CIA GENERAL COUNSEL FEELS EDITORIAL ONE-SIDED
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CIA-RDP90M00005R000100130003-9
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K
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4
Document Creation Date:
December 23, 2016
Document Release Date:
August 16, 2012
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3
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Publication Date:
June 2, 1988
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/08/16: CIA-RDP90M00005R000100130003-9
A-4 Decorah (Iowa) Journal Thurs., June 2, 1988
CIA general counsel
feels editorial one-sided
Dear Editor:
I read with interest your editorial "CIA Must
Stop Undermining U.S." The j editorial follows a
lecture given at Luther College by Philip Agee, a
former CIA officer. That lecture is described in a
news article you published two:days earlier.
Obviously, I was not present at Mr. Agee's
lecture. Thus, I do not know eixactly what he said
that evening. Moreover, I do 'not wish to suggest
that Mr. Agee does not have the right to present
any facts and arguments that he wishes on this
issue. I feel compelled to respond, however,
because it appears that liMited facts led to
unwarranted conclusions in your editorial.
Initially, it should be noted that Mr. Agee left
the CIA in 1968, and, therefore, he has not had
legitimate access to classified information since
that date. I also believe it is relevant that Mr.
Agee's passport was revoked by the U.S.
Government in 1979 because he caused "serious
damage to the national securit'y and foreign policy
of the United States." (Mr. Agee was engaged in a
campaign to expose the identities of CIA officers
overseas. One officer identifie:d by Mr. Agee was
murdered in\Greece by a terrorist group; several
others were la ter ?attacked after being publicly
identified.) The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
revocation of Mr. Agee's passiport in 1981, and he
now travels under a Nicaraguan passport.
Your editorial states that through covert
actions the CIA has "become as hostile to
democratic principals as RUssia's KGB" and
concludes that the CIA "represents a 'cancer' in
our democratic system that inust be checked."
Morever, the editorial urges "the American
people (to) protest loudly their disgust WITH
THE DIRECTION THE CIA IS HEADING."
(Emphasis added.) I do not !believe that these
conclusions withstand scrutiny.
Since 1975, the Hughes-Ryan Amendment
(named for a former Senatdr from Iowa) has
required the President to find :that each proposed
covert action by the CIA is "important to national
security of the United States."
Further, a National Security Decision Directive
issued by the President provides that each
proposed covert action must be reviewed by
cabinet and subcabinet level officials before it is
submitted to the President for 'approval. Thus, all
CIA covert actions are now conducted pursuant to
review and approval by the President and other
senior Administration officials -- a condition that
did not exist when Mr. Agee resigned from the
CIA.
Judge William H. Webster; who became the
Director of Central Intelligenee ("DCI") in May
1987, has also issued guidance; emphasizing the
importance of internal CIA T.('?;i?:!?-v of proposed
covert actions.
A senior level policy group within the CIA
reviews all proposed covert actions before they
are forwarded to the President for approval. In
addition to operational questions, the review
group considers such issues as the consistency of
a proposed covert action with U.S. foreign policy
and whether an action will sdem sensible to the
American people if it becomes i)ublic.
Once approved by this reviW group, 1:1 covert
action proposal is forwafd6j. to the Deputy
Director of Central Int:Align:Ice, an then to the
DCI for approval.
Existing statutes further prtiP.iide that nrotx,sed
coverractions be reported to Congress. Normally,
this occurs prior to the initiation of a covert
action. In only three instances since 1975 has a
President delayed notice to Congress until after a
covert activity took place -- once by President
Reagan; twice by President Carter. Each
instawa involved attempts to secure the release
of American hostages held by Iran or groups
associated with Iran.
The congressional intelligence committees,
which have oversight responsibility for CIA
activities, also receive regular briefings on CIA
covert action activities. Consequently, they have
far more information on current CIA activities
than is available to Mr. Agee. On the basis of this
information, Congress annually authorizes and
appropriates money tO support? CIA activities,
including covert actions.
In 1975, two congressional committees
considered all of the CIA activities your news
article says were described in Mr. Agee's lecture.
As a result of that review, Congress considered,
but rejected, proposals that would have
prohibited the U.S. Government from conducting
?Covert actions. Instead, Congress imposed the
"finding" and notice requirement described
above.
Last summer, the joint congressional
committees investigating the Iran-Contra matter
again considered the issue of covert actions. In
their report, the Iran-Contra Committees
concluded that "covert operations are a
necessary component of our nation's foreign
policy ... (so long as they) supplement, not
replace, diplomacy and normal instruments of.
foreign policy." The committees also concluded
that "covert operations are Compatible with
democratic government if they are conducted in
an accountable manner and in accordance with
(U.S.') law."
In short, the conduct of covert actions is .not
solely the responsibility of the CIA; they reflect
the judgment of the President and the Congress
that such activities are important to the U.S.'
national security interests.
I do not suggest that covert actions are without
controversy. Indeed, the efficacy and propriety of
such activities are the legitimate subject of
debate. But the debate should not be as one-sided
as your editorial would suggest.
Russell J. Bruemmer,
General Counsel
Central Intelligence Agency
Decorah.11igh School 1970
Luther College 1974
The Decorah Journal
Pubikhed By DECORAH NEWS COMPANY
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Two Sections
Price Thirty Cents
Former CIA agent
was 'true' believer
When Phillip Agee, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, watched Oliver
North during the Iran-Contra hearings, he saw a mirror image of himself 29 years
ago.
"I was so embarrassed," he said. "I used to be just like him I was a true
believer, too. I saw everything in black and white."
Agee spoke to a crowd of about 200 at Luther College Sunday night about his
transformation from an eager intelligence agent to a man living in exile. because of
his critical writings about the CIA.
