THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000400100090-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 8, 1999
• Sequence Number: 90
• Publication Date: February 17, 1964
• Content Type: OPEN

STATINTLSanitized -A
4
United States
of America
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 88th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
WASHINGTON, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1964
THE THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY.
Mr. DODD. Madam President, I have
been disturbed, as am sure mane of my
colleagues have been, by the virtual epi-
demic of attacks on the Central Intelli-
gence Agency in recent months.
Some of these attacks have clearly
been the product of irresponsible and
speculative news reporting by men who
are more concerned with the headline
value of something that smacks of son-
cation or scandal, than they are with the
security of the country.
But there have also been attacks, or
sharp criticisms, by commentators of
national reputation who are generally
careful about their facts but who have
apparently been impressed by some of
the rumors and'stories and inaccuracies
which seem to have become credible be-
cause they have been repeated so often.
There have also been attacks on the
CIA by distinguished Members of Con-
gress which seem to me exaggerated and
without foundation. These men are
friends of mine, whom I respect and who
are greatly respected by the country.
Th=_ir views are very influential and be-
cause of this I feel an obligation to make
reply to some criticisms which I feel are
unwarranted.
Baiting the CIA almost seems to have
achieved the stature of a popular na-
tional pastime.
It is a highly dangerous pastime be-
cause the CIA is one of the essential ele-
ments of our security.
There is also something unbecoming
about the pastime, because the CIA can-
not defend itself. Attacking the CIA,
indeed, is something like beating a man
who has his arms tied behind his back.
For reasons of national security, the
Agency cannot confirm or deny pub-
lished reports, true or false, favorable or
unfavorable. It cannot alibi. It can-
not explain. It cannot answer even the
most outrageously, inaccurate charges.
It was to this situation that President
Kennedy addressed himself when he
spoke to the CIA personnel at their head-
quarters in Langley, Va., on November
28. 1951.
Your successes are unheralded-
will oc judged. So I do want to express my
nppreciation to you now, and I am confident
that In the future you will continue to merit
the appreciation of our country, as you have
In the past.
The charges that have been made
against the CIA in recent months are al-
most as numerous as they are sensa-
tional.
We have been told that the CIA has
been running wild, that it has been func-
tioning without control or supervision
either by Congress or the administration,
that it has been making foreign policy.
The CIA has been criticized for the U-2
overflight.
It has been blamed for the Bay of
Pigs disaster.
And it has even been criticized for the
anti-Mossadegh coup in Iran and for the
overthrow of the pro-Communist Arbenz
government in Guatemala.
Whether the critics realize it or not,
these charges also constitute an attack
on the wisdom and integrity of both
President Eisenhower and President
Kennedy. It is tantamount to accusing
them of passively allowing an executive
agency to function without control or
supervision, and to make foreign policy-
in other words, to usurp the President's
own authority. This is patently ridicu-
lous. Neither. President would ever have
permitted such a thing.
I propose to say a Lew words about
some of these charges.
I feel that I am in a position to do so,
because in the course of my travels
around Europe, Asia, and Africa, I have
come to know many of the CIA's field
representatives, and, from long conver-
sations with them, I have some appreci-
ation, I believe, of the work they do. In
addition, I know something of the head-
quarters operation because senior offi-
cers of the Agency have on a number of
occasions appeared before the Senate
Subcommittee on Internal Security and
have given testimony of vital signifi-
cance.
If the overall quality of an agency may
be judged from the quality of the men
who compose it, then the CIA would have
to be given a triple A rating. I have
never encountered in any Government
agency a body of men whose ability and
dedication impressed me more
.
Said President Kennedy-
Perhaps the most popular charge di-
Your failures are trumpeted. ? ? But I rected against the CIA is that it operates
em ure you realize how
ly, n~1 important IS yoopurr, corn letely without tong essional over- Representative CANNON f~n 10}ose to
work, how esser~tl~ b~ iAjlltb ' `~ Fo'rs a XtCA"DR76-OWW 'i n " U&E sub-
swc:p of h;sU r ~# s that has given rise to the clamor for a committee was fully apprised of the proj-
No. 27
congressional watchdog committee.
This charge is totally and demon.
strably untrue. Indeed, the CIA is prob-
ably one of the most supervised agencies
in the Government.
In both the House and Senate there are
special subcommittees of the Armed
Services Committee and of the Appro-
priations Committee that oversees the
activities of CIA.
In the House these subcommittees are
headed by representatives CAot, VINSON
and CLARENCE CANNON; in the Senate
they are headed by Senator Russ= and
SENATOR HAYDEN, These men are among
the most knowledgeable and conscien-
tious legislators our Nation has pro-
duced; and I, for one, am willing to abide
by the'r judgment on matters which, for
reasons of security, cannot be revealed to
all Members of Congress.
The Director of the CTA and the chair-
man f, the House and Senate subcom-
mittee? have frequent meetings during
the course of the year. The subcom-
rnittees are advised and fully informed
of special or unusual activities. They
are also informed upon the receipt of
significant intelligence.
In 1963, the Director of Central Intel-
ligence or his deputy, Gen. Marshall S.
Carter, appeared before congressional
committees on some 30 occasions. In
addition to briefings of the CIA subcom-
mittees in the House and Senate, these
appearances included briefings on sub-
jects of special interest to the Joint Com-
mittee on Atomic Energy, the Foreign
Affairs and Foreign Relations Commit-
tees, the Senate Preparedness Subcom-
mittee, and other committees.
I recall the clamor that immediately
r, rose when our U-2 plane was shot down
over Soviet territory in May of 1960.
Many people jumped to the conclusion
that the CIA had been operating on its
own, without the authorization of Presi-
dent or Congress. The U-2 flights were
charged with endangering the security of
the Nation, when, in fact, they had de-
fended us against the possibility of a sur-
prise missile attack.
President Eisenhower put an end to
the speculation about the lack ,--f Execu-
tive authorization by informing the
press that he i:ad personally approved
the U-2 prograLi. Unfortunately, it did
not receive quite as much attention when