SPY CHIEF FAVORS U.S. PROSECUTION OF MEDIA FOR BARING TOP SECRETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100140021-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2012
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: September 3, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100140021-3
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3 September 1987
Spy chief favors U.S. prosecution
of media for baring top secrets
t3y Hark l hompsgn 1'atace, as the worst blow in the agen- regarding verification of Soviet com-
lnQuirer Weshin`ton Bureau
~ cy's 35-year history. pliance with any new arms control
WASHINGTON -~ The head of the "Bamford's book was absolutely pact should be behind closed doors.
nation's most secret s y a enc said devastating -that book has done "The more enlighted the verifica-
yester ay t at t e e era govern- more damage to us than almost any- lion debate is, the weaker my capa-
meni snouts Prosecute news orttani- thing I can think of," he said. bilities to verify will be," he said.
iattons that pu ltsh sensitive i_nfor? "That book is on the ready-refer- Odom, who has served with the
mafioR.- a practice he said had ence shelves in most foreign intelli- U.S. military in Moscow, said the
c Ppt~T~U-.S.-inTeIhgence-gaTrieiing gence libraries," Odom said. "[t is State Department's oversight of con-
capabiTifies in s__om_e_p_ arts of t_he used by foreign intelligence serv- struction of the new U.S. Embassy in
?'~__ ices, on occasion, to debrief spies." Moscow -where the Soviets planted
Tn a rare on-the-r Odom said he believed that Bam? , bugs in building materials -was
wit entagon r~eppoorters, Arm Lt. ford and others publishing such ma- "irresponsible."
Gen. t tam
Odom
-
d or o
.
,
tr
f terial should be prosecuted under a
th~'1Q8Tir3'Pr~securt y gency, a so 1950 law barring disclosure of U.S.
critiZTL~fTtse eagan a mtntstretion "communication intelligence activi-
forttsttsrretR-ottea s an some U.S. ties."
officta s Failiire to Have the "appro- Odom said he has referred an un-
pna a ~Tofpariinoia" concerning specified number of alleged viola-
Soviet~'t`otia a efforts. lions to the .Justice Department, al-
" romF where I sit, leaks have dam- though a department spokesman said
aged the SIGINT (signals intelli- the government had declined to
gence) system more seriously in the prosecute. Conviction carries amaxi-
past three or four years than in a mum 10-year prison term and $10,000
long, long time," Odom said. "You fine.
just have to take my word that that's "[ can understand the reluctance
the way it looks from where we sit." of the Justice Department to go out
Odom's agency, regarded as the and have one of these cases," he said.
biggest and best-hidden U.S. intelli- "Do you think all of you in the press
gence outfit, is based in Fort Meade, would treat it with dispassion and
Md., between Washington and Balti- detachment?"
more. Using billions of dollars worth Convictions would be easy, he said.
of spy satellites and high-tech listen- "Generally, when ['m with a group
ing gear and computers aboard ships of journalists 1 can see two or three
and planes, thousands of NSA scien- people who fall into the category of
lists, cryptographers and translators those who probably could be success-
eavesdrop on electronic communica- fully prosecuted," Odom said. "I don't
lions worldwide and relay their find- think that the application of the stat-
ings to top U.S. officials. ute will greatly harm the flow of
Odom said the media had made his information in the public debate."
agency's job more difficult in recent But Odom acknowledged that gov
Yeats. The United States has suffered ernment officials who tell reporters
"deadly losses" in gathering intelli- about sensitive intelligence findings
gence in Libya - as well as in Syria are just as guilty as those who pub-
and elsewhere in the Middle East - lish them.
because of news reports highlighting "I'm not necessarily for the news
electronic intelligence methods, agencies being the first to be under
Odom said. the gun -the first people who ought
"A number of sources have dried to be under the gun are the )eskers
up in some areas," Odom said, declin? inside the administration," he said,
ing to name countries outside the adding that administration officials
Middle East. leaked more classified material than
Odom singled out James Bamford's Congress.
1982 book on the NSA, The Puzzle Odom also said that Senate debate
"Most of the Americans dealing
with Moscow tend to underestimate
the resources, the competence, the
technological capability the Soviets
will bring to bear against our pres?
ence there, and that's why I found it
such an insightful remark by a jour-
nalist in Moscow who said, 'Paragoia
is the house disease - if you don't
have it, you're in trouble,' " Odom
said.
' "Even those people who are deeply
involved with sensitive materials
who ought to know better on several
occasions have not had the appropri-
ate level of paranoia," he said.
Too often, Americans based in Mos-
cow dismiss the Soviet spy threat
because they can't comprehend its
magnitude, Odom said.
"It's pretty difficult for Americans
to even realize they're being tailed
in Moscow," he said. "If you're fol-
lowed by a couple or three people,
that's easy to discover -when it's
scores of people it's a little more
difficult."
STAT
y
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100140021-3