NICARAGUA/[KURTIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01070R000301410016-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 6, 2010
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: October 24, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

CBS MORNING NEWS
24 October 1984
NICARAGUA/:?IKURTIS:. The CIA this morning .is ordering a full recall
ICIA_-.MANOALIof;Its mschi-discussed manual for Nicaraguan rebels. The
manual.in.questionis this one,.,very small. (Videotape
shocas: blue-colored
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`neutralize government officials' ' . , :Sane other dv'
. a
e
uerrillas, Tayacen.:) . Among .other thin
manna ,.::uperaciones -Sicologias en
..G
Guerra d
ice (CBS
News- GRAPHICS) whenever:: it is necessary , to` use armed
force. ih.a visit to a town or:viliage guerrillas should
,emphasize .that the force, of weapons is..'.caused by.the
oppressive;: system., Now another entry:.'.,.,a :..
psychological war team should prepare:.a hostile attitude.
....among- the target groups so that at the decisive moment,
they can .-turn their.furor:into violence.' 'Selective. use
of violence,' ',armed force,' strong words that.have
fostered even stronger criticism.:Butt'is that criticism
.justified?.'.-Former CIA Director Stansfield Turner on our
Morning News Cover today,.joiiing us from Station'WOT, in
Omaha, .Neb. Good. morning, admiral.'.. TtIER: Good
morning, Bill.
KURTIS: ;How are you? Well,-that's what it looks like.
It's not very.big. It's well put together. And it
obviously is a'manual, all in blue, there. What"are the
specific. violations? ADM. STANSFIELD TURNER (former
director, CIA): Well, 8+ years ago, President Ford issued
the first presidential directive in writing, saying that
the CIA would not participate in assassinations, either
directly or indirectly. Every president since has
reaffirmed that same written instruction. It's incredible
.to me that.the CIA would today have any Rip van Winkles
out there., who haven't been listening for 8+ years to this
very explicit instruction.
KURTIS: Well,'when you put it down in writing, I guess,
that's the shocking thing. TURNER: Yes.
KURTIS: But in a guerrilla war, you're in the jungle.
There isn't any fine line of connection with the
headquarters in Langley, Va. Isn't it very difficult to
hold back on some of the instructions, when killing is the
name of the game? TURNER: Yes, but what's really
incredible here is what the president said on Sunday
night, and that is that this manual-was sent to CIA
headquarters for review. Then yesterday, the CIA
contradicted the president because it indicated that in
that review at headquarters, the paragraph concerning
'neutralization,' a synonym for 'assassination,' was not
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 Approved For Release 2010/01/06: CIA-RDP88-01070R000301410016-4
excised ...'.It was left in, and the manual was-sent. back*and
published'?for.the contras in Nicaragua.
KURTIS: `::Well, what, is'.the standard operating .'procedure?,;
What would' .1a, -regular manual be like, for -instance, under.-.
your term?:-*. TURNER: Well,. a regular manual would
certainly not include some of these kinds of rather:
heinous activities; like assassination-or-like the silly.
comic-book manual that the CIA also put out down there,
and which has not received as much publicity. But it
talks about putting sponges in toilets to try to- break
down the.economy..of Nicaragua. You know, we want to in
the long run, have'the people.of Nicaragua behind us, not
behind the Sandinista government. If they can't. operate
their. toilets, I don't think they're going to.be very
enthusiastic about our program.
.KURTIS: Mm. One question, -of course, that underlies all
this'is whether or not we, in the CIA, have adopted the
tactics of the other side, whether they be Viet Cong or,
or revolutionary forces moving through Central America.
What do you think? TURNER:. Well, that's, of course, why
the presidents. have issued this order on assassination .
It's why we have, over the last 10 years, established a
system of oversight and controls on what are called
'covert activities' by the CIA. We don't want to
sacrifice what we're trying to defend, that is, our morals
and our ethics. It's why I believe, also, Bill, the
public and the Congress objected strenuously when it was
disclosed last April that the CIA had been mining the
harbors of Nicaragua. Assassination, mining of harbors,
are really state-supported terrorism, such as we've been
objecting to in the Middle East. It's our state providing
support for people who are attacking innocent third
parties. .
KURTIS: Those are sort of big acts, though. Bow do you
discipline, as head of the CIA, some of the dirty tricks
that may be performed in a covert action? TURNER: Well,
I think you have to, in a case like this, simply dismiss
.the people who were involved in producing and reviewing
this kind of a manual. You've got to'make an example of
people, that the CIA does. and has for many years now
conformed with the regulations, conformed with-the laws of
the country.
KURTIS: I guess the example is the key. Adm. Turner,
thank you very much... TURNER: Sure.
KLRTIS: ...for being with us. this morning. In a moment,
coming up, we'll hear from the other woman on the
Democratic ticket.
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