SYMINGTON SUBCOMMITTEE: LOWENSTEIN-MOOSE REPORT ON TRIP TO SOUTHEAST ASIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000200060060-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 11, 2006
• Sequence Number: 60
• Publication Date: February 24, 1972
• Content Type: MEMO

CONFIDENTIAL
MEMORANDUM
TO: H - Mr. Abshire
February 24, 1972
23
FROM: PM - Joseph J. Wol
SUBJECT: Symington Subcommittee:
Lowenstein-Moose Report on Trip to Southeast Asia
Lowenstein says that the report is now being put in final
form and Symington has decided that it will go as a report
of the Subcommittee to the full Foreign Relations Committee,
being covered by a letter from Symington to Fulbright, which
will be unchssified. Symington is working on this letter
now, which will set forth the Senator's well-known personal
views about escalation of the war in Southeast Asia, while
we pull out of Vietnam, cost, duplication of effort, etc.
It will not reflect the views of the Subcommittee, but only
those of its Chairman.
Lowenstein hopes that we can start the declassification
process on the report about Tuesday or Wednesday of next
week, following the same pattern we used on the Laos report,
I asked if we could see the Symington letter to make sure
that it would contain only truly unclassified material.
Lowenstein in effect denied this. He did say that he would
personally review that text, and if he had any doubt on any
point, he would be in touch. I said he certainly should be,
since the finger would point directly at Symington if there
was the slightest indication of a security leak, and I
knew he wanted to avoid this as much as we did.
Lowenstein said the report is organized into a general
discussion of the way things are going in Southeast Asia,
followed by country chapters on Laos, Thailand and Cambodia,
then followed by a discussion of the issues between the
Executive and. Legislative Branches (access to the CFS in
CONFIDENTIAL,
State Dept. review completed
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CONFIDENTIAL 2
Cambodia, access to the intelligence stations, etc.) and
concluding with a philosophic section which will talk
about where we are going in Southeast Asia.
Lowenstein asked me if we had come to any conclusion on
his request to let them clear memoranda of conversation.
I said I looked into it and obviously it was a non-starter
as he must have recognized. We then discussed the problem
of correct reporting and he seemed to back away from his
request. I think that one is over with.
As to the CFS issue, he told me that he thought we were
making a major mistake since documents like the CFS and
Five-Year MAP plans were necessary to go into a study in
depth of the MAP program. I stressed to him that we would
give the factors involved in appropriate form but would
protect the field submissions. He said that a good in-
vestigator would get far more from a field submission or
a telegram as to the thinking behind the program than by
a Washington presentation. I said that the history of the
way the SFRC and staff had approached the foreign assistance
program with only three days of hearings, did not seem to
me to be thrusting in the direction of the thorough investi-
gation by either the members or the staff that he was
talking about. He sadly admitted that he was not speaking
for the Committee or the full staff in this desire of his
to search more thoroughly into the major programs. I
concluded by repeating the fact that if the members wanted
to get the factors involved or to talk formally or in-
formally, they only had to ask.
He said he would be in touch early next week.
CC: PM - Mr. Spiers, Mr. Chapman
H - Mr. Symmes
EA - Mr. Sullivan,
L - Mr. Brower
U/SA - Mr. Newman
AID - Mr.
CIA - Mr.
DOD - Mr.
Mr. Dexter, Mr. Corcoran, Mr. Hummel
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CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2007/02/07 : CIA-RDP74B00415R000200060060-4