A SICK FEELING WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403430001-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 12, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: November 30, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000403430001-0
ARTICLE APPMED
ONPAtiE BALTIMORE SUN
30 November 1986
A Sick Feeling We've Been Here Before
'
FRIENDS of Ronald Reagan
knew the meaning of night-
mares Tuesday nig it. In their
dreams they experienced a sicken-
ing sense of terrible times remem-
bered. of a Senate select committee,
of criminal trials and impeachment
hearings of a question that took on
a life of Its own: What did the presi-
dent know, and when did he know
it?
The Iranian imbroglio cannot
fairly be equated with the Watergate
scandals of 1972 - not yet, any-
how. Watergate involved the crime
I
By James J. Kilpatrick
of burglary. We do not yet know
what crimes, if any, may have been
committed in the bizarre shell game
that was played with Israel and Iran.
But there are similarities, and
these are bound to disturb the White
House sleep. Richard Nixon had his
Gordon Liddy, mastermind of the
break-in at Democratic National
Headquarters. Ronald Reagan has
his Oliver North, apparent master-
mind of the Iranian operation. Colo-
nel North is no burglar. He has a fine
reputation as a loyal officer in the
Marine Corps, but what did he do
and who authorized him to do it?
On the Wednesday morning after
the Tuesday massacre, the memo-
ries and lessons of Watergate come
vividly to mind. Mr. Nixon himself
never authorized the burglary. I am
certain that Mr. Reagan never au-
thorized the clandestine scheme that
saw millions of dollars transferred to
the "contras" of Nicaragua. In the
Watergate affair, Attorney General
John Mitchell weakly gave Mr. Liddy
a free hand. Who served as John
Mitchell to Colonel North?
The scandal of Watergate was
not the break-in itself. The scandal
came with Mr. Nixon's effort to con-
ceal other criminal operations by his
White House "plumbers." The scan-
dal was obstruction of justice. The
scandal was lying.
Since the Iranian story broke
three weeks ago. the White House
has been engaged in damage control.
time reporters questioned
chief of
staff Donald Regan and Vice Adm.
John Poindexter, the now ousted na-
tional security adviser. We left these
briefings as if we had left a Chinese
dinner - nice, but not filling.
This won't do. It simply will not
do. On Tuesday the president named
his own investigating board. It will
be composed of honorable men, but
these will be the president's men.
Much more is required. The country
rightfully may demand the equiva-
lent of the Senate's select committee
on Watergate. We need another Sam
Ervin. another Howard Baker.
Unfortunately, no such commit.
tee could readily be constituted now.
The 99th Congress has adjourned:
the 100th Congress cannot be con-
vened until Jan. 6. If a special com-
mittee were to be created, it would
need subpoena powers: it would
need staff and an appropriation. An
investigation must be conducted
comprehensively. Existing congres-
sional committees can do at best a
piecemeal job in this pre-Christmas
period. The Washington press corps.
slavering over the juiciest story in 14
years, will hold a journalistic bucket
for any leaks it can catch, but unat-
tributed revelations in the press are
a poor substitute for public testimo-
ny under oath.
A hundred questions press for
answers. On this Wednesday morn-
ing it seems inconceivable that Rob-
in and Batman could have acted
alone. No one will believe it. Who
provided the complaisant wink, the
encouraging nudge? Where was Sec-
lights went out? Whe was William
Casey. director of the CIA? Where
were the joint chiefs of staff. the vice
president. the secretary of defense?
Was everybody in the dark? Every-
body?
Maybe so, but if so, the inescap-
able conclusion will pain the presi-
dent's friends. if the president can-
not be charged with complicity, he
will stand charged with incompe-
tence. It was his responsibility to es-
tablish such controls that Colonel
North and Admiral Poindexter would
have found it unthinkable to go
barging off on their own. Donald Re-
gan's poor analogy. that bank presi-
dents can't be expected to keep tab
on bank tellers, will not wash. This
basement plot was hatched almost
literally under the president's nose.
"The Watergate affair," said the
Senate committee 12 years ago, "re-
flects an alarming indifference dis-
played by some in high public office
or position to concepts of morality
and trust. Indeed, the conduct of
many Watergate participants seems
grounded on the belief that the ends
Justified the means, that the laws
could be flouted . . . "
Something of that sort may have
happened here. At the moment we
do not know what happened. We
have to have the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth,
and we have to have it soon.
THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/12 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000403430001-0