LETTER TO MR. JOSEPH C. HARSCH FROM STANSFIELD TURNER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A002500030029-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 4, 2004
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: November 7, 1977
• Content Type: LETTER

The Director of Central Intelligence
Approved For Rele 52OO4/0'32(3: CIA-RDP80MOO16 fi6;ia4 ? g
7 November 1977
Lear Joe,
Just read your column on the Helms issue and
-thought it was very balanced and in-Formative.
You mentioned me in it, stating that I've
...cut back drastically on the size of the CIA's
covert staff." Let me only make it clear that I have
cut back only in the Headquarters overhead. There is
no intent to cut back the overseas arm that does the
clandestine collection and covert action. In short,
your statement is technically correct, but I did want
you to know that it is not my intent to reduce the
net effectiveness of the clandestine/covert organiza-
tion. In fact, I think that pruning the excesses
from the Headquarters overhead will strengthen our
l
c
andestine/covert capabilities.
All the best to you and Anne.
STANSFIELD TURNER
Mr. Joseph C. Harsch
The Christian Science-Monitor
One Norway Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
WEN
Approved For Release 2004/03/23 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02500030029-4
 -A A A,%," AAC'A..lM .3i...,, r-n 0...,1L' MUNI9.O; .
,. nnnw ~.inq/23 i+
Appi-eved For ear
-~s~~ 02
~!msc~e
::?Kirts
Preserving democracy
and spies too: analysis
By Joseph C. Iiarseh
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
The immediate case of Richard Helms, master spy, vs. the
U.S. Senate is now resolved in the only way it could be re-
solved - by a legalistic compromise. He has pleaded nolo con-
iendere, meaning he does not choose to contest the charge,
His case will not now go to trial. The judge had still to decide
on a sentence at this writing.
Left unresolved, and perhaps never to be resolved, is how to
reconcile the principles of democratic government with clan-
destine intelligence operations. Former Central Intelligence
Agency director Helms himself will not be prosecuted for fail-
ing to disclose in public to the Senate what the CIA actually
did in Chile. But does this mean that the CIA in Washington
will never again operate clandestinely against a foreign gov-
ernment? And does it mean that a future director of Central
Intelligence will never again fail to disclose all he knows about
such operations to the Senate in public? -
In theory, this sort of thing is not likely to happen again
soon. New arrangements for congressional oversight exist.
And the disclosure of past CIA activities has given clandestine
operations a bad name. Adm. Stansfield Turner, the new direc-
tor of Central Intelligence, has cut bacl, dr t .g lly the size'
of the CIA's covert staff. The general- climate of the times is
such TFiaf nothing like the operation in Chile is likely to be at-
tempted soon lain, if ever.
. M3
The facts of-'The Helms case as now known are as follows:
In 1970 the government in Washington was unhappy about
the impending election to the presidency of Chile of Dr. Salva-
dor Allende Gossens, an avowed Marxist. The;
White House, acting through the National Secu-
rity Council channels which operated at that
time, instructed the CIA to do what it could do
by _,onmilitaxy ra-ans tj prevent the elkctiu,a
of Mr. Allende:
In 1973 a Senate committee investigated re-
ports that the CIA had conspired with the In-'
ternational Telephone and Telegraph Corpo-
ration (ITT) against the Allende cause. Mr..
Helms, then director of CIA, was asked ques-
tions about CIA activities in Chile. He denied
knowledge of covert CIA activities in Child'iin
1970 or later.
It now is known that the CIA did, in fact,
spend about $8 million in support of anti-Al-
lende political activities in Chile, although ap-
parently not in collusion with ITT. The Allende
government was overthrown in a counter-
revolution in September, 1973.
Perjury charge sought
The Senate committee headed by Sen. Frank
Church (D) of Idaho contended that Mr.
Helms's testimony in 1973 amounted to perjury
and demanded that the Department of Justice
tiring him to trial on a charge of perjury.
On Oct. 31, Mr. Helms, now retired from
public service, appeared in the federal district
court of Judge Barrington D. Palmer, along
with officials of the U.S. Department of Justice
and entered his plea of nolo contendere: The
Department of Justice recommended that
there be no, prison sentence. White House
spokesman Jody Powell said that this action on
the Helms case "upholds the. law but also
serves the interests of national security."
By upholding "the interests of national secu-
rity" Mr. Powell presumably means that no
precedent has been set which would push any
future CIA director or agent to disclose in an-
swer to Senate questions all he knows about
clandestine matters which he has taken an
oath to keep secret. .
Secrecy oath dilemma
Mr. Helms, of course, knew all about CIA
operations in Chile. He had authorized those
operations on instructions from his own superi-
ors at the White House. He was a commis-
sioned officer of the government of the United
States acting on the orders of his superior offi-
cer, the President. But these operations were
intended to be clandestine and secret. His own
oath of office required him to avoid disclosing
his knowledge of such operations. -
What does any spy do under such conditions?
Perhaps the answer to -the many. quandaries
disclosed by the whole CIA story is that there
should be a system of congressional super-
vision which avoids a repetition of what -hap-
pened to Mr. Helms. If the Congress, through
its own oversight arrangements, is saisfied
that the CIA is not acting outside the area of
proper authority, then there would be no occa-
sion to summon the CIA director to ask him
questions which he cannot answer without vio-
lating his oath of office and uncovering clan-
destine operations. .-
 CONFIDENTIAL SECRET
UNCLASSIFIED
OFFICIAL
ROUTING
SLIP
TO
NAME AND ADDRESS
DATE
INI IALS
A/DCI/PA, 1F04, H QS
z
4
5
DCI 7
NOV 1977
6
X
ACTION
DIRECT REPLY
PREPARE REPLY
APPROVAL
DISPATCH
RECOMMENDATION
COMMENT
FILE
RETURN
CONCURRENCE
INFORMATION
SIGNATURE
Remarks :
To 1: For your review before DCI signs.
FOLD HERE TO RETURN TO SENDER
ME. ADDRESS AND PHONE NO.
NA
FROM::
DATE
It~~
QQ
Ap~rovbtl AP9relMa 2004/03/23: CIA-RDP80
09 5A60
UNCLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL
SECRET
FORM NO. 7 Use previous editions (40)