WALTER'S POSTING TO UN SPOTLIGHTS BEHIND-THE-SCENES DIPLOMAT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504480019-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: February 13, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504480019-4
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CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
13 February 1985
Walters's Posting to UN Swclipnts
behind-the- scenes diplomat
By George D. Moffett III Committee members may also use the
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor hearings as an occasion to Ieeper
Washington into Walters's position during the Water-
The nomination of Vernon A. Walters tate affair. As deputy director of the CIA
to succeed Jeane J. Kirkpatrick as US during the Nixon administration, Waiters
ambassador to the United Nations brings rebuffed overtures made ST77E aides
to light a career long respected in diplo- H. R. Haldeman and John Dean III to use
matic circles but, until now, largely hid- the CIA as part of the Watergate cover-
den from public view up.. In a book on Watergate, former Nixon
If he is confirmed by the US Senate, aide o n is an charges that
Mr. Walters will bring to the UN a dis- Walters's account of his own role was an
tinct change of style from his controver- "example of selective recollection "
sial predecessor. But his views are almost In addition, Walters is reported to have,
certain to please conservatives. had misgivings about the UN in the past,!
"Kirkpatrick is a hard act to follow," though he says he now views the organi-
says Burton Pines, a foreign policy spe- zation as necessary.
cialist at the conservative Heritage Foun- Trading on his aptitude for foreign lan-
dation, a public-policy research group in guages (he reportedly speaks eight, plus
Washington, D.C. "It's like coming from several dialects), Walters has built a ca-
a month in Bermuda to a vacation in the reer as a behind-the-scenes
Catskills. But Walters has enough inter- troubleshooter. By his own account he
national experience to be solid." has traveled to more than 100 countries
Even so, there are indications that and logged more than 1 million miles for
Warmers s confirmation process may not President Reagan alone. His memoirs,
be trouble-free. Although his nomination published several years ago, detail a ca-
is riot expected to encounter any major re- reer interwoven with the major events and
sistance. Walters's close ties to military personalities of the cold war.
leaders and intelligence figures around the Walters attributes his success to a rule
world may raise questions at the coming made famous by former Secretary of
confirmation hearings before the Senate State George C. Marshall that there's no
Foreig~ Relations Committee. limit to what you can accomplish in
"Walters has been a specialist in the Washington if you're willing to let some-
darker side of diplomacy," says one one else have the credit.
source familiar with his career. "His con- Despite his willingness to operate away
firmation puts his career in the window of from the limelight, he has risen from the
publicity. It may be the occasion for a sur-
prising amount of controversy."
For some years, Walters has been the
subject of allegations of possible negli-
gence or cover-up in events surrounding
the 1976 assassination of former Chilean"
Ambassador Orlando Letelier, and of pos-
sible complicity in the 1964 overthrow of
Brazilian President Joao Goulart.
Questions may also be raised about al-
legations made in a 1978 article in World
Politics that as military attache in Rome,
Walters strongly urged the deployment of
US marines to prevent socialists from
joining an Italian coalition government.
rank of private to highly decorated three-
star Army general. Along the way he
served as translator, aide, and adviser to
five US presidents, from Truman to
Reagan.
Walters is no stranger to the Foreign
Relations Committee, where he has ap-
peared for confirmation hearings five
times before. The committee will find a
nominee known more for bluntness than
academic polish, a man of conservative
views with a gregarious personality and a
demonstrated preference for operating be-
hind the scenes. Walters has also estab-
lished a reputation for discretion and loy-
alty - but not blind loyalty.
He takes over at a time when the US -
together with Israel and South Africa -
are increasingly isolated from the Arab,
African, and nonaligned UN blocs. While
expected to carry on Mrs. Kirkpatrick's
strong anti-Soviet views, Walters is con-
sidered less likely to operate with
Kirkpatrick's independence.
Partly because of the Kirkpatrick ex-
perience, Secretary of State George P.
Shultz is known to favor downgrading the
office of UN ambassador from its current
Cabinet-rank status. At a press confer-
ence last week, Walters said it was his
"understanding that the position is the
same as it was in the case of my predeces-
sor." However the question of rank is set-
tled, Walters is known to have Shultz's
strong support. -
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/28: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504480019-4