AS INTELLIGENCE, IT S NOT VERY SMART

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100200113-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 15, 2007
• Sequence Number: 113
• Publication Date: April 14, 1980
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/06/15: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100200113-7
STAT- TAMPA TRIBUNE (FL)
3 14 April 1980
F diparicls
T'S TIME somebody in Wash- I- Turners .' action" in the.', three!"
inb.on either i~rescribes p
J cases was in accord with a er-
smart pills" for Admiral Stans- emitted exception to -the CIA's
`field Turner, the. director of the j November, 1977, regulations
Central -Intel l iaence Agency, or.- which barred the.' use of, U.S.,
Presidert'Carter :eplares him. journalists. as agents. (Regula-
The CIA and Turner himself.;
have objected mightily and with'
reason to the disclosure of the
:eagles of overseas int?itigence
agents by disaffected former em-
ployees of the agency.
But Turner has done some-
thing worse in exposing every
U.S. journalist abroad to the sus-
:,picion he or she is working for
the CIA rather than, or in addi-
tion to, the print ,or broadcast
medium to which accredited.
-That's hot. only unfair to thou-
sands of working news people,
it's also not smart from the
'standpoint of intelligence opera-
tions.
-American Society of Newspaper
Editors lie- had personally ap--
proved-'the use of journalists for
secret intelligence operations on
.three separate instances. He
added that in none of those cases
were the journalists actually
used, but refused to say anything
more on the specifics.
= Moreover,.he said, he would and -the third a non journalistic
not bar a CIA agent from using a employee of a news agency. , -.
journalist's cover if. the occasion
demanded it, such as in a. terror=- }
-ist situation
The very reason' the CIA says
journalists are valuable is why
there should be no hint of their
possible use in intelligence work:
They can move around freely
and ask questions without aro)is-
ing suspicion and they usually
have good sources of information
within foreign governments.
It is a fact of-life.tha't people .
-- and officials - of many na-"
tions of the world regard the CIA.
as the most sinister of all U.S. or-
ganizations. The idea that any
journalist maybe working secon-
darily for the CIA or be a CIA
agent under cover can bring
restrictions 'of the freedom of
movement of all journalists and
close their sources.
Jt. can also; in a situation like
that in Iran now, endanger a
.journalist's life.: -
Beyond its disservice to-jour-,
nalism, Turner's position may do r
the intelligence effort more harm -
.than good. In many cases jour=
nalists.moving about freely. and
employing their. confidential-,
sources develop information.. f
which is provided openly::-
through their print or broadcast.
j
media but is valuable to the CIA. ,i
and otherwise would,not have
been available to the'agency. The.; I
total value --= from an intelli-..
genre standpoint --of that infor- -: t
rnation probably-far exceeds -1
what can be gained in a few,, .isolated- instances of journalists
working-for the CIA or agents
posing as journalists:
Approved For Release 2007/06/15: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100200113-7
tions -under .his predecessor,
George Bash,' forbade relation
ship with any full-time or, part-
.time accredited U.S.. journalist.)
The, exception is that it could be
done with the director's ap-
proval. Actually, the three cases
did not involve full-time working.