Front organization 802166 225733572 2008-07-15T03:38:21Z Katana0182 16042 /* Corporate front organizations */ Added a fuller description of Berman & Co.'s activities aside from their "Center for Consumer Freedom". A '''front organization''' is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as [[intelligence agency|intelligence agencies]], [[criminal organization]]s, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or [[corporation]]s. Front organizations can act for the parent group without the actions being attributed to the parent group. Front organizations that appear to be independent voluntary or charitable associations are called '''front groups'''. In the business world, front organizations such as '''front companies''' or [[shell corporation]]s are used to shield the parent company from legal liability. In [[international relations]], a [[puppet state]] is a [[state]] which acts as a front (or surrogate) for another state. ==Intelligence agencies== Intelligence agencies use front organizations to provide "cover", plausible occupations and means of income, for their covert agents. These may include legitimate organizations, such as charity, religious or journalism organizations; or '''brass plate firms''' which exist solely to provide a plausible background story, occupation, and means of income. The airline [[Air America (airline)|Air America]], an outgrowth of [[Civil Air Transport]] of the 1940s, and [[Southern Air Transport]], ostensibly a civilian air charter company, were operated and wholly owned by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], supposedly to provide [[humanitarian aid]], but flew many combat support missions and supplied [[covert operation]]s in [[Southeast Asia]] during the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite web | first = William M. | last = Leary | url = https://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/winter99-00/art7.html | title = CIA Air Operations in Laos, 1955-1974 ''Supporting the "Secret War"''}} From ''Studies in Intelligence'' (CIA), volume 43, number 1, winter 1999-2000. </ref> Other CIA-funded front groups have been used to spread American [[propaganda]] and influence during the [[Cold War]], particularly in the [[Third World]].<ref>Powers, Thomas, "The Man Who Kept the Secrets : Richard Helms & the CIA", Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979, ISBN 0-394-50777-0</ref> When intelligence agencies work through legitimate organizations, it can cause problems and increased risk for the workers of those organizations.<ref>Joe Davidson, {{cite web | url = http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/12840/ | title = I Am Not a CIA Agent | date = 2002-04-11 | accessdate = 2007-12-13}}</ref> To prevent this, the [[CIA]] has had a 20-year policy of not using [[Peace Corps]] members or US journalists for Intelligence purposes.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://clinton6.nara.gov/1996/07/1996-07-17-press-briefing-by-mike-mccurry.html | title = Press briefing by Mike McCurry | date = 1996-07-17. | publisher = Clinton Presidential Materials Project | accessdate = 2007-12-13}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url = http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4262036 | title = Exclusive: Peace Corps, Fulbright Scholar Asked to 'Spy' on Cubans, Venezuelans | date = 2008-02-08 | publisher = ABC News | accessdate = 2008-02-15}}</ref> {{See also|Non-official cover|Agent handling#Fronts and cutouts}} ==Organized crime== Many [[criminal organization|organized crime operations]] have substantial legitimate businesses, such as licensed [[gambling]] houses, building construction companies, trash hauling services, or dock loading enterprises. These front companies enable these criminal organizations to [[money laundering|launder]] their income from illegal activities. As well, the front companies provide plausible cover for illegal activities such as [[drug trafficking]], [[smuggling]], and [[prostitution]]. Where [[brothel]]s are illegal, criminal organizations set up front companies providing services such as a "massage parlor" or "sauna", up to the point that "massage parlor" or "sauna" is thought as a synonym of [[brothel]] in these countries. ==Religious organizations== Some religious organizations use front groups either to promote their interests in politics or to make their group seem more legitimate. The [[Church of Scientology]] is one such organization; the [[FBI]]'s [[July 7]], [[1977]] raids on the Church's offices (following discovery of the Church's [[Operation Snow White]]) turned up, among other documents, an undated memo entitled "PR General Categories of Data Needing Coding". This memo listed what it called "Secret PR Front Groups," which included the group [[APRL]], "Alliance for the Preservation of Religious Liberty" (later renamed "Americans Preserving Religious Liberty").