SCANDAL FAILS TO STEM CIA RECRUITING, WEBSTER SAYS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89T00142R000700920010-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: October 6, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/04/08: CIA-RDP89T00142R000700920010-1
Scandal Fails to Stem CIA
Recruiting, Webster Says
By JACK NELSON, Times Washington Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON-Despite the
Marine spy scandal that rocked the
American Embassy in Moscow, the
CIA has been able to recruit "as-
sets"-or spies-who are now in
place in the Soviet Union, CIA
Director William H. Webster de-
clared Monday.
"I know that we're developing
recruits inside Soviet Russia at the
present time notwithstanding the
embassy security problem," he
said. "If you think anything would
turn it off, it would be that expose
where they show our embassy as a
leaking sieve, but it hasn't stopped
The greatest risk of damage
posed by the embassy spy scandal
is not to the recruitment of spies
but to the intelligence agencies of
other countries that cooperate with
the CIA, Webster said during a
lengthy breakfast session with The
Times Washington Bureau.
"They are very sensitive about
having their cooperation with us,
or any other intelligence agency,
become a matter of public knowl-
edge," he said. "It goes on and it
should go on, but often for political
reasons inside those countries it is
very embarrassing to them if
they're seen to have any kind of
association with us or any other
intelligence agency, and we all
have them."
Four Marines were charged with
various offenses in connection with
the Moscow Embassy spy scandal,
but so far only Sgt. Clayton J.
Lonetree has been convicted of
espionage. All charges against two
others, Cpl. Arnold Bracy and Cpl.
Robert J. Williams, were dropped.
A military jury cleared Staff Sgt.
Robert S. Stufflebeam of all major
charges but convicted him of two
counts of dereliction of duty for
frequenting Moscow bars the mili-
tary deemed off limits to Marines.
As the spy case unfolded earlier
this year, U.S. officials also discov-
ered that the new U.S. Embassy
being built in Moscow was riddled
with eavesdropping devices. Presi-
dent Reagan has vowed that the
new building will not be occupied
until he is convinced it is a secure
environment, and the State De-
partment is considering a plan that
calls for removing all listening
devices and reconstructing the top
five floors of the eight-story build-
ing.
Webster, who replaced the late
William J. Casey as CIA director
four months ago after serving nine
Years as FBI director, emphasized
that human intelligence gathering
is crucial even in the age of spy
satellites and other spectacular
technological advances.
"You can build your capability in
the sky-and it's awesome what
we're doing and what we need to do
in the future-but it will not really
faithfully tell you why people are
doing things, what their intentions
are and what their capabilities
are," he said.
"Sometimes you get their inten-
tions out of technical coverage,
sometimes you can measure their
capabilities based on imagery and
how much you think they've pro-
duced and so on, but trying to
understand the 'why' of it still is
very much a human intelligence..
gathering function."
Although college campuses have
experienced a mild resurgence of
the kinds of protests that dogged
CIA recruitment officers in the
1970s, Webster said the agitation
mostly reflects disapproval of U.S.
foreign policy. He said he does not
sense "the passion of earlier days."
Despite some reports that the
agency is experiencing recruitment
problems because of the CIA's role
in the Iran-contra scandal, Web-
ster insisted that the agency is
having little difficulty finding
well-qualified recruits.
The CIA is receiving inquiries
about possible employment at the
rate of about 250,000 a year, he said.
While declining to be more specific,
he said that actual employment
applications exceed 1,000 a month.
And the recruits rate high in
quality as well as quantity, he said.
He added that he recently met with
a group of CIA recruits "said to
have qualifications and skills and
aptitudes approximately 10 times
the threshold level for admission to
Harvard College."
Rio vvasnington Post
The New York Times
The Washington Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
New York Daily News
USA Today
The Chi ago Tribune
Date
Considers Morale
Webster has come under criti_
ci in Congress for not moving
quickly to oust or discipline
CIA officials who cooperated with
Casey in some covert actions relat-
ed to the Iran-contra affair that
violated agency rules or the law.
But in the interview he insisted
that he will not be pressured to
move too quickly, for fear of ruin-
ing agency morale.
"I'm concerned internally about
momentum," he said. "I've seen the
destructive effect of house
ing -clean-
brick by brick efforts and other types of tearing apart
t buse
that depend on their esprit agencies
' because
in the agency [CIA) you
little credit publicly for the good
things you do, and you only hear
abo
Webster ut the things You do wrong."
said that he expects to
make some personnel changes and
perhaps take disciplinary action
soon after an internal investigation
is completed about mid-November,
but he declined to speculate on
what his actions might involve.
He pointed out that when he was
called upon to discipline 68 agents
after becoming FBI director nine
years ago, he moved slowly but
deliberately. He said he "made a
distinction between those who
were carrying out specific instruc-
tions that they had no reason to
believe were improperly given, or
that their conduct was illegal, from
those who were violating internal
rules or regulations or who had !!!
every reason to believe and should
have questioned what they were
asked to do."
Seniority a Factor
Implying that high-level officials
will be held to a higher standard of
accountability, he said. "The high-
er the level of seniority, the greater
the obligation to inquire about
doubtful instructions."
When Casey directed the CIA,
State Department officials and oth-
er policy-makers frequently com-
Page
Approved For Release 2011/04/08: CIA-RDP89T00142R000700920010-1
 Approved For Release 2011/04/08: CIA-RDP89T00142R000700920010-1
plained that intelligence estimates
were flawed because they had been
"cooked" to fit his views of foreign
policy. As a Cabinet member, Casey
became directly involved in mak-
ing foreign policy.
Webster, who declined to be-
come a Cabinet member, said that
policy-makers are now being sup-
plied with "improved" intelligence
estimates.
When the Iranian threat to
American shipping in the Persian
Gulf developed, he said, he supplied
an intelligence estimate to Admin-
istration policy-makers and made
it clear that "they can do whatever
they want with the estimate-they
can read it or not read it, use some
of it or not use any of it, but the one
thing they couldn't do was change
it."
2
1/
Approved For Release 2011/04/08: CIA-RDP89T00142R000700920010-1