PLUG THIS SIEVE AT THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100020076-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 76
• Publication Date: August 11, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100020076-6
SALT LAKE CITY DESEREI' NEWS (UT)
11 August 1984
STAT
Plug this sieve at the CIA
How secret can a spy agency be when
more than 50 people on Capitol Hill
know all its activities?
Granted, some of the Central Intelli-
gence Agency's activities of the past
decade have deservedly raised some
eyebrows in the United States: skull-
duggery in the election of Marxist Sal-
vador Allende in Chile; efforts to assas-
sinate Fidel Castro; shadowy links to
the deaths of South Vietnamese lead-
ers; defiance of a White House order to
destroy stocks of deadly poisons and
.weapons used in counter-intelligence
work; illegally opening and copying
mail to U.S. citizens.
But the pendulum has now swung so
far in the other direction that the CIA is
becoming impaired as a necessary in-
telligence-gathering operation. In a
world in which terrorism and war are
so rampant, that's a dangerous
situation.
Howard Baker, the Senate majority
leader, has a thoughtful suggestion:
combine the Senate and House intelli-
iff
gence committees and allow it to hire
only a "very, very small" staff. That
would considerably cut down the num-
ber of people with access to the nation's
deepest secrets, but would still permit
effective oversight
Currently, the Senate Select Com-
mittee on Intelligence has 15 regular
members and two ex-officio members.
The House side has 14 members, two
ex-officio members. Staffs for the two
committees include more than 20 per-
sons. With so many involved, someone's
bound to have political or philosophical
differences - and leak information on
secret plans.
The CIA has had its share of gaffes.
But it also has been an effective shield
in protecting the nation. With the world
now an armed camp, it's simply too
dangerous not to know what potential
enemies are doing and what weapons
they're developing.
Sen. Baker's recommendation ought
to be speedily implemented.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/17: CIA-RDP91-00561 R000100020076-6