CIA OPERATIONS AND PUBLIC EXPOSURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00845R000100160079-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 14, 2010
• Sequence Number: 79
• Publication Date: June 7, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14: CIA-RDP90-00845R000100160079-4
' RTiCLE' AP_ AR.FD
ON PAG1 _1!`
WASHrNG T0?I STAR
7 ILPTE 1980
Card -Meyer
CIA operations an
J.uo.11'C ex DQsu e
Like the proverbial moitn the CIA abroad by exposing those identified is irrepara-
tain,. the Senate Intelligence its agents who are claimed ble.
Committee has labored to be secretly interfering in For their own protection,
mightily for three-years and the affairs of foreign coun- they can no longer serve in
brought forth a mouse in tries. - wmany corners of the world
the form of a bill to provide Schaap `admits that the where terrorists flourish.
congressional oversight of Russian.: KGB may be,-en- and many governments will
American intelligenceagen- gaged. in-.. espionage' but no longer accept them as
Gies which the Senate passed claims that "As Americans, members of American di~lo-
thiswerk. we are :concerned with re-. matic missions once they.
-Even as the Senatorswere forming-our own' country. -have been so openly identi
-
-improve se-'-That's-why we concentrate.. lied. :., ~. .
voting:39 to 1 to
curity by reducing: from onAmencans:-
=eight toF two the-number of-' : `On the?Bulletin s board or' The- real ' loser is the
con gr.essional=commtttees:advisers;.-the first': name ;American-publicwhose se-
thathave to be informed by listed is= that of Philip Agee, curity will` -steadily be
-the president of: covert ac -the ex-CIA officer who-has: much eroded carefully y trai rainned of ta l-
c_on operations; their fail -made a career and--a small.
- ent from. the front lines of-
ur;_to provide,:--any. real fortune = out of the business-- the Iona struggle with the
`protection for the CIA offi- of `.exposing= former col- KGB and its allies.
'cers undercover -:-abroad leagues ae. his books and-
'.who have to carryout these articles: He was expelled No other democratic
:secret operations was being: from England for maintain= `countrj attempts to conduct
:'dramatically demonstrated. , ingregularcontacts harm- intelligence abroad with so
The June issue of the 'Coy fur to:,the security of the. little protection for its ca-
ert ? Action '-Information- United.--Kingdom with for-, reer officers. Yet when Sen.
Bulletin hit-the newsstands. eign"intelligence officers,"' 'John Chaffee, R-R.L, moved
,with its revelations-just as 'as?the British government. in the Senate Intelligence
the senators were'explain--charged Commit?ee to add an amend
?ina how theirproposed re- . Whether it is. motivated meat to.the- oversight bill
peal; of the. Hughes-Ryan by an=appalling. naivete on that would have made it a
amendment would-prevent the part of the Bulletinsedi- crime punishable by fine
-the leaks that had seemed tors or is masterminded by and imprisonment for
inevitable so long as eight the KGB through-the use of present or former govern
committees had to- be 'in- -Agee, this ongoing exposure ment officials to disclose
formed. This issue=of 'the -of.CIAofficials involves a identities. of., intelligence
Bulletin boasts that. it has massive hemorrhage that is '-officers undercover, he was
.identified 40 U.S. officials in far more damaging than the:.' compelled to withdraw his
American embassies as CIA potential leakage of opera-- proposal bya Byzantine al-
off icers serving under diplo- ' tional details from an exces-- liance of opposing forces.
:matic cover, including 13 sive.. number:-.of congres-
chiefs of station and eight sional-',-committees..:. The- Senator Chaffee was per-
deputy chiefs.: assassination of the CIA sta- suaded by the Senate leader-
'?---The Bulletin-_not'?only -tion chief"- in:..=.Greece, ship that if he pressed his
names these.: (vulnerable . Richard. _Welch,'- in.' 1975 :.amendment both liberal and
individuals. `30-;foreign shows how. tragic can be the conservative factions would
countries but goes into such ' consequences of the finger move to- add so many other
excruciating detail concern- ing of CIA.:officials abroad -'amendments.that the. bill
ing their past careers?as to by. Agee and his.friends ;-' would have?-no chance of
`lend a high degree ofcred >;But even.if more assassi _passage .::and -,.:.the little
ribility to the allegations. As ,nations do'not; result from' progress'.made .-would be
one: of the editors of- the. the: continuing?`exposures -lost' He :reluctantly with-
Bulletin, William Schaap, ex-- that the_ Bulletin. plans to - . drew his proposal on condi-
f.plained to this reporter,, the make id-subsequent issues;-, tion that :the committee
magazine's purpose is to de- the damage done to theca- members.'-would";-stand
st oy the effectiveness of Veers 'and :usefulness' of... solidly against. any other
chaa;2s, iac'ading Sen.
Daniel ? Moyni:nan's
proposal to bar any intelli-
gence use of clerics, academ-
ics or ;ouraalists.
.This: senatorial horse-
trading 5ehind the scenes
would. be understandable
except for the fact that as
time passes the lives and ca-
reers of an increasing num-
ber of U.S. intelligence offi-
cers. overseas-. are being' .
seriously endangered
An attempt to extend
criminal eaalties for unau-
thorized disclosures beyond
current and former govern-:-
ment officials so that they
apply to the press would stir
up a hornet's nest of First
-Amendment issues and is ?
probably not feasible. But at
least potential future Agees
would be eiectively'dis-
couraged byclearpenalties.'--
Meanwhile, Rep- Edward
Derwinski.-R-Ill., is locked
in a battle with the State De-
partment to strengthen the :I
diplomatic cover of-CL-1 per-
sonnel. As things now stand, '
the State Department re-
fuses to allow intelligence
officers to serve abroad as
regular foreign service offi-
cers with the result that
they have to use other forms
of specialized- diplomatic
.
cover - that makes them
easily identifiable for what
.they are- Reform on.. this
front is long overdue, and
President Carter's inter-t--a-..
figs on Derwinski's side.,
would be decisive.;.,
Let us hope that we don't-;
have to' wait for a replay of.'
the Welch assassination to
-chock the Cnn
ress'and the-
g
administration-into making
the legal and procedural re-
forms. that seem .so obvi-
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/14: CIA-RDP90-00845R000100160079-4