PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES ON INTELLIGENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00317A000100060001-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 37
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 19, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 1, 1969
• Content Type: BOOK

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ESIDLNTS OF
THE UNITED STATES
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_ R lNING
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PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES
ON
INTELLIGENCE
MAY 1969
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ? OFFICE OF TRAINING
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Until World War II, American intelligence
activities were sporadic and usually unknown to
most Americans. Even when they were known, they
were almost unwillingly acknowledged. Presidents
of the United States, who have always borne the
responsibility for the national security, have
made statements over the years that have both
acknowledged the existence of intelligence
activities and revealed their importance in
support of governmental policies and functions.
From these presidential statements on the
subject of intelligence service, highlights --
or "quotable quotes" -- have been extracted
and are presented in this pamphlet. Although
the statements of George Washington were
written while he was the Commanding General
during the American Revolution, they are
significant enough to warrant inclusion here.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF TRAINING - APRIL 1969
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(In the American Revolution
there was no centralized intel-
ligence organization in any mod-
ern concept of the word. The
Americans and British both em-
ployed agents to secure neces-
sary information on troop de-
other line duties. Thus, Majorca John Andre'
handled intelligence matters for the British
General Clinton in New York and, when Andre'
became Adjutant General of the British Armies
in America, he continued to handle certain
special intelligence cases, including the de-
fection of General Benedict Arnold from West Point.
General Forman, a line officer in New Jersey,
was Washington's intelligence chief in that area
for a time. As an example, General Forman wrote
Governor Livingston of New Jersey in February 1782
that "I presume Your Excellency is not unacquainted
that I am at the particular request of General
Washington imployed in obtaining intilegence
respecting the enemies movements at New York &c.
By the Generals Letter to me of the 25 Inst. he
in a very pointed manner asks my particular
exertions as affairs at this time demand the best
Intilegence."
c
a y chavg
with
intelligence functions, although a
inost
without excP?+- i r,,,
,
there were officers specifi
11 ''
ployments and strengths
and
General Washington kept a very close tab on
all intelligence matters and was perhaps the most
brilliant American intelligence officer prior to
General William Donovan, Director of OSS. General
Washington often directed intelligence requirements
and made his own estimates of the situation. He
directed psychological warfare campaigns and had a
"touch" for intelligence activities which was
extremely fine.)
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General Washington's appreciation of intel-
ligence is set fo:cth in a letter he wrote to
Colonel Elias Dayton, then his intelligence chief
in New Jersey, dated 26 July 1777. In it he stated:
"The necessity of procuring good Intelligence
is apparent & need not be further urged -- all
that remains for me to add, is, that you keep the
whole matter as secret as possible. For upon
Secrecy, Success depends in most Enterprizes of
the kind, and for want of it, they are generally
defeated, however well planned and promising a
favourable issue."
"I have received your Letter of the 4th.
containing an apology for sending an agreeable
piece of Intelligence which you have since
discover'd to be false; mistakes of this kind
are not uncommon and most frequently happen to
those whose zeal and sanguineness allow no room
for scepticism when anything favourable to their
country is plausibly related."
Letter from General Washington,
11 November 1777, to Daniel
Clymer, Deputy Commissary
General of Prisoners.
(Three of General Washington's best spies
were seized for prosecution by the American
authorities in New Jersey, under misapprehension
and that they were British agents. These prisoners
could not disclose their true role. However,
Washington learned of their capture and wrote
the Governor of New Jersey for their release.)
"Upon these Considerations I hope you will
put a stop to the prosecution, unless other
matters appear against them. You must be well
convinced, that it is indispensibly necessary
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to make use of these means to procure intelli-
gence. The persons employed must bear the
suspicion of being thought inimical, and it is
not in their powers to assert their innocence,
because that would get abroad and destroy the
confidence which the Enemy puts in them."
Letter from General Washington
to Governor William Livingston,
20 January 1778.
"I thank you for the trouble you have
taken in forwarding the intelligence which was
inclosed in your Letter of the 11th of March.
It is by comparing a variety of information,
we are frequently enabled to investigate facts,
which were so intricate or hidden, that no
single clue could have Led to the knoweldge of
them in this point of view, intelligence
becomes interesting which but from its connection
and collateral circumstances, would not be
important."
