FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE STRATTON OPPOSES DEMAND FOR CIA INVESTIGATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000200230158-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 20, 2004
• Sequence Number: 158
• Content Type: STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE. RELEASE
STRATTON OPPOSES. DEMAND FOR CIA INVESTIGATION
Washington, D.C., Feb. 16 -- Following is a statement by Rep. Samuel S. Stratton
(D-N.Y.):
"Frankly, I get a little bit tired of those who consistently latch onto every possible
occasion to demand a public investigation of the operations of the CIA. I see no reason for
us to be concerned about the announcement, made incidentally by a magazine which has been
notoriously opposed to every effort of this country to resist communist aggression, that the
CIA has contributed funds to the National Student Association.
"Let's not be over-pompous or try to kid ourselves. Everybody knows that youth organi-
zations in communist countries, and in most other foreign countries for that matter, are offi-
cial spokesmen for their own national point of view and not only directly subsidized but also
organized and controlled by their country's leadership. It makes sense to me that this country
has recognized the realities and made some modest effort to insure that communist propaganda
at international youth gatherings was countered by American facts and figures by seeing that
American young people had enough cash to get around to these gatherings. There is no evidence
that the CIA ever tried to run NSA affairs.
"The situation we find with student organizations is not unlike the situation we face
in the Olympics. American athletes are rigidly "amateur" and as a result have a much tougher
time finding the time to train and finance their appearances at international athletic events.
Communist athletes, like communist opera stars, are directly subsidized by the government,
and to call them "amateurs" at all is a complete distortion of the facts. Many of us have
long felt, including President Kennedy when he first came into office, that the government
ought to do something to recognize this situation and give some support so that American
athletes could compete with communist athletes on a more nearly equal footing.
"Except for the purposes of headline publicity, American office holders ought to know
by now that we live in a very dangerous and difficult and even conspiratorial world. For
responsible American legislators to insist that America's attitude always be the attitude of
Pollyanna in a world all to:.often peopled by cutthroats and dirty players, would be a perfect
formula for failure and defeat.
"We fathered the CIA after we discovered at Pearl Harbor that a modern nation neglects
its dirty tricks department at its peril. I certainly hope the current tempest in a teapot
over the NSA will not lead us to throw away the progress this country has made in internation-,
al affairs under the leadership of five great American Presidents."
Approved For Release 2004/05/12 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000200230158-7
Approved Fo(ele s'ek2, 04/05/12,: CIA-RDP7mB00'38R0200230158-7