WILLIAM J. CASEY, THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, SAT AT THE END OF THE MAHOGANY CONFERENCE TABLE IN HIS OFFICE.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000100030095-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 2, 2010
• Sequence Number: 95
• Publication Date: January 16, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/02 : CIA-RDP90-00806R000100030095-3
By Philip Taubmcrn
illiam J. Casey, the Director
of Central Intelligence, sat at
the end of the mahogany con-
ference table in his office.
Outside, the late afternoon
sun played across the trees
that ring the Central Intelli-
gence Agency's headquarters
in northern Virginia, filling the windows with a
fresco of autumn colors. A short stack of docu-
ments, some stamped SECRET, rested at Mr.
Casey's left elbow, and a yellow legal pad on which
he had penciled several notes was positioned to his
right.
"The reason I am here is because I have a lot of
relevant experience and a good track record," Mr.
Casey said, alluding to comments that he was un-
qualified for the job and had been appointed only
because he was Ronald Reagan's campaign man-
ager. Mr. Casey, an imperious and proud man, had
beet} fuming over the criticism for months, accord.
ing to his friends, and now, in his first comprehen-
sive interview since taking office, he wanted to set
the record straight.
He flipped through the papers and extracted a
yellowing clipping from The New York Times that
extolled his record as chairman of the Securities
and Exchange Commission from 1971 to 1973. Next,
he provided several pages copied from a book about
Allied intelligence operations during World War II;
he had underlined a glowing assessment of his con-
tribution to the Office of Strategic Services. The
final clipping was a story that appeared in The
Washington Star in the summer of 1980, describing
Mr. Casey's role as Reagan campaign director.
The headline: "Casey, the Take-Charge Boss."
It was an oddly defensive performance for a man
who, according to classified budget figures pro-
vided by Government officials, is overseeing the
biggest peacetime buildup in the American intelli.
gence community since the early 1950's. Because
intelligence expenditures are secret, it is not widely
known that at a moment when the Reagan Admin.
istration is forcing most Government agencies to
retrench, the C.I.A. and its fellow intelligence or.
ganizations are enjoying boom times. Even the
military services, which have been favored with
substantial budget increases, lag well behind in
terms of percentage growth, although military-run
intelligence agencies are growing almost as
quickly as the C.I.A. Spending figures for intelli-
gence agencies, including the C.I.A., are hidden
within the Defense Department's budget. With a
budget increase for the 1983 fiscal year of 25 per.
cent, integrity cent, not allowing for inflation, compared with 18
percent for the Defense Department, the C.I.A. is
and capabilities. the fastest growing major agency in the Federal
Government, according to Administration budget
officials.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/09/02 : CIA-RDP90-00806R000100030095-3
lE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
t January 1983
STAT