PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF WILLIAM CASEY, DIRECTOR, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE CIRA LUNCH FORT MYER, VIRGINIA MONDAY, MAY 4, 1981

• Document Type: FOIA
• Keywords: SPEECHES
• Keywords: CASEY
• Keywords: SPEECHES
• Keywords: CASEY
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005288326
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: June 22, 2015
• Document Release Date: January 30, 2009
• Case Number: F-2007-01107
• Publication Date: May 4, 1981

CIRA LUNCH
Fort Myer, Virginia
Monday, May 4, 1981
APPROVED FOR RELEASED DATE:
12-08-2008
 CHAIR: The CIRA newsletter carries all the relevant
biographical information on our speaker today. So I'm not going
to repeat that in.the interests of time.
When I first met our speaker, it was in the winter of
1945. And as you all know, or most of you know, the winter in
England at that time of year is bleak and raw and cold. At that
juncture, Bill Casey had been put in charge of putting agents into
the heartland of Germany. The days of reception committees, bon-
fires on airfields? the resistance forces [words inaudible]. This
was the period when the United States was going to the enemy. And
the OSS had decided to mount operations on its own without any
reference to the British, the first time that that had happened
in the European theater during the war.
Joseph Principal (?) in his book, Piercing the Reich,
has a sentence in which he describes. He says the agent penetra-
ting Germany was asked to parachute amid the predators. He jumped
blind, with no reception committee, no safe houses, no friends, into
a hostile world.
Bill Casey sent me out in the middle of one night to
watch the takeoff of one of these flights. And if. you all run
your memories back, you'll remember that the airplanes used in
those days were small, had two propellers and looked very frail
indeed to go all that distance to Germany. And there was the
fellow wrapped under more harness and gear than you could imagine
obviously pumping. himself up to have the courage to jump through
that hole a couple of hours later.
I mention this because it was Bill Casey who was in charge
of these very difficult operations. And from that time on, he had
a very shrewd, keen and appreciative feel 1Ing for what goes on in
 the guts of a guy who has to be a spy. The human factor he under-
stand from the word go.
To quote Joseph Principal again, "in Casey, the OSS had
a man with an analytical mind, tenacious will, and a capacity to
generate high morale among this staff. He delegated authority
easily to trusted subordinates and set a simple standard for us
at I."
Time passes on, and it was in one of those halcyon periods
before Watergate, before Frank Church, that Bill Casey came out to
the agency to see me. We had a protracted session. He had a couple
of other things he wanted to see. Elizabeth [name inaudible] got a
car for him, and we sent him off back to Washington. An hour or so
later the phone rang in my office. It was the receptionist down-
stairs. She said there's a taxi cab waiting outside the gate to
see Mr. Casey.
So Elizabeth, in her inimitable way, looked at special
funds, picked up some money, went down and paid off the cab. And
as she did so, the cab driver smiled, expressed his appreciation
and said "Well, now, what I do with the briefcase?"
[Laughter.]
Our speaker today, in my opinion, is the Director of
Central Intelligence. In this period, I am profoundly glad he is
where he is. He would have been my choice.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce an old friend and
former comrade in arms, William J. Casey.
[Applause.]
DIRECTOR WILLIAM J. CASEY: Thank you very much for that
very warm welcome. Dick, I'm glad to accept that little bit of his-
tory. [Words inaudible] always thought they could pay their taxi
bills.
[Laughter.]
I've offered him the eight or ten or twelve dollars. He's
always rejected it, which shows what an honorable colleague he is.
But I'm very pleased today to have someone to carry my
briefcase around. I'm very pleased to be here with all of you.
I'm an oldtimer too. On the other hand, in my present job, I'm
a newcomer. If that makes me a two-timer, so be it.
[Laughter.]
You know, I know that CIA retirees are a special group.
 I've known it all along. But it made a new impression on me
when after I was designated as DCl by President Reagan, I almost
immediately got a letter, a letter from the Association of Retired
Intelligence Officers. And in the letter was a $20 check, which
I spent a week or so ago for my dues. And I was informed that I
was no longer a member; they were returning my dues. I was kicked
out before, but never so promptly for violating the rules.
I came to this job with a high respect for the agency
and the caliber and professionalism of its staff, past and present.
What I've seen so far has strengthened that view. And I bring, to
the job a longstanding dedication and a belief in the mission that
the CIA has.
