8:00 a.m. and flexed my shoulders to relieve the early stiffness. In the bathroom I doused cold water against the sleepy numbness on my face. A shave would be great, but I had no razor or shaving cream. A toothbrush and toothpaste would be even more welcome. I called housekeeping and asked for all four, which were delivered a few minutes later. I dressed and was ready for something to eat when a hard knock sounded on the door.

“Malone. Open up.”

Coleen.

I did.

She burst in. “We have company.”

We both bolted to the window, which overlooked from the second floor the back side of the building facing the river and the dock where we’d left the boat last night. A warm, rosy flush of sunrise lit the ground. Cruising out in the river was a familiar inflatable. Probably the same one from last night, only now patched.

Three guys were inside.

One face I knew.

“The man in front is Valdez.”

Who did not looked pleased.

“He has no fear coming ashore,” I noted. “That means Oliver and friends are looking out for him.”

“How in the world did he find us?”