<ref name="Kent">{{cite journal | last = Kent | first = Stephen A. | authorlink = Stephen A. Kent | coauthors = Krebs, Theresa | year = 1988 | title = When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters | journal = Skeptic | volume = 6 | issue = 3 | pages = 36–44 | url = http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~skent/Linkedfiles/When%20Scholars%20Know%20Sin%20.htm | accessdate = 2006-06-06 }}</ref> The [[Cult Awareness Network]] (CAN) is considered by many to now be a front group for the Church of Scientology, which took the group over financially after bankrupting it in a series of lawsuits.<ref>{{cite news | first = Dan | last = Knapp | title = Group that once criticized Scientologists now owned by one | url = http://www.cnn.com/US/9612/19/scientology/index.html | publisher = [[CNN]] | date = [[1996-12-19]] | accessdate = 2007-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kent | first = Stephen A. | authorlink = Stephen A. Kent | year = 2001 | month = January | title = The French and German versus American Debate over 'New Religions', Scientology, and Human Rights | journal = Marburg Journal of Religion | volume = 6 | issue = 1 | url = http://web.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/kent2.html#7 | accessdate = 2007-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Ron | last = Russell | title = Scientology's Revenge - For years, the Cult Awareness Network was the Church of Scientology's biggest enemy. But the late L. Ron Hubbard's L.A.-based religion cured that -- by taking it over | url = http://www.xenutv.com/print/newtimesla-can.htm | work = [[New Times LA]] | publisher = | date = [[1999-09-09]] | accessdate = 2007-05-07}}</ref> Time identified several other fronts for Scientology, including: the [[Citizens Commission on Human Rights]] (CCHR), [[The Way to Happiness|The Way to Happiness Foundation]], [[Applied Scholastics]], the [[Concerned Businessmen's Association of America]], and [[HealthMed Clinic]][http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865-6,00.html]. Seven years later the Boston Herald showed how [[Narconon]] and [[World Literacy Crusade]] are also fronting for Scientology[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/26927011.html?dids=26927011:26927011&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+3%2C+1998&author=JOSEPH+MALLIA&pub=Boston+Herald&edition=&startpage=018&desc=INSIDE+THE+CHURCH+OF+SCIENTOLOGY]. Other Scientology groups include [[Downtown Medical]], [[Criminon]] and the [[Association for Better Living and Education]] (ABLE). ==Politics== ===Pro-Israel lobbying fronts=== The [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]] has been accused of using front organizations as a means of circumventing limits on [[campaign finance|campaign spending]]<ref> [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/toppacs1992.html Top Pro-Israel Contributors to Federal Candidates and Parties (1992)], Jewish Virtual Library. Accessed online 8 October 2006.</ref> These front organizations have names unrelated to AIPAC. ''Delaware Valley Good Government Association'' ([[Philadelphia]]), ''San Franciscans for Good Government'' ([[California]]), ''Beaver PAC'' ([[Wisconsin]]), ''Cactus PAC'' ([[Arizona]]), and ''Icepac'' ([[New York]]) are examples of former AIPAC front groups.<ref>Richard Curtiss (1997), "U.S. Aid to Israel: The Subject No One Mentions", ''The Link'' '''30''' (4):10, retrieved through http://www.ameu.org/</ref> ===Gun control lobbying fronts=== Many in the [[gun rights movement]] claim that the [[American Hunters and Shooters Association]] is a front for gun control groups aimed at dividing gun owners into the sport-oriented and the [[self-defense]] oriented. ===Sensible Sentencing Trust=== A New Zealand organisation wanting to increase prison sentences, therefore necessitating the construction of additional prisons. These would run by private companies if a right-wing government is elected. This organisation may be a front for US private prisons companies. [http://www.safe-nz.org.nz/index.htm] ===Islamist front organizations=== {{seealso|Terrorist front organization}} The [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]] is regarded by many scholars and intelligence agencies to be front organizations based on their founding ties to known Islamist or terrorist organizations like [[Hamas]]. <ref>Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha, [http://www.meforum.org/article/916 CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment], ''Middle East Quarterly'', Spring 2006. Volume XIII, Number 2. Accessed online 8 October 2006.