Letter from General Washington
to James Lovell
1 April 1782.
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(In 1846, certain
members of the House Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs
raised a furor over the
alleged misuse of foreign
intercourse funds by
Daniel Webster while ser-
ving as Secretary of
State. Portions of these
funds, known as "secret
service funds," were
available for unvouchered
use on the certificate of
the President as to their
expenditure for confiden-
tial purposes. A resolu-
tion of the House of
Rept"eseritatives r quested President James K. Polk to
furfish the House? ith all records of expenditures of
these confidential secret service funds during
Webster's tenure' i as Secretary of State under Presidents
Harrison and Tyler. In denying the request of the
House of Representatives, President Polk wrote:)
"The experience of every nation on earth has
demonstrated that emergencies may arise in which
it becomes absolutely necessary for the public
safety or the public good to make expenditures the
very object of which would be defeated by publi-
city. ... In no nation is the application of such
sums ever made public. In time of war or impend-
ing danger the situation of the country may make
it necessary to employ individuals for the purpose
of obtaining infcrmation or rendering other
important services who could never be prevailed
upon to act if they entertained the least appre-
hension that their names or their agency would in
any contingency 1e divulged. So it may often
become necessary to incur an expenditure for an
object highly useful to the country; ... But this
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object might be altogether defeated by the
intrigues of other powers if our purposes were
to be made known by the exhibition of the
original papers and vouchers to the accounting
officers of the Treasury. It would be easy to
specify other cases which may occur in the history
of a great nation, in its intercourse with other
nations, wherein it might become absolutely neces-
sary to incur expenditures for objects which could
never be accomplished if it were suspected in
advance that the items of expenditure and the
agencies employed would be made public."
President Polk's Message
to the House of Represen-
tatives, 20 April 1846
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"The insurgents had
been preparing for [the
Civil War] more than thirty
years, while the government
had taken no steps to resist
them. The former had care-
fully considered all the
means which could be turned
to their account. It un-
doubtedly was a well pon-
dered reliance with them
that in their own unrestric-
ted effort to destroy Union,
constitution, and Law, all
together, the government
would, in great degree, be
arriezr`!progrys. Their sympathizers
perv"" f: departments--of the government, and
nearlf a'l ommun;;ties of the people. From this
mater ial,u der cover of 'Liberty of speech'
'Liberty of the press' and 'Habeas corpus' they
hoped to keep on Foot amongst us a most efficient
corps of spies, informers, supplyers, and aiders
and abettors of traeir cause in a thousand ways.
They knew that in times such as they were inaugu-
rating, by the constitution itself, the 'Habeas
corpus' might be ,suspended; but they also knew they
had friends who would make a question as to who
was to suspend it; meanwhile their spies and others
might remain at large to help on their cause.''
Let-:er from President Abraham Lincoln
to Erastus Corning and others,
12 June 1863, shortly before the
battle of Gettysburg.
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"Apropos of your mem-
orandum of November 18, 1944,
relative to the establishment
of a central intelligence
service, I should appreciate
your calling together the
chiefs of the foreign intel-
ligence and internal security
units in the various execu-
tive agencies, so that a con-
sensus of opinion can be
secured.
l.4VV VJ Vr4Ci Vv.'Y v vKVV Wv A
partments, as well as the
Foreign Economic Administration, and the Federal
Communications Commission have a direct interest
in the proposed venture. They should all be
asked to contribute their suggestions to the pro-
posed centralized intelligence service."
Memorandum from President
Roosevelt to the Director
of OSS, Major General William
J. Donovan, 5 April 1945.
Written just a week before
the President's death, it
authorizes Donovan to con-
tinue planning for a post-war
centralized intelligence service.
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"I considered it very im-
portant to this country to
have a sound, well-organized
intelligence system, both in
the present and in the future.
Properly developed, such a
service would require new
concepts as well as better-
trained and more competent #,.
personnel. ... it was imper
ative that we refrain from
rushing into something that
would produce harmful and un
necessary rivalries among theme
various intelligence agencies.
I told Smith [Director of the Bureau of.
Budget] that one thing was certain -- this
country wanted no Gestapo under any guise
or for any reason."
Memoirs by Harry S.
Truman, Volume One:
Year of Decisions.
pp. 98-99)
"A President has to know what is going on all
around the world in order to be ready to act when
action is needed. The President must have all the
facts that may affect the foreign policy or the
military policy of the United States. ...
"Before 1946 such information as the Presi-
dent needed was being collected in several dif-
ferent places in the government. The War Depart-
ment had an Intelligence Division -- G-2 -- and the
Navy had an intelligence setup of its own -- the
ONI. The Department of State, on the one hand,
got its information through diplomatic channels,
while the Treasury and the Departments of
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Commerce and Agriculture each had channels for
gathering information from different parts of
the world -- on monetary, economic, and agricul-
tural matters.
