SPEECH BY LT. GENERAL VERNON A. WALTERS BEFORE SENATOR S YOUTH CONFERENCE OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01731R002000120006-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 21
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 6, 2002
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: February 13, 1976
• Content Type: SPEECH

Approved For Release 2003/01/30: CIA-RDP80R01731R002000120006-5
SPEECH
by
LT. GENERAL VERNON A. WALTERS
before
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
13 February 1976
Approved For Release 2003/01/30: CIA-RDP80R01731R002000120006-5
 Approved For Release 2003/01/30: CIA-RDP80R01731R002000120006-5
...Thank you very much.
In all fairness, in the light of what the Senator said
to you, probably two or three years ago I wouldn't have been
here either. But times have changed and if wr;~ have to do
our job we need the understanding of the American people,
for what we do and why we do it.
I would like to talk to you today a little bit about
what is intelligence, how do we get it, and why it is important.
to us.
What is intelligence? Intelligence is i~~iformation concern-
ing the actions, capabilities, intentions, ac~t:ivities of foreign
countries that may have an impact on our live:.; and the way we
live. How do we get it? We get it by variou:_; means. A
great deal of it we get through public means--~it is quite
astonishing, even in the relatively closed coi.~ntries, how
much intelligence is to be obtained from read:i_ng the newspapers
or listening to the radio broadcasts.
One of the curious things during the war was how much
information we could get from the German newspapers. The
Germans have a great tradition, for instance, when anybody
is killed or dies, of putting an advertisement: in the news-
paper and we could get the German newspapers