COLBY DEFENDS AID IN ITALY AND ANGOLA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100090081-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 81
• Publication Date: January 9, 1976
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R0001 00090081-3
Si A I BALTIMORE SUN
'ter 9 JANUARY 1976
He called attention to the'
Soviet cruiser, destroyer, am-
phibious Col defends ai d West ship and oilers "off
WAfrica" In declaring that
Y
"There's no question about it-
the Soviets are expressing their
it~1. 'an&A A~gOi~ interest in that area." It was
the "height of absurdity" to say
the CIA should not help those
By CHARLES W. coaDDRY resisting the Russians, Cubans
Washing one Bureau of the saw a'n4 "the group they are manip-
Washington-William E. ' ' There was no way to tell; elating and supporting."
Colby, the director of central from Mr. Colby's comments The Defense Department's
intelligence, strongly defended whether publicity about covert concern that ship operations
yesterday America's clandes. financial aid-for which an an. could indicate increasing Rus-
tine support of anti-Communist gry White House blamed mem- sian activity in Angola was ex-
parties in Italy and Angola and bers of Congress- had forced pressed by William I. Greener,
protested publicity given covert any change in `plans. Mr. Colby the assistant defense secretary
operations by members of Con- said he was "not at liberty to for public affairs. The concern
gress who are informed in se- :discuss details of our activities" was stated in the context of dip-
cret briefings. ,in regard to Italy. lomatic pressure rather than of
At the same time, the De- He defended aid, however, to any large military significance
fense Department expressed ;,friends in countries where Com- represented by the Soviet ships.
concern- that Soviet ship ma- munists seek control, likening it - Other sources reported that
neuvering off the West African to economic and military help the Russian amphibious. ship-
coast could foretell expanding given countries and "several with a normal complement of
Russian activity in the Angolan democratic parties" throughout 100 to 150 infantrymen aboard
civil war. The department saw Europe after World War IL -was expected to dock yester-
the operations as a form of dip- Disclosures of clandestine day in Pointe Noire in the Con-
lomatic pressure in behalf of United States help to forces go for it four-day call. They said
Soviet-backed elements in An- fighting the Soviet-backed fac- the destroyer probably would
gola. - Ition in Angola set off a new go into the same port January
It was learned independent- wave of congressional restive- 18 for a similar visit.
ly that a Soviet Kresta-class ness about covert operations The White House, mean-
guided missile cruiser, pre- last month. : . . . while, said yesterday there was,
viously off Morocco, has begun Noting that he is now re- "no official word" that South;
steaming southward, though in- quired by law to brief six con- African forces are to be with-1
telligence sources did not know , gressional committees on cov- drawn from Angola shortly,;
whether it intended to join a er#activities, Mr. Colby said al- where they have supported thel
guided-missile destroyer and most everything they have been same factions backed by the
amphibious ship off the Angola told has been "exposed in the U.S. . ,
coast. The White House said press." This includes some ac- Ronald H. Nissen, Presi-1
Wednesday it was "dismayed" tions done with "knowing ap- dent Ford's press secretary,II
by the presence of the Russian ; proval" of committees and at would not say whether there
ships. least one, unspecified, at a com- was any "unofficial" indication,
In his wide-ranging inter- mittee's urging, he said. saying "this is not the place to
view on the NBC-TV Today As the people's representa- confirm troop movements of a
show-a performance that tives, Mr. Colby said, members foreign country." .
would have been almost un- of Congress have to be responsi- If published reports about
thinkable for a Central Intellig- ble for knowing things they can South African withdrawals
ence Agency head a year ago- not publicize. "Otherwise we
Mr. Colby asserted: "We have cannot run an intelligence prove accurate, the pullbacks
meet-
not spent a nickel in Italy in the service." would d coincide, s Ababa, Ethiopia, the meetf
non-wu, Ethiopia, of
past few months." He would not . "We have totally lost our the the in 46 Addis
discuss, however, "plans and sense of ro rtion about the pe African na-
discuss, lions making up the Organiza-
thoughts" for the future. Importance of intelligence" and lion of African Unity. The
The question arose in light of 'the fact that the CIA's "few emergency session is to deal!
published reports that the CIA misdeeds" over its 28-year his- with the Angolan crisis.
means to funnel $6 million to tory have been corrected, Mr.
non-Communist group,, chiefly Colby contended.
the Christian Democratic party. - Asserting "There are no
in Italy to aid efforts to keep Americans fighting in Angola,
the large Italian Communist period,"-which - reiterated
party out of the government. what other officials have stated
Rome's minority coalition -the CIA head said it was "to-
collapsed Wednesday and Aldo tally absurd" to view aid in thel
More, the Christian Democratic former Portuguese colony as
leader, is remaining as caretak- leading to a new Vietnam. The
er premier while efforts are essential point, he said, was
made to form a new govern-1 that the CIA could covertly help
men-., anti-Communist factions there
without a commitment of
American forces... ,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/24: CIA-RDP91-00561 R0001 00090081-3