LETTER TO HERBERT E. HETU FROM JACK ANDERSON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100170064-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 28, 2011
• Sequence Number: 64
• Publication Date: July 14, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

S1 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100170064-6
JACK ANDERSON
1401 16th Street, N. W. Washington, D. C. 20036
July 14, 1980
Thank you for your letter of June 12, responding to my two columns about
Jack McGehee and his disenchantment with the agency.
I appreciated that the Agency had reviewed McGehee's work and did not require
"him to delete information criticizing the Agency. " But the Agency should not
be applauded for the most minimal bow to the First Amendment rights of its
agents, when it has been given broad powers by the Supreme Court to abridge
those rights.
I agree with you that, in general, Admiral Turner has given no real "cause to
question (your) honesty or integrity. " And I respect you for that. But I must
add that the Agency has been less than candid, and not as helpful as I feel it
could be in responding to questions from my associate Dale Van Atta. In fact,
he has mentioned to me that the Agency has refused him a briefing on any
subject. Since this privilege has been granted other major news outlets, I can
only conclude it is punitive action for writing critically about the Agency.
Instances like these further elevate the importance of conscientious CIA ob-
jectors like McGehee and the things they say, which can be more reliable than
those sometimes coming from persons more worried about political than
security remifications.
I continue to seek favorable CIA stories, because I believe it is in the national
interest to restore public confidence in all government agencies, including the
CIA. I will continue to report unfavorable stories, because the public is en-
titled to know what their public servants are doing. But you can help me
present the other side.
Mr. Herbert E. Hetu
Director of Public Affairs
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C. 20505
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1
Milo"
4
Mr. Jack Anderson
1401 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Second Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
Dear Jack:
This concerns your columns about former CIA employee Ralph
McGehee. Perhaps in fairness you might emphasize that in
reviewing Mr. McGehee's book and assisting him to delete classified
information we did not, as is often charged, ask him to delete
information criticizing the Agency. Subsequently, we have also
reviewed two additional submissions by Mr. McGehee; one a review
of Mr. Colby's book, "Honorable Men," and another article describing
the Agency's review of his book which is highly critical of that
process. Both were reviewed with no changes requested.
I will not debate Mr. McGehee's charges. However, I would
hope that you would attest to the fact that during the past
3+ years your relations with this Agency, Admiral Turner and myself
would give you no cause to question our honesty ar integrity.
We may not always be able to answer your questions fully but we
never lie or contrive to deceive, as McGehee charges.
Sincerely,
Herbert E. Hetu
Director of Public Affairs
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12 June 1980
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THE WASHINGTON POST
11 June 1980
10
-Dook tnaro Q
M.nes
?A veteran CIA agent has just written ments by CIA officials should he exam-
an explosive book, charging that the fined for deception. For instance, the
agency's top brass has repeatedly lied word "currently," as in, "we currently
about secret operations to the public, no longer employ American journal-
the Congress and even the president. ists as CIA operatives," may mean no-
The revelations could stymie the con- thing more than that they were fired
gressional campaign to loosen the in time for the announcement and
leash on the CIA. then rehired.
The agent, Ralph McGehee, spent 25 ? Articles' on the CIA in Time and
years with the CIA in a variety of as-- Newsweek two years ago "drew upon
signments. He has produced an unpub- official CIA sources who continued
lished manuscript that debunks many their policy of undeviating dishon-
of the CIA's arguments for greater se- esty." For example, one of the stories
Crecy. My associate Dale Van Atta in- reported that a human agent provided
terviewed McGehee, and was allowed the first solid evidence that China was
to examine the hook-length manu- about to set off an atom bomb,
script. "thereby scooping the spy satellites."
McGehee is no Philip Agee, out to McGehee had been assigned to check
destroy the CIA by identifying former that claim and found it to be untrue -
colleagues and endangering their but it suited the purposes of CIA brass
lives. But his disillusionment runs who wanted to justify use of human
deep. and he lays out the reasons for it agents.
articulately on moral grounds. ? President Ford was given a ?low-
"I did not reach my apostasy easily," ing account of a superspy with sup-
he explains, noting that he chose the posed access to critical inside informa-
CIA for a career in 1952, fresh out of tion. "Not mentioned was the fact that
Notre Dame, where he played four the agent had been completely unpro-
years on undefeated football teams. ductive, and ... his meager salary of
Essentially, McGehee charges that less than $100 a month had been sus-
the CIA uses secrecy to cover up in- pended."
more pamphlets packed with 100 times i
more information.
This annoys Sen. James Sasser ID-
Tenn.), who has conducted his own pri- `
vate investigation.. Here are some of
his findings:
? It cost 812,000 in fiscal year 1979 to
send the Kremlin some 23,000 docu-
ments, including the Defense Intelli-
gence Agency's "Review of Soviet,
Ground Forces" and CIA maps and at=
lases of Afghanistan. Yugoslavia, An-
gola, Pakistan, Israel and South Korea-
* It cost just about. as much in the'
same period to see that Fidel Castro re-
ceived government publications, in-
eluding copies of the U.S. Army's field
manual, technical manual and a guide!
to the Lance missile.
? Even the Iranian government is
on Uncle Sam's free mailing list. The
hostage holders get some 3,100 publica-
tions at a cost of $1,800 that year.
The cost figures, incidentally, don't
include mailing, which is also paid by
competence, bureaucratic bungling Footnote: McGehee dutifully sub-
and illegal activities. "Other than iden- . mitted his manuscript to the CIA, and
tity of sources and any unique techno- made the deletions ordered. The
logical collection processes," he writes, agency has refused to comment to us.
the CLA "does not have any secrets to Informing Ivan - The chill in Sovi-
protect." et-American relations - hasn't inter-
Here are some of . McGehee's. rupted the flow of U.S. government
charges: I , publications that are shipped regularly
? "It has been my observation that to the Soviet Union, courtesy of the
most everything an agency official American taxpayers.
says about the agency is either false or The U.S. government exchanges
so misleading as to convey a greatly publications with several countries.
false impression." The Soviet Union, as you might guess,
? Every word. in public. announce- gets the best of the swap six times
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