The files published here (available in the form of a booklet with relevant articles from the newspaper Socialist Action) consist of thirteen CIA dispatches to America, anti-war leaflets and clippings from various radical, student and daily newspapers. In most cases the 'subject' is George Fyson, a member of the Socialist Action Legue, focussing on his visit to a convention of the Young Socialists Alliance in America; some also cover the tour of New Zealand by Andrew Pulley, a black anti-war activist and Marxist. The files were heavily censored by the CIA before they were released; the names of the senders have been deleted and replaced by "(Classified Matter)", or "(CIA Source)". No cities are identified, although in the context "(Foreign City)" could only mean Wellington, and sometimes more than half a page has been erased.

Nevertheless, these documents are highly significant for two reasons; one, they are conclusive proof that the CIA operates in New Zealand, and two, they are all headed up "Operation CHAOS".

Operation CHAOS was organised in the 1960's in response to the rise of anti-Vietnam war and other protest organisations, in the United States and elsewhere. It amassed files on 300,000 people, and it s aim was to infiltrate and disrupt protest movements, and harass those involved in them.

Operation CHAOS took a special interest in the activities of students, who were prominent in the anti-war movement in the period that the files cover. This interest is reflected even in the very few files that have been released that relate to New Zealand.