FORMER DIRECTOR COLBY'S REMARKS AT THE COSMOS CLUB ON 6 FEBRUARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00418R000100150007-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 15, 2012
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: February 7, 1990
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/15: CIA-RDP99-00418R000100150007-9 'STAT
The Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20505
FROM: David Gries
Vice Chairman
SUBJECT: Former Director Colby's Remarks at the
Cosmos Club on 6 February
Colby provided a lead-in to Judge Webster's appearance in
noting that covert action budgets would probably shrink in the
90s but "under the scrutiny of the Congress as the Director will
tell you Friday evening." Colby's three or four other references
to the CIA and Congress were in the context of an agency that is
increasingly under the joint supervision of the Executive and
Legislative Branches. CIA gets into trouble with Congress when
the President pursues policies that Congress opposes. The Iran
Contra affair is an example. These were the only references to
Congress in an hour's discussion. None were controversial.
In his prepared remarks Colby listed his notion of
intelligence requirements for the 1990s. In descending order of
priority these are monitoring arms controls agreements, producing
economic intelligence, following key political relationships,
following environment issues and assessing ethnic and religious
conflicts. Colby expects the mix of collection tools to change
somewhat: fewer expensive technical systems will be needed, but
more traditional agent reporting and better processing of overt
information will be important.
Questions and answers took up about thirty minutes. All the
questions were friendly. Their subjects follow: Will China be a
key player in the 90s? (No); Will CIA become more open? (No);
Will the Soviets develop fewer new weapons? (Yes); Will the CIA
and the KGB cooperate on terrorism? (A little); Should the U.S.
continue to develop anti-satellite weapons? (No); Is the
importance of national boundaries decreasing? (A little); Should
the US and the Soviets undertake joint space exploration? (Too
expensive); Is a threshold nuclear test ban treaty a good idea?
(Yes, Kennedy almost got one and it would have prevented MIRVs);
Does the CIA understand what is happening in Northern Ireland?
(No); Is Gorbachev sincere? (Yes); Is perestroika reversible?
(Only partially); Is political espionage justified? (Only when
NIC 00138-90
7 February 1990
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/15: CIA-RDP99-00418R000100150007-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/15: CIA-RDP99-00418R000100150007-9
SUBJECT: Former Director Colby's Remarks at the
Cosmos Club on 6 February
the information is important and there is no other way to collect
it); Can the CIA offer economic advice to those in need, such as
East European countries? (In some cases); What was the CIA's
batting average on recent developments in East Europe? (As good
as anyone else's); Is the quality of the people entering the
intelligence field satisfactory? (Very much so); Should the U.S.
help Gorbachev? (We should help ourselves to arms control
agreements; that will indirectly help him).
cc: D/PAO
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/15: CIA-RDP99-00418R000100150007-9