RICHARD STARNES REVEALS THE CIA MESS IN SOUTH VIET NAM TODAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01009A000100050040-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 5, 2013
• Sequence Number: 40
• Publication Date: October 2, 1963
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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Frrmi-iiiii=1- ?
Index
Business '72
Classified .58-67
Comics ...70, 74
EDITORIAL .32
Night Clubs 50
Pruzzie 69
TV-Radio .68, 69
Sports ....5I-57
Theaters ..34-36
Women's ..43-49
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r?-?.i.
Ar--% WASHINGTON
10 VI A I LYA
CITY EDITION
ews
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1963
1013 13th St. N.W.?DI. 7-7777
42d Year?No. 282
Second Class Postage Paid at Washington, D. C.
Published Daily Except Sunday
Weather
Sunny and
warmer, high 84,
low 49. Some
cloudiness a n d
Richard Starnes Reveals
1 THE CIA. MESS
in South Viet Nam Today
. A
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Oft?2 War:
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of the Cosa Nostra mob. Valachi presented a master 1930 to the present.
1- (left background) naming the "families" Page 3.)
sated the mob in New York City from
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(Story and other photo nn
?UPI Photo
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Declassified
THE WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER
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By RICHARD STARNES Scripps-Howard Staff Writer
SAIGON, Oct. 2?The story of the Central
Intelligence Agency's role in South Viet Nam is
a dismal chronicle of bureaucratic arrogance,
obstinate disregard of orders, and unrestrained
thirst for power.
Twice the CIA flatly refused to carry out instruc-
tions from Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, accord-
ing to a high United States source here.
In one of these instances the CIA frustrated a plan
of action Mr. Lodge brought with him from Wash-
ington, because the agency disagreed with it.
This led to a dramatic confrontation between Mr.
Lodge and John Richardson, chief of the huge CIA
apparatus here. Mr. Lodge failed to move Mr. Rich-
ardson, and the dispute was bucked back to Wash-
ington. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and CIA Chief
John A. McCone were unable to resolve the conflict,
and the matter is now reported to be awaiting settle-
ment by President Kennedy.
It is one of the developments expected to be covered
in Defense Secretary Robert McNamara's report to
Mr. Kennedy.
Others Critical, Too
Other American agencies here are incredibly bit-
ter about the CIA.
"If the United States ever experiences a 'Seven Days
in May' it will come from the CIA, and not the Pen-
tagon," one U. S. official commented caustically.
("Seven Days in May" is a fictional account of an
attempted military coup to take over the U. S. Gov-
ernment.)
CIA "spooks" (a universal term for secret agents
here) have penetrated every branch of the American
community in Saigon, until non-spook Americans here
almost seem to be suffering a CIA psychosis.
An American field officer with a distinguished
combat career speaks angrily about "that man at
headquarters in Saigon wearing a colonel's uniform."
He means the man is a CIA agent, and he can't under-
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stand what he is doing at U. S. military headquarters
here, unless it is spying on other Americans.
Another American officer, talking about the CIA,
acidly commented: "You'd think they'd have learned
something from Cuba but apparently they didn't."
Few Knotty CIA Strength
Few people other than Mr. Richardson and his
close aides know the actual CIA strength here, but
a widely used figure is 600. Many are clandestine
agents known only to a few of their fellow spooks.
Even Mr. Richardson is a man about whom it is
difficult to learn much in Saigon. He is said to be
a former OSS officer, and to have served with dis-
tinction in the CIA in the Philippines.
A surprising number of the spooks are known to
be involved in their ghostly trade and some make no
secret of it.
"There are spooks in the U. S. Information Service,
in the U. S. Operations mission, in every aspect of
American official and commercial life here," one of-
ficial?presumably a non-spook?said.
"They represent a tremendous power and total un-
accountability to anyone," he added.
Coupled with the ubiquitous secret police of Ngo
Dinh Nhu, a surfeit of spooks has given Saigon an
oppressive police state atmosphere.
The Nhu-Richardson relationship is a subject of
lively speculation. The CIA continues to pay the
special forces which conducted brutal raids on Bud-
dhist temples last Aug. 21, altho in fairness it should
be pointed out that the CIA is paying these goons
for the war against communist guerillas, not Bud-
dhist bonzes (priests).
Hands Over Millions
Nevertheless, on the first of every month, the CIA
dutifully hands over a quarter million American dol-
lars to pay these special forces.
Whatever else it buys, it doesn't buy any solid
Information on what the special forces are up to. The
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Aug. 21 raids caught top U. S. officials here and in
Washington flat-footed.
Nhu ordered the special forces to crush the Bud-
dhist priests, but the CIA wasn't let in on the secret.
(Some CIA button men now say they warned their
superiors what was coming up, but in any event
the warning of harsh repression was never passed
to top officials here or in Washington.)
Consequently, Washington reacted unsurely to the
crisis. Top officials here and at home were outraged
at the news the CIA was paying the temple raiders,
but the CIA continued the payments.
It may not be a direct subsidy for a religious war
against the country's Buddhist majority, but it comes
close to that.