His books include "Inside the Company," an account of the CIA's undercover
activities in Latin America, and "Dirty Work" and "Dirty Work II," expositions of
similar activities in Africa and Europe. Last year, he published "On the Run," an
account of his efforts to expose the illegal acts committed by the CIA.
"Last summer, I came back for the first time in more than IS years. .My
attorneys had advised me to stay away because they believed there had been a
secret criminal indictment against me because I had refused to submit my books
for censorship. They felt that the minute I stepped back here, I would be put in
jail," Agee said. "But I decided to run the risk. I wanted to see ill could talk to
people face to face and tell them some of the truths about the CIA."
East target
During his presentation, Agee described how he, as a college student at Notre
Dame, had been an easy target for the CIA's recruitment efforts. "I had always
been taught by my family to conform, become a good member of society, and not
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A-2 Decorah (Iowa) Public Opinion Tues.. April 26. 1988
STATE &
CIA
Continued from front page
make waves," he said. "I was the perfect candidate for the CIA."
When he joined the agency in the early 1960s, Agee willingly signed a secrecy
agreement, promising to keep his knowledge about covert operations to himself ?
except if he had official approval to release information.
Agee's first overseas assignment was in Ecuador where he acted as a political
officer at the embassy while doing-covert political action on the side. He found out
that the CIA was not exactly a philanthropic organization.
."We paid journalists to present our materials as if they were their own. We set
up trade unions, and paid the salaries of presidents and vice presidents," he
claimed.
During his six years in Latin America, Agee had to maintain a subversive
control watch list, a file of the CIA's primary enemies in the host country. The file
contained up-to-date photos and biographic information which could be used for
the swift arrest of the enemies.
In Ecuador, he had to pass on the list, which was written in Spanish with no
reference to the CIA, to the military government who used it to crush rebellion.
Impact
As he became aware of the impact of his work, it became increasingly difficult
for Agee to perform his duties. He asked for other assignments, and was
transferred to Mexico City in 1968 as the official Olympic attache ? officially to
prepare for the Olympics: unofficially to spot new contacts for the CIA. After the
assignment ran out, he submitted his resignation.
"When I left, I had no intention of writing a book," he said, pointing out that he
was tied by the secrecy agreement. "Writing a book was like thinking the
unthinkable."
However, after starting a doctoral program in Latin American studies, he saw a
need to go public with his information about how he felt the CIA changed the course
of history in several Latin American countries. - -
Drawing on his inside information and extended study in the libraries of Paris
and London, Agee pieced together information about the CIA's covert activities
abroad. The project became even more urgent when he detected the same methods
had been used in all covert action since the start of the agency in 1947.
Pearl Harbor
According to Agee, the CIA was formed as the direct result of the bombings at
Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Investigations showed the attack could have been
prevented if all the government's information had been in one place. "The attack
showed a need to establish a civilian, professional intelligence service which would
prevent another surprise attack in the future," he said.
"We in the CIA were experts in overthrowing democracies and replacing them
by dictatorships," he charged, listing several examples. In 1963, he said. Iran's
elected civil government was replaced by the regime of the Shah through CIA-
supported paramilitary maneuvers. In 1963, he said, the CIA helped replace the
civilian government in Brazil with a military dictatorship.
And, when Salvador Allende was elected pr,esident of Chile in 1970, he said, the
CIA immediately set the stage for his overthrow by Pinoget three years later.
"Why is it necessary for us to be involved in these types of activities? What do we
gain by the senseless murder of defenseless peasants?" Agee asked.
In Agee's opinion, there is a need for an intelligence service, but its primary
purpose should be to keep peace.
Noting the recent surge in political activism on college campuses, Agee told
students at Luther, "You are the future activists of America. Don't think a vote
every four years is going to make a difference. It is a lifelong commitment. But if
you don't make it, you leave it open to the other side."
County to end contract
spraying with own Droaram
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B-2 Decorah (Iowa) Journal Thurs., April 28, 1988
411%
CIA must stop undermining U.S.
It should be embarrassing to every patriotic
American that the U.S. Central Intelligence
-Agency has become about as hostile to
democratic principles as Russia's KGB.
? About as sacred as the Ten Commandments as
a model for a good and just Christian life was
the admonition to "practice what you preach."
Another good lesson for life was the advice that
"it doesn't do any good to go to church on
Sunday if you don't live your religion during the
week."
The CIA doesn't practice democracy in its
covert actions. It doesn't pay any attention to
such idealistic goals. Certainly, secrecy must be
maintained, but not at the expense of our
system. It practices expediency.
A few telling revelations about clandestine
operations of the nation's intelligence agency
were made here Sunday night by former CIA
agent Philip Agee, who addressed about 200
people in a talk at Luther College.
Agee resigned from the CIA because he could
no longer stomach the duplicity of his
organization. Since then he has written several
books exposing the CIA's bizarre activities.
He revealed the unbelievable efforts to topple
democracies and support dictatorships
throughout the world. Wouldn't you think that
would be playing right into the hands of the rival
Soviet KGB?
Why challenge the KGB as the world's "bad -
guys?" Stirring up trouble around the world
only makes enemies, and what's wrong with
trying to recruit more friends around the world
among struggling Third World countries than
struggling to retain our traditional allies?
None of our former staunch friends are very
happy with our current foreign policy. We're
like a "bull in a china shop," and it just doesn't
fit the image of a peace-loving nation.
This distorted emphasis by the CIA probably
won't end until a new administration takes over
in Washington next year, but in the meantime
the American people should protest loudly their
disgust with the direction the CIA is heading.
Why can't we be proud again of our federal
agencies and institutions? The CIA, besides a
major embarrassment, represents a "cancer" in
our democratic system that must be checked.
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