REMARKS OF WILLIAM J. CASEY DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF AMERICAN AMBASSADORS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88G01116R000500550029-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2011
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: April 3, 1985
• Content Type: MISC

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REMARKS OF WILLIAM J. CASEY
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
BEFORE THE
COUNCIL OF AMERICAN AMBASSADORS
THURSDAY, 3 APRIL 1986
9:30 A.M.
ROOM 1A 07, CIA HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
SDI-
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I AM HAPPY TO WELCOME YOU, MANY OF YOU OLD FRIENDS AND
COLLEAGUES, TO OUR HEADQUARTERS TODAY. WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TO
SHOW. IN THIS BUILDING ARE PEOPLE AND THE OFFICES IN WHICH
THEY WORK. THEY APPLY PHOTOGRAPHY, ELECTRONICS, ACOUSTICS,
CHEMICAL AND OTHER PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES AND OTHER TECHNICAL
MARVELS TO GATHER AND ANALYZE FACTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.
OUR TASK IS TO MOBILIZE AND USE THE BEST BRAINS WE CAN FIND
IN ACADEMIA AND PRIVATE BUSINESS AS WELL AS IN THIS BUILDING
AND ELSEWHERE IN GOVERNMENT TO PRODUCE FOR OUR NATIONAL
DECISIONMAKERS THE BEST INTELLIGENCE IN THE WORLD. WE PLAN
TO SHARE SOME OF OUR OWN PERCEPTIONS WITH YOU TODAY.
FIRST, ABOUT THE PEOPLE HERE. THEY HAVE SURVIVED ONE OF
THE MOST RIGOROUS SCREENING PROCESSES KNOWN TO MAN -- THE
HIGHEST SKILL REQUIREMENTS, THE TOUGHEST INTELLIGENCE AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING, CLOSE MEDICAL SCRUTINY, SECURITY CLEARANCES
WITH BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS GOING BACK FIFTEEN YEARS, AND
DETAILED POLYGRAPHS. THE ONES WHO GET THROUGH THIS OBSTACLE
COURSE ARE SMART, CLEAN OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION, HEALTHY,
AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY ABLE TO COPE.
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LAST YEAR WE HAD ABOUT 150,000 INQUIRIES FOR EMPLOYMENT;
WE SELECTED SOME 23,000 APPLICANTS FOR INTERVIEWS; OF THOSE,
SOME 13,000 WERE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED FOR EMPLOYMENT. ABOUT
7,000 WERE GIVEN ALL THE TESTS. OF THOSE, LESS THAN 2,000 --
A LITTLE MORE THAN 1 PERCENT -- MADE IT THROUGH THE ENTIRE
SCREENING PROCESS AND ENTERED ON DUTY.
A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO, WE BASICALLY FOLLOWED ONLY
THE SOVIET POLITICAL AND MILITARY THREAT TO WESTERN EUROPE,
THE FAR EAST AND NORTH AMERICA. WE STILL DO. BUT TODAY,
OUR NATIONAL POLICYMAKERS ARE INCREASINGLY CONFRONTED BY
COMPLEX ECONOMIC, SOCIOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
THAT ALSO AFFECT OUR NATIONAL SECURITY.
THE PACE OF CHANGE IS ACCELERATING; CHALLENGES TO OUR
SECURITY AND WELL BEING ARE MULTIPLYING; OPPORTUNITIES TO
PROMOTE OUR DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND TO HELP OTHERS SHARE OUR
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY ARE INCREASING. THE CONTRIBUTION OF
INTELLIGENCE IN DISCERNING AND EXPLAINING THESE DEVELOPMENTS
IS BECOMING MORE VITAL.
WE ARE ENTERING AN ERA WHEN DEMANDS ON THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY ARE REACHING BEYOND TRADITIONAL AREAS INTO NEW
WORLDS INCLUDING TERRORISM, NARCOTICS, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER,
THE PROLIFERATION OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS, OUR
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS.
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THE RANGE OF OUR WORK GROWS CONSTANTLY MORE EXTENSIVE.
WE HAVE OVER 500 PH?D?s HERE AT LANGLEY AND AT LEAST FOUR
TIMES THAT NUMBER WHO HOLD MAs OR OTHER ADVANCED DEGREES.
OUR WORK HAS BECOME SO FAR REACHING THAT WE NOW MUST HAVE
SPECIALISTS IN MORE THAN 60 DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.
