CIA IS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-01773R000100080007-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: July 28, 1958
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDPO1-01773R000100080007-9
THE EVENING STAR, Washington, D. C. ** A-11
MONDAY, JULY 28. 868
/A 1sCauht'in the. Middle1
Poiitieians `81 ame Agency. When U .'S' Like his predecessor, Presi-
dent Eisenhower ordered
is Caught Unaware; Yet Few Heed It American forces to Lebanon
During the last 10 years, at no time since the end of after consulting leaders of_
the war' fuss' the peace of the Congress, But a, scapegoat
whenever' . we ' were caught' had to be found to expiaitt
with' our 'diplomatic pants world more secure.
1. 1 1 why we :had been surprised
down, the politicians blamed This reporter hadlearned once more.- The CIA, whose
the ' Central - Intelligence accidentally' of the: real state responsibility is to keep in-
Agency for inefficiency, It of 'affairs and on June 6 this cessant vigilance, is being
is natural that the lawmak- column contained the warn- blamed again.
ers should expect much from}g that a Communist attack It is true that it did not
tZzrXff agen "`c s" s"'ihe a `W st South Korea must know that a group of pro-
vers hun re s - expected not later than Nasser officers had planned
`-' U ~ "-or ? July 1. to kill King -Faisal and all
Lr e After the tragedy occurred the pro-Western leaders in
cOtY[T3T efy~ur~o_ses
and President Truman acted Iraq.
was created r r"' energetically by ordering Caen. But the CIA did know that
Itisis topT1eavy an requent1 MacArthur to provide assist- something very serious was
more interested in interna- ance to our ROK allies, the brewing in the Middle East.
tional cloak and dagger in- politicians started a post On Saturday morning, July
trigues than in actual intelli- mortem examination as to 12, there was an important
gence. why we had been caught by meeting at Secretary Dulles'
But after this is said, it surprise. 1, 1 residence. It included, be-
must also be admitted that . Secretaries Dean Acheson sides some State Department
if those in charge of policy- and Louis Johnson were keen- officials, Mr. Allen Dulles.
making paid more attention ly interested in why the There, according to reliable
to its reports, we would not administration had not been. reports, the CIA chief in-
have been caught off base in forewarned-about the Corn='formed his listeners that 'a
a number of occasions. munist attack. pro-Nasser group had decided
For instance, the CIA had Both Secretaries suggested to murder King Hussein 'of
warned President Truman to the Senators that the CIA Jordan and that the assas-
and his subordinates of the had fallen flat on its face sination would take place
ifnpending North Korea at- and that they had better get "forthwith."
tack on South Korea. their information from the Mr. . Dulles erred only
Beginning with the month then director, Admiral Roscoe ' about the place. 'But that
of November, 1949, it kept Hillenkoetter, should not be surprising.
the White House and the The Senators summoned The Turks who have the
National Security Council him that very afternoon. bESt"11Y~ ngg_m e"l icT
posted about the buildup of President Truman asked his ' `clle";/as,. new nothing about
the North Korea forces. CIA chief whether he wanted the impen g cou . On the
These reports continued until an executive order not to day when King Faisal was
the minute the North Korean appear. The admiral refused# murdered Turkey's President
puppets launched their "sur- He produced before that Bayar, Prime Minister Men-
prise" attack on 6outh committee, in executive ses- Beres and a- guard of honor
Korea. sion, all the documents and waited for _ several hours at
In May, the CIA provided reports ,he had given his su- the Istanbul airport for the
the important Information periors since November, 1949. Iraqi leaders to ` arrive for
that the populations of the They bope'. out his esti- arpreliminai'y-Baghdad'Pact
villages north of the 38th mate that' the Communists con erence. The toii`gh Iraqi
parallel had been evacuated were preparing 'something prime minister, ' Nurt. Said
and houses destroyed to ed nasty." obviously knew nothing'de-
able a freer movement for ~'dr thes- second time in spite his excellent security
i the 98 Red tanks and a fight years we have been police-or else he' and the
clearer range for their ar- aught napping, this time in King would have managed .
tillery. Yet on June 1, 1950, a Middlg East~~~ to escape the assassin.
President Truman stated that
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDPO1-01773R000100080007-9