CIA SHOWING ITS SECRETS IN BID TO POLISH ITS IMAGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100010027-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: November 18, 1974
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

i
STAT
90-0 1208 R000100010027-3
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP
LOS A1' GE +ES .TIMES
l g NOV 1974
-
Although the officials sa
\ a fy are - " - amounts to notning grilling to accept informed o' ticism more than an arm of the ? ..porting few, if any, .such
' of the agency's performance and ad- U.S. vernment, conduct-. operations now.
Showing .just their operations to changes in Ing a secret war. without.- In Chile the agency had
national policy, they are apprehen- either. the approval of Con= . subsidized.opposition par-
? Bid sive about the possibly fatal effects gress-or the knowledge of ties and newspapers in an
ecrets of disclosures made by : former.: the American people,"- he attempt to block the elec-
agents. saki. w ,- Lion. of Salvadore Allende,
S
-The traditional rationale a Marxist, to the presiden-
' "People can be' killed,'. one CIA for such activity, that the - -
man said in referring to some of the Soviet Union works even cy and later to. prevent his
S recent insider tales of agency life. harder to undermine and crushing of all political op-
"These are people who put their overturn l e g i t i m a t e , position:
-faith is us.". . governments, was given . Although such =opera-
Criticism, New International The agency has strong authority to by President Ford at his -'Nona apparently are sane-
guard against secrets being di'
s- Sept. 16 press conference tioned under the general
Attitude Bring Disclosures; pensed by its. current employes but when he was asked wheth- g
the only restraint against former em- er the CIA had an interna- pub 11 c. a u t ti orization
Lid Still On Vital OperatlOnS ployes telling all is a contract they tional right to interfere in ;issued by President Harry
s'i gn when they joined the CIA and the internal affairs of S Truman when he estab-
fished the CIA In 1947
BY MURRAY SEEGER the general laws against espionage. Chile.
n,rw Staff whirs The agency has been involved'for: o "Our ? government like from the 'remains of .the
WASHINGTON-One of the' big- months in an embarrassing suit di- other governments, does wartime Office of Strate-
'pest of the bureaucratic icebergs in rected at blocking -publication of take certain actions in the gic 'Services, the agency
CL& and the intelligence field to help: ?hes been given more re-
parts of the book, The
Washington, ,t h, e C e n t r a 1 Intel- Cult of . Intelligence,", by Victor implement foreign policy cent, secret-. authority to
Ilgence Agency; is riding a' little 114archetti, a' former agency official, and protect national secur-, . carry ? on covert -: actions
higher in the water these days. ' and John D. Marks, who worked for itv,' Mr. Ford said. "I am abroad.: -
Under the heaviest internal and .the Department of State. ` .Informed '. reliably t ha't' More' controversy.--. than'
external attacks of. its 27-year histo-, ' ? A more recent book,: "Inside the Communist nations spend:, that gen t d b the-
ry, "the agency" or "the company" 'Company: a CIA Diary," by former 'vastly more money than : werseas
'was stimulated by tthe -
ks
as its employes and those who deal agent Philip Agee, has' been pub- we do for the same kind of wassti that the IA ha
?with the CIA call it-has initiated a fished In Britain, where, of course,': purposes." helped h of its formed.
r
subtle campaign to refurbish Its po- the agency- cannot block' the print- of
E.
'Howard
litical standing and generate new Ing of anything it considers sensi old s,
He added: "I think this is' Hunt Jr., in his 'clandes-
public support. '' five. _ ,
In this campaign the agency Is .rTo-counter such publica In the best interest of the tine' White House .assign-:.
disclosing more of itself to public tions;:,the agenc is, su -people in Chile, and -cer- . ments without -knowing
view, while leaving what it consid- porting . legislation ,t.ha t tainly in our best interest." :`~xtrat they were.
Colby admits that the' Domestic use of CIA au-
ers to be vital dim ' ensions well den beneath the surface of essential would make it 'a crime for:: conflict between Western- thority ' is= clearly. illegal.
former employes to=on, style democracy and Com- Although "the?agencv-wav:;
secrecy. close secret information. ; -
"If we don't protect the names of Disclosures by former; munism has changed and ered under'the sfr?ng`
'that there is room for de-
-our people abroad and people who employes and other-pub;.
bate on the agency's fu- Pressure :6L the (. oj.,,
wort: with us, we won't have people fished information on the hire role. White- House, it : fin4lly.
who will work with us," William E. agency's activities *.,,have
"lt is advocated b fought bacl: and saved.lts
Colby, the career official who took supplied ammunition. for by some
dented reputation.
over as CIA director last year in the private individuals and that the United States.' "It was lower-level peo-
midst of the agency's worst prob- congressmen who believe ; abatldon covert action," he pie who blecv the- whistle
lems, said recently. the'CIA should give up its' said- in a recent speech.
"dirt tricks." - t.- .. ' '"This is a legitimate dues- on Hunt,"?;.prie agency
3r member recalled.: A f t e r
"tf we can't protect some of our "There is no justification lion and in the light of giving the- retired~?aent
technical systems that give us infor- in our legal; moral or reli- current American. policy
oration then the other side can take gious principles for opera-' . . . it would not have a some equipment, the Iow-
counteimeasures and we -will no, tions of a U.S. agency tnajor impact on our cur- er-level" :r executives re-
longer he able to benefit from those which result In. assassina- rent activities or on the Ported }his requests to
systems," he said. tions,. sabotage, political current security of the higher-ups,*,:2.tid Hunt .was-
The recent, wave of criticism disruptions or other med- United States." cut off from additional
against the CIA, the keystone in an dling in another country's In recent 'history the support.,:.: ~? ' ? -? -:
intelligence community that spends internal affairs, all in the CIA developed and sent an On the international po-
of the American a r med invasion against `litical scene; :agency offi
about SS billion a year, was stimulat name
- , cials are. examinin
ed by disclosures of its peripheral people,". Sen. James G. Cuba at the Bay of Pigs historic. role of "covert:
Involvement in the Watergate scan- Abourezk (D-S.D.) said. and armed a secret army oo r o I e ' b e y are con
dais and its direct Involvement in in Laos in the Indochina
STATh'lean politics.
CIA officials are equally disturbed
by the more recent phenomenon of
cmployes leaving- the tightl closed.
circle, where morale and .lo! -,tra.
ditionally have been rcn t; ' ab1
high, and selling their oar ;h in
books and magazine articli1.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100010027-3