As Dick indicated, it's almost some 40 years ago I worked
with Dick and worked with David Bruce in London in command of the
OSS detachment in the European Theater. One of my jobs was to
serve as secretary of a small group charged with studying the
British and other European intelligence organizations, to develop
recommendations for a permanent peacetime central intelligence
agency in the United States, something we never had. I reported
back to Washington to help General Donovan prepare a memorandum
that he was putting together for President Roosevelt urging the
creation of such an organization. So in effect, I was there at
the beginning. Nobody really saw me, but I was there.
I know many of you, Dick, Don Cross (?),, Barry Houston
(2), all friends of 25 years' standing or more. And you've got to
preserve friends like that, because you're not likely to make any
new 25 year-old friends.
I met here today one of your numbers. He came up and
said hello to me. [Portion inaudible.] It turned out I knew him
almost fifty years ago. We both lived in a little, small town on
Long Island called Bellmore. And this is about the first time I've
seen him in 40 to. 45, 46 years. So I feel at home.
I carry a vivid recollection of Dick Helms -- I stayed.
with him on one occasion -- talking about the [word unintelligible]
caliber of young people who would come in, almost out of school....
 I am pleased to be here with the old-timers. I'm an old-timer too.
On the other hand, as DCI I'm a new-timer. I hope that doesn't make me a
two-timer!
I came here with a high respect for the Agency and for the caliber
and professionalism of its staff, past and present.- What I have seen so
far has strengthened that view. I bring to this job a long-standing dedication
to and belief in the mission of this Agency.
Some 40 years ago, I went to London to set up a secretariat for
David Bruce. He was then Commander of the OSS Detachmeu't in General Eisenhower's
Command. One of my duties was to serve as secretary of the committee charged
with studying intelligence organizations--the British and others. The idea
was to develop recommendations for a permanent peacetime central intelligence
service in the United States. As you know, that was something we had never
had before. I came back to Washington to help General Donovan prepare a
memorandum to President Roosevelt and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It urged
the creation of a central intelligence service. So in a sense I was there
at the beginning. Nobody saw me, but I was there.
'While in the European Theater I worked closely and formed life-long
friendships with Bill Quinn, Director of the Strategic Services Unit after
World War II, Allen Dulles, Dick Helms and Bill Colby--the last three all
 serving in the role I have now assumed. That means quite a lot to me, and
I am delighted to follow in their footsteps.
I carry a vivid recollection of Dick Helms saying on one occasion in
the sixties--before he, became DCI--that he had remained in the.Agency for
over 20 years. He had resisted offers of more money in the private sector
because his work reminded him daily of how "beleaguered" our country is in
the world. The word "beleaguered" made a very deep impression on me. I
understand it to mean surrounded by danger. I am always reminded of the
dedication to country which Dick Helms conveyed on that occasion--and which he
exemplified in his 30 years of service to intelligence. I have a comparable
admiration for those of you who have lived intelligence careers -- for your
dedication and professionalism.
The work of intelligence is even more important today. If Dick Helms had
to use the unusual word "beleaguered" to describe the condition of the
United States in the late 1960s, how would we describe our situation today?
We face an adversary over which we no longer have military superiority. An
adversary which has demonstrated 'a will to use, military force outside of its'
borders. An adversary constantly using skill and resourcefulness in providing
weapons, training, organization and leadership to proxy armies, revolutionary.
groups and terrorists throughout the world--even on our very doorstep in,
Central America.
Our.country depends heavily on intelligence if it is to cope adequately
with these threats. We've. got' to summon the will and find the resources to
 revive and apply the whole range of capabilities developed in this Agency
over the years. The President and Congress need what we have to offer.
in the political process and in the organs of public opinion. We must not
let that deter us from the job we have to do.
The intelligence profession is one of the most honorable professions to
which Americans can aspire. You know that and I know that. More importantly,
the President knows it--and so does the American public. We can hold our heads
high as we serve our country--as we call on young Americans to serve in
intelligence--as we ask American scholars to serve by sharing their insights
and their scholarship with us. We have one of the largest scholarly communities
in the world--with enough PhDs today to staff a university. Intelligence work
is the one activity in the whole government which has a direct impact on our
ability to address the many concerns that may threaten the security of our
country or our way of life. I feel that very deeply, as I know you do.
President Reagan has promised to strengthen intelligence where it needs
to be strengthened. He has talked frequently to me about his admiration of
and support for the CIA. He has given CIA a deputy, Admiral Inman,. who brings
rich experience and universal acclaim from inside and outside the intelligence
community. The President has signaled his. intention to do what he can to
support our work by affording me Cabinet rank and by giving Admiral Inman a
fourth star.
