SINGLE MOST INFLUENTIAL ACTIVITY ON IC IN NEXT 6 MONTHS: CHARTERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01554R003200190012-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 28, 2005
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: December 13, 1978
• Content Type: STUDY

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Carnegie Endowment
Face-to-Face Program
1800-2200, 13 Dec 78
Washington, D.C.
Single most influential activity on IC in next 6 months: Charters
? Working on drafts now
Senate tabled draft
- Admin nearly completed draft
- Good communications between Senate and Admin as work
progressing
-- Doesn't mean agree on all issues
-- Means working positively to work out differences
? Major issue: How much control? How applied
- One hand, can underreact and assume that abuses of past will
not recur because more conscious -- we are.
- On other, can overreact and emasculate the IC.
-- Both shortsighted
-- Important to achieve balance
Major problems:
1) Cannot simply make definitive list of prohibitions
- Negative approach
- Dangerous --interpretation of law out of control;
must be extremely confident
- May foreclose many activities completely that want
to do partially
- Besides can't anticipate every conceivable activity
might want to prohibit
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2) Whatever you do prohibit you must be able to check on/
monitor
- Secrecy.is sine qua non of intelligence
- Some secrecy legitimate
- Secrecy though has seeds of danger for very freedom
we are protecting.
Any kind of power may be abused, but with power
that is unidentified, the potential for abuse
is even.greater.
-- How then to provide for good intelligence,
yet prevent abuse?
-- How to ensure accountability?
Probably the best way--and perhaps the only practical way-- is
- to establish some few outright prohibitions where they can
be defined explicitly (i.e., assassination) and then lay
down a set of fairly broad guidelines which reflect the
values of American society and the boundaries within which
the Intelligence Community is expected to work.
- to establish a means of ensuring accountability by effectively
monitoring IC activity--taking into consideration that much
of what you will want to monitor will be classified.
The scope and detail of the guidelines is now being debated; but the
means of ensuring accountability exists today. We have accountability
in Executive Branch, the Congress and even in the public.
Want to look briefly at those bodies to which-IC is now
accountable and determine to what extent they can exact
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effective accountability without emasculating our
.intelligence capabilities.
First, the public, including the press
In the past, public oversight was impossible because
no access
No longer true. Revelations, public inquiries, FOIA,
have all made the IC much more accessible to the
general public
In addition, last 2 years adopted a policy of openness
-- More forthright with the media
-- I am here tonight --inconceivable just 5 years ago
-- Major effort to share analysis (benefit to us -
reduce corpus - secrets easier to keep)
The free press is, of course, major asset to public in
their oversight of IC. Done marvelous job in many
instances --Woodward/Bernstein
-- Here though there are serious contradictions and
potential problems for long term. Must remember
What the public knows, the enemy knows
? Unlike a court, the press can find you
or me guilty through accusation alone.
The power to accuse in public press or
on the air is a profound power which is
just as susceptible to abuse as any other
power.
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S ?
? Particularly problem with IC. This
difference of press is at disadvantage
if not having full access to IC data,
e.g., while the press and IC have same
problem with sources, i.e., out of
business unless can protect confidential
sources, sometimes the media does not
recognize the right of privacy or
confidentiality of anyone but themselves.
2 stories in Washington Post.
Second accountable body - Executive Branch - number accountable
processes here --let me focus on President.
- President --no longer "plausible deniability"
-- Signs all covert action plans
-- Knows all sensitive programs --gives me time each
week keep posted.
-- Supports full cooperation with Congress and their
access to the information they need to exercise
oversight (about which I'll speak in a moment).
This attitude by the President is vital to real
accountability.
-- IOB.
Third accountable body - Congress
- Skeptics may have no greater degree of confidence in
record of Congress in oversight than in Presidents,
but Congress is the only elected body totally independent
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of the Executive Branch. Consequently, assured
2 independent branches of government have access to
what the IC is doing.
- 2 new committees of Congress with clear jurisdictional
lines to the IC.
- In the past, intell info given a few key and sympathetic
committee members who in turn shielded the IC from the
rest of Congress.
Conclusion --if going to be free
Must have intell.
If have intell, must ensure against abuse of secrecy.
Way to do
Have accountability but must balance with effective intell
For instance, if in addition to accountability, you
expect to tie us into straight jacket of laws and
regulations that adjudicate every detail of our
operations--surely this will bring intelligence to
a halt in this country. For example--
CIA regulation on media - accredited
-- Rule
-- Escape clause
Some people object - no rule at all
-- Why need escape clause?
2 examples
1. Fired translators
2. Terrorist action
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-- But to cover loop holes and escape clauses, we do have
the oversight processes I've described. I must account
to Pres/IOB/Congress for the exceptions I make. I do
not know when or where they are likely to interrogate me.
Have achieved balance? Don't know --too early tell
If works - revolution - never before in history has intell
been conducted with degree accountability I have described.
Believe on right track.
Believe can work in our country - but will require some
understanding and forebearance -
Much of world is gray - attempts to paint it black
or white will end in catastrophe
It's not perfect world
Its not open world
We must balance idealism - realism in our
international affairs
-- Check of accountability to ensure not
overdo realism
-- Check of reasonably flexible guidelines
for account to not overdo idealism
Only then can we have freedom.
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