"During World War II the Federal Bureau
of Investigation had some operations abroad,
and in addition the Office of Strategic Services,
which was set up by President Roosevelt during
the war and placed under the direction of General
William J. Donovan, operated abroad to gather
information.
"This scattered method of getting informa-
tion for the various departments of the govern-
ment first struck me as being badly organized
when I was in the Senate. Our Senate committees,
hearing the witnesses from the executive depart-
ments, were often struck by the fact that dif-
ferent agencies of the government came up with
different and conflicting facts on similar subjects.
It was not at first apparent that this was due to
the un-co-ordinated methods of obtaining informa-
tion. Since then, however, I have often thought
that if there had been something like co-ordination
of information in the government it would have been
more difficult, if not impossible, for the Japan-
ese to succeed in the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor.
In those days the military did not know everything
the State Department knew, and the diplomats did
not have access to all the Army and Navy knew.
The Army and the Navy, in fact, had only a very
informal arrangement to keep each other informed
as to their plans.
"In other words, there had never been much
attention paid to any centralized intelligence
organization in our government. Apparently the
United States saw no need for a really comprehen-
sive system of foreign intelligence until /orld
War II placed American fighting men on the
continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa and on the
islands of the Atlantic and the Pacific.
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'The war taught us this lesson -- that we had
collect intelligence in a manner than would
make the information available where it was need-
='c am when it was wanted, in an intelligent and
_naerstandable form. If it is not intelligent
.:r.,d understandable, it is useless.
"on becoming President, I found that the
aded intelligence information was not co-ordina-
at any one place. Reports came acrcss my desk
the same subject at different times rom the
ous departments, and these reports often con-
Vted. Consequentoy V asked Admiral neahy if
ar- : thing was being done to improve the system.
o'hy told me that in 1944, at Presiden- Roosevelt's
cc;ion, he had rererred to the Joint Chiefs of
,f a plan for centralized intelligence work
pared by General -onovan. This plan, so Leahy
me, provided for an organization d-:rectly under
resident and responsible only to h:m. The
ivy, however, has worked out a countert:roposal
nCer which there would be a central agancy to
!Pve as an over-all intelligence organization, but
th each of the departments responsibll for
national security having a stake in it. Much of
rye original work on this project was done by Pear
admiral Sidney W. Souers, Deputy Chief c f Naval
:nteiligence.
"Wometime later I asked Secretary sr State
rnes to submit his recommendations for a way to
w--ordinate intelligence services among the
partments, explain;,ng that 1 had already asked
hid to look into tie subject but r,hat I wanted
e State Department s recommendations since the
ate Department would need to play an ,mportant
-pole in the operation.
"Cecretary Byrnes took the position that
such an organization should be responsir:le to
the Secretary of State and advised me tfiat he
should be in control of all intelligence. The
Army and the Navy, on the other hand, strongly
:objected. They maintained that every depart-
sent required its own intelligence out that
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there was a great need for a central organization
to gather together all information that had to do
with over-all national policy. Under such an
organization there would be a pool of information,
and each agency would contribute to it. This
pool would make it possible for those who were
responsible for establishing policies in foreign
political and military fields to draw on author-
itative intelligence for their guidance.
"In January 1946 I held a series of meetings
in my office to examine the various plans sug-
gested for a centralized intelligence authority."
Memoirs by Harry S. Truman
Volume Two: Years of Trial
and Hope. (pp. 55-57)
"Whether it be treason or not, it does the
United States just as much harm for military
secrets to be made known to potential enemies
through open publication, as it does for military
secrets to be given to an enemy through the
clandestine operations of spies. ...
" ..I do not believe that the best solution
can be reached by adopting an approach based on
the theory that everyone has a right to know our
military secrets and related information affect-
ing the national security."
President Truman's News
Conference, 4 October 1951.
"When I became President -- if you don't
mind me reminiscing a little bit -- there was
no concentration of information for the benefit
of the President. Each department and each
organization had its own information service,
and that information service was walled off from
every other service in such a manner that when-
ever it was necessary for the President to have
information, he had to send to two or three
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departments to get it, and then he would have to
have somebody do a little digging to get it. ...
"...And finally one morning I had a conver-
sation with Admiral Leahy, and suggested to him
that there should be a Central Intelligence Agency,
for the benefit of the whole Government as well as
for the benefit of the President, so he could be
informed.
''And the Admiral and I proceeded to try to
work out a program. It has worked very success-
fully. We have an intelligence information service
now that I think is not inferior to any in the
world.
We have the Central Intelligence Agency, and
all the intelligence information agencies in all
the rest of the departments of the Government,
coordinated by that Central Intelligence Agency.
