HILL LEADERS ON BOTH SIDES SCORE REAGAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000706700005-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 21, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: November 21, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/21 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000706700005-0
21 WASdINGTON TIMES
Hill leaders
on both sides
score Reagan
- "it seems to me the whole Na-
By Jennifer Spevacek tional Security Council concept is in
ana Damon hompson
HE question:" Mr. Nunn said. you're go
WASHINGTON TIMES ing to have to determine if you're
Congressional leaders from both going to allow the National Security
parties yesterday remained sharply Council to be an action agency, car-
critical of President Reagan's hand- r% 1119 out covert activities."
ling of arms sales to Iran, with Re-
publicans and Democrats demand-
ing full disclosure when hearings
open today on Capitol Hill.
The president's news conference
Wednesday night appeared to do lit-
tle to placate congressional critics
from both political parties. Republi-
can and Democratic lawmakers
charged that the president traded
arms for American hostages held in
Lebanon and neglected to inform
Congress of the 18-month secret op-
eration.
Senate Majority Leader Robert
Dnle, one of the president's
staunchest supporters, said supply-
ing arms to Iran was a "mistake," but
that Mr. Reagan had "good inten-
tions."
"There should not even be a per-
ception of trading arms for hos-
The Georgia Democrat said Mr.
Reagan's description of the arms
sale as "minuscule" was incorrect.
lie also questioned the president's
description of the weapons as "de-
fensive-and warned that other coun-
tries may now feel free to send arms
to Iran.
"We may well have given the
ireen light for large arms shipments
to Iran I by other countries," Mr.
Nunn said.
Both the House and Senate intelli-
;ence committees will meet infor-
mally with John Poindexter, the
president's national security ad-
viser, at the White House this morn-
ing.
Both committees will also hold-
closed committee' hearings this
morning. CIA Director William
/a Casey will testi fyfor the adm-inistra
tages." Mr. Dole. Kansas Republican, tion. High-ranking representatives
was a mistake made and move on to
something else."
House Majority Leader Jim
Wright said he expects the
president's aides to provide the intel-
ligence committees all details of the
covert Iran operation.
"They'll demand total disclosure
of everything that occured," Mr.
Wright. Texas Democrat, said after
a White House meeting yesterday
with Jlr. Reagan and House Minor-
ity Leader Robert Michel of Illinois.
Sen. Sam Nunn, slated to become
chairman of the Senate Armed
Forces Committee next year, said
of the State and Defense de-
pArtmen;s will also he at the House
Informed sources said the agenda
for the House meeting includes
these questions for Mr. Casey:
? What was the role of the NSC in
the operation and why was it chosen
as opposed to other agencies more
suited for the task? What was the
role of Israel in the dealings?
? Is Iran still a sponsor of terror-
ism? Did the Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini know of or approve of the
dealings? Who are the Iranian mod-
erates the NSC dealt with?
the nation's foreign policy is "in se- ? Why was Congress not notified?
rious disarray." Without a "real What did the United States gain?
house-cleaning" by the president,
Congress "is likely to overreact"
when the next session begins Jan. 6.
Both committees will also exam-
ine whether the president's actions
were illegal.'Ibday's hearings are ex-
pected to be the first in a series as
Congress opens its probe into Mr.
Reagan's covert dealings with Iran.
Senate Intelligence Committee
Chairman David Durenberger, Min-
nesota Republican, stopped short
yesterday of saying laws had been
breached. "From what I saw last
night, I'm not sure the president has
a grasp of the problem:" he said.
Mr. Wright said the president
"must have been very poorly ad-
vised" to think he was not violating
several laws - including ones that
require timely consultation with
Congress on covert activities and
forbidding countries from
transferring U.S.-supplied arms to
other nations.
While invoking the "very
wrenching experience following
Watergate," Mr. Wright said he
hoped to avoid a constitutional con-
frontation with the White House.
Other lawmakers called for a re-
view of foreign policy decision-
making in the White House,
suggesting new restrictions on the
National Security Council and new
laws requiring faster congressional
notification of secret operations.
But Sen. Daniel Evans, Washing-
ton Republican, cautioned against
any congressional move to usurp the
president's role in setting foreign
policy.
"I don't think we can substitute
the judgment of 535 secretaries of
state on Capitol Hill for the judg-
ment of the one at the White House,"
Mr. Evans said.
Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan Demo-
crat and a member of the Armed
Services Committee, said the pres-
ident "does not appear to understand
just how badly his actions threaten
the chances for peace in the Middle
East."
Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island,
a member of the Republican Senate
leadership, said Mr. Reagan's cred-
ibility has been tarnished. "I think
the president is in a difficult spot:'
he said, "and we really have a cred-
ibility problem."
Senate Minority Leader Robert
Byrd warned that Mr. Reagan's ef-
fectiveness as a leader is at stake.
"The American people don't want
any more excuses. The fastest way
for President Reagan to become a
lame duck is for the president to
keep making excuses," the West Vir-
ginia Democrat said.
But Sen. Alan Simpson, the assis-
tant Republican leader, said, "If
everybody's waiting for an apology,
it's like if you wait for an apology
from your wife. You're not going to
get one as long as you wait for it."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/21 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000706700005-0