</ref><ref>David Frum, [http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=0677d74a-9ef4-4ae9-8f54-aaf1e39afbbc&p=1 The truth about Hamas - and its followers], ''National Post'' (Canada), April 25, 2006. Accessed online 8 October 2006.</ref> Rep. [[Cass Ballenger]] of North Carolina has stated that CAIR is a "fund-raising arm for Hezbollah" in an interview with the Charlotte Observer published [[4 October]] [[2003]]. CAIR official Todd "Ismail" Royer was convicted of conspiring to train on American soil for violent jihad. CAIR officials [[Rabih Haddad]], [[Bassem Khafagi]] and [[Ghassan Elashi]] have all been convicted of conspiring to fund Islamic terrorist groups.<ref>Lisa Klopfer, [http://aa-peacemaking.quaker.org/haddad.html Information on Rabih Haddad], September 5, 2004</ref><ref>[http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040723-082950-9083r.htm CAIR and Terrorism], Editorial from the [[Washington Times]], July 23, 2004</ref> [[Hezbollah]], the Lebanese anti-Israel guerilla army runs many front organizations for fundraising, including the [[Al-Mabarrat]] organization in [[Dearborn, Michigan|Dearborn]]. <ref>Steven Emerson, [http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/07/almabarrat_a_hezbollah_charita.php Al-Mabarrat – A Hezbollah Charitable Front in Dearborn, MI?], Counterterrorism Blog, July 22, 2006. Accessed online 8 October 2006.</ref><ref>Debbie Schlussel, [http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2006/07/hezbollah_usa_p.html Hezbollah U.S.A, Part II: Al Mabarat Charitable Organization, Tax-Funded Hezbollah on Our Shores], debbieschlussel.com, July 24, 2006. Accessed online 8 October 2006.</ref> Other Islamist front organizations used to gather money for terrorist groups (including [[al-Qaeda]]), or accused of doing so, include the [[Global Relief Foundation]], [[Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development]], [[Al Barakaat]], [[Benevolence International Foundation]], and [[Konsojaya Trading Company]]. In the UK, the [[Muslim Association of Britain]] has been accused of being a front for or connected to the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. <ref>[http://www.workersliberty.org/node/6805 Briefing on the Muslim Association of Britain], Workers' Liberty, August 22, 2006.</ref> ===Apartheid government fronts=== [[South Africa]]'s [[apartheid]]-era government used numerous front organizations to influence world opinion and to undertake [[extra-judicial]] activities and the killing of anti-apartheid activists; these included<ref>{{Citation |title=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report, Volume 2, |pages=525–527 |year=2003 |accessdate=2007-05-21}}</ref> the following: *[[The Citizen (South Africa)|The Citizen]] - funded secretly by government, intended to challenge the liberal [[Rand Daily Mail]], contributing to the political ruin of [[John Vorster]] and [[Connie Mulder]] *[[Civil Cooperation Bureau]] (CCB) - a covert, special forces organization that harassed, seriously injured and eliminated anti-apartheid activists *[[Federal Independent Democratic Alliance]] (FIDA) *[[International Freedom Foundation]] - Washington-based mechanism to combat sanctions, and support [[Jonas Savimbi]] and [[UNITA]] *[[Jeugkrag]] - or Youth for South Africa, led by [[Marthinus van Schalkwyk]] a short-lived Afrikaner youth group, surreptitiously funded by the Military Intelligence's Project Essay *[[National Student Federation]] (NSF) - led by [[Russell Crystal]], intended to challenge [[NUSAS]] *[[Roodeplaat Research Laboratories]] *[[Taussig Familienstiftung]] - or Taussig Family Trust, a [[Liechtenstein]] conduit for secret government transactions *[[Veterans for Victory]] - consisting of [[national service]]men, a countermeasure against the [[End Conscription Campaign]] which was allied to the [[United Democratic Front (South Africa)|United Democratic Front]] (UDF) ===Communist fronts=== {{see|Communist front}} [[Communist]] and other [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] parties have sometimes used front organizations to attract support from those (sometimes called [[fellow travellers]]) who may not necessarily agree with Leninist ideology. The front organization often obscures its provenance and may often be a tool for recruitment. Other [[Marxist]]s often describe front organizations as [[opportunist]]. According to a list prepared in 1955 by the United States [[Senate Internal Security Subcommittee]], the [[Comintern]] set up no less than 82 front organizations in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. This tactic was often used during the [[Second Red Scare|Red Scare]] of the 1950s, when a number of organizations in the [[labour movement|labor]] and [[peace movement]]s were accused of being "Communist fronts". Sometimes, Communist fronts worked at an international level, as has been alleged with the [[World Peace Council]]. More recently, the [[Workers' World Party]] (WWP)<ref>Adrienne Weller, [http://www.socialism.com/fsarticles/vol24no1/redbaiters.html Millions in the streets! …and here come the redbaiters], ''Freedom Socialist'', [[Freedom Socialist Party]], Vol. 24, No. 1, April-June 2003.