This agency puts the information of vital import-
ance to the President in his hands. He has to
know what is going on everywhere at home and abroad,
so that he can intelligently make the decisions
that are necessary to keep the government running. ...
"...You are the organization, you are the
intelligence arm that keeps the Executive informed
so he can make decisions that always will be in the
public interest ?or his own country, hoping always
that it will save the free world from involvement
with the totalitarian countries in an all-out war --
a terrible thing to contemplate.
"Those of you who are deep in the Central
Intelligence Agency know what goes on around the
world -- know what is necessary for the President
to know every morning. I am briefed every day on
all the world, on everything that takes place from
one end of the world to the other, all the way
around -- by both the poles and the other way. It
is necessary that you make that contribution for
the welfare and benefit of your government.
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"I came over here to tell you how appreciative
I am of the service which I received as the Chief
Executive of the greatest nation in the history of
the world."
Remarks of President Truman
to a CIA Orientation Training
Course, 21 November 1952.
(The inscription on the photograph of Presi-
dent Truman, which he presented to CIA, reads:)
"To the Central Intelligence Agency, a
necessity to the President of the United States,
from one who knows.
Harry S. Truman
June 9, 1964"
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"America's funda-
mental aspiration is the
preservation of peace.
To this end we seek to
develop policies and
arrangements to make the
peace both permanent and
just. This can be done
only on the basin of
comprehensive and apprib'-
priate information.
"In war nothing is
more important to a
commander than the facts
concerning the S1;rengt_h
of those facts. In peacetime the neees azJ f 'ts
are of a different nature. They deal w 4 c di-
tions, resources, requirements, and zttitudes pre-
vailing in the world. They and their correct inter-
pretation are esE~ential to the development of policy
to further our long term national security and best
interests. To provide information of this kind is
the task of the organization of which you are a
part.
tions of his opponent, and the proper iz.t rpr 'tion
"No task could be more important.
"Upon the quality of your work depends in
large measure the success of our effort to further
the Nation's position in the international scene.
"By its very nature the work of this agency
demands of its members the highest order of
dedication, ability, trustworthiness, and self-
lessness -- to say nothing of the finest type of
courage, whenever needed. Success cannot be
advertised: failure cannot be explained. In the
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work of Intelligence, heroes are undecorated and
unsung, often even among their own fraternitu.
Their inspiration is rooted in patriotism -- their
reward can be Little except the conviction that
they are performing a unique and indispensable
service for their country, and the knowledge
that America needs and appreciates their efforts.
I assure you this is indeed true.
"The reputation of your organization for
quality and excellence of performance, ... is a
proud one.
3ecause I deeply believe these things, I
deem it a great privilege to participate in this
ceremony of cornerstone laying for the national
headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency.
On this spot will rise a beautiful and useful
structure. May it Long endure, to serve the
cause of America and of peace."
Remarks of President Eisenhower
at the cornerstone-laying ceremony
for the CIA building,
3 November 1959.
"I have made some notes from which I want
to talk to you about this U-2 incident. ...
"The first point is this: the need for
intelligence-gathering activities.
"No one wants another Pearl Harbor. This
means that we must have knowledge of military
forces and preparations around the world, espe-
ciaZly those capable of massive surprise attacks.
"Secrecy in the Soviet Union makes this
essential. ...
" ..ever since the beginning of my administration
I have issued directives to gather, in every
feasible way, the information required to protect
the United States and the free world against
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surprise attack and to enable them to make
effective preparations for defense.
i'My second pcint: the nature of intel-
ligence-gathering activities.
"These have c: special and secret character.
They are, so to speak, 'below the surface'
activities.
"They are secret because they must circum-
vent measures designed by other countries to
protect secrecy of military preparations.
"They are divorced from the regular visible
agencies of government which stay clear of
operational involvement in specific detailed
activities.
"These elements operate under broad direc-
tives to seek and gather intelligence short of
the use of force ??- with operations supervised by
responsible offici:als within this area of secret
activities. ...
"These activities have their own rules and
methods of conceal:ment which seek to mislead and
obscure
"Third point: how should we view all of
this activity?
"It is a distasteful but vital necessity.
"We prefer and work for a different kind of
world -- and a different way of obtaining the
information essential to confidence and effective
deterrents. Open societies, in the day of present
weapons, are the only answer. ...
"My final point is that we must not be
distracted from the real issues of the day by
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age
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what is an incident or a symptom of the world
situation today."
Statement by President Eisenhower
at his news conference of 11 May
1960, following the shooting
clown of the U-2 by the Soviet
Union.
