NOMINEE FOR CIA JOB DEFENDS GROWING USE OF COVERT ACTIVITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000303560076-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2011
• Sequence Number: 76
• Publication Date: April 11, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
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11 April 1986LJy
NOMINEE FOR CIA JOB` EFENDS GROWING USE OF COVERT ACTIVITY FILE ONLY
BY TIM AHERN
WASHINGTON
The nominee to be the new deputy director of the CIA has defer
increasing use of covert action by the Reagan administration, promised to try to
cut down on leaks to the press, and admitted the agency mishandled a Soviet
defector last year.
The statements by Robert M. Gates came Thursday as he appeared before the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which later voted 10-0 to recommend
that the full Senate confirm him to the No. 2 post at the Central
Intelligence Agency.
It was the first public hearing in three years by the Senate panel, which has
feuded with the Reagan administration over the disclosure of sensitive
information and over U.S. covert programs.
Gates, 42, is a career intelligence officer whose most recent post was deputy
director for intelligence. He was named by CIA Director William Casey to the
No. 2 slot after John N. McMahon quit in February.
Gates said he believes covert action is "an appropriate instrument of foreign
policy, as long as it is taken within a broader context."
But he cautioned that decisions on covert programs are made by the National
Security Council, with the CIA only implementing the decision.
Gates did not discuss specific cases, such as the CIA -backed rebels trying
to overthrow Nicaragua's leftist government, or guerrillas who are battling the
Soviet-supported government in Afghanistan and the Marxist government of Angola.
The latter two groups have been supported by the administration, which has
reportedly decided in recent weeks to supply the guerrillas with sophisticated
Stinger anti-aircraft weapons.
"It has always been difficult to keep American involvement in a large-scale,
paramilitary action secret," he told the panel.
Even when a U.S. covert program becomes known, the administration can still
deny backing it, providing a "fig leaf" that can be useful for diplomatic
reasons in international circles, he said.
During the hearing, several senators criticized leaks they said have come
from the executive branch, particularly about the possibility of U.S. military
actions against either terrorists or Libya, which the administration says is a
major sponsor of international terrorism.
Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., said, "The way it's coming out is devastating to our
national security."
Some leaks, according to Sen. William Cohen, R-Maine, appear to be
politically motivated. He disputed Gates' contention that the information is
being leaked by low-level staffers. Cohen said the information is coming "from
the highest officials in the executive branch."
Continued
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pl?, STAT
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
vice chairman of t
,
he panel, told Gates, Mary
Imes, the information that has appeared in th
e press about intelligence has not
my been earlier, but more complete, than official notice to the committee."
"It is clear that all or nearly all such leaks of sensitive information have
originated at various levels in the executive branch," Leahy said.
Gates said he thought most leaks were due to a "lack of discipline" by people
with access to sensitive information. He promised to try to reduce the number of
leaks.
"I'm pretty certain that some of the more significant leaks of the last few
days have been reported to the FBI" for investigation, he said. "If they
haven't, they will."
But he did not say which cases he had in mind.
Gates agreed with Cohen and Seri. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, that the CIA
had mishandled the case of Vitaly Yurchenko, a former high-ranking VGB agent who
defected to the United States last year.
Yurchenko walked out of a District of Columbia restaurant last Nov. 2 and
showed up two days later at the Soviet embassy here, claiming he had been
drugged by the United States. He returned to the Soviet Union.
The CIA has changed its method of handling defectors so that a single case
officer now will deal with a defector from the start to build rapport with the
defector and try to sense trouble before it develops, Gates said.
He said that defectors have not been restrained in the past and they should
not be restrained in the future, but he added that "we ought to step back a bit"
from that policy and change it enough so "they can't just walk out the door and
into the Soviet embassy."
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