IN HIS OP-ED PIECE IN YOUR JULY 27 ISSUE, FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP83M00914R001800010020-4
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RIFPUB
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K
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1
Document Creation Date: 
December 20, 2016
Sequence Number: 
20
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LETTER
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PDF icon CIA-RDP83M00914R001800010020-4.pdf64.46 KB
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Approved For Release 2007/05/10: CIA-RDP83M00914R001800010020-4 Central Intelligence Agency July 29, 1982 The Editor The New York Times 229 West 43rd Street New York, New York 10036 To the Editor: In his op-ed piece in your July 27 issue, former United States Ambassador to El Salvador Robert:White placed a false interpretation on a piece in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL of July 16, which reported me as saying, "For instance, we helped in the El Salvador election. In Honduras, we put people through school and gave them instruments that can detect how much metal a truck is carrying. Some countries we help with photographic information, or sensors, or training for anti-terrorist forces." Mr. White takes only the first sentence, thus stripping the quotation of detail. This frees him to convert "help in the election" to "meddle in the election." I was referring to the CIA's assistance in meeting a genuine concern on the part of both the United States and El Salvador governments that the election be held, and that people not be intimidated from voting. The whole American television audience on the evening of the national election in El Salvador saw with their own eyes how guerrilla forces succeeded in aborting the election in the provincial capital of Usulutan by terrorizing its citizens. We provided the El Salvador government with information and capabilities which helped them to reduce the supply of weapons from Cuba and Nicaragua and to break up guerrilla formations intended to destroy the election by creating disruptive violence in other communities throughout El Salvador. authorities In addition, we provided El Salvador e which could be placed on the wrist of each voter under ultraviolet light. This was needed to assure an honest vote and to protect voters from the retaliation with which the guerrillas had publicly threatened anybody who voted. Ui~Ll t / H Orig - H /C N YT Office, Wash. 0 1 - 0/DCI C se am J 1 - DDCI . i 1 - D/OEXA Director of Central I[tt genc l 1 - Executive Registry - -Approvedor Release 2007/05/10 CIA-RDP83MOO914R001800010020-4 C 3 ~~ XF ~ .~ a