A TRUMP UP THEIR SLEEVE?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100440012-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 28, 2011
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: September 25, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100440012-3
ARTICLE APPEARED
ARNOLD BEICHMAN
WASHINGTON TIMES
25 September 1986
A trump up their sleeve?
When the executive of a bachev will show the world that Mr
superpower such as the Daniloff committed several crimes.
Soviet Union implies What's more, Mr. Gorbachev will
that the executive of have the proof, very likely on tape
another superpower such as the and in Mr. Daniloff's own voice. Mr.
United States is a liar, then one of Daniloff was under KGB interroga-
three things is possible: tion for 13 days in a KGB jail. In
1. The Soviet executive was those 13 days, under skillful,
speaking in the heat of the moment friendly, understanding conversa-
and so his rhetoric superseded his tion and chatting, it would emerge
accuracy and an apology may be that Mr. Daniloff had given some
forthcoming in the interests of stabi- Russian dissident a bottle of scotch
lizing Soviet-American relations. and the Russian dissident would no
2. The Soviet executive was doubt have testified that in return
bluffing in typical Soviet bullying for the scotch Mr. Daniloff had asked
fashion and the smear will not be him to give him some secrets. Per-
withdrawn, no matter what. haps, some tough-minded people un-
3. The Soviet Union has "evi- der similar circumstances would
dence" in hand which the KGB have refused to talk without a lawyer
would say shows that Nicholas or would have refused to give any
Daniloff was really an American spy information except name, rank, and
or guilty of some other criminal act. serial number.
The latter hypothesis is the more However, let us assume that Mr
probable. For example: Daniloff has "talked" and "con-
Last April, I left Moscow Airport fessed" to a series of horrendous
after a two-week visit to the U.S.S.R. crimes. It is because Mr. Gorbachev
Although I had been refused a visa has in his hands transcripts of Mr.
a few years earlier, for some reason Daniloff's "confessions" that Mr.
I was allowed in this time, as part of Gorbachev has let the entire world
a group organized by the World Me- know that the president of the
dia Conference. United States is a liar or, at best, a
When I came home and started tool in the hands of anti-Soviet ele-
emptying my pockets of the enor- ments in the White House who don't
mous amount of junk one collects as tell President Reagan anything.
a tourist, I found to my horror that I In the meantime, there is another
had unwittingly taken with me a little question to pose:
five-ruble note. Had I been searched When was the last time we heard
at the airport at departure time and anything about Afghanistan?
the currency found in my pocket, I Is the Daniloff case a diversion
could have been arrested under So- intended to ease any pressure from
viet law, convicted of illegal cur- the United States on the Soviet
rency transactions, and jailed. And Union over what is potentially a geo-
nothing could have been done about strategic disaster for the Free
it. I would have been guilty. It's that World, namely, the potential collapse
easy to violate Soviet law of Afghanistan and with it, perhaps,
Without question, any foreign cor- the domino fall of Pakistan, Iran, and
respondent in Moscow can on any the Persian Gulf?
given day be arrested as a violator of How much moral indignation can
Soviet law. (It's tempting to put the a people muster in one season?
phrase Soviet law in inverted com- The Soviets will play out the
mas but in the interest of Soviet- Daniloff case for as long as possible,
American friendship, I will refrain.) while real issues, such as
It is my thesis that Mikhail Gorba- Afghanistan, such as Andrei Sakha-
chev has in hand enough "evidence" rov and other mistreated dissidents,
to hang Mr. Daniloff. That is why Mr. such as persecuted Poland, will be
Gorbachev has dared in effect to call buried under a mound of clippings
President Reagan a liar. Soviet law, about the Daniloff case.
despite the apologetics of academics Isn't it time that America's diplo-
like Professor Harold Berman of
Harvard University, operates on the
assumption that everybody is guilty
of anything and everything when-
ever it suits the Politburo.
There is no question in my mind
that when the time comes Mr. Gor-
mats and negotiators learned the
meaning of 70 years of Soviet his-
tory? Are we going to waste time
trying to disprove and debate the So-
viet "evidence" against Mr. Daniloff,
whenever the Soviets get around to
releasing it? Are we going to wait to
see if the Soviets will invite Seymour
Hersh to come to Moscow to investi-
gate whether Mr. Daniloff is a U.S.
spy or not, just as Mr. Hersh has just
shown the world that the Soviet
Union was really innocent of any evil
intent when a Soviet pilot killed 269
innocent passengers in KAL 007?
In short, isn't it time to stop play-
ing charades ' with Edward Shev-
ardnadze, who, acting the "good
cop," is, I'm sure, trying to persuade
Secretary of State George Shultz of
his helplessness before all those
"bad" cops in the KGB? -
Isn't it time that the United States
government, as the leader and pro-
tector of the Free World, acted with
the dignity and power which it is in-
cumbent upon the president to dem-
onstrate?
Ronald Reagan, where are you
when we need you?
Arnold Beichman is a research
fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2011/12/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100440012-3