LETTER (SANITIZED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01083A000100190018-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 5, 2012
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: January 1, 2000
• Content Type: LETTER

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/05: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100190018-6
STAT
c/o Editorial Board STAT
Studies in Intelligence
Your reply to Mr. Tidwellte article in the summer issue of
Studies in Intelligence leads me to suspect that you are more
of a sabre man than a foils devotee. In your game of fencing
with ideas you have applied the blade with gusto, but in your
enthusiasm I am afraid that you have neglected your opponent's
point and that it is now waving dangerously over your head.
Just to be sure that you and I are fencing our own match
on the same mat I will recapitulate what I believe to be the
main points of "Kim or Major North". I will then explain why
I think you have exposed yourself unnecessarily.
r?r. Tidwell said that it is essential that America under-
stand people who live in alien cultures and that if American
intelligence personnel do not understand them, nobody else will.
He pointed out the natural., human difficulties that must be
overcc if we are to think our way into another cultures and
listed a number of additional, artificial barriers that we
have created for ourselves. He then suggested a number of ways
that might help to make it easier for our people to work toward
overcoming cultural barriers. His most important point, however,
was that we should recognize the need to understand other cultures
and to consider this understanding as the coal toward which our
personnel policies and operational procedures should be oriented.
Your use of the t?nrm "Procrustean" in this connection is
mystifying. Far from recommending uniform conduct, Mr. Tidwell
was recommending agreement on a common goal toward which
individuals would work according to their i arsonal attributes
and the needs of a given situation, Ca va sans dire.
You advocate asking Arabs about Arab plots. Mr. Tidwell
was suggesting ways in which it would be easier and more profitable
to ask Arabs about crab plots.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/05: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100190018-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/05: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100190018-6
STAT
STAT
Your comments about curved dictionaires are all too typical
of the difficulty that we have in thinking our way out of American
culture. It is very hard for us to talk about sex without a
snicker.
Per. Tidwell=s article attacked a problem that has come to
mind frequently in recent months. The same problem in somewhat
different context has been raised in the recently published book,
"The 11gly American". I think that he has suggested some ideas
that should be thought about seriously. He may not have the
right ans ere, but please, sir, do not be a sabre-wielding Panglose.
Sincerely yours,
STAT
cc: W. A. Tidwell
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/05: CIA-RDP80B01083A000100190018-6