SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS INTERROGATORS TURN AMIABLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210024-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 20, 2014
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: February 6, 1973
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-1`fri.2014T2.121 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210024-1
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By Laurence Stern
Washingt.on.Post Staff Writer
Once upon a time the Sen-
ate Foreign Relations Corn-
mi?ttee was regarded as the
club of clubs, a place of
lofty and biparisan inde-
News Analysis
Pendence, a kleig-lighted in-
terrogation chamber for
American foreign policy.
?Yesterday it performed
like. a mild, often amiable,
hazing society for thme of
the Nixon Administration's
nominees to high position in
the foreign policy establish-
ment.
They passsed before the
committee in (Oct
succession: James Keogh,
formerly chief speech writer
to President Nixon, nomi-
..
rated to head the United
States Information Agency;
retiring Central .. Intelli-
gence Agency Director Rich-
ard M. Helms to become am-
bassador to Iran and former
' White House domestic advi-
sor Daniel P. Moynihan
nominated as ambassador to
India.
'Why do you want to be
ambassador to India?" chair-
man J. W. Fulbright (D-Ark.)
asked Moynihan, who had
served as President Nixon's
Lresident intellectual in pov-
erty and urbanology..
"Well," replied ? the mo-
mentarily flustered Moynihan,
"hitt of . all, the President
asked me. He called me up
? one Saturday morning and
asked me if I was interested
in being ambassador to the
'world's largest democracy."
The closest Fulbright
.came to his famous ascerb-
ity was in questioning
Helms about operations of
Radio Free Europe and Ra-
dio Liberty behind what
used ot be described as the
Iron Curtain. ? radio Free
Europe was once directed
and financed by the CIA.
What is the point, Ful-
bright asked Helms, of the
United States spending $38
million for Radio Free Eu-
rope if it is not to promote
the overthrow of East Euro-
pean Communist govern-
ments.
It was,. Helms answered,
to expose listeners in East-
ern Europe "more to our
way of thinking."
Fulbright objected to
what he . described as
"overkill" in spending $38
million for Radio Free Eu-
rope in addition to $39 mil-
lion annually for the Voice
of America.
"Why don't we get up a
Radio Free China?" the
chairman dourly asked.
"I've often. wondered,"
Helms replied.
Helms weathered imper-
turbably a minor salvo of
questions. on Iran's $2 bil-
lion in arms spending, on
links between the Interna-
tional Telephone and Tele-
graph Corp. and CIA and, fi-
nally, on the use of former
CIA operatives in ? the
Watergate hugging case.
"They were retired. I
don't have any control over
. .
men after they leave," said
Helms, testily. It was ur
only time his voice rose. ?
Keogh, ? who recently
wrote a 'book accusing the
press of a- pro-liberal, anti-
Nixon bias in its coverage of
the presidency, was pressed
for assurances that he
would not use USIA publica-
tions for domestic distrib-
ution without the express
consent of the committee
through special legislation.
"That. will- be my policy,"
assured Keogh, "if I am con-
firmed."
Fulbright complained to
HS/HC- Xl-cf/
?
"PA Tv3,1
Ji-
Keogh
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2.1
of what he described
as the "dismantling" of
news in American public tel-
evision. "They have elimi-
nated any voice .of dissent in
the media,", said the Arkan-
sas Democrat.
"I think the voice of dis-
sent," Keogh respectfully
replied, "is still very, very
strong in the media."
The entire confirmation
rite yesterday was a mutual
curtsy between the once-fe-
rocious Foreign Relations
Committee and - the White
House.
"Nobody is going to be
able to defeat these .nomi-
es . _iI
fl.
Trrell 7 671 (IA ,;, gi
li..iLar il i IiL a It Vt.-)
nees," observed a Senate
aide afterward.
The atmosphere of the
committee room was best
summed up in an exchange
between Fulbright and
Helms: _
"Would you please state
for the record what you
have been doing for the past
10 or 15 years," Fulbright
plied that he had
askHeedims re
been employed by the Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency.
"Well, I am glad we could
finally get that on the re-
cord," said - Fulbright.
(Laughter). .
Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2014/02/21 : CIA-RDP84-00161R000400210024-1