PANEL WILL QUESTION CIA'S CONTROL OF U.S. AID TO AFGHANISTAN REBELS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000201670085-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 19, 2010
• Sequence Number: 85
• Publication Date: January 18, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201670085-4
WASHINGTON TI MES
18 January 1985
Panel will question CIA's control
of U.S. aid to Afghanistan rebels
By Thomas D. Brandt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The new chairman of the Senate
Intelligence Committee says his
panel will question the "command
and control" abilities of the CIA over
the $250 million annually sent to reb-
els fighting Soviet occupation forces
However, Sen. David 'Dairen
now'ziufed"their own Vietnam" in
Afghanistan, and he would not chal-
lenge U.S. policy to resist. the mili-
tary suppression of that Moslem
country. on the Soviets' southern
border.
Sen. Durenberger, who says poor
management of the CIA-assisted
efforts in Nicaragua has damaged
U.S. Policy in Central America,
wants the committee to look deeply
into "command and control" of U.S.
covert operations around the globe.
"B
ut its really important ... this
Afghanistan. Its going to illustrate a I
good problem on command and con-
trol
because you can control that
only up to a certain point. ... We
can't control it," the senator said in
an interview this week.
"Our main job on findings on
covert action is to determine
whether, if implemented or if dis-
covered, it would be a deterrent in
some way to national security
policy," he added.
"We aren't in the policy business.
You want to debate Central
American policy, go to Foreign Rela-
tions [committee]. You want to
debate Afghanistan policy, the over-
all policy of why are we are doing it
and how does this relate to U.S. for-
eign policy, go to Foreign Relations.
Don't come to the intelligence corn-'
mittee," he said.
Mr. Durenberger became
chairman of the 15-member.8f'ii'-`"
gence panel earlier this month as a
required rotation of members has
chairman said that scrutiny of com-
mand and control will be one good
way to lead the largely new member-
ship "back to basics" in the intrica-
cies of intelligence work.
The House and Senate
intelligence committees have the
responsibility to oversee the CIA
and other U.S. agencies that conduct
intelligence and covert operations.
The Afghanistan program is thought
to be the largest single U.S covert
operation in terms of funds spent.
Numerous government sources
have confirmed that the United
States is providing about $250 mil-
lion a year to the rebels, who are
fighting Soviet forces that first
entered the country in 1979.
Another $200 million is thought to
be coming from other countries,
with most of the aid being funneled
through neighboring Pakistan.
"My understanding of the current
policy is that anything that will keep
the Soviets busy in their own Viet-
nam, that doesn't drive us into any
kind of direct kind of defense ...
may well advance our national secu-
rity," Sen. Durenberger said.
"I find it hard to believe that
you're going to get the Soviets to dis-
engage from Afghanistan. It's just
part of their plan for a warm water
port. So the best you can do is sort of
bog them down and keep them busy
there," he added.
A recent report from London in
Jane's Defense Weekly said that the
original invasion force of 100,000 is
thought to have been reduced by the
Soviets to 76,000. The same report
said these forces face about 90,000
Moslem fighters. The latest U.S.
Defense Department estimate of
Soviet strength is 108,000.
Mr. Durenberger said he was not
challenging the policy of employing
covert operations, "but the process."
"We've been doing CA [covert
action] forever, and hopefully we
Will. It's an extremely important
part of implementing the national
security policy," he said.
"Instead of having a hearing on
.atrocities in Central America, or
something else like that, we're going
to go back and examine the com-
mand and control of the decision- i
making system of covert activity in
a sort of general sense and perhaps
look at it with some specificity in
various parts of the world," he said.
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00552R000201670085-4