...Accordingly, at this morning's private
session, despite the violence and inaccuracy of
Mr. Khrushchev's statements, I replied to him on
the following terms: ...
"In my statement of May 11th and in the
statement of Secretary Herter of May 9th, the
position of the United States was made clear with
respect to the distasteful necessity of espionage
activities in a world where nations distrust each
other's intentions. We pointed out that these
activities had no aggressive intent but rather
were to assure the safety of the United States and
the free world against surprise attack by a power
which boasts of its ability to devastate the
United States and other countries by missiles
armed with atomic warheads. As is well known, not
only the United States but most other countries are
constantly the targets of elaborate and persistent
espionage of the Soviet Union."
Statement by President Eisenhower
to Chairman Khrushchev at the
opening of the Summit Conference
in Paris, 16 May 1960.
"During the period leading up to World War II
learned from bitter experience the imperative
necessity of a continuous gathering of intelligence
information,
"Moreover, as President, charged by the
Constitution with the conduct of America's foreign
relations, and as Commander-in-Chief, charged with
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the direction of the operations and activities
of our Armed Forces and their supporting services,
I take full responsibility for approving all the
various programs undertaken by our government to
secure and evaluate military intelligence.
"It was in the prosecution of one of these
intelligence programs that the widely publicized
U-2 incident occurred.
"Aerial photography has been one of many
methods we have used to keep ourselves and the
free world abreast of major Soviet military
developments. Th? usefulness of this work has
been well established through four years of
effort. The Soviets were well aware of it.
...
"The plain t:nuth is this: when a nation
needs intelligence activity, there is no time
when vigilance can be relaxed. Incidentally,
from Pearl Harbor we learned that even nego-
tiation itself can be used to conceal prepara-
tions for a surpr,.se attack. ...
..It must be remembered that over a long
period, these flights had given us information
of the greatest importance to the nation's
security. In fac;, their success has been
nothing short of remarkable. ...
"I then made two facts clear to the public:
first, our program of aerial reconnaissance had
been undertaken with my approval; second, this
government is compelled to keep abreast, by one
means or another, of military activities of the
Soviets, just as their government has for years
engaged in espionage activities in our country
and throughout the world."
President Eisenhower's Radio
and Television Report to the
American people (following the
Paris Summit Conference).
25 May 1960.
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"As I think you know, I wish you and your
associates in the Central Intelligence Agency
well in the tremendously important job you do
for our country. Upon the work of your organi-
zation there is an almost frightening respon-
sibility; I know all members of the CIA will
continue to do the best they can for all of us."
Letter from President Eisenhower
to the Director of Central
Intelligence, Allen W. Dulles,
18 January 1961, at the conclusion
of the Eisenhower Administration.
(The inscription on the photograph of
President Eisenhower, which he presented to
CIA, reads:)
"To Central Intelligence Agency
An indispensable organization to our
country.
Dwight D. Eisenhower"
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"I want, first of all,
to express my appreciation
to you all for the oppor-
tunity that this ceremony
gives to tell you how
grateful we are in the
government and in the
country for the services
that the personnel of this
Agency render to the
country.
"It is not always
easy. Your successes are
unheralded -- your failures
are trumpeted. I some-
timeV fide that feeling myself. But I am sure
you realize how important is your work, how
essential it is --? and how, in the long sweep
of history, how significant your efforts will be
judged.
"So I do want: to express my appreciation to
you now, and I'm confident that in the future you
will continue to merit the appreciation of our
country, as you have in the past."
RemELrks of President Kennedy
at the CIA Headquarters,
28 November 1961, upon present-
ing the National Security Medal
to the retiring Director of
Central Intelligence, Allen Dulles.
...it is my wish that you serve as the
Government's principal foreign intelligence officer,
and as such that you undertake, as an integral part
of your responsibility, the coordination and effec-
tive guidance of the total United States foreign
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intelligence effort. As the Government's
principal intelligence officer, you will assure
the proper coordination, correlation, and eval-
uation of intelligence from all sources and its
prompt dissemination to me and to other recip-
ients as appropriate. In fulfillment of these
tasks I shall expect you to work closely with
the heads of all departments and agencies having
responsibilities in the foreign intelligence
field. ...
"As directed by the President and the Na-
tional Security Council, you will establish
with the advice and assistance of the United States
Intelligence Board the necessary policies and
procedures to assure adequate coordination of
foreign intelligence activities at all levels."
Memorandum from President Kennedy
to the Director of Central
Intelligence, 16 January 1962.
