OPENING UP SPOOKY RESEARCH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000301250004-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 25, 2012
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: February 17, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/25 :CIA-RDP99-014488000301250004-4
~ SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (CA)
17 February 1986
EDITORI/~LS
Opening Up
spooky Research
THE RELATIONSHIP between any schol-
ar, or writer, and a patron is a delicate one.
Because a sponsor pays good money fora par-
ticular piece of work, isn't there some motiva-
tion, either conscious or subconscious, to tailor
the result to his liking? That's been a question
that has troubled reasonable minds over the
years. It takes guts and determination on both-
sides to go straight down the middle.
But it does help to make it clear just who is
_financing what. So the Central Intelligence
Agency's recent decision to allow scholars to .
acknowledge its support publicly under most
circumstances is a constructive step; one that
should tend to calm some badly-roiled academ-
ic waters.
' Shadowy CIA~fi~ancing of studies at inde-
pendent uni erg sitfes and other educational
'groups has been the source of nothing but
trouble. Once revealed, CIA backing made an
academic project immediately suspect. And
considering the agency's record in the 1960s
and 1970s, that was not surprising. The sound of
spooks was not music to professorial ears.
CIA DEPUTY DIRECTOR Robert Gates
made a good point in re~?ealing the new? guide-
lines. "At some point, couc?age is called for,"
said Gates. "The freedom of those who do ~~ish
to consult with us can be infringed upon by the
fears of their colleagues. We do not belie~~e that
working with government to help bring about
better informed policy is shameful; indeed it
should be a source of pride and satisfaction."
Now that the CIA has decided to be a bit
more open about its involvement, it is more .
likely to be just that.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/25 :CIA-RDP99-014488000301250004-4