REMARKS BY WILLIAM H. WEBSTER DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AT THE CIA SENIOR INTELLIGENCE SERVICE PROMOTION CEREMONY JULY 20, 1987

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89T00142R000700780007-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 30, 2011
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: July 20, 1987
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/11/30: CIA-RDP89T00142R000700780007-1
REMARKS
BY
WILLIAM H. WEBSTER
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AT THE CIA
SENIOR INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
PROMOTION
CEREMONY
JULY 20, 1987
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The day I was sworn in on May 26, 1 had the pleasure of participating with
Bob Gates and the President in the decoration of four covert heros. And we
honor them especially. But I pay ny respects to all of you who, in your
leadership, make the system work.
Much of what we do is secret and because of this there is often concern,
occasional criticism, and often a great deal of confusion in the public eye
about our work. We are going through a period of tension at the present
time. Many committees are investigating the activities of the Iran-contra
situation and that includes what role, if any, the CIA played in it. There is
also a lot of speculation about what we are going to do about it here. I've
tried to make my position clear, in response to some erroneous news reports,
that I intend to do what I think is the. logical thing to do, and that is to
ascertain the facts as they come in. We'll review what various investigative
agencies, including our own Inspector General, have to say about our conduct.
If there are mistakes that were made, they will be corrected. If mistakes
were not made, we'll make sure the proper people know that we were doing the
right thing.
I'll probably bring someone on board, who did not participate, and who was
not here, to help me assess the information that is already available. This
will not be a new and separate investigation, but I simply want tormake sure
that the job is done correctly while I address myself to all the
responsibilities that 'have been given to me by the President, 'about which you
are well aware.
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In the meantime, your role--and I am speaking to the honorees today--your
role as leaders and managers is to do what all of us are trying to do which
is, simply put, to do our work with absolute fidelity to the Constitution and
the laws and the rules that are put in place to help protect us as well as our
society. And in terms of our accountability--whether it is to the Congress,
to the National Security Council, to the President, or to the public--to deal
with absolute credibility and veracity. There are many things that we have to
do that require deception as a part of our responsibilities. -But that does
not include deception of those who have a right to know from us what we are
doing. These two things--fidelity to law, and absolute veracity to those in
government with whom we work--provide that element of trust without which this
agency could not function, and without which we certainly would be subjected
to the most severe kinds of restraint apd unable to do the job that the
American people expect of us.
And so I that ask all of you who are being honored today accept with that
honor and that promotion, and demand of those above you, that level of
veracity and that level of fidelity to law that I have spoken of, and that you
impart it, and the sense of it, to all of those who work for you.
Our nation needs our service. Those of you who are being promoted today
are the present leaders and future leaders of this agency who will -be here
long after I have passed the scene. You play a major role in ensuring that
this agency can continue to meet a steadily growing diversity*of demands and
requirements, that it can sustain the ethics and integrity of our profession,
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/11/30: CIA-RDP89T00142R000700780007-1