REAGAN URGED TO ADMIT CONTRA-AID ROLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000201650071-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 1, 2010
• Sequence Number: 71
• Publication Date: October 10, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/07/01 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000201650071-1
vri rAt _p
10 October 1986
Reagan. Urged to Admit Contra-Aid Role
6 : By STEPHEN ENGELBERG
Special to The New York Times
strictions against aiding the Nicara-
guan rebels, known as the contras.
Investigation Is Planned
Senator Leahy said the Intelligence i
Committee intended to continue rais-'
ing questions about the incident. The
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
has already said it plans an inquiry.
"I think that with all of the events of
the last few weeks, the Administration
is skating on the knife edge of credibil-
ity," said Senator Leahy.
Asked whether the Reagan Adminis-
tration had a problem with its credibil-
ity, Senator Durenberger said, "Ask
Bernie Kalb." He was referring to the
resignation Wednesday of the State De-
partment spokesman, Bernard Kalb,
because of reports of an Administra-
tion policy of misleading American
news organizations about Libya.
A spokesman for the C.I.A. reiterated
denials of an agency role in the flight.
He rejected statements at a news con-
ference today in Managua, Nicaragua,
by Eugene Hasenfus, the surviving
crew member, that he had worked in
El Salvador with two C.I.A. officers.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 - The chair-
man of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence challenged the White
House today to acknowledge what he
said is its role in the flight of a cargo
plane shot down over Nicaragua.
Senator Dave Durenberger, Republi-
can of Minnesota, said, "I assume
Somebody in the United States Govern-
ment knows something about this and
the sooner they speak up the better."
Asked who he thought in the Govern-
ment was involved in the mission, he
said, "Ronald Reagan is sponsoring all
of this private action - ask him or
somebody who works for him."
Senator Durenberger and Senator
Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat
who is the vice chairman of the com-
mittee, were briefed on the incident to-
day by William J. Casey, Director of
Central Intelligence. Senator Duren-
berger said he remains satisfied that
the C.I.A. had complied with legal re-
Limits on Aid to Contras
By law, the C.I.A.'s aid to the contras
is limited to the gathering and sharing
of intelligence. The agency is not per-
mitted to assist in arms dealings, al-
though the retrictions will be lifted
soon when the $100 million aid package
approved by Congress becomes law.
After Congress cut off aid to the con-
tras more than two years ago, it was
disclosed that some members of the
White House staff were privately ad-
vising the rebels. Oliver North, a staff
member on the National Security
Council, was identified by officials as
coordinating the effort.
A business card for one of the Amer-
icans implicated last year in Adminis-
tration support of the contras, a retired
military officer named Robert Owens,
was found in the pocket of one of the
crewmen killed in Nicaragua. One Ad-
ministration official acknowledged
that Mr. Owens had been associated
with private efforts to aid the contras,
.but said he had also worked with a
State Department program to fly hu-
manitarian aid to the rebels.
In his news conference, Mr. Hasenfus
said he was involved in 10 supply mis- i
sions to Nicaragua from military air-
fields in Aguacate, Honduras, and Illo- pango, El Salvador. A CongressionalI
aide said that both installations are'
heavily guarded. The aide said that the
type of identity card found on the body
of one of the crew members would only
be issued by the local governments to
an American with the permission of the
embassy or a senior military attache.
Senator Durenberger said he
doubted the downing of the cargo plane
would undermine Congressional sup-
port for providing direct American
military aid.
Approved For Release 2010/07/01 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000201650071-1