HEARINGS HURT U.S. INTELLIGENCE WORK, COLBY SAYS HERE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00418R000100100041-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 11, 2012
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: September 24, 1975
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST A T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/11: CIA-RDP99-00418ROO0100100041-6
ST. LOUIS ?OST-DISFATGii
24 September 1975
By RICHARD K. WELL JR.
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff
Congressional hearings on Colby said he had mace, A prime example of such fered to help the Department
the Central Intelligence Agen- similar visits to Los Angeles, l '.other functions,'! Colby said,
Cy are necessary, CIA Dirse- New York and Chicago. Nextl was the CIA's part i pian- or Justice investigate a report
t,~ ',v flii im E. Colby says, but on his sched leis Boston. ! ning the ill-fated Bay of Pigs that E. Howard Hunt, a at-
those being held are having But Colby denied that he I invasion of Cuba in 1931. ergate burglary conspirator
"a very adverse effect" on was spending a disproportion- and a former CIA agent had
the agency. ate amount of time on public But Colby said he expected told associates that a senior
, soft-spoken and relations. He said he hadl the noninteiligence functions White House official in the
Colby
friendly in a 45-minute press given speeches only 10 times of the CIA to diminish in Administration of former s
briefing in St. Louis yester- in the last year or year and a future years. President Richard M. Nixon
day, said the hearings "are half. "Last year," he said, "Con- had instructed Hunt to 05533
taking a large part of my. Colby said repeatedly that gress turned down by a 34o-l sinate columnist Jack Ander-
time, and that's time I'ni not the CIA must "do away with margin a bill that would have son. I knew nothing about it
ask co mend on problems of the old idea of intelligence barred the CIA from any until Sunday when I read it in
intelligence in the future - being, total secrecy function other than pure in tel- the Washington Post," Colby
what we're going to need in Washington sources have ligence work." said.
the 1980s." said that Colby's'refusal to. But he said that Congress 1 (..) Said the CIA office in
Furthermore, Colby said, , cover up CIA abuses in testi-' had passed a bill allowing downtown St. Louis had only
recent revelations about the mony before the Senate Intel- other projects "only if the two functions: to keep in
agency have caused the CIA's ligence committee has earned president finds it in the inter-. touch with Americans who
sources of information around him the bitter enmity of Rich- est of national security." have business or professional
the world to begin "drying up and M. Helms, former CIA Even at that. Colby said, the relationships abroad and to
,
one by one. director and now ambassador, new law requires information interview job applicants and
He said CIA sources are to Iran. UnderHelms's lead-' about such activitie^ to be CIA contractors.
worried that their participa ership, from mid-1966 until passed on to congressional ? (3) Called for strengthening
tion in this country's intelli- January of 1973, many of the ? committees. a law that prohibits govern-
gence effort will be disclosed. abuses took place. Colby, a graduate of ment agents or former agents
"We're very much- like But Colby denied that he Princeton University and Co- from leaking intelligence in-
journalists," he told report- and Helms were at .odds. 'lumbia University's law formation.
ers. "The sources of your Some of the apparently illegal school, was an espionage (4) Complained that the
information have to be sa- acts when Helms was director agent in World War II. After free society in the United
cred. If you expose.them, you occurred "because we a?brief practice'of law, he States made intelligence gath-
won'r be- able to use those thought it was the right thing joined the CIA in the Korean ering easy for Coatmuntst
sources anymore." to do," Colbysaid. .' '' War. nations. "The Soviet military
Colby w is in the area at the of his renunciation of some His most controversial tour attache can go to the street
~` I former CIA.1 tactics, Colby of duty was in the late 19eos, corner and pick ek;" up a Colby copy saidof
personal invitation of G. Dun- said, "I'm sure that my suc-
can Bauman, publishes of the when he was responsible for Aviation W said.
operation Phoenix, a program . --And just by thumbing
Globe-Democrat, and was a cessor will look back on my
dinner regime and find things he aimed at killing key Viet through it, he can learn that
guest of honor at a wouldb t agree with."
Cora members in Vietnam. our country spends billions of
attended by about 40 of Bau- o
's friends at the Bo a Colby said one reason he The Phoenix program is dol'ars to find out about his
man -~-Y had come to St. Louis was
Clnh, 9?ro Clayton Road, Col- said to have been responsible country's activities."
that,'si is essential to create for the killing of more that (o) Said the CIA, which
u'yaad Li3um3n met at a . an understanding of what in- '
owned
publishers' convention in 20,CW Vieframese aver a pens- once was said to have
April. telligence is all about." od of years that started be- five airlines, was getting out
r? But he would not disclose fore Colby took over. of that business. He said the
The CIA director. appeared anything about the CIA budg? fore
testimony before the agency might still have one
eager to repair his agency's et, which former agents have Senate Foreign Relations air company but added. " We
image, which has been hurt estimated at 5750,000,000 a Committee in 1970, Colby ad- don't need it anymore. We
by recent disclosures. I year. '
milted there had been some have a different by salid he
he
n, now." Colby said
The CIA has been accused, He would not discuss s ecif- eratid
P
ram
h
ro
i
.
e p
g
n t
abuses
is clandestine operations or In other remarks during had flown to St. Louis on a i
li
ner.
bPJuio I' '." wuccu O"?', ill ansvfer questions about alle-
t and after the press briefing ; commercial air
violation of its charter; exper- gations that President John yesterday, Colby: Colby defended his conten-I
Imenting with drugs, causing F. Kennedy had been involved (1) Confirmed he had of-
the death of at least one in VIA discussions of a plot to
employe; spending $11,000,000 assassinate Castro.
on covert operations to topple But Colby noted that al-
a government in Chile; har-
boring lethal poisons against up in 1947 as an intelligence
orders from the White house; agency, its charter allowed
and participating in aoreig -
nation "other functions and duties as
plots most the National Security Council
heads of state, , most notably directs."
Fidel Castro of Cuba. _ -- ? _
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/11: CIA-RDP99-00418ROO0100100041-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/11: CIA-RDP99-00418R000100100041-6
Lion that most of what the CIA Asked whether he thought
does must remain secret. the Senate and House intelli-
"There are a lot of secrets gence committee hearings
we have in a democratic might be beneficial in the;
society," he said. "We have long run for educating the
the secrecy of the ballot box, public about the CIA, Colby
the secrecy of the.grand jury, said: "Maybe they will. But I
and the secrecy of diploma- sure wouldn't want to be
-quoted as saying that."
He said that despite in-
creases. in electronic surveil-
lance, the CIA must use clan,
destine operatives to pene-
trate the "research laborator-
ies and the political decision
making centers" of potential
enemies to find out what they
-are thinking, "what the next
form of nuclear missile is
going to be."
Asked if he thought that the
CIA was misunderstood by
the public, Colby said, "We
are a little. But. that's to be
expected." _
Colby said, "When-someone
accuses the Army of having
broken the law, everyone
.knows exactly where A he'
-Army fits into things and
what the allegations are all
..about." But, he said, most
persons do not know what
intelligence or clandestine op..
erations are all about. y... ,c
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/11: CIA-RDP99-00418R000100100041-6