PRESS CONFERENCE TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1965 12:20 P.M.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000600210001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2005
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 26, 1965
• Content Type: TRANS

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CONPER~;NCE
Tuesday, January 26a i9~5
7.2: 20 p ?m.
Participants:
SENATOR J a WILI,iAM FULBRiGHT ~ Cha ir~nan )
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Roia'~ions
and
MEN1~3E~ S OF THE PRESS
OFFICIAL REPORTERS
817 l3 BTREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20001
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firshein PRESS CONFERENCE
Hash
Tuesdays January 26, 1965
.~?:20 p.m.
Participants:
SENATOR J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT (Chairman)
United States Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations
Senator Fulbright: There isn't anything to unload.
Question: What did you do to us, Mr. Chairman?
Question: Can you say something innocuous?
Senator Fulbright: We had a very interesting briefing by
Mc. McCone and some of his colleagues.
Question: Along what lines, Mr. Chairman?
Senator Fulbright: Well, just the relative developments
in the various areas of the worl d ranging all the way from
Southeast Asia to Europe.
Question: What assessments did he give of the latest
Buddhist uprisings going on in South'Vietnam?
Senator Fulbright: It is very distressing.
Question: He is or you are or both?
Senator Fulbright: The uprising is very distressing.
Question: Is this Senator Fulbright?s observation or Mr.
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McCone?s observation?
Senator Fulbright: It is my observation. Why didn't you
ask Mr. McCone when he left?
Question: He referred us to you.
Question: He said you had all the state secrets.
Question: He doesn?t hardly tell you hello.
Senator Fulbright: You know very well.
I don't know why you wait around here. You know I
can?t tell you. You are just wasting your own time.
Question: Did you get into the subject of the budget,
CIA budget, the changes in personnel?
Senator Fulbright: No, sir, nobody asked him about that.
Question: Did the question of a separate watchdog committee
come up?
Senator Fulbright: No, it did not come up. It was purely
a briefing on develaprnents, military, political, as a source
of information.
Question: Economic? .
Senator Fulbright: ,Economic, but I can't tell: you what
he said.
Question: And, of course, that included South Vietnam and
you say the latest Buddhist uprising is distressing, that is
your view?
Senator Fulbright: We talked about it. As you can imagine,
the Conga.
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Question: Did he have an opinion about the possibility of
sabotaee in the destruction of the Laotian Air Force.
Senator Fulbright: There wasn't any discussion. No
one asked about that>
Question: Would you say,Mr. Chairman, in general
whether or mt you believe pressures of the Communist complex
against the free world are increasing or diminishing?
Senator Fulbright: My own view?
Question: Yes, sir.
Senator Fulbright: As of what time?
Question: Right now.
Senator Fulbright: I mean compared to what time? Three
years ago.
Question: A year ago.
Senator Fulbright: I don't see much change. I don't
think they are increasing outside of Viet Nam. That's the most
difficult of all places. I don't know whether you say the
pressure is increasing or the situation is deteriorating. It
may be a combination of increased pressure and deterioration of
the political situation, in particular in South Vietnam. The
inability to get a stable government, this is not news, you know
that.
Question: Is~another coup in the works?
Senator Fulbright: No. I don'tthink there is.
Question: In the non-secret area did he tell you when he was
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going to resign and who was going to be his successor?
Senator Fulbright: Nobody asked him. There is nothing per-
sonal about him.
Question: Did he discuss the nuclear fallout discovered
last Tuesday in Japan?
Senator Fulbright: Yes. Yes.
Question: Did he discuss the new regime in Russia at all?
Is there anything you can tell us about it?
Senator Fulbright: Well, yes, he referred to it. There
wasn't anything new in it. We had it thoroughly the other day
with Ambassador Thompson almost exclusively on that aspect of
it. It was just in passing about the regime. He had nothing to
do with that.
Question: As a result of this discussion do you propose to
make any proposals for Congressional investigation of the situa-
tion?
Senator Fulbright; No, I have no present idea of doing
that. We had quite a discussion about the Russian's foreign
aid program, that was interesting.
Question; Well, actually you are making a study of the
Vietnam situation?
Senator.FUihr.~.ght:-We already have been having hearings
ever since we rnet. We have had practically four or five already.
Ques tion: You had three hearings with Rusk alone?
Senator Fulbright: We have had some others.
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Question: Mr. Chairman, you are going to England this week.
Will you also be attending the Churchill funeral when you go over
there?
Senator Fulbright: I am not going for that purpose.
Question: I know you are not going for that but do you
plan to attend?
Senator Fulbright: I don't know whether that will be feasible
or not. I doubt it. It is too big a crowd. to take and accommodate
in the Cathedral. I would doubt there would be any place for
anyone other than the President or whoever goes, the Vice
President, i don't know who is going but the official representa-
tine. I don't. expect to attend.
Qesstion: You have not been. invited?
Senator Fulbright:No, and 2 wouldn't-expect it.
Question: Senator, there has been considerable criticism
of the reporting that is coming out of Vietnam. What is your
awn view on that, are we getting a good jab over there?
Senator Fulbright: You mean from the newspapers?
Question: Yes.
Senator Fulbright: Well, T have no way to -- Y have read
of the criticism but I have heard it said it i.s inadequate or
erroneous. The critics may have had some experiences of their
own, I have no basis to criticize it.
Question.: Would that basis include the CIA?
Senator Fulbright: I had no reason to cri~t~.cize CIA reporting
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because I don?t have anything to compare it with. They say
nothing inconsistent with what little I know about it.
Question: When are you leaving for London?
Senator Fulbright: Supposed to leave Thursday night.
Question: And that is for what?
Senator Fulbright: That is the socalled Ditchley Conference.
The ~ comparison to that I know is the Arden House in
this country, purely private. It isn?t governmental. We don?t
go at Government expense. They are invited individually not as
a delegation, just invited individually by the trustees or
managers, provost, they call it of the Ditchley Foundation,
which is a private foundation, and it is purely for discussion
purposes and exchange of views, has no Governmental or official
standing whatever.
Question: Who pays the bills?
Senator Fulbright: They do. That is when they ask you,
they say they are prepared to supply economy class ro.f.