OURS U.S. NEEDS EARS MORE THAN EVER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000100010085-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 22, 2004
• Sequence Number: 85
• Publication Date: March 3, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2004/10/28 : CIA-RDP88-01314R000100010085-1
AURORA BEACON-NEWS (ILL.
3 March 1979
U. S. needs 1-
ore than
IF EVER THIS country required the best possible intelli-
gence from abroad, now is the -time.
rn ions.betw n Chim and the. Soviet Union are such that a
'~!r.3"Juii't '.' *.r is at feast cunceivabie.
iran and other states in a vast crescent stretching from Paid.-
scan to South Africa, are threatened in varying degrees by So-
viet ambitions and, or intetnai political crisis - developments
which bear directly on vital American and Western interests.
The sustained Soviet military buildup during the last 15 years
promises Moscow a position of nrategic military superiority by
the early 1980s.
Peace remains elusive in the Middle East tinderbox.
The gathering storm throughout southern Africa threatens to
drag that region into. the maelstrom of direct East-West con-
frontation.
How the White House and Congress react to these events will
be based in large part on the adequacy of the intelligence as-
sessments received from the Central Intelligence AP,e,, .
And how goes the CIA? It isn't necessary to break any secret
codes to discover that the agency continues in terrible disar-
ray.
A new wave- of resignations and early retirements reflects.
Y the sagging morale in CIA ranks.
TAKEN TOGETHER with last year's purge of more than SW
officers of the CIA's clandestine service, the most recent tur-
moil must further reduce the effectiveness. of an agency whose
performance has long been suspect.
From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the CIA consistently un-
derstated the dimensions of the Soviet military buildup by a
factor of 50 percent. Add to that catastrophic failure the defi-
ciencies of agency assessments of successive crises from Viet-
nam to Iran and the scope and costs of CIA mistakes becomes
apparent.
The next few years are virtually certain to pose ever more
critical threats to the United States and its allies..
Despite these chilling realities, Congress has demonstrated a
sense of misplaced priorities to-match, the CIA's m uoie dis-
asters.
The Senate Select Committee on- Inte hgence has rat xred roe
the. last two years to draft an "Intelligence Reorganisation and
Reform Act," the chief purpose of which is to prohibit the CIA
from exceeding Marquis of Queensbuty rules in lathering in-,
formation.
Granted there is a need to exert some control over the activi-
ties of agents whose zeal has sometimes surpassedthe bounda-
ries of propriety.
BUT IN A WORLD of mounting threats.to the security of the
United States, there is a far greater need to nurture a CIA is at
can and will provide information essential to this country's sur-
vival.
more The. fact is the Congress hasyet to address the real inte14
- /nre scandal - the appalling failures of the CIA and its even
VVV alarming deterioration. in the:last several years. Since
taking office, the Carter administration has demonst;~ated its
own inability to restore the nation's eroding intelligence cam-
bilities.
In the absence of proper leadership from the White House. it
is left to Congress to. begin the task of rebuilding an adequate,
intelligence organization. A long second look at the Senate Se-
lect Committee's "reform" legislation would be a ggod.first
step. , . __ .
Approved For Release 2004/10/28 : CIA-RDP88-01314R000100010085-1