Thursday, January 9, 2020

How CIA's `QRHELPFUL' Covert Action Program Helped Polish `Solidarity' Group In 1980s: Conclusion


During the 1980s a group in Poland that Lech Walesa led, called "Solidarity," was apparently secretly supported by the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] of the Republican Reagan administration. As the Chair and Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS]'s Transnational Threats Project, Seth G. Jones, recalled in his 2018 book, A Covert Action: Reagan, The CIA, and The Cold War Struggle in Poland

"...CIA assets also helped organize pro-Solidarity demonstrations during high-visibility events like soccer games, especially when they were broadcast on television. The CIA's...campaign helped draw Solidarity back into the global spotlight. Reagan was elated...

"...CIA began channelling funds to...Polonia companies...Together Kultura and Polonia received about $450,000 per year in CIA funds. In 1985, CIA assets infiltrated a total of roughly $900,000 into Poland...In Paris...QRGUIDE...made a video history of Solidarity and sent 2,500 cassettes to Poland in 1985.

"...In 1986...CIA assets sent more than $1 million to...Solidarity...A growing percentage of this aid was for video-related equipment...CIA operatives also arranged satellite telecasts into Poland from Western Europe...

"...Throughout 1985 and 1986, the CIA provided funds for demonstrations...On may 1, 1985...15,000 people in Warsaw and 2,000 in Gdansk spilled onto the street to support Solidarity..." (end of article)

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