'1 wish to express to you, the members of the
United States Intelligence Board, and to the indi-
vidual members of the intelligence agencies my
deep and sincere appreciation for your outstanding
service to our Nation -- and the Free World --
during the recent international crisis.
In the course of the past few months I have
had occasion to again observe the extraordinary
accomplishments of our intelligence community, and
I have been singularly impressed with the overall
professional excellence, selfless devotion to duty,
resourcefulness and initiative manifested in the
work of this group. The fact that we had timely
and accurate information, skillfully analyzed and
clearly presented, to guide us in our judgments
during this crisis is, I believe, the greatest
tribute to the effectiveness of these individuals
and agencies. The magnitude of their contribution
can be measured, in part, by the fact that the
peace was sustained during a most critical time.
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' - is, of course, a great source of strength
me to know than we have.such dedicated and
led men and women in the service of our Nation
se times of peril. Although I cannot per
,onally commend each member of the intelligence
-?ox:'zmunity for their: -;ndividual efforts, I would
s'.ike you to convey to them, through the members of
United States Inz-elligence Board, my personal
he of commendat,:on. my deep admiration for their
?rcrzievements, and the appreciation of a grateful
Letter from President Kennedy
to the Director of Central
Intell__aence, John A. Mccone,
in his capacity as Chairman of
the Un_ted States Intelligence
Board, 9 January 1963. This
letter of commendation was
written after the Cuban Missile-
Crisis of October 1962.
..We have Ivor' ed very closely together, in the
tional Security Council in the last 2 months
"tempting to meet trze problems we face ,1 in South
viet-Nam. I can ,find nothing, and I have Looked
:;hroucrh the record v=-ry carefully over, the last
months, and I could go back further,, to indicate
hzt the CIA has don,? anything but support policy.
't does not creat,? policy; it attempts to execute:
in those areas where it has competence and
ponsibility. ...: I can just assure you flatly
t the CIA has not carried out independent
-tc.ivLties but has operatea under close control
the Director of Csntral Intelligence, operating
the cooperation of the National Security
ncil and under my instructions.
'.Co I think that while the CIA may have made
akes, as we all lo, on different occasions,
''Ind has had many successes which may go unheralded,
opinion in this case it is unfair to charge
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them as they have been charged. I think they
have done a good job."
President Kennedy's News
Conference, 9 October 1963
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...we have committed our k
"The purpose of this effort, like the purpose
of all that we do, is to strive for an orderly,
just, and peaceful world. In this effort more than
in many others a high order of selflessness, of
dedication, of devotion, is asked of men and women.
The compensation of them comes not in fame, certainly
not in rewards of salary, but the reward of the sure
knowledge that they have made a contribution to
freedom's cause.
lives, our property, our
resources, and our sacred
honor to the freedom and
peace of other men, indeed
to the freedom and peace of
all mankind. We would dis-
honor that commitment, we
would disgrace all the
sacrifices that Americans
have made if we were not
every hour of every day
vigilant against every
threat to peace and free-
dom. That is why we have
the Central Intelligence
Agency in this country.
"For the leadership of this vital agency this
nation has been vary fortunate to have the ser-
vices of outstanding Americans: Allen Dulles,
John McCone, now today Admiral William F. Raborn."
Reriarks of President Johnson
28 April 1965, at the swearing in
ceremony of Admiral Raborn as
Director of Central :Intelligence
and Mr. Helms as Deputy Director
of Central Intelligence.
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"You know it is my hope that we can continue
to build and strengthen the effectiveness of the
Agency, making full utilization of the imaginative
talent assembled in the organization. I hope .
to asure and encourage all your employees to real-
ize that their personal abilities and superior
performance do not go unnoticed or unrecognized.
"Our intelligence must be unquestionably the
best in the world. You have my full support in
our effort to make it so."
Letter from President Johnson
to Admiral Raborn, DCI, 29 July
1965, regarding the appointment
of Mrs. Penelope Thunberg, ORR,
to the U.S. Tariff Commission.
"The interests of national defense and secu-
rity require sustained effort on the part of the
intelligence community to support me and other
officials having policy and command responsibilit-
i.es. Efficient management and direction of the
complex activities which make up the total foreign
intelligence effort are essential to meet day-to-
day national requirements, and to ensure the
development and application of advanced means for
the collection, processing, analysis, estimating
and reporting of intelligence information."
Memorandum of 19 October 1965
from President Johnson to the
DCI on the Foreign Intelligence
Activities of the United States.
"I am extremely proud of both of these men
(Admiral Raborn and Mr. Helms) and their col-
leagues. The nature of their work does not often
allow public acknowledgement. Praised or damned
land we are living in an era where men who spend
all their time concerned with the protection of
the security of their country are frequently
damned more than they are praised, I regret to say,
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these men must go about their work without
standing up for b4)ws and sometimes are not even
permitted to speak out in their own defense.