</ref> set up an [[anti-war]] front group, [[A.N.S.W.E.R.|International ANSWER]]. (ANSWER is no longer closely associated with WWP; it is closely associated with a WWP splinter, the [[Party for Socialism and Liberation]], but PSL plays a more open role in the organization.) Similarly, [[Unite Against Fascism]], the [[Anti-Nazi League]], the [[Stop the War Coalition]] and [[Respect – The Unity Coalition]] are all criticised as being fronts for the [[Trotskyist]] [[Socialist Workers Party (UK)]]. Some anti-Islamist [[feminist]] groups in the [[Muslim world]] have also been accused of being front organizations. The [[Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan]] has been accused of being a [[Maoism|Maoist]] front, while the [[Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq]] has been accused of being a front for the [[Worker-Communist Party of Iraq]] <ref>Karsten Kofoed, [http://www.fritirak.dk/artikler/english/articles/2004/1028-ck.htm Lackeys of the occupation disguise as progressives], The Committee for a Free Iraq, Denmark, October 28,2004</ref><ref>Megan Cornish, [http://www.socialism.com/whatsnew/iraqisistersolidarity.html Iraqi Women Face Double Jeopardy], March 3, 2005</ref>. The concept of a front organization should be distinguished from the [[united front]] - a [[coalition]] of [[working class]] or [[socialist]] parties - and the [[popular front]] - a coalition of a [[Communist party]] with [[bourgeois]] groups. Both the united front and popular front usually disclose the groups that make up their coalitions. ===Animal rights groups=== The [[Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine]] (PCRM), an organization which advocates [[vegetarianism]] for health reasons, has criticized high-protein diets such as the [[Atkins Diet]], and seeks to eliminate the use of animals in scientific research, has been accused of being a front group for [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]], an [[animal rights]] organization. <sup>(Citation needed)</sup> ==Banned paramilitary organizations== Banned paramilitary organizations sometimes use front groups to achieve a public face with which to raise funds, negotiate with opposition parties, recruit, and spread propaganda. For example, banned [[paramilitary]] organizations often have an affiliated [[political party]] that operates more openly (though often these parties, themselves, end up banned). These parties may or may not be front organizations in the narrow sense &mdash; they have varying degrees of autonomy and the relationships are usually something of an open secret &mdash; but are widely considered to be so, especially by their political opponents. Examples are the relationship between the [[Irish Republican Army]] and [[Sinn Féin]] in 1980s [[Ireland]] or between the [[Basque people|Basque]] groups [[ETA]] (paramilitary) and [[Batasuna]] (party) in [[Spain]]. Similarly, in the [[United States]] in periods where the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]] was highly stigmatized, it often operated largely through front groups. In addition, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]] also operated a [[vigilantism|vigilante]] front group, called [[Direct Action Against Drugs]]. ==Corporate front organizations== {{See also|Shell corporation}} Corporations from a wide variety of different industries set up front groups. Some pharmaceutical companies set up "patients' groups" as front organizations that pressure healthcare providers and legislators to adopt their products. For example, Schering Healthcare and Biogen Ltd. tried to pressure the [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[National Health Service]] (NHS) to adopt its drug [[Interferon|Beta Interferon]] to treat [[Multiple Sclerosis]] (MS) sufferers. Schering set up and funded a group called ''MS Voice'', with its own website, which claimed to represent MS sufferers.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Another pharmaceutical company, [[Biogen]], set up a campaign called ''Action for Access'', which also claimed it was an independent organization and the voice of MS sufferers. People who visited the website and signed up for the campaign did not realise that these were not genuinely independent patient groups. It has been alleged that computer software giant [[Microsoft]] created and funded the [[Association for Competitive Technology]] to defend its interests against charges of antitrust violations.