UNSHACKLING THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100190076-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 14, 2007
• Sequence Number: 76
• Publication Date: January 28, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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But with the U.S. on the defensive in KNEE JERK: The White House wants o peretbecut
trouble spots around the world, the CIA is !hang a h make them part of the new CIA out of thehcondu ~.ea~'hat's hmoreo rn
that
fast regaining favor in Washington. Agency Y
s e~it ges con supporters are demanding that the CIA be would limit CIA brie fings to the Housejand they eaenkare at the hy idea when a
"unshackled" and permitted wider latitude committees-which for covert operations. The new get-tough hS avetonlt 27 members. The proposed new cent yeas may very twlell have comelfrom
mood comes just when Congress is consid- only
broaden the scope of
major fight that could be cam don sources Yet in the supercharged mood
-an a chrter would ering a new charter for the Chow much covert operat ions also
nistan, some
Congress should eve
oversight oversight Congrress should have on CIA :without specific
eo wantedtowritescoresand easingo fherequiremertfolraCongressional
plans for covert activity around thworld.
scone point, ores of restraints' At the heart the debate is the aide. "It was a knee-Jerk reaction [to] all the ries Senate In el igencevCommittee ch chair-
the of amendment, which requires
pl*
for covert approve detail most abuses... ayery important ap icationof man Birch B~yh and
also checks and balances. But now weneed to put 'needed reforms will be lost along the way.
the President
provides plans ans fo that c eight Senate operations. tions. and It House more balance into the checks." "There is pressure to push ahead rapidly
a
committees-with a total of more than 200 Not everyone agrees. Among those most and that i tgbt he eanrta vpro !t sseut aside
members be informed of such open- ' charter in the interests of giving the.
aliens in advance or soon after they Huddleston (left) and Bay1r: Memories of past abuses agency more latitude," said Kentucky
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NEWSWEEK
28 January 1980
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Intelligence Agency have blocked the Sovi- eas on
et invasion of Afghanistan? Could an All- service "withdrew a proposal for a joint
American James Bond have saved the action ... beneficial to both nations" be-
Shah's throne in Iran, or at least prevented cause of the Hughes-Ryan reporting ,, ex
tres? Not very likely. requirements. t o -rations to be able to ask the right ques-
S h t
Approved For Release 2007/03/15: CIA-RDP99-00498
Knock on every door:A battle over how many congressmen must be briefed
Could some secret plan by the Central diref for
occasion Turner eallied intelligene
assed after dramatic disclosures
p
about CIA "destabilization" plots
against Chile and secret political in-
tervention. Critics of the amendment
f
now say it poses too great a risk o
dangerous security leaks and thus has
a '.chilling effect" on covert action-
the gray area that goes beyond diplo-
macy but stops short of open warfare.
Informing so many Congressional
committees, says one senior White
House aide, is tantamount to "making
a formal announcement in Lafayette
Park." As a result, says another Ad-
ministration security expert, "you
don't even contemplate certain ideas
because you have to share them with
lots of people whose motives you're
"But I would hate to have that happen
because it would be awfully difficult to
=r-:> .1 come back and win a full charter."
~-~I Aside from modifying rules on cov-
o`t`s "Barter would
~t . `'- _ p
rop
put strict limits on intelligence op1er-
_._ 7T C~ ..:1-sock. 711!1 it
ists, clergymen or academics as agents.
On the other hand, one version of the
obli-
charterwould also limit the CIA's
gations under the Federal Freedom of
Information Act; the CIA would have
torespondonly when US.eitizenswere
iiBkI wouldbartheClAfrom hiringjournal-