REFERENCES TO C.I.A. IN GAO REPORTS ON MEDICAL SUPPORT AND REFUGEE PROGRAMS IN LAOS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74B00415R000300220041-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 6, 2003
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: January 6, 1972
• Content Type: MFR

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6 January 1972
SUBJECT: References to CIA in GAO Reports on Medical
Support and Refugee Programs in Laos
1. On 29 December, Mr. Roy Jenny of the General Accounting
Office (GAO) showed iyre the final draft: reports which the GAO has
prepared on medical support and refugee programs in Laos. Both
reports were prepared in response to a specific request from
Senator Kennedy in his capacity as Chairman of the Judiciary
Subcommittee to Investigate Problems Connected with Refugees
and E'scapees. The information was compiled by a GAO survey
tear^n. which = isited Laos in August and September 1971. The
Deputy Director of Support has had an informal working relation-
ship with GAO for some iirne and it was through this channel
that GA C) made l:rro\v:~n its 'willingness to let its review the draft
reports.
2. Jenny said that at the request of Senator Kennedy, GAO
did not follow its usual practice of submitting the reports to AID,
State, CIA, etc. , for review and coordination. These agencies
are being permitted to review the reports informally and only
from the standpoint of security classification. GAO is taking
the position that neither AID nor CIA can retain copies of the
reports at this time. Senator Kennedy's approval will be required
before any distribution of the drafts or final report can be made,
3. GAO asked that I read the drafts with a view towards
correcting any inaccuracies, identifying references to CIA that
we might be willing to declassify, and suggesting higher classi-
fications for some references to CIA. I have compiled all the
references in both reports and 'included them as Attachments A
and B to this memorandum. Attachment: C is a copy of the AID/CIA
Working Fund Agreement. This' d,ff is referred to several
State, USAID reviews completed
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times in both. reports and appears as Appendix II of the report
on medical support.
4. The reports are concerned p:rima.ril.y with AID administra-
tion. of medical support and refugee programs. AID will there-
fore be agonizing over the reports at some length. Thus far, All)
has seen only the report on medical support. In general All.)
has no problem with the security classifications in that report
although they might take exception to some of the criticisms therein.
5. Since GAO no longer has any major complaints about
Agency contributions to the medical and refugee programs and
there are no inaccuracies in the draft reports as far as the
references to CIA are concerned, the question which these GAO
reports pose for us is the extent (if any) to which we should ask
GAO to upgrade classification s, remove references to CIA en-
tirely, or make wording changes that woi,ild reduce the visibility
of CIA participation in these AID programs. The following options
seem to apply:
Option A: Tell CA0 that, CIA has no difficulty with any
of fl- -3se references or their classifications.
This option is not as far out as it r night seem.
'I,h.ere is nothing in the GAO reports which goes
as f< r as the unclassified Moi se-Lowenstein
report in acknowledging or describing CIA
activities in Laos. (In other words the GAO
reports give us more protection [read classi.-
fication] than the Moose Lowenstein report
but GAO believes that Senator Kennedy may
eventually press for full declassification of all
information. ) Senator Kennedy's staff is un-
doubtedly in possession of the Moose-Lowenstein
report: and might therefore feel that we are i.n
suiting his intelligence if we try to protect or
overclassify information that is much less
sensitive than that which is already in the public
domain. I realize that we have taken the position,
in response to press inquiries, that the press
is not entitled to the same degree of candor we
have shown with the Congress but we have to
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assume that Kennedy's staff will expect as
much candor as we have shown with the other
curnnaittees of Congress and that consistencies
or other readily apparent obfuscation on our part
will be counterproductive.
Option B: Insist that GAO remove- all references to CIA
from unclassified sections of the reports, e. g. ,
the table of contents, the list of abbreviations
and page seven of the refugee report. The
closely related alternative to this option would
be to classify the table of contents, the list of
abbreviations and page seven of Ha e refugee
report.
6. Request Chief, FE guidance on the response to be made to
GAO. Recommend that the response be made orally.
25X1A
A ttaclinaen.ts
A, 13, C (as stated above)
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