LETTER TO JOHN W. VESSEY FROM SAM NUNN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B00687R000300490002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: April 24, 2008
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 10, 1984
• Content Type: LETTER

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JOHN TOWER. TEX. CIWrIMAN
STROM THURMOND. S.C. SAM NUNN. GA
BARRY GOLOWATER. ARIZ JOHN C. STENNIS. MISS.
JOHN W. WARNER. VA GARY HART. COLO.
GORDON J. HUMPHREY. N H. J. JAMES EXON. NESR.
RM S. Cf%'4EN. P IOWA ARL EDWARD LEVIN. MINN.
ROGER nit L Tatc i
ROGEW. . JEh".N. NriVEDWARD M. KENNEDY, MASS. b^,I{,M,S^ L
DAN OUAYLE, IND. JEFF BINGAMAN, N. MEIL M O y~??{~ J `` ,
JOHN P. EAST. N.C. 7, 7x / ? (,J """TTY
FETE WILSON. CALIF.
DANIEL J. EVANS. WASH. COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES I ...r?~
JAMES F. MCGOVERN. STAFF DIRECTOR AND CHIEF COUNSEL WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510
JAMES G. ROCHE. STAFF DIRECTOR FOR THE MINORITY
February 10, 1984
General John W. Vessey
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301
Dear General Vessey:
As members of both the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Senate Armed Services Committee, we are
writing to express our deep concern over an article which
appeared in yesterday's Washington Post.
The article, "'Reconnaissance Flights Planned in Honduras,"
by Fred Hiatt and T.R. Reid, carries with it, in our view, some
serious implications for the safety of our soldiers and for their
ability to fulfill the mission assigned them. It is disturbing
that the reporters base their story on "a five-paragraph Pentagon
release." A leak of this information, in our view, would have
been serious, but it is troubling to know that the Pentagon
knowingly released this detailed mission plan.
It would seem ill-advised to provide information which re-
sults in a front page story detailing a planned military
operation to include the dates for the operation, the unit in-
volved, the location that unit will be based, the equipment
to be used, and the mission to be undertaken. This is especially
true when the unit -- the 244 Military Intelligence Battalion --
has a mission where the element of secrecy is vital to its success.
We have a number of questions about this which are attached.
We look forward to your responses and intend to closely review
this matter in our roles on the two committees. Our staff, Jim
Dykstra and Arnold Punaro, are available for any coordination.
Your assistance and consideration are greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
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1) Whose decision was it to publicly release this information?
2) Were the Joint Chiefs of Staff consulted about the advisability
of making this press release? If so, what was the recommendation
made by the JCS?
3) What other Defense Department entities were consulted, and
what was their advice? Did CINCSouth concur in the public
release?
4) Was the release cleared through the office of the Assistant
to the Secretary for Intelligence Oversight, and what was that
office's advice?
5) What is the JCS's general view on publicly providing detailed
information on a sensitive operation in advance of that operation?
6) What are the specific goals, and what results are anticipated
in advance of the mission? What is the anticipated cost of
the mission?
7) Since this mission is an intelligence-gathering one, does the
JCS believe it can still be carried out without a degradation
in the ability to accomplish the mission goals?
8) Do the JCS believe that the members of the military intelligence
unit are placed at greater risk, since the location at which
they will be based is provided in the story?
9) Do the JCS believe that the risk is increased, since the
type of aircraft they will be flying in their reconnaissance
missions is provided?
10) Do the JCS believe the mission is compromised as a result
of the release?
11) Do the JCS believe that routine releases should be made by
the Pentagon Press Office on future operations of this sort?
If so, why?
12) If not, what recommendations would the JCS make to prevent the
release of sensitive information in intelligence-gathering,
or other, operations?
13) When the mission is completed, would you please inform us as
to its success, the information gained, and the utility
of that information to the various users?
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