Should Clinton resign over the Primary Colors Cultgate national security scandal? [March 3, 1998]
The movie Primary Colors, due out March 20th, depicts a southern governor who lies, seduces women, and is running for president - and was actually modeled after Clinton. Actor John Travota, Scientologist and celebrity spokesman for the cult, is playing the Clinton character in the film.
In its March issue George Magazine says John Travolta went to Washington just before he began filming his lead role in Primary Colors. Travolta told the magazine, "The next day, I met with Clinton. He told me: `Your program sounds great. More than that, I'd really love to help you with your issue over in Germany with Scientology.' I was waiting for the seduction that I had heard so much about. I thought, `Well, how could he ever seduce me? And after we talked, I thought, `Bingo!' He did it. Scientology is the one issue that really matters to me."
According to George Magazine, "[Clinton] went to the extraordinary length of assigning his national security advisor, Sandy Berger, to be the administration's Scientology point man." Berger even briefed Travolta as he would a senior senator. George also reported that compared to the book it is based upon, the film is much more sympathetic to the Clinton character. A New York Post article quoted Travolta as saying, "You have to be dead not see that the film favors Clinton. More than anything, it promotes what a decent person he is." [February 12, 1998, "Travolta Admits Bill Used Sects Appeal to Woo Him"].
Reconstructing who manipulated who and how Primary Colors was altered is interesting, but the real concern about this probable quid pro quo involves Clinton's altering US foreign policy to improve his image.
For months after the Clinton-Travolta meeting, the State Department uncharacteristically chided Germany in human rights reports and public forums for Germany's treatment of Scientology. The Meet the Press television show recently addressed the Cultgate controversy in an interview with national security advisor Sandy Berger.
Tim Russert asked Berger, "Did you or the president hope to influence Mr. Travolta, and make `Primary Colors' more favorable to the president?" and "But isn't it unusual for the national security advisor to brief an actor from Hollywood?" Berger told Russert, "Uh, it sounds to me, Tim, like you're getting, you're getting uh, developing your own conspiracy theories here."
Cultgate vs. Lewinsky: The difference is national security
In the Lewinsky affair, the President may be lying on the issue of sex to protect himself and his family from personal embarrassment. In Cultgate the president may be jeopardizing international relations with one of our strongest allies by trading national security favors for personal gain, and in the process protecting a dangerous political cult.
To understand the seriousness of Cultgate, it is necessary to review some of the vast public record on Scientology.
a.) Scientology's headquarters in Los Angeles was the object of the biggest FBI raid in U.S. history, involving almost 150 agents.
In this raid the FBI discovered many secret policy documents authored by Scientology's founder laying out Scientology's real political goals. For example: "The vital targets on which we must invest most of our time are: (T1) Depopularizing the enemy to the point of obliteration. (T2) Taking over the control or allegiance of the heads or proprietors of all news media. (T3) Taking over the control or allegiance of key political figures. (T4) Taking over the control or allegiance of those who monitor international finance... Intelligence is not concentrating on what they should be - the WFMH [World Federation of Mental Health], the NAMH [National Association of Mental Health] - These are the groups I want destroyed." [Scientology's Secret Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, January 14, 1969].
Other secret documents found by the FBI indicate that Scientology uses its status as a religion as a facade to hide its true political and commercial objectives.
b.) Another widely-available public document clearly stated the dangers of Scientology. A U.S. federal prosecutor's memorandum to a judge urged stiff jail sentences for nine top leaders of Scientology who had pleaded guilty to burglaries, forgeries, infiltration, obstruction of justice, and other crimes against more than 100 U.S. federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the IRS. The memo stated, "The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file was safe from their snooping and prying. No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds. The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials and any other device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes." [U.S. v. Heldt et al. 688 F.2d. 1238. (D.C. Cir 1980) Cert. Den. 456 U.S. 926 (1982)].
How US federal agencies - even intelligence agencies - have been caught so off-guard by this cult's covert operation is baffling. Especially as more and more stories are aired describing Scientology's mysterious cult member deaths, outrageous free speech and human rights abuses, bizarre UFO cosmology, and para-military structure. Time Magazine's cover article [May 6, 1991] quoted a cult expert who described Scientology as "the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen." It is frightening that such a politically dangerous, extremist cult could devise a plan to leverage the US President into shaping foreign policy according to its Machiavellian ends without our federal intelligence or state agencies interceding.