Their role is misunderstood by some of their
supporters, and I never read a morning paper with-
out seeing it being distorted by their critics.
"In 2 1/2 years of working with these men
I have yet to meet', a '007'. I have met dozens
of men who are moaaed and motivated by the highest
and most patrioti< and dedicated purposes -- men
who are speciaZis,ts in economics, and political
science, and histc?ry, and geography, and physics,
and many other fi;lds where logic and analysis
are crucial to thdz decisions that the President
of their country :s called upon to make. Through
my experience with these men I have learned that
their most significant triumphs come not in the
secrets passed in the dark but in patient reading,
hour after hour, of highly technical periodicals.
"In a real s4nse they are America's pro-
fessional students; they are unsung, just as they
are invaluable.
"Although he'[Mr. Helms] has spent more than
twenty years in public life attempting to avoid
publicity, he has never been able to conceal the
fact that he is one of the most trusted and most
able and most dedicated professional career men
in this Capital. No man has ever come to this high
and critical office with better qualifications.
"I think it was Patrick Henry who said,
'The battle is not to the strong alone, it is
to the vigilant and to the active and to the
brave,' and it is to Dick Helms and to the Agency
that he will now head that we must look for this
vigilance. His own record and the past achieve-
ments of his Agency give us full confidence in
the future operation of the Central Intelligence
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Agency with judgment. with intelligence, and
above all with great public integritu.'
narks of President Johnson
0 June 1966, at the swearina in
_-emonv of Mr. Helms as
i, rector of Central Intelligence.
"Your countrumen ... cannot know of your
accomplishments in the equaLZy crucial business
of the Central InteZZiaence Agency. For it is
the lot of those in our inteZZigence agencies
that they should work in s7;Zence--sometimes fail
in silence, but more often succeed in silence.
"Unhappily, also, it 7.s sometime their Got
that then must suffer in silence. For, Like all
in high public position. t1,eii are occasionaZZu
subject to criticism which then must not ans,,wer.
,Pccrec7., in this work is essential.
Achievements and triumphs can seldom be adver-
tised. Shortcomings and failures often are
advertised. The rewards can never come in
public acclaim, only in the, quiet satisfaction
of getting on with the job and truing to do well
the work that needs to be cone in the interests
of your Nation.
"The best intelligence is essential to the
best policy. So I am delighted that you have
undertaken, as far as security permits, to tell
the public that it. is well served by the Central
Intelligence Agencu.
"T am glad that there are occasions from
time to time when 1, Like mu predecessors in this
office, can also express m'z deep confidence in
the expert and the dedicated service of the personnel
of the Central Intelligence Agencu.'
a marks of President Johnson,
I Auu.qust 1966. at the presentation
,f- the National Security Medal to
Admiral Raborn for his services as
_reo r of Central Intelligence.
>t_
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"This is a day when you should all be proud--
especially those among you who have been a part of
the Agency since its founding.
"Twenty years ago, this country had no broad-
scale professional intelligence service worthy of
the name. Today, it has a strong and vital one--
the best in the world.
"Twenty years ago, you began with a vague
assortment of fun-~tions and a varied assortment
of people. Your ,purposes were not well understood
inside the Government, and barely understood at all
outside. Since that time, you have become a
dedicated and disgiplined core of professionals,
with clearly defined responsibilities.
"Those responsibilities are vast and demand-
ing. You give us information on which decisions
affecting the course of history are made. Your
product must be as perfect as is humanly possible--
though the material you must work with is far
from perfect.
"You must keep pace with developments in a
tremendously complex society, a society which, as
your director, Mr. Helms, has said, 'gropes for
answers to challenges its founding fathers could
never have conceived.'
"You have built a solid foundation in these
past twenty years. America relies on your con-
stant dedication to the truth--on your commit-
ment to our democratic ideal. I believe our
trust is well placed."
Message from President Johnson,
18 September 1967, to Director
Helms on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the founding of
the Agency.
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"As I stand before you
today, this is the first visit
I have made to one of the
Departments that is not re-
presented officially in the
Cabinet.
"It has been truly said
that the CIA is a professional
organization. That is one of
the reasons that when the new
Administration came in and
many changes were made, as they
should be m
d
i
a
e
n our American
political system after an election, and a change of
Parties, as far as the Executive Branch is concerned,
I did not make a change.
"I surveyed the field. I checked the qualifica-
tions of all of the men, or, for that matter, any
women who might possibly be the Director of the CIA.
