COLBY DENIES ANY DIRECT CIA ROLE IN OVERTHROW OF ALLENDE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP09T00207R001000020110-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2011
• Sequence Number: 110
• Publication Date: September 14, 1974
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2011/08/09: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000020110-1
14 SEP 1974
Dolby Denies Any Direct CIA'
Role in Overthrow of Allende
BY RICHARD RESTON
Tfnns $t.W WrHur
WASHINGTON In the face = of important that our, leaders and Defense. officials, and
occasional shouts of "liar" and "war, have a clear perception of Daniel Ellsberg, the man
criminal," CIA -Director William E . t it a motives, intentions. who leaked the Pentagon
Colby Friday defended his agency's And strategies of other ... Papers to the press.
right to conduct covert operations powers so that they can be Ellsberg and Colby ex
abroad and denied any direct U.S. ;'deterred, negotiated changed sharp remarks at
intelligence-role in the 1973 military about, or countered in the = on&?point during the after=
coup in Chile. interests of peace or, if ne- noon discussion. Ellsberg
? The head ?-of the Central 'Intel-- cessary, the ultimate se- accused Colby. of not un-
ligence Agency-appeared on Capitol ? curity` of our country." derstanding the United, I
States Constitution and of
Hill for three hours of public. testi- '' -"Colby faced an.openly
mony at the conclusion of a two-day hostile conference panel .pursuing a policy. of.secre-
conference on the secret activities of. and audience. His testimo- cy that makes the U.S.
the CIA. The 'conference was spon- ny was often .interrupted government similar the
sored by the Private Center for Na- by hisses, jeers and deri- Soviet ovie of regime and its
d
tional Security Studies and was held sive laughter. des. of and again Colby
in a hearing room of the New Senate" Time . At one point, when Col- attempted to defend the
Office B u:i 1 d i n g before several' s by was explaining CIA ac- covert .activities - of * the
hundred spectators. '' tivities in Vietnam, a pa- agency.,
er`While Colby denied a direct CIA nel member broke in with nhe agency conducts
t
'
"
s an ou
that
role in the Chilean-coup, he never a sharp
- such activities only when
theless conceded:- "We did look for-- ? rageous- lie." Later, a_ noth- specifically authorized when
wail to a change in government; er panel member called the National Security
out,. "Another lie, another hus,CIA covert
but through democratic eiections'by . lie;" . - Council. Tt national
political forces. He said the clear From the audience came actions reflect Colby said.
objective of U.S. policy in that coun- 4~ shouts of "How many did' , ,
try was to "encourage the continued y kill in Vietnam ' Col "National p o I i c y has
existence of democratic forces for ~" 'You're i,, been in a state of change,
sY_ and not on and CIA's involvement in
future elections." a liar, you're. a Nazi war covert action. has corre-
The Chilean coup, in September, criminal." covert pondingly action; has d." s 1973, took the life of Marxist Pies- To- the Vietnam com- He said. CIA covert op-
ident Salvador Allende. , _ment, Colby -answered erations overseas were
The focus on Chile at the conier- with: a terse. but even- now only a small part of
ence was prompted' by last week- --voiced: "I didn't kill any-- the. : overall U.S. intelli-
end's disclosure' of a letter by Rep. body." gene-gathering ' mission.
Michael Harrington (D-Mass.) that A final question came He said .this was true be-
reported the CIA had funneled up to ' from a Vietnamese in the cause the United States
$8 million into that country to un-,- audience began with this was no longer faced with
dermine the Allende government: comment: "How can you the- same kind, of Coy rnu-
> Colby refused. all, comment on the go home at night and re- nist subversion and insur-
specific methods and techniques ..spond to your wife and gency that characterized
used in covert CIA activities. rang- children after all the kill- the 1950s and 1960s. .
ing from Chile to Indochina and oth- ing in Vietnam. Colby Some of the sharpest de-
er na tions of the developing world, said he has spent seven bate . during the - confer-
j years in Vietnam trying to ence came over .. Colby's
t
t
emen
In his opening sta
th, e- director defended' the
policy of secrecy covering
-
-CIA actions.
' certain
"If we cannot protect our
'intelligence sources and
methods, I fear we may
-reach a situation in which
o.ur adversaries profit
-from 'our openness while
we are blinded by their se-
crecy ...
"In addition, In a world
which can destroy itself
t h rough misunderstand-
ing or miscalculation, it is
help the Vietnamese role as head of the old
protect themselves, and Phoenix program in Viet- ;
that he had come away nam, an operation de- i
from that country with signed to disrupt and elim-
"great affection, admira- inate major sectors of the
I tion and sympathy for the Communist Viet Cong and
; North Vietnamese lead-
Vietnamese people.`.'- - ership apparatus.
At no point during the Colby appeared at the
long and somewhat. stor- conference as part of a
my session did the CIA di new CIA- effort to explain
rector lose his temper or agency plans and opera-
composure. tions in public and with
The conference panel ? more candor.
included two members of
Congress, some forme r
CIA, S t a t e Department
00799
Approved For Release 2011/08/09: CIA-RDP09TOO207RO01000020110-1