'OVERSIGHT BODIES' IN SPYING NETWORK DESERVE HONEST TRY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100150101-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 20, 2007
• Sequence Number: 101
• Publication Date: September 11, 1978
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/06/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100150101-6
'11K llr:'1KU11 LV1;WJ
11 September 1978
O"~rsight"BOdies'
The CIA's job, collecting informa.;'
tion about other countries as well as:
international activities, is a little
more difficult. Terrorists and drug
traffickers do not advertise. Many
countries whose actions affect us
directly are, closed: There is no:
opportunity to learn about them.
openly.:Travel is prohibited, their
press is 'controlled; 'their govern
ments function in secret, and foreign
initiatives are often taken- without
explanation. Surprise: is a _routine:
strategy.
Although we areat'a'disadvantage
in this quest for information,- none of
us would trade this openness for the
short-term advantages of unneces-
sary. secrecy. Nonetheless, if we are
to function successfully in a world
where closed 'societies compete with "
us . economically, politically and
militarily,, where our well being is in
some measure dependent on their
actions and our ability to anticipate
them, we, too, must preserve some
secrets lest we lose all leverage.'
The intelligence community in
particular is.out of business unless it
can ensure a large degree of confi-
dentiality in what it does. The Soviet
who passes his delegation's change in-
negotiating strategy to us; the agent
who can become a member of a
terrorist organization and thereafter:
keep us informed of their plans; the
.allied intelligence agencies who work
? with us to watch and thwart intern
tional drug ,trafficking; 'none will
take the. obvious risks if we cannot
guarantee their anonymity. With the
organized-. effort under way today to
uncover American intelligence offi--
cers- and - activities -' in the real. or
feigned' belief that, this will benefit
the. United. States.-:the ability, to
protect 'these "intelligence sources
and methods is in danger:
STAT
By STANSFIELD TURNER
A terrorist "organization plans to
kidnap an American businessman; a.
Soviet delegation changes its negoti-
ating,goals; a,*ship carrying illegal
narcotics enters U.S. coastal waters.
Elements of- a LeCarre novel? No..,
Real life?. ' Yes: Worth knowing?'
That's up to you. ;
The'American intelligence-com--
munity has been the eyes and ears of
the United States overseas for over
30 years.: Simple rationale: It. is"
better to know what is happening:
around us than to be surprised.
WHILE` ORIGINALLY a reaction,.
to Pearl Harbor,. that rationale is
even more relevant., today. Military -
parity, economic interdependence
and political. activism are today's
realities. Freedom, sometimes sur
vival, depends on awareness. Gov-
ernments, no- less than individuals,
can do a better job if they can antici-
pate problems and- are. able to plan
ahead. This is neither illegal nor
;sinister.' All nations work hard ' 'at-
Adm. Stanfield Tamer is director
of the Central Intelligence Agency..
beings better.. informed. Unfortu
nately, in' recent, years, this has'
become harder for us and easier for.'
our competitors: t "
The United States is'an. open soci;
ety. Foreigners can move freely and
unnoticed. in our midst.. The quanti
ties of published information about:
everything we do exceeds any indi-
vidual's capacity to absorb it. The
KGB's (Soviet, Union secret police)
job is easy. _- :' `.....,yti'
Is the threat to America of terror-
ism'and lawlessness real? Is there a
danger that the United States could
lose her. position of leadership in the
world over time and' maybe some
degree of. her free choice? Is it worth-
while to pursue hard-to-getinforma-
tion so -that decision makers can
know what other countries actually
plan rather than guessing what they
might be- planning?..The decision is
really. up to the American citizen.
But, if' your answer. to any of those
questions is yes;. then some individ-
ual or group, call it the CIA or call it
whatever you will, must go and dig.
the information out.
. Anti-intelligence protagonists will
claim that while these examples may
seem reasonable, the intelligence
community and the CIA in particu-
lar are involved also in skullduggery
of a less savory nature. As proof, a
litany of past. abuses -- some actual,
many imagined - is recited. There is
no question intelligence capabilities
were misused in the past, albeit very
,:infrequently.. There is also no ques-
tion that those abuses which did
occur were thoroughly investigated
by the Church Committee, the Rocke-
feller Commission and others and do
not continue to exist.
Anyone who is more, than superfi-
cially informed on intelligence mat-
ters and who is willing to be honest
knows that the CIA is operating more
openly and is' under tighter controls
today than at any time in its history.=
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 Approved For Release 2007/06/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100150101-6 2
AND. WHILE SECRECY remains
indispensible to serious intelligence
work, the several new oversight
bodies, acting as surrogates for the
general public, are not denied any
information they need to ensure that
what the CIA does is both legal and
proper. The executive and legislative
branches share this responsibility
through the personal. involvement of
the President'and the vice-president,
the National. Security Council, the
new Intelligence Oversight Board
and the:two,:new, in the last two
years; Select Committees on Intelli-
gence in the House and Senate. -
Secrecy, while it can' be. used to
hide misdeeds and mistakes, can also
enable us to learn more about those
who; could harm us,~deny them- the,
advantage of surprise and ensure our
decisions: are based on fact. rather
than 'surmise.
.In itself secrecy.is neithergoodnor
bad, moral nor immOraL..In the new
oversight. bodies we ha_ ve "a respon-
` sive:; ;.well-conceived ;'mechanism
capable for perhaps the first time of
controlling government. secreey and
secret activities adequately. e
I suggest we give it a chance. .-
The Los Angeles Times Syndicate. '
Approved For Release 2007/06/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100150101-6