STILL, FIRST PRIORITY MUST GO TO THE STRATEGIC BALANCE
BETWEEN THE SOVIET BLOC AND THE WESTERN ALLIANCE AND THE
NEW DIMENSIONS IT HAS TAKEN ON.
FROM THE BEGINNING, THE SOVIETS HAD DOMINANCE IN LAND
WARFARE. THIS WAS COUNTERED BY OUR SUPERIORITY IN STRATEGIC
FORCES. BY 1980, THE SOVIET STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE FORCES HAD
CAUGHT UP AND, IN MANY KEY AREAS, SURPASSED OURS. EVER SINCE
1980, THE UNITED STATES HAS ACTED TO MODERNIZE ITS STRATEGIC
FORCES; THE SOVIETS HAVE BEEN DOING MORE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE
SOVIETS ARE NOW PROTECTING THEIR LAND MISSILE FORCE BY MAKING
MUCH OF IT MOBILE, WHEREAS THE U.S. MOBILE ICBM WILL NOT BE
DEPLOYED UNTIL THE 1990s.
PERHAPS MOST ALARMING, THE SOVIETS HAVE INVESTED BETWEEN
15 AND 20 YEARS OF RESEARCH ON THEIR STRATEGIC DEFENSES AND
HAVE BUILT A MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM AROUND MOSCOW. WE ONLY
NOW ARE BEGINNING TO EXPLORE MISSILE DEFENSE.
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EVEN AT A TIME OF ECONOMIC DIFFICULTY AND A REORDERING OF
DOMESTIC PRIORITIES, SOVIET MILITARY PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN PROTECTED.
DESPITE OUR OWN INCREASES IN DEFENSE SPENDING OVER THE PAST
FIVE YEARS, THE UNITED STATES HAS ONLY RECENTLY BEGUN TO
CATCH UP WITH SOVIET WEAPONS ACQUISITION PROGRAMS.
NOW, THIS HUGE MILITARY FORCE MAY NEVER BE USED AGAINST
US. THE LARGER THREAT MAY LIE ELSEWHERE. THE SOVIETS' MASSIVE
NUCLEAR AND CONVENTIONAL FORCES MAY BE ONLY A SHIELD TO MAKE
IT EASIER AND LESS RISKY FOR THE SOVIETS TO INTIMIDATE WEAKER
GOVERNMENTS AND TO GOBBLE UP PIECES OF TERRITORY AROUND THE
GLOBE.
THE SOVIETS HAVE ACQUIRED BRIDGEHEADS IN CUBA AND VIETNAM,
AND CLIENT STATES IN SOUTH YEMEN, ETHIOPIA, ANGOLA, KAMPUCHEA,
NICARAGUA, AND AFGHANISTAN. SINCE COMING TO POWER A YEAR AGO,
SOVIET PARTY LEADER GORBACHEV HAS MOVED STRONGLY TO STRENGTHEN
THE SOVIET HOLD ON THESE COUNTRIES WHICH ARE LOCATED EITHER NEAR
STRATEGIC CHOKE POINTS OR IN AREAS OF ALMOST CERTAIN REGIONAL
CONFLICT. THEY ARE BEING LINKED, MOREOVER, IN A GROWING LOGISTIC
AND MUTUAL SUPPORT NETWORK THAT DEPENDS ON EXPANDING SOVIET
NAVAL AND AIR POWER.
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TAKE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE SOVIET POSITION IN THE CARIBBEAN.
THE SOVIETS HAVE CREATED IN CUBA THE STRONGEST MILITARY FORCE
IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR OWN. OVER
THE LAST FEW YEARS THEY HAVE GIVEN CUBA MASSIVE INFUSIONS OF
MILITARY HARDWARE. THE SOVIETS THEMSELVES HAVE AT THEIR OWN
MILITARY BASES IN CUBA 4,500 SOVIET TROOPS AND ADVISORS.
TODAY, WE HAVE AN EXTENSION OF THIS BASE ON THE AMERICAN
MAINLAND IN NICARAGUA. EVEN NOW, CUBAN CONSTRUCTION CREWS ARE
COMPLETING, OUTSIDE MANAGUA, THE LARGEST MILITARY AIRBASE IN
CENTRAL AMERICA. WHEN THE NEW FIELD IS OPERATIONAL, THE SOVIETS
WILL BE ABLE TO FLY FROM THE SOVIET HOMELAND TO NICARAGUA,
REFUEL THERE, AND CONTINUE BY WAY-OF THE PACIFIC TO AIR BASES
IN THE SOVIET FAR EAST.
