C.I.A. REFUSES FOREIGN BIDS FOR ANTI-TERRORIST HELP
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP81M00980R000600080027-9
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
K
Document Page Count:
1
Document Creation Date:
December 15, 2016
Document Release Date:
May 24, 2004
Sequence Number:
27
Case Number:
Publication Date:
June 25, 1978
Content Type:
NSPR
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Attachment | Size |
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CIA-RDP81M00980R000600080027-9.pdf | 103.98 KB |
Body:
Approved For Release
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C.I.A. Refuses Foreign Bids for Anti-Terrorist Help
By RICHARD BURT
Special to The Nan York Ttmea
WASHINGTON, June 24-The Central
Intelligence Agency has reportedly
refused or delayed a response to several
recent foreign requests for help in dealing
with terrorist actions, among them the
Aldo Moro kidnapping in Italy and the
hijacking of a West German airliner.
According to Government officials and
members of the House and Senate Intelli-
gence Committees, the C.I.A., in contrast
to earlier practice, turned down a request
from the, Italian Government for a psy-
chiatrist trained in terrorist matters and
for sophisticated eavesdropping equip-
ment to help deal with the members of
the Red Brigades who kidnapped Mr.
More, the Christian Democratic leader,
in March.
Similarly, the agency was said to have
delayed an answer to a West German
request for technical assistance in freeing
the 86 passengers and crew members
aboard a Lufthansa airliner diverted lasti
October to Somalia.
Several officials said that the agency's
attitude stemmed from what they de-1
scribed as an exceedingly cautious read-'
ing of prevailing legal curbs on the con-
duct of covert operations and on the pro-
vision of aid to foreign police forces..
For this situation they blamed the criti-f
cism directed at the C.I.A. over its past)
activities in Chile and elsewhere.
`They're Really Gun-Shy'
"They're really gun-shy over there,"
a high-ranking Administration official:
with direct responsibilities for coping
with terrorism said of the C.I.A.
Until now, it was noted, the agency,
had hats a lone record of close coopera-
1 tion with foreign police agencies in West-
ern Europe and other parts of the world.
It was involved in the establishment of
state securicv services in such countries I
as Iran and South Korea and made intelli-
nonce specialists available to several na- !
tions during the 1950's and 1960's.
The current situation as described by
officials is indicative of the new problems
the Government is confronting in at-
tempting to enhance C.I.A. effectiveness
while restricting its ability to intervene
in the internal affairs of other nations.
The agency's reaction to the Italian
and West German requests is said to have'
led to strains in relations with intelli-,
fence authorities in both countries. It has
also venerated concern among Adminis
tration specialists on terrorism and the
Congressional intelligence committees.
Higher Priority Under Carter
The Carter Administration has given
a higher priority in intelligence policy
to terrorism, and specialists report that
the agency has stepped up programs for,
exchanging information with friendly'
Governments to ease the problem. But,
they say, the agency has avoided a direct
role in such cases as a-request by West
Germany for help last October in remov-
ing the doors of a hijacked airliner on
the ground at Mogadishu, Somalia, with-
out injuring the passengers inside.
The specialists said that while a reply
to the request was delayed in Washing-
ton, a West German commando unit,
benefiting from British assistance, stormed
the airliner and freed the hostages.
In the case of the kidnapping of Mr.
Moro, whose body eventually was found
in an abandoned car iii Rome, the re-
.quested surveillance equipment was not
provided, but the State Department did
make available a psychiatrist trained to
deal with terrorists.
Officials said a major factor in the
C.I.A.'s decision to turn down the Italian
request was the 1974 Hughes-Ryan
Amendment, which says that no covert
action can.be carried out by the agency
unless the President makes 'a "finding"
that it is important to national security
and reports it to Congress. Under the
Administration's new executive order for
intelligence operations, the officials said,
the agency is permitted to respond only
to "international terrorism."
Position Is Charged
They said that at first the Red Brigades'
were judged to be a domestic Italian ter-'
I rorist group rather than an international
one. But this was reversed shortly before
Mr. Moro's body was found, the officials'
said, adding that a "finding" was made
and transmitted to Congress allowing thei
agency to respond in the event of further
attacks by the Red Brigades.
Officials also said that C.I.A. legal ex-
perts had argued at the beginning of the
Moro kidnapping that the agency was
prohibited from aiding the Italian police
by a 1975 amendment to the Foreign As-
sistance Act, forbidding the use of for-
eign aid funds to support foreign police
activities. Although the amendment was
designed to end State Department train-
ing programs for foreign policemen, Wil-
liam E. Colby is said to have promised
while he was director of central intelli-
gence that the intelligence establishment
would also abide by the legislated re-
Approved For Release 2004/07/08 : CIQS> i~t 1MOflastnRnnn4n~oOR 0_27=4