CIA FAILURES MUSTN'T SLOW CONGRESS' PUSH FOR REFORMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100170117-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2007
• Sequence Number: 117
• Publication Date: April 15, 1979
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/09/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100170117-7
LOUISVILLE, KY.
COURIER-JOURNAL
15 April 1979
r' THOUGHT, THE BARRAGE.;'of,-criticism;
ea t
.. id _'70s, the.
now is not as hav.s, inhem
Centre IntelligenceAgency is under fire.
iren't directed at sp'ing.on Anierican`citi
:i as , tri' -.e?._i _9t Ins __d'
- o
!the CIA is failing iii its basic job _collect.
ing ahd analy ing useful, foreign _intelli
igence and getting. the' _results_,gto pol
Makers, including..,., the, President. troops?~ tanks and craft But_ the most.
The charges are serious And Innis. the accurate-reconnaissance! satellite-`imagin-4
be-lief ~in some quarters that-'recent-intelli -Fable: %couldn't-?? have foretold the, -Islamic=-,
.-.._ ce fail .res - in T..'n ana.1:A fghanistan. ''.: rcvnlutinn.. thou forcers':.:the- Shah?"tn "`fled :='~:~'!~
for instance ~ are an argument-. for.'lturn t
ping back the`clock .By that reasoning;-an,,,,
Preoccu'pation' ith Russia
efrective CIA is one accountable neither to--
Congress no to theAmerican? people,-and The~ack "of good=political inteiligene
'
efforts; to reform the agency therefore from, Iran- also reflects' another CIA? weak
'must be< dropped v`F .:- `ness According to some closer observers.?ot
I must ThelCsweeping;? investiga 'the agenc the CIA for many - years lies
ress? ythe, press and Pi euue~.t Ford s -arse , 1,o tne??=Soviet--unions ai Ene expense of
made the intelligence agencies of friendly a its p Tally whenweare sow- de-,
~~ nations wary'. of .3t obp tang Xoo _ cl sel ,pe entkoi simported: oil, can be .: greatly
'~' - ?`" ". affe ted;t5} politicat movements :that nave;
CIAdoes a poor fob gathering economic
tt and 'political ,;information even. . within ,the
may Have:compounded the: agency s prod
;low-levef 'Iobsa_Earlier this ,year, .aiother.
250 ethploees - many o them niddle
and and, senior-level management officials
rdmi aL Turner ;RWreckin -flies CIA'?
with. the.CIA BuE'theCIA's most. basic
onhve
problems:-.. , the.es.. tat,.seem to -ha
led to. its recent failures-..-In- pre-date the
:One of;- theser.-problems-"is the agency's
ion, r fissile : tests x `and. deployment ,of'
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 Approved For Release 2007/09/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100170117-7
tirements? led Benjamin .Schemrter, editt5r
yof the .4`Arree i ..F'orcesa`Journ 'to=write;*ce-
; "cently ins ?'fie f Vast t}gf r& Post.hat Addmi-~
moral Turner has beep a disaster 'The CIA
chief; ? according to-Mr. Schemmer, is>yso
eager, 'tQ ,grease the Carter adthinistratian
that he has skewed agency repots.. tossup
port administration policies.-.-
Mr. Schemmer, and others, also charge
that under Admiral Turner the -CIA's tra-
ditional imbalance between information
collection and analysis has tilted even
more toward collection. The result, say the;
critics, is that the agency is swamped with"
more raw data than it can evaluate. With
out analysis, much` of the information ist 14
useless to the President wand his foreigni
affairs, advisers;,..
It's -almost 'impossible for an outsider: o
tllhhhi
.e weter tese-criticsms are valid.. Ad-.
miral__Turnerr of=course,-defends-his stew
cedes;--there are morale lproblems 'at' r the
agency~he argues tYtat'this!~hasii't:'affected'
'Perhaps he's right:: But`-.if, tfie-current:
disenchantment with the-CI'A's=-perform
- ance means there will ichanges; Presi-
dent Carter should move cautiously Poll-
tics may dictate that Admiral Turner ' be
.replaced:,:But -the agency has= had' fi"ve?"di: '
rectors. in -sixyears. Another`change';atzthe-
top might simply. create-more. . confusion
More important than the fate of Admi
ral Turner, though,, is the move- in . Con-
gress to adopt a charter, for the CIA; and
to reorganize the- intelligence community.
It is essential, if' _the' abuses of the past
aren''t to , be- repeated, that the CIA know
and play by the: rules
The CIA , has. an essential but unpleasant
role. Its agents can't be expected .to be-
``have like Boy, Scouts.`Bui',they "and-thei
bosses can,' be expected to' concentrate on
their 'primary mission gathering' and
analyzing- intelligence -, without engaging
in dirty, tricks that..embarrassour count
Approved For Release 2007/09/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100170117-7