SIMILAR LINKS AND COMPONENTS OF THIS NETWORK HAVE BEEN
ESTABLISHED AROUND THE GLOBE. FROM ANGOLA, SOVIET NAVAL AND
AIR FORCES NOW ROUTINELY OPERATE ASTRIDE WESTERN SHIPPING LANES
IN THE ATLANTIC.
THE MEDITERRANEAN SEGMENT OF THIS SOVIET GLOBAL NETWORK,
WITH 6,000 SOVIET BLOC ADVISORS, IS ANCHORED AT LIBYA AND
SYRIA, WHICH ARE GAINING CONTROL IN LEBANON AND SUDAN TO FURTHER
SQUEEZE ISRAEL AND MODERATE ARABS.
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SIMILARLY, THIS NETWORK THREATENS WESTERN SEA LANES IN
THE RED SEA, ARABIAN SEA, AND INDIAN OCEAN FROM BASES IN ETHIOPIA
AND SOUTH YEMEN.
FINALLY, SOVIET NAVAL AND AIR FORCES OPERATING OUT OF
OUR FORMER BASES AT CAM RANH BAY AND DA NANG IN VIETNAM COMMAND
THE VITAL SEA LANES LINKING JAPAN, TAIWAN AND SOUTH KOREA WITH
MIDDLE EAST OIL SUPPLIES AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ALLIES.
THESE BRIDGEHEADS ARE BEING USED TO SPREAD SUBVERSION,
TERROR, AND DESTABILIZATION, AND SPAWN NEW BRIDGEHEADS IN
NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. FROM NICARAGUA, TERRORISM AND
SUBVERSION ARE BEING EXPORTED THROUGHOUT CENTRAL AMERICA AND
INTO CHILE, COLOMBIA AND ELSEWHERE IN LATIN AMERICA. FROM
LIBYA, THERE IS INVASION OF CHAD, ATTEMPTS AT DESTABILIZING
GOVERNMENTS IN EGYPT AND TUNISIA, ZAIRE AND SUDAN, AND SUBVERSION
THROUGHOUT WEST AFRICA. FROM ANGOLA, THERE ARE INTRUSIONS
INTO ZAIRE. FROM SOVIET-OCCUPIED AFGHANISTAN, THERE HAVE BEEN
ARMED INTRUSIONS INTO PAKISTAN AND OCCASIONALLY EVEN IRAN.
SINCE 1964, NORTH KOREA HAS BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN SUBVERSION
AND TERRORISM IN AT LEAST TWENTY-EIGHT COUNTRIES.
DURING THE 1960s AND 1970s, PEOPLE IN MANY PARTS OF THE
WORLD WERE FLOCKING TO JOIN COMMUNIST INSURGENCIES. IN THE
1980s, THIS TREND HAS REVERSED.
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TODAY, SOME HALF MILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE
FIGHTING IN RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS AGAINST COMMUNIST REGIMES
OR COMMUNIST OCCUPATION. AFGHANISTAN IS VIRTUALLY A
NATION-IN-ARMS FIGHTING AGAINST 120,000 SOVIET OCCUPATION TROOPS.
IN ANGOLA, SAVIMBI HAS SOME 60,000 FIGHTERS IN ALL PARTS OF
THE COUNTRY BATTLING THE CUBANS, MARXIST ANGOLANS, AND SOVIET
ADVISORS. IN ETHIOPIA, ERITREAN AND TIGREAN REBELS FIGHT THE
MARXIST MENGISTU GOVERNMENT AND THE LARGEST ARMY IN AFRICA
WITH ITS CUBAN AND SOVIET ADVISORS. IN KAMPUCHEA, 50,000
INSURGENTS STRUGGLE BITTERLY WITH 170,000 OCCUPYING VIETNAMESE
SOLDIERS. IN MARXIST NICARAGUA,'20,000 RESISTANCE FIGHTERS--MOST
OF THEM CAMPESINOS DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES BY THE REGIME--ARE
HOLDING THEIR OWN AGAINST 120,000 SANDINISTA TROOPS AND MILITIA
ARMED WITH THE LATEST SOVIET ASSAULT HELICOPTERS AND TANKS.
THE PENDULUM OF HISTORY HAS SWUNG AWAY FROM SOVIET MARXISM
AS A MODEL FOR COUNTRIES IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA,
AND TOWARD THE CONCEPTS OF DEMOCRACY AND A FREE MARKET ECONOMY.