"But I concluded that Dick Helms was the best
man in the country to be the Director of the CIA
and that is why we have him here.
"...Going back during the eight years I was
Vice President, I sat on the National Security
Council and there I learned to respect the organiza-
tion, its Director and its reports that were made
to the Council, and through the Council to the
President of the United States.
"I know how vitally important the work of this
organization is, I also know that this organization
has a mission that, by necessity, runs counter to
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some of the very deeply held traditions in this
country and feelings, idealistic feelings about
what a free society ought to be.
'? ,Americans don't Zike war, of course.
Americans also do not Zike secrecy. They don't
like cold war and consequently, whenever it is
necessary in the conduct of our foreign policy,
whether in a cold war or whether, as is the
:situation now, in a hot war, or whether in inter-
national tension, caZZ it a cold war or simply
a period of confrontation or even of negotiation,
whatever you want to call it, that whenever it
becomes necessary to obtain intelligence informa-
tion by an intelligence organization, many
Americans are deeply concerned about this. And
they express their concerns. They express them
quite violently sometimes, quite frequently, as
you all know from the experience that this organiza-
tion has had over the nears.
"This is a dilemma. It is one that I wish
did not exist. But in the society in which we Zive,
as I am sure all of you are so completely aware,
it is necessary that those who make decisions at
the highest level have the very best possible
intelligence with regard to what the facts really
are, so that the margin of error will be, to that
extent, reduced.
"And in a sense, then, I Zook upon this
organization as not one that is necessary for
the conduct of conflict or war, or call it what
you may, but in the final analysis as one of
the great instruments of our government for the
preservation of peace, for the avoidance of war,
and for the development of a society in which this
kind of activity would not be as necessary, if
necessary at all.
It is that that I think the American
people need to understand, that this is a
necessary adjunct to the conduct of the Presidency.
And I am keenly aware of that. I am keenly aware
of the fact that many of you at times must have
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had doubts, perhaps you have not, but perhaps there
may have been times that you have had doubts about
your mission, the popularity of what you do in the
country, and I want to reassure you on that score.
"I realize that in this organization the
great majority of you are not in the kind of
covert activities which involve great, danger, but
I also know that some of your colleagues have
been involved in such activities and are involved
in such activities.
"I know, too, that there will be no
Purple Hearts, there will be no medals, there
will be no recognition of those who have served
far beyond the call of duty because by definition
where the CIA is concerned your successes must
never be publicized and your failures will always
be publicized.
"So that makes your mission a particularly
difficult one. It makes it difficult from the
standpoint of those who must render service beyond
the call of duty. And I recognize that and I am
deeply grateful for those who are willing to make
that kind of sacrifice.
"In another sense, too, I want to pay proper
recognition to great numbers of people that I see
in this room and that I saw outside who do not get
down to the Cabinet Room to brief me as does
Mr. Helms, and his colleagues, who are not in the
positions where, even private recognition comes
too often, but whose work is so absolutely essential
to the quality of those little morning briefing
papers that I have read every morning and read so
carefully and that are so important because the
decisions I make will be based sub-consciously
sometimes, other times consciously, on the accuracy
of those reports and their findings from around
the world.
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"I think sometimes that all of us know that
one of the ironies of life is that it takes more
heroism to render outstanding service in positions
that are not heroic in character than it does the
other way round. What I mean to say is that in an
organization like this, gathering facts and infor-
mation and intelligence, there are literally
hundreds and thousands of positions here and around
the world that must at times be very boring and
certainly frustrating and sometimes without
recognition.
"And I do want you to know that I appreciate
that work. I know how essential it is and I
would ask that yov: as the leaders, you who necessarily
and very properly do get more recognition than those
down the ranks, that you would convey to them my
appreciation for 7;heir heroism, heroism in the
sense that they have done an outstanding job and
that the Director is able to do a better job than
he otherwise could do in briefing the President
of the United States and his colleagues in the
National Security Council.
"So finally, I would simply say that I
understand that when President Truman in 1964
sent a message to the CIA, he put an inscription
on it which, as I recall, went something like this:
To the CIA, an organization which is an absolute
necessity to any President of the United States.
From one who knows.
"I know. And I appreciate what you do."
Remarks of President Nixon at
the Central Intelligence Agency,
7 March 1969
"This organization, the CIA, has a distinguished
record of being bipartisan in character. It is a
highly professional group. It will remain that in
this Administration ... ".
Remarks of President Nixon,
7 May 1969, at the swearing-in
ceremony of General Cushman
as Deputy Director of Central
Intelligence
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