Cointelpro Counterintelligence Movement Directed By Edgar Hoover

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Cointelpro was a counterintelligence movement directed by Edgar Hoover. It was a series of illegal projects conducted by the United States of America, Federal Bureau of Investigation, to manipulate and disrupt political and social organizations in the 1960s. The purpose was to surveille , infiltrate, discredit, harassass through legal means, and use extra legal force and violence to suppress social movements . The FBI target all social movement, but their primary target where black nationalist leaders and a groups (Bassiri, 2017). Post 9/11, the same tactics were used against Muslim in the United States; their were subjected to unequal treatment with public policy change and unjust arrests. The counterintelligence movement implemented …show more content…

While the tactic employed were similar to the ones used in the cointelpro, technological advance has helped improve the methods used. The mapping and monitoring of Muslims encompass two parts, firstly was infiltration were FBI agent go undercover in the Muslim community. Secondly is surveillance, where the government striped citizen of the right to privacy and monitored muslims phones and computers. One example is Former President Obama gave tech companies leeway when it came to technological sharing in hope to preventing terrorism. Paired along with that the FBI creation of intense physiological warfare due to the constant need for public policy changes created fear in the Muslim Community. The most effective strategy was harassment by legal means. This ties back to the tactics of assassinating and incarcerating black nationalist leaders. The only way to suppress and diminish the Muslim community, is to target top members.One of the most successful cases was the FBI arrest of Sami Al Alrian a university professor in Southern Florida who advocated justice for Palestine. The United States arrested Sami on material support connecting him to the Palestine Israel Jihad. None of these so called evidence was enough for convicted Sami, but the FBI had to find a way to suppress Sami voice By arresting, charging, and serving a search warrant to creates a negative reaction toward Muslims and set fear into the community. By enforcing all this tactic the government is able to redirect the agenda of activists and community