 This is a time of budget concern, and I intend to define overall
needs with care and restraint, but I will not be bashful about asking for
the resources necessary to carry out the tasks given to us. I am specifically
-interested in developing the resources needed to provide both the facilities
and the incentives necessary to encourage the career-long building of-analytical
and other specialized skills.
I know that all of you are as anxious to see improvement in the Agency's
capabilities and its performance as I am. All of us have heard a variety of
opinions about the quality of intelligence performance in recent years. You can
take your pick of those opinions. Nevertheless,'I do know that over its history
this Agency has developed the finest intelligence capability in the world.
There can be no doubt about the enormous creativity and ingenuity which
has been displayed in developing new sources of information and new analytical
tools. It is without precedent anywhere. We certainly have at CIA the finest
and most highly developed staff of political, military and economic analysts
ever. assembled. Yet, as I have gone up to the Hill to testify before committees
of Congress, I have heard specific criticisms which we cannot and should not
shrug off.
The most frequent criticism is that our interpretations and assessments
are overly optimistic. They, tend to place.a benign interpretation on information
that should be raising danger signals. When you are specifically charged, as
we are, with warning of danger in time for the U.S. to react, it's rather a
good idea not to be optimistic. One of my aims will be to inject into the
 intelligence process a greater degree of skepticism. Also, a greater care
in weighing evidence to bring out the range of probabilities that a policymaker
needs. It's our obligation to present conclusions which emphasize hard reality--
undistorted by preconceptions or by wishful thinking.
We will question our assumptions and conclusions. We will call them as
we see them, whether weighing evidence for an intelligence assessment or trying
to improve some procedure. I intend to make our judgments meaningful by seeing
that the President and his advisers get and pay attention to the full range of
varying opinions which result from the collective work at CIA and throughout
the Community. How do I get their attention? Being a member of the President's
Cabinet provides the necessary leverage. How do I keep it? By making our
judgments more useful, of course.
I have asked the people of CIA neither to trim their sails to any political,
budgetary or bureaucratic interest, nor to permit any philosophical or personal
bias to shade or modify the facts. I promise you I Will preserve our independence
of judgment and get our conclusions to the President and his advisers free of any
political or personal considerations or philosophical bias. It remains essential
that we keep our objectivity.
Moreover, I have asked. our analysts to be willing to look beyond the
immediate facts on occasion--even at the risk of being wrong. I have assured
them that they will not be penalized for taking the calculated risk. We must be
better-=and we will be.
 I will say that I came to CIA without any preconceptions. I have
some ideas derived from my experiences as a consumer of intelligence--as
a member of the General Advisory Committee on Arms Control (knowias the SALT I
negotiations), as Undersecretary of State and as a member of the Murphy Commission.
I was also on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. I came to
some conclusions during those times but that doesn't mean that I won't change
my mind. I found in SALT I, for example, that some-of the judgments were soft.
They leaned toward a kind of benign interpretation rather than a harder
interpretation of assessing or viewing a situation as being more dangerous.
With the Murphy Commission I came down against breaking up the Agency into a
lot of components, as some of the bills on the Hill have proposed. I don't
expect to change my mind about that. At the PFIAB, I supported a competitive
assessment process, but I am open as to how that can best.be done. Like
everybody else r am in favor of improving our analytical capabilities--that
is something easy to be for.
In. my meetings and discussions at CIA I have been greatly
impressed with the caliber of the people, with the professionalism, and with
the dedication and loyalty of all those I have, met. I intend to proceed carefully
to do whatever needs to be done to get the benefit of all the experience and
judgment that has been developed at the Agency. My general approach is that
I will be careful to preserve what we have and to upgrade wherever we can. I
President Reagan has already requested that the entire community make
recommendations on how to improve our. capability to deal with terrorism, acquire
intelligence, and deal with espionage by reducing over-regulation and by trimming
 restrictions which are not essential to protecting individual constitutional
rights. That process is well under way. Those Congressional committees I
have spoken to have shown a universal disposition to support the Identities
Act and to find a way to ease the burdens of the Freedom of Information Act.
They generally support and want to work with the Community to improve intelli-
gence collection and assessment. They want to stress the concept of oversight
without the preoccupation of looking for real or fancied abuses or illegalities
that allegedly existed in the past. I think the public and the Congress are
basically very supportive of us. I am certain the Administration is.
I thank you all for your service to your country. My covenant to you is
to preserve the best you have done, which is precious indeed, and to move ahead
vigorously to deal with the new problems we face.
In parting, let me remind you that if the current generation at CIA stands
tall, it is because it stands on the shoulders of its predecessors. Thank you.