ASSESSMENT OF CIA LEADERSHIP CHANGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504740006-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: February 6, 1987
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504740006-9
RADIO TV REPORTS, INC.
4701 WILLARD AVENUE, CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND 20815 [phone]
FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF
PROGRAM Washington Week in Review STATION WETA - TV
PBS Network
DATE February 6, 1987 8:00 P.M.
Washington, D.C.
SUBJECT Assessment of CIA Leadership Change
PAUL DUKE: ...The President's old friend and campaign
manager, William Casey, resigned as CIA chief six weeks after
coming down with brain cancer....
Now, four members of our team: Haynes Johnson of the"'
Washington Post, Charles McDowell-of the Richmond Times-Dispatch,!
Hedrick Smith of the New York Times, and Jack Nelson of the Los j
Anges Times.
A bit of celebrating at the White House today, Jack, but
these are not the best of times for Ronald Reagan.
JACK NELSON: Well, Mr. Reagan had to spend about 45
minutes today with David Abshire, the man who was brought in It o
coordinate his response to the various committees on the Hill in
the investigations of the Iran-Contra scandal. He had to approve
the release of a lot of documents to those investigations. And,
of course, he's had a whole stream of resignations. And I would
say that it's changing the face of this Administration for the
second term. It's becoming, I would say, less political, less
idological, more practical, more pragmatic. And all you have to
do is look at the people who are leaving.
You mentioned Casey, who's leaving after the brain
surgery, being replaced by Robert Gates, a career CIA man. You've
got a new Press Secretary, Martin ritzwater, who's a career man,
replacing Larry Speakes, who, of course, was very much a
political appointee. And you've got the departure of Patrick
Buchanan, White House Communications Director. And he and Casey
were two of the real right-wing, you might say, stalwarts in that
Administration. Buchanan says he's leaving the White House
because he can puruse his political agenda
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outside the Administration better than he can inside the
Administration.
The loss of Mr. Casey, I think, is a real distinct one
for the President because he is the last of the real intimates
that he has, a peer of his, 73 years ola, in the national
security field. You could say that Weinberger is somewhat of an
intimate, but nowhere nearly as close as Mr. Casey.
DUKE: Well, I was just going to say, Casey is being
succeeded by a career public servant named Robert Sates, a
professional man. What does that mean for the CIA, and what does
it :nean for the CIA's emphasis on covert activities? We had a
lot of that under Casey.
NELSON: Well, I think what it means, Paul, is a lot
less covert activities, without any question, a lot quieter CIA.
And the key, I think -- to begin with, there's going to be less
because of the Iran arms investigations, already. But the key to
understanding what the difference is going to be, I think, under
Gates is to look at the kind of background the two men have.
Now, Casey really was a spy from World War II days. He
had quite a distinguished career. He directed the French
Resistance for the Normandy landing of the Allies. He directed
the Allied agents in infiltrating behind the Nazi lines. And he
believes deeply in covert activities. And he's a very
flamboyant, daring kind of guy.
Mr. gates, 42 years old, is almost the opposite. He's
never been on the spy side of the CIA. He's always been on the
intelligence analysis side. He's considered to be very smart but
very cautious, has never really been any sort of a spy. And I
think it'll make a tremendous difference.
HAYNES JOHNSON: Jack, the key is Congress, because
Congress was furious in these last few years under Casey that he
was going around them. And that's really the Iran thing is all
about, in a way.
How do you see that working out?
NELSON: Well, I think you're right. It will make a
difference. Because, I mean, if you remember, it was Senator
Goldwater who w r o t e a l e t t e r s a y i n g h e was t i c k e d off -- that
wasn't exactly his words, but it was close -- a very angry letter
saying that he should notified Congress about the mining of the
Nicaraguan harbor, and didn't do it.
It's going to make, I think -- I've had people tell me
-- a tremendous difference in congressional relations. They were
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very rocky under Mr. Casey because he not only didn't tell them
about that, but didn't tell Congress about the Iranian arms sale.
And Mr. Gates has made it very clear, even before he gut this
job, that he believed in giving Congress more information. And
as a matter of fact, he made a speech in 1985 where one of the
points he made was that the future of the CIA really was to
provide more information for Congress, and he could see Congress
becoming more of a partner with the Agency.
HEDRICK SMITH: But Jack, you don't really expect that
Reagan's policy on Nicaragua, for example, is going to change.
The President, in...
SMITH: ...the State of the Union address, said what he
wanted to do. And Gates is a career man, and a career man knows
when to salute the Commander-in-Chief.
Isn't that right?
NELSON: Well, exactly. And as a matter of fact, one of
the things that people have said about Gates is that one of his
shortcomings might be that he's never been that independent. He
has always been the color of whoever his commander was.
On the other hand, he is a professional. And my feeling
is that he's not going to initiate any sort of covert activities,
and would not be that much in favor of them.
CHARLES MCDOWELL: Jack, he was Casey's deputy. Right?
NELSON: Right.
MCDOWELL: All right. Now, when he goes up there to get
confirmed on the Hill, is suddenly the whole Iran thing going to
fall on his head? Is he going to spend his confirmation hearing
answering what he knew and didn't know, and when did he know,
about the Iran deal?
NELSON: Well, the Senate Majority Leader, Robert Byrd,
has said, Charlie, that it could become a forum for covert
activities by the CIA and for the CIA's operations. But he would
not expect it to become a forum for the Iran arms sale, because
you have a Select Committee to conduct that.
And not only that, but Senator Boren, the chairman of
that committee, has said that he thinks Gates has been fairly
forthcoming in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence
Committee, which Boren heads, and that he would not expect his
testimony before the Select Committee to become any sort of a
first part of the hearings on that particular subject.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504740006-9