MR. LINDSAY'S COMMENTS REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JOINT COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN INFORMATION & INTELLIGENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00610R000200080031-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2003
• Sequence Number: 31
• Content Type: SUMMARY

ApKoveor Release 2003/06/26 : CIA-RDP90-00610R000200080031-4
Mr. Lindsay's Comments Regarding
the Establishment of a Joint Committee
on Foreign Information & Intelligence
Mr. Lindsay cited and "refuted" what he considers to be the three
main arguments against the establishment of a Joint Congressional
Committee to oversee the affairs of the CIA:
(1) the need for secrecy - but Congress has alwyas asserted
its right to concern itself with even the most sensitive areas
of Government;
(2) the CIA exists to serve the President and the NSC, and
Congress is without jurisdiction - but consider the work of the
House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Government Operations,
and the Senate Subcommittee on National Security Staffing and
Operations;
(3) Congressional oversight is already adequate - but Senate
Armed Services Subcommittee devotes only "several hours"
(Per year) to this important area.
After asserting that CIA is a policy-making body, he outlined his
two general reasons for supporting a Joint Committee:
(1) the copious criticisms leveled at CIA;
(2) his personal abhorrence of "government by secrecy. "
Specifically, Mr. Lindsay thought such a committee should focus
on the following four "problems":
(1) CIA - State relations, to eliminate counter-productive
efforts;
(2) the advisability of assigning to one Agency both the
functions of intelligence collection and the mounting of
"special" PM type "operations";
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(3) the recruitment policies of CIA to see if, in political
orientation, its personnel are monolithic;
(4) the organization of the estimating process in which
CIA seems to play the dual role of participant and chief
coordinator.
Another possible area of investigation to which Mr. Lindsay
alluded was the reported increasing centralization of authority within
the intelligence community.
Mr. Lindsay, perhaps in an effort to be fair, had quite a few
nice things to say about the Agency and its personnel, and admitted
throughout that he spoke without any first hand knowledge of
Agency policies or activities.
Approved For Release 2003/06/26 : CIA-RDP90-0061OR000200080031-4