IN LATIN AMERICA, FOR EXAMPLE, ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, URUGUAY,
VENEZUELA, ECUADOR, PERU, COLOMBIA, PANAMA, COSTA RICA,
EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS AND GUATEMALA ARE ALL FUNCTIONING
DEMOCRACIES. IN EIGHT OF THESE TWELVE COUNTRIES, DEMOCRACY
HAD BEEN RESTORED IN JUST THE PAST SIX YEARS.
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JUST THIS YEAR, ONE-MAN RULE IN HAITI AND THE PHILIPPINES
HAS BEEN REPLACED BY GOVERNMENTS COMMITTED TO A DEMOCRATIC
FUTURE. NOW WE MUST HELP HAITI RESIST CUBAN SUBVERSION AND
THE AQUINO GOVERNMENT DEAL WITH A SAGGING ECONOMY AND COMMUNIST
INSURGENCY IN THE PHILIPPINES.
THERE IS, THEN, A "WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY" RIGHT NOW FOR
FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY TO ADVANCE IN THE WORLD. THE SOVIET
UNION HAS OVEREXPANDED AND IS ON THE DEFENSIVE. IT CANNOT
SUPPORT ITS EMPIRE ECONOMICALLY. FOR EVERY COUNTRY THAT HAS
EMBRACED IT, SOVIET MARXISM HAS BECOME A ONE-WAY TICKET TO
OPPRESSION AND POVERTY.
THE SOVIETS AND THEIR FRIENDS HAVE DISCOVERED IN TERRORISM
A LOW-COST, LOW-RISK MEANS OF ATTACKING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS
IN EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND LATIN AMERICA.
THE MAJOR TERRORIST STRIKES WE'VE SEEN HAVE TWO COMMON
THREADS:
1. THE ATTACKS WERE DIRECTED AGAINST WESTERN (OR
PRO-WESTERN) TARGETS.
2. THE MAJOR TERRORIST STRIKES INVOLVED AN ELABORATE
SUPPORT APPARATUS, AND MAIN CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS INFRASTRUCTURE
INCLUDE BULGARIA, CUBA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, EAST GERMANY, LIBYA,
NICARAGUA, NORTH KOREA, IRAN AND SYRIA.
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TERRORISM TODAY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE FOREIGN POLICY
AND DEFENSE APPARATUS OF SOME STATES. ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT
TASKS FOR INTELLIGENCE IN THE YEARS AHEAD WILL BE TO PENETRATE
THE SMALL, FANATICAL GROUPS WHICH CARRY OUT THE CRIMINAL ACTS
OF MURDER, ROBBERY, BOMBING AND KIDNAPPING.
THERE ARE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE HUGE TROUBLEMAKING
APPARATUS WE TRY TO KEEP TRACK OF OUT THERE: THE ARMS
SMUGGLERS WHO PROVIDE WEAPONS TO TERRORISTS AND INSURGENTS
AROUND THE WORLD; THE NARCOTICS TRAFFICKERS WHO INCREASINGLY
FUND TERRORISM AND SUBVERSION; THE TECHNOLOGY THIEVES AND
THEIR HUNDREDS OF DUMMY CORPORATIONS SET UP AROUND THE WORLD
FOR THIS PURPOSE; THE PROVIDERS OF NUCLEAR AND CHEMICAL KNOW-HOW
AND COMPONENTS WHO FEED A GROWING PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR,
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS; THE HUGE ESPIONAGE AND
PROPAGANDA APPARATUS THE SOVIETS, CUBA, AND WARSAW PACT
COUNTRIES MAINTAIN.
THESE THREATS MOVE SILENTLY ACROSS BORDERS AND AROUND
THE WORLD. WE ARE THE ONLY WORLDWIDE SERVICE ABLE TO WORK
WITH THE SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES OF OTHER FREE
COUNTRIES TO CONSTITUTE A WORLDWIDE NETWORK TO COUNTER THIS
MOVEMENT OF CAR BOMBS AND SECRETS, OF TECHNOLOGY AND GUNS,
AND OF NARCOTICS AND NUCLEAR AND CHEMICAL CAPABILITIES ACROSS
INTERNATIONAL BORDERS.
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THERE IS NO WAY WE COULD COVER THESE WORLDWIDE THREATS
BY OURSELVES. BUT IN UNITY AND COOPERATION THERE IS STRENGTH
AND, AS THE MAJOR TARGET OF MUCH OF THIS ACTIVITY, WHETHER
AT HOME OR ABROAD, WE NEED AND CONSTANTLY CULTIVATE THAT
COOPERATION AND STRENGTH.
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