JUDGE WEBSTER SAYS CHANGING WORLD REQUIRES NEW INTELLIGENCE APPROACHES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000401660004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 22, 2012
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: October 1, 1991
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Si Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/23: CIA-RDP99-01448R000401660004-8
Judge Webster Says Changing
World Requires New
Intelligence Approaches
The Central Intelligence Agency and the entire
U.S. intelligence community need to adapt to a
rapidly changing world. So noted William H.
Webster to a capacity crowd attending the
September 26 breakfast meeting of the Standing
Committee in Washington, D.C. Judge Webster,
who recently stepped down after four years as the
Director of Central Intelligence, spoke of the
important lessons learned by the nation as the
result of the Iran-Contra affair.
Judge Webster described three objectives at
the CIA: to increase trust and confidence with
Congress and the American people; to separate
intelligence information from policy-making; and
to adapt to the great changes in the world. The
CIA, he stressed, must be open where possible.
honest with those to whom it reports, and account-
able and responsible. The American people must
have confidence in their government and believe
that it is working for them and not against them.
He quoted William Stevenson ("Intrepid") as once
telling him that the most important requirement
for an intelligence officer is integrity.
Intelligence community officials, observed
Judge Webster, must work within the rules, even
though they may try to change them legitimately.
These officials may disagree on such matters as
the number of briefings before congressional over-
sight committees and on the content of the brief-
ings, but in any event, testimony to the Congress
must follow the "rule of four Cs:" it must be can-
did, correct, complete and consistent. Questions
that cannot be answered must be taken back to
the intelligence organization for careful analysis
and response, so as not to divulge sensitive
sources and methods. Judge Webster said integri-
ty must also characterize the process of preparing
national intelligence estimates, which should
clearly reflect all divergent views.
In dealing with the rapidly changing world, a
major focus for the CIA is the Soviet Union and
whether "the threat" continues to exist. For exam-
ple, Washington constantly needs political, eco-
nomic and social answers about the changing
relationship between the center and the republics,
and especially about the potential for instability.
Special areas of interest include the Soviet nucle-
ar arsenal and food distribution. Whatever the
The Washington Post
The New York Times
he Washington Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
New York Dally News
USA Today
The Chicago Tribune
continuing momentous changes in the Soviet
Union, far less than 20% of the CIA's resources
are devoted there because there are so many
important events underway in the rest of the
world that are competing for an intelligence offi-
cer's attention.
Judge Webster said that the United States
must stay on top of widespread regional conflicts
and their nationalistic, ethnic and other underpin-
nings. For example, developments underway in
Africa and Asia (such as in the Koreas) require
more and not less intelligence. While President
Bush says the United States is not going to be the
world's policeman, he still needs maximum infor-
mation to make well-founded foreign policy deci-
sions.
Terrorism and narcotics trafficking are two
very important transnational issues according to
Judge Webster. Terrorism has a great impact on
citizens, can cause enormous destabilization, and
can have great political consequences. During
Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. intelligence
community worked aggressively to identify and
blunt potential actions by Saddam Hussein's ter-
rorist teams.
Global economic competitiveness should
receive significant emphasis by the U.S. intelli-
gence community in the future. Foreign intelli-
gence services, stressed Judge Webster, often
assist their own companies with economic trend
data and other information, frequently to the com-
petitive disadvantage of U.S. firms. The U.S. intel-
ligence community needs to find ways to help
American companies, but in accordance with our
system and its laws. A sometimes related issue
that demands more attention is technology trans-
fer.
Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the
intelligence community is the proliferation in the
Third World of biological, chemical and nuclear
weapons and their means of delivery. As intelli-
gence points up violations, international inspec-
tors will have the daunting task of evaluating
them on the ground. While in the past the bulk of
CON'rINun
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U.S. intelligence monitoring and satellites were
focused on the Soviet Union, the changing world
situation means that Increasingly such capabili-
ties need to deal with weapons proliferation
everywhere.
At the heart of intelligence collection and anal-
ysis, suggested Judge Webster, is the search for
truth, a process that is familiar to lawyers.
Intelligence must be used to support the rule of
law. He concluded by stating that he was grateful
to have recently been appointed Counselor to the
Standing Committee and that he looked forward
to working to advance the rule of law.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/23: CIA-RDP99-01448R000401660004-8