GATES FINDS C.I.A. BESET BY PROBLEMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000201820027-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 20, 2012
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: February 8, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201820027-3
The Casey Succession
8 February 1937
Gates Finds
C.I.A. Beset
By Problems
7- By STEPHEN ENGELBERG
WASHINGTON
SOME agencies in this city gain prominence,
because of what they do, others because of
whom their leaders know. In the last six-
years, under William J. C President
Reagan's close frien a entral Intelligence-
Agency achieved new influence for both reasons. But
that very power has contributed to a long list of
potentially difficult problems that his newly nomi-
nated successor must face - without the benefit of
Mr. Casey's clout.
As Mr. Casey resigned last week because of ill
4 health, his deputy, Robert M. Gates took over an.
agency once again un er Inves igation on Capitol Hill
for its role in a covert operation that went sour, the
Iran arms deal. He will also be asked some tough
questions about whether any senior agency officials-
were involved in illegally helping Nicaraguan rebels,
Although Mr. Gates is expected to receive quick.
confirmation from the Senate, questions will be
raised about his own role in the affair. Some Senators
want to know why Mr. Gates did not tell them about..
his investigation a month before the operation be-
came public of suspicions that profits from the arms.
deal were going to the contras of Nicaragua.
Mr. Gates, a career intelligence professional,
will also be returning more than once to Capitol Hill
to try to protect the intelligence agencies against the
trend toward slower growth in spending on military
and intelligence matters. One item likely to put pres-
sure on their budget is the need to pay for alternate
methods of launching spy satellites that were to have
been carried by the grounded space shuttles.
"We have a serious problem," observed William
Cohen the Maine Republican who is the new vice
ttffffaan of the Senate intelligence committee.
"People want more intelligence, but they're not will-
ing to pay for it."
Mr. Gates, at 43 years old the youngest Director
of Central Intelligence, has been accorded Cabinet
rank and promised access to President Reagan
whenever he needs it. Nonetheless, several Adminis-
tration officials predicted that the agency will inevi-
tably suffer a loss of clout, not only because of the
Iran-contra affair but also because of the absence of
Mr. Casey's influence at the White House. Several
legislators, however, have expressed optimism that
Mr. Gates, the first director of central intelligence to
come from the analytical branch of the C.I.A., will
cooperate more fully with the Congressional over-
sight committees than Mr. Casey did.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201820027-3
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 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201820027-3 a
New Cal for Closer Oversight
This week, there were already indications of a,
new relationship between Congress and the intelli-
gence agencies. Representative Louis Stokes, Demo-,
crat of Ohio and the incoming chairman of the House
Permanent Select Intelligence Committee, an-
nounced he had drafted legislation to forbid the
President to keep a covert operation secret from
Congress for more than 48 hours. In the covert deal
ings with Iran, Government lawyers concluded that
existing statutes permitted Mr. Reagan to delay note
fication of Congress for nearly a year.
Mr. Stokes's bill would also bar any oral "find-
ings" by the President authorizing covert action, re-
quiring instead that all such decisions be approved in.
writing with copies given to all the members of the.
National Security Council. Mr. Gates himself will
have to resolve a sharp split within the intelligence'
community. Under Mr. Casey, the agency has ac-
tively pursued support for anti-Communist insurgen-
cies, in Angola and Afghanistan, for example, as well
as Nicaragua. Many longtime intelligence profes-
sionals contend that such operations cannot be kept
secret long and that they inevitably drag the C.I.A.
into questionable activities.
Legislators and Administration officials agree
that, despite Congressional feuding with Mr. Casey
over such covert operations as the mining of Nicara-
guan harbors, the committees have given intelli-
gence agencies substantial support in recent years,
Because of Mr. Casey's close ties to Mr. Reagan and
because of a consensus in Congress that a rebuilding
was needed, spending for intelligence agencies has
increased even more than military spending.
Members of Congress are asking, however,
whether the intelligence agencies are spending their
money wisely. A report this week by the House Intel-
ligence Committee harshly criticizes the intelligence.
agencies for "dangerous laxities" in security and
personnel policies. In particular, the report notes
that Edward Lee Howard was hired by the agency
despite a history of hard drug use and was given ac-
cess to highly sensitive information during his proba-
tion period. He is believed to have devastated the
C.I.A.'s Moscow station by describing it to the Rus-
sians.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/20: CIA-RDP90-00965R000201820027-3