Cultgate is a serious national security issue because:
1.) Cultgate may indicate a critical information breakdown in the US intelligence community, the State Department, and the White House administration to protect the president and the nation from dangerous covert operations (i.e., Clinton should have been made aware of Scientology's dangers. Whether or not he was is unknown).
2.) At the end of World War II, the Allies forced provisions into the new German democratic constitution for enhanced surveillance and special counter-measures to prevent extremist groups from growing in Germany and throwing the world into another social catastrophe.
3.) Above and beyond what Germany's Ally-created constitution compels the nation to do, Germany has a "never again" responsibility to the world to closely monitor extremist political groups, just as the US secretly monitors extremist, neo-Nazi or Klu Klux Klan-type groups.
How to begin to cleaning up the Cultgate national security mess
1.) If the President was not forewarned of Scientology's dangers by the US intelligence community, the State Department, or his administration, these agencies owe a public apology to Clinton and the American people. Clearly, this would indicate a breakdown in critical national security issues.
2.) The State Department should formally apologize to Germany over Clinton's biased criticism of Germany's treatment of Scientology.
3.) If it turns out that Clinton was uninformed on national security issues and used Travolta for personal gain, while Travolta used Clinton to leverage Scientology's covert operations on Germany. In that case, Clinton owes the citizens of both the US and Germany an immediate public apology and explanation. The country can probably forgive "Let's-make-a-deal-Bill" if he was truly uninformed by the proper intelligence agencies as to Scientology's real nature, motives, and history. But only if he personally comes forward quickly to clear up this situation.
4.) Citizens worldwide should boycott Primary Colors for John Travolta's involvement in a covert Scientology operation to leverage the president of the world's most powerful country on national security issues. The last time a cult tried to manipulate a movie, the Moonie Inchon movie became a box office disaster despite big names and big money. Promoters of Primary Colors already appear to be working heavily on Cultgate damage control. Maybe they will rush back to edit scenes to undo the Scientology-Travolta-Clinton whitewash.
5.) If Clinton WAS informed about Scientology's history as an extremist political cult, and he bargained his influence for a positive portrayal in Primary Colors, he has falsely accused a long-time US ally and traded the US's best interests for his personal gain. If this is true, it is easy to understand why some are already calling for an immediate resignation.
The New York Post originally reported that Congressman and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Michael Forbes was calling for a hearing to bring John Travolta, Scientology officials, and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright before Congress to testify about the Cultgate deal between the actor and the President. At issue for Congress is the fact that, according to a Washington insider, "A resolution was put before Congress last year to press Germany to recognize the Scientologists. It didn't pass. So when the Clinton Administration lobbied Germany on behalf of the cult, they acted against the express wishes of Congress." After the Post's article came out March 1st, Forbes sent a furious letter to the newspaper denying any intention to call for a hearing.
Finally, let's hope for the sake of national security that something has been learned from Cultgate. In the future if a cult like Aum Shin Rikyo imitates Scientology's successful leverage of the president, maybe the State Department will not be ordered to tell the Japanese government to lighten up on its surveillance of the dangerous cult.
For more on the story behind the story and all the recent updates on Cultgate, see: Cultgate Updates
For more on the political extremist activities of Scientology see: Scientology as an Extremist Political Movement
For more on the criminal activities of Scientology see: Scientology and Criminality
For more information both on Scientology celebrities such as John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Ann Archer, Lisa Marie Presley, Jenna Elfman, and Nicole Kidman, and on celebrities who do not view Scientology favorably, see: Scientology's Celebrities
For more information on Scientology and its occult anti-Christian nature as a religion, see: Scientology, Satanism and the Occult
For more information on the other US politicians who have been stung by Scientology's multi-billion dollar influence, see: politics.html
For a great new story on how deep the Primary Colors people are involved in Cultgate, see the Irish Times, February 27, 1998 article by Fintan O'Toole called "Not even fiction's safe from ultimate spin doctor." Available at extra.newsguy.com
For more information on Scientology in general, see: Scientology and Dianetics
This editorial opinion provided by FACTNet, Inc. FACTNet is a nonprofit Internet archive dedicated to protecting freedom of mind by reducing harms caused by cults and mind control. FACTNet's web page is located at www.factnet.org and has received over 850,000 hits since January, 1997. Re-distribution and proper re-posting of this document is appreciated.
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