MORE OPEN C.I.A. SOUGHT BY COLBY INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR ASSERTS HE HAS A DUTY TO EXPLAIN, IN PART, AGENCY'S ROLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000300380042-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 19, 2006
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: December 29, 1974
• Content Type: NSPR

ITEW YORK TINES
Approved For Release ~9OJ1 71CIA-RDP88-01314RO00 0380042-6
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Intelligence Director Asserts
He Has a Duty to Explain,
in Part, Agency's Role
By DAVID BINDER
Spectet to The yea York Tlmes
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28-In
the 16 months since he took
office as Director of Central
Intelligence, William E. Colby
has made more public appear-
ances, spoken to more reporters
and testified more often before
Congress than anyof his prede-
cessors-perhaps more than all
of his predecessors put to-
gether.
Mr. Colby has said several
times on the record that he be-
lieves these deliberate efforts
to "go public," though seem-
ingly paradoxical for an espio-
nage chief, constitute an essen-
tial part of his responsibility as
the head of the Central Intelli-
gence Agency.
Tn a speech before the Los
Angeles World Affairs Council
last summer, Mr. Colby ex-
plained his credo as follows:
' We in the intelligence profes-
sion are aware that ours must
be an intelligence effort con-
dticted on American -principles
acid that it must be more open;
and responsive to our public;
than the intelligence activities'
of other nations." 11
Vietnam, Watergate Influence
Privately, Mr. Colby and his
press aides acknowledge that
J the Vietnam conflict and the
Watergate scandal have practi-
cally compelled the leadership
of the C.I.A. to take defensive
steps by letting the public
know a bit more about the
workings of the agency.
Certain sectors of Public
opinion held the C.LA. respun-1
sible for both, even though in-
fluential figures in the agency
warned in Administration coun-
cils against involvement.
Soon after Mr. Colby took
command in September, 1973,
it became possible for reporters,
to, call the C.I.A..headquarters
in- Langley, Va. and make ap-
pdintrments for brief;-,,s v: ith i
srnior analysts or. e
of foreign intclliger?c,: topic.
In one such "bat :,. ponds r,"
of more than 100, a C.I.A. spe-'
cialist told a report^r in late
null ust, 19; , that Sh e c :p ct^(l
"me sort a IT71'.tarv i o'p it
Chile within- thrr w The
analyst. then 1; ~zt . !'r., fgc:nr
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