SALVADORAN DEATH SQUAD ACTIVITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 4, 2008
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: February 22, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
Directorate of Intelligence
Office of African and Latin American Analysis
22 February 1984
NOTE FOR: Deputy Director for Intelligence
Today's Wall Street Journal contains an
editorial written by Congressman Boland. That
editorial, in correcting an error contained in
an earlier editorial on El Salvador, discusses
the House Intelligence Committee study of the
D'Aubuisson documents and the Intelligence
Committee's analysis and collection efforts.
John McMahon expects to be asked about Boland's
article during tommorrow's hearing. We were
asked to provide any comments that might be helpful.
Attached is a memorandum for your signature to
the DDCI.
Attachment:
As stated
Acting Director
African and Latin American Analysis
Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
 Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
Iq
Next 2 Page(s) In Document Denied
Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
 Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
.
14Ni AIM FOR; Deputy Director for Intelligence
FROM: .
the'DDCI
John-expects, to-be,asked about the attached Boland
letter at his hearingtomorrow. Can you provide,any
comments that might be helpful?
Executive Assistant.to
),ja~ 7~ A C M -
STAT '
Date 22 February 1984
Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
 %
Approved
N VUIU
rtitinly hate to see an unworkable,
unre
.At
--
Rep. Kemp needs to clarify the roles of
Congress and the Fed in relation to the
economy. A more appropriate analogy for
Volcker's role is that he is a referee,
aware of how the game is to be played and
enforcing the necessary rules to insure a
well-played match. But the coaches who
rail the plays and determine which direc-
tion the economy is going are in the oval
Office and in Congress. And they, not the
Ved, determine whether the game is won
or lost over the long term.
Jack Kemp was astute in his observa-
tion that the economy is indeed slowing
down and will probably continue to slow
even more in the near future, especially
with interest rates at these levels. Perhaps
it was a small oversight (Republicans
seem to be developing them lately) on Mr.
Kemp's Partin forgetting to mention any-
_
a7i
term
the latter side. The
high interest
.,
ar1Ce, and if Fed tries to intervene by print-
ing more money it can only be done at the
Cost of it future increase in inflation.
Mr. Kemp writes "Congress is constitlr
tionally authorized to coin stoney and reg-
ulate its value." I thought this authoriza-
tion was to have the Fed slain?tining the
"regulate"
value of the money and n6("
it to achieve other goals, g Congress
to neglect its primary du balance its
own budget. It is irgn'c hmember of
C
ongress doesn't even ention the budget
deficit and its conseq nces on credit mar-
ket and interest r s.
Hillsborough, Calif.
I have but one question to ask Congress-
man Kemp: Mr. Congressman, what do
you and your colleagues plan to do to bring
some balance to our unbalanced budget?
And I don't expect an answer to raise
taxes! Let's focus on the real problem.
T -- I., ?v_ -
(Toward Smarter U:ev
se of Intelligence
Your Feb. 1 editorial on El Salvador, sistent: "Intelligence analysts apparently
"Trial by Ballot," erroneously states that: had not systematically retained and corre-
"The House Intelligence Committee stud- lated the data about killings and bombings
led the matter (D'Aubuisson's documents) that were publicly available and pertinent
and found no evidence to sustain a conclu- intelligence collection had not been
sion that Mr. D'Aubwsson had Archbishop made."
Romero kill
"
ed.
The House Committee's
staff report made no judgments on the in-
nocence or guilt of Mr. D'Aubuisson or
anyone else. The report examined the in-
telligence process and how certain issues
such as the D'Aubuisson documents, Arch-
bishop Romero's assassination and rightist
violence were treated by the intelligence
community.
What the report did say was: "During
the two years since their capture, these
documents had been virtually ignored, not
only by policymakers who felt they had no
immediate use for them, but more impor-
tantly, by the Intelligence Community.
They did not receive the kind of routine'
intelligence evaluation given to a large
number of the Salvadoran guerrilla docu-
ments captured later that year ..."
The staff report examined the Arch-
bishop Romero assassination from the
standpoint of how it was treated in finished
intelligence analysis. The report noted the
dearth of hard data and systematic analy-
sis and that the references in intelli
For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4
.. ?.wuvlW Was In- Its faith in mei
' _..__. ierenuY flawed. In the light of this view ,
_
g
?-
the histor of the subsequent decade has Problems of th?
been iron cally instruct ve makers-Brtti:
That the September 1982 staff report re-
mains topical is reflected in the following
judgment: "... collection weaknesses in
the cases cited suggest that determining
the perpetrators and any others responsi-
ble for authorizing specific instances of
rightist terror has not been considered a
suitable task for intelligence. Without de-
liberate collection by all appropriate
means and without systematic correlation
of available data about specific terrorist
incidents, firm judgments about their sig-
nificance politically or in terms of the ac-
countability of particular security forces
or individuals have been difficult."
Recent Initiatives by the Administration
to curb rightist violence in El Salvador
were made possible by improvements in
intelligence analysis and collection, im-
provements which the report urged in Sep-
tember, 1982.
EDWARD P. BOLAND (D., MAss.)
to the Romero killing had been quite incon- Washington
Chairman
Intelligence Committee
House of Representatives
Mule Users Have No Kick Coming
I have just read the Feb. 9 page-one them bamboo shoots and other forage.
article by Robert Johnson on mules. I can They existed nicely on very little food and
attest first hand to his description of what some water. As much as I hated them, in
a1 mule can do. the situation we were in, if it had not been
I served during World War II with the for the mules. I don't think we would have
124th Cavalry in Burma. We used mules to been able to survive against the Japan-
carry all our supplies, ammunition and ese.
weapons. We walked and fought from Mr. Johnson portrayed the mule most
Myitkyina in northern Burma to Lashio in accurately and I enjoyed reading the arti-
Central Burma in
l
p
aces where a Jeep or cie.
any other mechanized vehicle would not
!,are to tread. We traversed mountains,
valleys, rivers, rice paddies of r-nnht in
The initial trend after the Conservative cland-were giv
hael Edwarde
drfeal in 1971 was Predictable. The Libor lative measure
Party in effect made a deal with the trade- the complex. a
union leadership. This deal produced three Heath's govcn
ulajor act:: of Parliament. the most contro- more specific
versial aspect of which was the closed-shop ment Act. for e
provision that made it legal to fire an em moos closed sl
phwee who refused to join a union. This lively stopped
was subsequently overturned by the Euro- shop. In conju
px an Court of Justice. act, it also in:
The most notable aspect of this legisla- secondary pick
tive mess of pottage was that it bought no were made sub
industrial peace. The public-sector unions suits when the
were a continual thorn in the side of the These last pr
government, with strikes by firemen, hos- ject of consider
pital auxiliary staff and a number of local involving newsp
authority workers. This culminated i
n legal picketings
what became known as the "winter of dis- ditional solidari
content" of 1978-79. an awful winter of ap- rest of the unit
parently endless problems. In conjunction ave been expel
with television coverage of violent picket noticeable only
Approved For Release 2008/12/04: CIA-RDP89B00423R000100020018-4