Barack Obama was led into political elite by an eager enthusiast of Soviet Union. Democratic presidential candidate has started his political career at the apartment of two radicals proud of their terrorist activity in the 60s and 70s.
He is a 64 year old professor at University of Illinois. He teaches his students the rules of social equality; brings them closer proper literature which shall make them better. He leans at the fate of young criminals. Wonders about the better education system. She is the Professor of Law at Northwestern University, leads the Children and Family Justice Center. She is totally wrapped up in the matters of the people in need, especially children. They raised three children, two own and one adopted. Couple of engaged American humanists.
Such a warm vision of William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn appears often in the media. Their radical past gives them the glory of the romantic adventure of young rebellions. They both eagerly support Barack Obama, who they have known for many years. For the leftist journalists and students they are like Bonnie & Clyde, who stood up for social justice against the corrupted system.
For real they were members of one of the most dangerous terrorist groups supported by Soviet Union. Their fellow companions committed several murders, and their aim was to sabotage the American policy from inside.
From hippies to terror
Ayers & Dohrn legend rose from the history of the Weatherman organization, created by the hippie movement in USA during the pacifist climate counter American engagement in Vietnam. Flower children were the core symbol of the movement against the middle class and American policy which instead of peaceful cooperation with Soviet Union tried to thrown their values on the world. Political and moral freedom, rejection of militarism and policy of war – is the ideology of the late 60s which promoted political establishment of the 90s in the West.
Official history of the group is the legend of the people who wanted to change the world for better but they failed. Weatherman was formed from the Revolutionary Youth Movement which was the part of academic organization Students for Democratic Society. Its members didn't want to achieve their goals in normal way by patient involvement in political life. They considered themselves as Bolshevik community in USA, wanted to unify with Black Liberation Army and to “transfer imperialist war into the home war”. “Imperialist war” was US action against communists in Vietnam. For Weatherman that war was continuation of the communist revolution jeopardized by the “fascist” American government. The group wanted Vietnam frontline to become what Stalingrad was for Hitler. Therefore on 8th October 1969 they organized several days of riots ended with smashing windows and demolishing numerous houses and cars.
After that baptism of fire Weatherman began more decisive actions. They started to put bombs at public buildings, police stations and prisons after hours. First victims died in March of 1970, and these were three group members. In one of the houses at New York’s Greenwich Village they were constructing a bomb to be detonated at the Marines dance party. The bomb blasted before it was used. Two men and a young woman died then.
Soon after that Weatherman got into conspiracy and named itself as Weatherman Underground Organization. It was soon qualified as terrorist group. Some say that this was not justified as there were no lethal victims of WUO. They support this view with the no-harm “liberation” of Timothy Leary from the prison in 1970 and the blast in Pentagon on 19th May 1972. There was no victim. Neverveless their motivation was identical as of September the 11th. USA was to stop any military actions in the world. Internal sabotage was to help revolutions in the Third World.
From terror to mainstream
Weatherman took its name from one of Bob Dylan's songs: „You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”. For Ayers & Dohrn organization the wind has blown from the east. In 1967 in Barcelona was held the meeting of young activists for social justice. Middle Class youth looked for inspiration in life in the communist countries. Many of them went through trainings in Castro's Cuba – homeland of the revolution. Those facts were revealed by FBI in 1976, however today it is hard to find some information about it.
Lover of Peace
Bernadine Dohrn known today for her work with young people, loudly praised Charles Manson who murdered 5 people in 1969, including wife of the Oscar awarded Roman Polanski – Sharon Tate, who was 8 month pregnant. Dohrn denied this later claiming it had been only a joke. David Horowitz, the former member of the Weatherman, claims something different. In the 80s he interviewed several people who were present at the “war council” in Flint, Michigan, in 1969. Everyone who was present at that meeting had no doubts that Ayers' wife was serious about it. Horowitz recalled this issue in the Front Page Magazine in the internet last year. Manson's crime was the beginning of chaos in the beast's stomach; his victims were “pigs” and Manson himself – example of the rebellion against USA.
For Dohrn crime was policy, people were means to run it. For her husband social reforms are bombing, drugging, and breaking every moral rule. An ex acquaintance of Ayers, Donna Ron, who lives in Israel, can tell a lot about his attitude. She met Ayers before he began his terrorist activities. Young and fragile girl could not resist social revolution slogans. Believed that she takes part in making the better world and couldn’t resist the social revolution slogans. She spent a lot of time with Ayers listening to his preaching about social problems. During one of the meetings at his apartment he accused her of bigotry, said she wouldn’t have sex with his black roommate – married with children. To prove her commitment to the revolution she had sex with Ayers’ fellow and moment later with his brother. Ron had never got over it and this memory is still live even after 40 years.
