C.I.A.'S COVERT ROLE: FORD'S DEFENSE RUNS AGAINST CURRENT TREND

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP09T00207R001000020098-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2011
• Sequence Number: 98
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/08/09: CIA-RDP09T00207RO01000020098-6
.L ,A.'s Covert Role: NEW YORK TIMES
Ford's Defense Runs Against Current Trend
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 -"u -` .1111-Y ""a' be known that the cranciestine~wnat international taw gave the
possible. The President might, operations of the C.I.A. were,L'nited States the right to "des-
President Ford helped revive a have said that he was not re- being curtailed. tabilize the constitutionally
dying issue last night. That is- sponsible for past activities of -Ml Just last week, William E.ielected government of another
sue was whether it was proper the C.I.A., but would he re-I!Coiby, Director of Central Intel ,country," the President de-
for a democracy, using its in- sponsible for its future behav- li ence, said it was "clear thatlclined to talk about law, but
telligence agencies to intervene ior, and would accordingly re-!jAmerican policy today is differ- said, "it's a recognized fact
in the internal af- view its policies and plans. ent from when it was confront- that historically, as well as pre-
fairs of other coun- He did promise to meet with ing worldwide Communist sub- sently, such actions a-e taken
tries, the Congressional committees (version in the nineteen fiftiestin the best interests of the
! Analysis Mr. Ford, at a that review the covert actiorrs or Commtmist insurgency inicountries involved."
news conference, of the agency to see whether the ninetee sixties." Commenting on that, Senators
seemed to answer they might want to change the
the question affirmatively. He (review process. Those commit- "As a result," Mr. Colby told Frank Church, Democrat of Ida-
the Fud for Peace cou'erence1ho, who is a high-ranking mem-
acknowledged that the United ,tees, however, are not noted in 'in Washington, "C.I.A.'s in-Iber of the Senate Foreign Rela-
States had made an effort to ,Washington for vigor and skep- evolvement in covert action is!t.ons Committee, said today:
preserve an opposition press ticism? very small indeed." I "It seems he declared that the
and opposition political parties Mr. Ford himself was a mem-
in Chile during the rule of a her of one of them for nine Abandoning covert action en- other States respects no law
Marxist President, Salvador Al- e rs when he was a Re - tirely "would not have a major otherr than the law of the jungle
y pre- impact on our current activities in its dealings with foreign
lende Gossens, who died in a sentative from Michigan.. or the current security of the countries, He equates us with
military coup in September, ( His reversion last night to ,United States," Mr. Colby ack-ithe Russians. I thought there
1973. the reason and rhetoric of the noTled ed. was a difference, and the differ-
__ President Ford justified the cold war, however mildly ex however, the capacity forlence is what it's all about."
-- Leffort, which was made during pressed, led to speculation such action may be needed in
th
Ni
i
Ad
i
e
xon
n
m
stration by that hiidtillt i
,s mn was s sen case of some new threat, he ad-
saying that it was "in the best that mold.
ded, and it would be a mistake
interest of the people of Chile, "if it was good enough for to "leave us with nothing be-
and certainly in our best Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, tween a diplomatic protest and
,interest." Johnson and Nixon, then it's sending the Marines."
"I am reliably informed," good enough for Ford," one of There was a conspicuous dif-
!Mr. Ford said, "that Commu- the President's friends re- ference in tone between Mr.
nist nations spend vastly more marked today. Colby and President Nord, his
money than v e do for t he 1oe, "'that's the way he thinks." new boss, but both seemed to
kind of purpose." ' Even in an Administration take it for granted that the
His response was presumably) that has been dedicated to United States had the right to
considered in advance, He hadi lonenness and candor President intervene in the affairs of other
trop on the subject because of
the recent disclosure that the
Nixon Administration author.
ized the Central Intelligence
Agency to spend $8-million on
covert activities in Chile be-
tween 1970 and 1973.
Indeed, Mr. Ford may have
had the help of those who au-
thorized those expenditures in
framing his reply. In any event,
he chose to defend the behavi-
or of the old Administration
rather than chart a new policy
for his own.
His response was presumably
considered in advance. He had
every reason to expect a ques-
tion on the subject. Last week
it was disclosed that the Nixon
Administration had authorized
the Central Intelligence Agency
to spend $8-million on covert
activities in Chile between 1970
and 1973. Those activities were
approved by the so-called 40
Committe, whose chairman was
and is Secretary of State Kis-
singer.
Mr. Ford possibly may have
had the help of those who
authorized those expenditures
in framing his reply. In any
event, the President chose to
defend the behavior of the old
Administration rather than
chart a new policy for his own.
every reason to expect a ques-~ Ford was judged in Washington countries in its own interest.
to have spoken with remark- When Mr. Ford. was asked
I able frankness.
"It is the first time in my,
,memory that a President has
(come out flatly and said, 'We
do it, the other side does it,
arid we do it,"' said Prof. Rich-:
and N. Gardner, a specialist in
international law at Columbia!
University, speaking from New'
York.
Secret C.I.A. operations such
as the overthrow of Premier
Mohammed Mossadegh of Iran
in 1953 and President Jacobo
Arbenz Guzman of Guatemala
in 1954, the Bay of Pigs inva.
sion of Cuba in 1961 and later
operations in Laos have been
identified when they became,
too big and notorious to be con?
cealed.
However, none has ever been,
acknowledged as readily and';
fully as the Chile operation, al-'
though the acknowledgment
was low-keyed.
It came, oddly, when such ac-
itivities seemed to be going out
of style. Eighteen months ago
the Nixon Administration let itl
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Approved For Release 2011/08/09: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000020098-6