AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE: 'A PAGE OF SHAME'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01720R000400050032-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 2004
• Sequence Number: 32
• Publication Date: October 10, 1975
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 200~lr1~2~/ : ~IA~~T~F~80R~~R000400050032-4
AI~Ilerican Il~telli~~I~ce;
`A Pale o# Sharxle'
To the Editor:
Samuel A. Adams' effort to throw
some lint on corruption in the intelli-
Bence process before. and after the
1963 Tet offensi~_e reflects a persona'
- integrity .which, unfortunately, has
been increasingly under lire v.-itY:iu the
C.I.A.- and other precincts of the ist-
te;{ligenee community in recent years.
As rr C.I,A, analyst working on site
Vietcong in Saigon. and in the Pentagon
from 19r> to I97Q, I cat;. confirm the
entire tltrust oP Sara's chaa-~es. 11+Iy
ante regret i Chat I did not have Sara's
courage and foresight in saving-
. relevant documents to prave the case.
Sor;ie of Sam's critics att+>mlYt to
represent him as an ebomaniac on a
ausade. Ushers portray the r}uestions
he raises as "arcane: side issues"
{J2, W. Korner's Sept. 29 letterj. Thcse~
positicrrrs reflect either an appalling
inorance of the nature of a people's
~~/ar or aself-serving but transparent
effort. at self-defense by the time-
ti4~orn tactic of "l,lziusil~le denial,"
The tru"i.h is ~ t-i,.at u?r>:king-I~ti"tl
a-nalysts in the C.F.t'.. corrtinu~lly were
diverted. from foIlo~~~inY; out leads on
>>'i~icorrg strent*,ttt; ttrat t},ey were as-
sifned to ot.it~r areas of tsar'ri v:-h,
tltey att.an~pted to tits sot tha-t tl~;~y-
~vere ignored. or suppressed, as Sang
tvas, ~n=hen they persisted, and that
thee, efforts at distnrtinn and sut7-
pression of the facts ti~'ere. ct,mrt.ara
J.noti.?lcdge and were openly discus:-~rl
tst the workinf; level. There was roam
for Drily arse convenient "truth" in
official estimates, as Sam less l?roved
b?:yond any dispute, The ci~oice was
to con>prornise nnc:'s integrity or tc+
resign, and too many chase t!re ferf,^et~.
If the- issues were fully studied, if
special task forces were appointed to
study them and if the results were
circulated in the intelligence com-
munity as they became- available, let
the C.I,A.'s offices of Current Intelli-
gence and P~ational Estimates produce
.the published results far Congress, Let
the Airec;tcr of 'Central Intelligence
release to Congress the desalted rec-
ords and dvc~=rnents of the ltiatsoual
5ect.trity Caun:~il's -Watch ~'orrrrrtittee
to prave that t}~le matter ~.?as~pursued
viUarously and professionally, The
facts wilt speak: for ttiemsetves.
'Che record is clear. It speaks of
misfeasance; r~oufeasance and trtal-
Ct:ast:-rice, of o+.atriLht di_hanesty~ and
? }arofessiana.t cowardice. It reflects an
intefliencet eon~munity captared by an
arinn bureau+-cacy ~}~hicli too ofl.~tt
placed institu,iurtal self-interest or lrer-
so~ial advanc~n>ent before the ~?ationt~t
. interest,
It is a page csf shrine in ii~e :history
of Ismerica;3 stztelliaence, r,,,d it de-
serves to by red as full;, ., po.=.siblo
before. 'the, l.uz3`~;~. ~ Jarr': T"_ ~Vfooxz,
Seli>s~rave, Pa., Uct. 10, 1u75
Approved For Release 2004/12/22 :CIA-RDP80R01720R000400050032-4