THE CIA'S UNREPENTANT SIDE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000401700005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: October 29, 1991
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/23: CIA-RDP99-01448R000401700005-2
MAR1I McCRORI-
The CIA's Unrepentant Side
Robert M. Gates has promised that openness. The Senate should, of course
things are going to be different at be debating the excellent suggestion of
the CIA-no more lying to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.)
Congress, no more cooking of reports that with the end of the Cold War, the
or suppression of dissent. What is he CIA should be shut down and its
going to do about the condescension? activities taken over by the State
The official motto of the agency is Department. But conservatives can't
"Seek Ye the Truth." The real one, very well push other favorite follies like
however, is "None of Your Business." space stations and "Star Wars" if they
Acting Director Richard Kerr-gray turn the CIA into a homeless shelter,
hair, gray suit, patronizing and make it official that Moscow is a
manner-went before the Senate basket case.
subcommittee on terrorism, narcotics Sen. Hank Brown and international operations the other attempted persuade to persuade (e Colo.)
day and the "old" CIA was in full view. Kerr that the
rpe the Fed
He was not amused by Chairman should spook be who
called allede not the alert
John F. Kerry' lam su pti was at the "My training is, someone is supposed
with BCCI, the big bad bank accused of Kerr did not even attemp t to conceal
duping public officials and laundering
hi
drug money. Charges that it had failed
to blow the whistle were, he said,
outrageous and unfounded"
Why, said Kerr huffily, the agency
had written hundreds of reports-and
disseminated them all around the
that could have done something about
it-the Federal Reserve.
"Even in hindsight," he said,
Treasury, Justice and other law
enforcement agencies were the
appropriate customers for the agency's
reports. Snidely, he went on, "If I had
addressed the Federal Reserve, that
probably would have been useful for
this hearing."
Kerry (D-Mass.) asked politely if the
committee might see the reports.
Kerr was reflexively not at all sure.
"Our problem with disseminating
individual reports is one very close to
sources and methods." He would,
pursuits?" asked Kerry, g about it, just as Kerr knew that BCCI
"Well " said Kerr, "I would like to ogo the ex extra and felt no obligation
look carefully at what we are talking The CIA is a law mile.
unto itself, with a
about and talk to our oversight culture, a Mystique that is robe
committee .... " the walls ovr tere, like the bly in
That last was a little reminder that condescension. But Gates's minimalist
the man monitoring the spooks is doting concession that he should have asked
David L. Boren (D-Okla.), who is more questions cinched his confirmation.
infatuated with the agency, and is
leading the charge rge in the Senate for Kerr treated the senators with an
leadng the charge
n. arrogance that doubtless guaranteed him
Kerry gently pointed out that other The acting director was disdainful of
departments had seen the information, their questions. "I am not sure what the
"If they can get it, the U.S. Senate point of that question is," he would sniff,
ought to get it, is that fair?" Kerry's or, "I am not sure how relevant this is
good manners briefly discountenanced to this issue."
Kerr, who agreed it was fair. The real problem is that the CIA
The exchange illustrated the
difficulty of reconciling a secret drelevance oes not think there's any point or
s Congress's
intelligence agency with democratic reaction stt Congress, its boota
s contempt. He had no intention
f
o
punishing the individual who had made
"an honest mistake"-a mistake that
caused a tidal wave in banking circles
and endangered the life savings of
thousands of small depositors.
"I am not sure it was a bad decision,"
he said, unrepentantly, exhibiting an
unfamiliarity with the repentance curve
so effectively ridden by Gates in his
confirmation hearings before the Senate
intelligence committee.
Contrition is all the rage now. Sen.
Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) was
driven to it and Sen. Alan K. Simpson
(R-Wyo.), too. The Senate loves to see
heavy traffic on the sawdust trail.
The real rap against Gates is that he
was not a good citizen in the Iran-contra
affair. He wasn't even mildly curious
about the bad things coming down in his
own government. His career, the
agency, came before the country. He
knew what was up earlier than he ever
Is this going to be one of those ton admitted to Congress and did nothing
The Washington Post
The New York Times
The Washington Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Christian Science Monitor
New York Daily News
USA Today
The Chicago Tribune
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/23: CIA-RDP99-01448R000401700005-2