They were never punished
There is more than just this. In 1969 Donna Ron worked at the Yeshiva University building, near the Greenwich Village blast scene where Ayer’s girlfriend was killed. Ron remarks that it was typical for him to send a girlfriend instead of doing it himself. When she visited USA in the 90s she was surprised how respected and popular this terrorist marriage is. Nowadays they belong to Middle Class and get all profits of it.
Ayers and Dohrn were never proved any crime. Other activists of Weatherman were not punished as well. The worst sentence they ever got were various works for community. Mercy of justice system led to death of several policemen when in 1981 few ex WUM and BLA activists attacked money transport to the bank in Nanuet, NY. Two policemen and the guard were killed. Among the attackers was young married couple – David Gilbert and Kathy Boudin. After they were convicted, Ayers and Dohrn got legal custody over their child. Boudin herself is a daughter of prominent communist lawyer – Leonard Boudin. It is enough to mention Fidel Castro among his clients.
Neither Boudin nor her friends have ever shown any signs of regret for what they have done. On September the 11th 2001 when WTC was attacked, NYT published an interview with Ayers and Dohrn. They presented their story of life. Ayers had denied being ever a terrorist. They have never killed anyone, only putting bombs at the empty buildings. They wanted to ‘teach” people not harm them. They were and are proud of their actions and in the beginning of 21st century they keep criticizing USA calling it “beast” or “monster”.
William Ayers had also mentioned in other interviews that September the 11th was a horrific terror, but he put responsibility on Bush administration which he said was equal to terrorists. David Horowitz interviewed him in the 90s. He remembers, then a pre-primary school teacher, said in the end of the talk: “Guilty as hell. Free as a bird. America is a great country.”
_______________
When Barack Obama is asked about Ayers, he reluctantly says that it is just a guy who lives in his district. Yet in the end of August 2008 University of Illinois revealed files confirming that Ayers and Obama know each other well and have closely cooperated. In the mid 90s they both were in management board of Wood Funds – one of Chicago charities. Obama also ran a charity which aimed to reform schools in Chicago by distributing grants. Initiative of the action came from William Ayers. In 1997 they both participated in the panel about penal law towards the youth.
_______________
Communist Senator from Chicago
It was at Ayers’ in Chicago where Obama had really started his political career. He was introduced there in 1995 to Alice Palmer, a radical leftist. She was then 56 year old state senator, human rights activist and member of US Peace Council. She wanted to run for Congress chair and she needed a successor in the state. So Obama was chosen by her to get this post. Palmer lost, however, in federal elections and wanted her position back. She asked Obama to step down, but he refused. She supported her candidacy with the list of surnames which Obama claimed to be falsified. Eventually she got off the election race and her never forgiven her protégée. During current campaign she supported Hillary Clinton. It doesn’t change the fact she had initially considered Obama her successful follower not the opponent.
As Palmer considered Obama her political soul mate it is worth to take a closer look at her bio. In the 80s Palmer was a journalist with pro-communist sympathies. She worked in US Peace Council - a part of World Peace Council. It was an international organization gathering intellectualists created in 1945. It was funded and financed by Soviet Union. Their purpose was to influence public opinion in the West. Slogans advertised by them called for one-side unconditional disarmament of USA and the West. It aimed to make these countries weaker and strengthen the Soviet Union in a result. US Peace Council, where Palmer worked, was organized by Communist Party of USA, which was led and supported from Moscow.
Palmer had never hidden her communist sympathies. In 1983 she participated in World Peace Council in Prague. The assembly wanted to union east countries against “aggressive” NATO policy. She travelled to Soviet Union as well. In 1986 Alice Palmer published an article full of her enthusiasm for the communist achievements. In her opinion American media lied about Soviets. She claimed that Soviet system worked out the sufficient standard of life to fulfill the basic needs of its citizens and that it was soon to leave the West behind (People’s Daily World). Palmer praised as well Soviet solidarity with black people and fight with apartheid.
____________
Palmer had also praised communist education system. As she has written, students in Soviet Union obtained their knowledge in total freedom without any brainwash. Moscow University of Lumumba was for her a perfect example to follow. Her sympathies haven’t vanished after communism collapsed. During her political career Palmer often used support from Communist Party of USA and other ultra leftist organizations. Today the same organizations including CPUSA eagerly support Barack Obama’s candidacy.
____________
After those years Obama mentions Palmer with nostalgic sympathy and feels sorry that their ways had fallen apart in conflict.
Source: Radosław Różycki