CIA 'SCANDAL' SEVEALS POLITICAL ABUSE OF POWER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000400440017-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 17, 1998
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: May 21, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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GLOB,'Z -DE:,:OCRAT
M. 295,004
S. 355,183
MAR 211967'
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
proved For Release : CIA
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. ? Power
By MAS. GEN. THOMAS A. LANE
Globe-Democrat Sneciai Writer
WASHINGTON-It would be a serious disservice to our na-
+iional security if recent revelations of CIA subsidized left-wing
activity were written off. CIA does what Presidents tell it to do,
FOIAb3b
ment of intelligence resources for domestic polit-
ical use. That kind of corruption in the presiden-
tial office should concern every citizen.
There were no such scandals in the Eisen-
abroad under cover of intelligence activity.
unthinkable to convert the resources of the CIA
to service of the Eisenhower political fortunes. It
was the Kennedy Administration which began
to detest and counter the,hostile acts of our ene-
and responsibility which must be exercised scrupulously for the
assigned purposes. If is under the direct control of the President.
The threat to the Republic in the clandestine use of CIA re-
ources for domestic political advantage was recognized by Con.
gress when it created the Agency.
President Kennedy surrounded himself with Left-wing intel-
ectuals who easily persuaded him that the "non-Communist
Left" was the wave of the future in foreign lands. It followed
logically that the non-Communist Left in the United States was
the proper channel for assistance to its counterparts in foreign
lands. Therefore government funds were supplied to new and old
Left-wing organizations in this country. That element of the Ken-
nedy power base fattened end prospered.
Non-Interference Rule
The Good Neighbor Policy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt had
P,stablished a rule of non-interference in the internal affairs of
he other American republics. Under pressures of his Left-wing
advisers, President Kennedy broke that rule and interfered on
behalf of the "non-Communist Left."
The ? "non-Communist Left" was Marxist-minded, dictator-
oriented, hostile to free enterprise. In supporting it, the United
States renounced its own political principles, nourished socialism
in foreign lands and fostered collectivist regimes incapable of de-
veloping productive economies.
This is riot the kind of policy at which government officials
could arrive through objective appraisal of the U.S, interest in
world affairs. It emanated directly from the ideological bias of
the Kennedy entourage. It served their ambitions, at home and
.ab road.
CPYRGHT
FOIAb3b
Money flowed to newly-created Left-wing organization in the
United States and to their ventures in foreign lands, from CIA
through nominally private foundations. Money is power. The
Kennedy political base in the United States was strengthened.
No doubt President Kennedy believed he was acting in the
best interest of the country. Perhaps it is easy for a President to
conclude that his personal interest and the national welfare
coincide. That, however, is. a poor premise for the country and a
poor excuse for the prostitution of the national security.
Committee Failed
The congressional watch dog committee charged with super-
vision of CIA flunked the test. If this committee has any function
at all, it must be to assure that CIA funds are used to serve the
national security and are not diverted to partisan political
serv-ice. The committee should have restrained the President.
The event argues that the Committee should be composed
entirely of members of the opposition. It is too easy for a Presi-
dent to win the approval of his own party to anything he wants I
to :do.
The,central importance of the CIA' revelations is therefore
that the vital functions of the Agency have been compromised by.
abuses of presidential power. Conigress'must establish more posi-
tive controls to prevent such abuses in the future or our whole {
system of government will be.in jeopardy.
CPYRGHT
Sanitized - Approved For Release:. CIA-RDP75-00149R000400440017-5