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Tobacco companies frequently use front organizations and doctors to advocate their arguments about tobacco use, although less openly and obviously than in the 1980s. The [[Center for Consumer Freedom]] (CCF) is one of the more active corporate front groups and one of several front groups created by Berman & Co., a public affairs firm owned by lobbyist Rick Berman. They claim to be supported by restaurants, food companies and more than 1,000 concerned individuals. Based in Washington, DC, Berman & Co. represents the tobacco industry as well as hotels, beer distributors, taverns, and restaurant chains. The group actively opposes smoking bans and lowering the legal blood-alcohol level, while targeting studies on the dangers of red meat consumption, overfishing and pesticides. Each year they give out the "nanny awards" to groups who, according to them, try to tell consumers how to live their lives.<ref>[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom Center for Consumer Freedom], SourceWatch</ref> Berman & Co. is also associated with various [[anti-union]] and [[union-busting]] campaigns, such as their "[[Center for Union Facts]]", as well as anti-[[animal rights]] campaigns such as "www.petakillsanimals.com".<ref>ibid</ref> They also run affiliated websites such as [http://www.activistcash.com/ ActivistCash.com]. A list of some alleged corporate front groups active in the US is maintained by the [[Multinational Monitor]]. <ref>[http://multinationalmonitor.org/links/scat.php?scat_id=12 Corporate Front Groups and Corporate-Backed Groups], Multinational Monitor Links Page</ref> Some [[think tank]]s are corporate front groups. These organizations present themselves as research organizations, using phrases such as "...Institute for Research" in their names. Because their names suggest neutrality, they can present the commercial strategies of the corporations which sponsor them in a way which appears to be objective [[sociology|sociological]] or [[economics|economical]] research rather than political lobbying. Similarly the [[Center for Regulatory Effectiveness]] has been criticised as a front organization for various industry bodies which seek to undermine regulation of their environmentally damaging activities under the guise of 'regulatory effectiveness'. <ref>Chris Mooney, [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0405.mooney.html Paralysis by Analysis], [[The Washington Monthly]], May 2004</ref> ===Astroturfing=== {{Main|Astroturfing}} ''Astroturfing'', a wordplay based on "[[Grassroots democracy|grassroots]]" efforts, is an [[United States|American]] term used pejoratively to describe formal [[public relations]] projects which try to create the impression of a groundswell of spontaneous popular response to a politician, product, service, or event. Corporations have been known to "astroturf", but are not the only entities alleged to have done so. In recent years, organizations of plaintiffs' attorneys have established front groups such as [[Victims and Families United]] and the [[Center for Justice and Democracy]] to oppose [[tort reform in the United States|tort reform]].<ref>[http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/001269.php Astroturf in the liability wars], PointofLaw.com (sponsored by the [[Manhattan Institute]] and [[American Enterprise Institute]]), July 1, 2005</ref> == References == {{Reflist|2}} === Further reading === *[http://www.jar2.com/2/Intel/CIA/CIA%20Fronts.htm CIA "Fronts"] - an unattributed list of alleged front organizations for the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] *[http://www.corporateeurope.org/ information about corporate front organisations in Europe] *[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0405.mooney.html Chris Mooney on 'The Centre for Regulatory Effectiveness' - Washington Monthly] *[http://imdb.com/title/tt0427944/ "Thank you for Smoking"] *[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Front_groups Front groups at SourceWatch] ==See also== *[[Shell company]] *[[Mafia]] *[[Organized crime]] *[[Straw man (law)]] *[[GONGO]] *[[Media transparency]] *[[Astroturfing]] *[[Transparency (humanities)]] *[[Revolutionary Communist Party (UK, 1978)|Revolutionary Communist Party]] *[[:Category:Advocacy groups]] [[Category:Espionage techniques]] [[Category:Types of organization]] [[Category:Front organizations| ]] [[de:Frontorganisation]] [[he:חברת קש]] [[no:Front (organisasjon)]] [[pl:Przykrywka]] [[sv:Frontorganisation]]