And for every State Department aide here who will
tell you, "Dammit, the CIA is supposed to gather
information, not make policy, but policy-making is
what they're doing here," there are military officers
who scream over the way the spooks dabble in
military operations.
A Typical Example
For example, highly trained trail watchers are an
important part of the effort to end Viet Cong infil-
tration from across the Laos and Cambodia bor-
ders. But if the trail watchers spot incoming Viet
Congs, they report it to the CIA in Saigon, and in
the fullness of time, the spooks may tell the military.
One very high American official here, a man who
has spent much of his life in the service of democracy,
likened the CIA's growth to a malignancy, and added
he was not sure even the VVhite House could control
it any longer.
Unquestionably Mr. McNamara and Gen. Maxwell
Taylor both got an earful from people who are be-
ginning to fear the CIA is becoming a Third Force,
co-equal with President Diem's regime and the U. S.
Government?and answerable to neither.
There is naturally the highest interest here as to
whether Mr. McNamara will persuade Mr. Kennedy
something ought to be done about it.
(See editorial on Page 32.)
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.5RIPPS - HOWARD
.
ArNik
WASHINGTON
ews
A SCRIPPS-HOWARD NEWSPAPER
"Give light and tie people will find their own way"
John T. O'Rourke, Editor Ray F. Mack, Business Manager
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1963
1013 13th ST. N.W. (20005)
DI. 7-7777
In Metropolitan Washington: By Carrier, SO cents per week; $1.80 per month. By Mail;
8 months, $3.90; 6 months, $7.80; per year, $16.60. Foreign Mail: $2 month, $24 a year.
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.
What's Wrong in South Viet Nam?
IT is a brutally messed up state of af-
fairs that our man, Richard Starnes,
reports from South Viet Nam in his ar-
ticle on Page 3 today.
And the mess he has found isn't Viet
Namese. It is American, involving bit-
ter strife among U. S. agencies?which
may help explain the vast cost and lack
of satisfactory progress in this opera-
tion to contain communist aggression.
The whole situation, as described by
Mr. Starnes, must be shocking to Amer-
icans who believe we are engaged in a
selfless crusade to protect democracy in
this far-off land.
He has been told that:
^ The U. S. Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) has flatly refused to
carry out instructions from Ambassador
Henry Cabot Lodge, frustrating a plan
of action he took from Washington.
O Secret agents, or "spooks," from
CIA "have penetrated every branch of
the American community in Saigon."
Low-Interest Banker
COMPTROLLER OF THE CUR-
RENCY JAMES J. SAXON is try-
ing to stimulate private banking into
keener competition and growth in keep-
ing with community needs.
But private banking has overwhelm-
ing competition from the Federal Gov-
ernment--f rom a host of operations
over which Mr. Saxon has no jurisdic-
tion.
At last count, there were some 30
Government agencies lending money on
one pretext or another. To almost any-
body who asks for it, within some kind
of reason.
Robert Dietsch, Washington reporter
for The Washington Daily News and
other Scripps-Howard Newspapers,
made a check of just one of these tax-
payer-financed banking agencies?the
Area Redevelopment Administration.
Intervene? Bosch!
SEN. ERNEST GRUENING (D.,
Alaska) is ordinarily a man of prac-
tical ideas and outlook. But we think
he went far off the beam with his pro-
posal that the United States intervene
in the Dominican mess and restore over-
thrown President Juan Bosch.
Such a step would be "the height of
idiocy," as Rep. William Cramer (D.,
Fla.) branded it in the House. And
even Sen. Wayne Morse (D., Ore.), a
sometime belligerent himself, corn-
Quickie Consultation
ABOUT six weeks ago, according to
David E. Bell, director of the for-
eign aid program, AID, as it now is
known, hired a former Iowa congress-
man as a "part-time" consultant, at $75
a day.
Merwin Coad, the ex-congressman,
was supposed to advise AID on some
vague "co-ordination" having to do
with the "food for peace" program. Mr.
Who are we fighting there anyhow?
The communists, or our own people?
0 The CIA agents represent a tre-
mendous power and are totally unac-
countable to anyone. They dabble and
interfere in military operations, to the
frustration of our military officials.
The bitterness of other American
agencies in Saigon toward the CIA,
Starnes found, is "almost unbelievable."
On the basis of this last statement
alone, there is something terribly wrong
with our system out there.
Defense Secretary McNamara just
has finished his investigation on the
ground in Viet Nam and is preparing to
report to the President. Mr. McNamara
is a tough man of decisive action. It
may be assumed he now is in a position
to assess the blame for this quarreling
and back -biting inside the American
family?whether it falls on the CIA or
other agencies which accuse the CIA.
One way or the other, some official
heads should roll.
ARA lends money at 4 per cent to any
project it suspects might create jobs.
Mr. Dietsch cited a few typical loans:
One to build roadside handicraft stands
In Arkansas, another to study sea lions
as a commercial proposition in Alaska,
one to train sightseeing guides in Ha-
waii, others to build golf courses, ski
slopes, cocktail lounges, bowling alleys.
Our reporter talked with some ARA
borrowers. Some couldn't get the money
elsewhere?their ideas were too risky.
Some could, maybe, but didn't try; ARA
interest rates were lower. Many were
solicited by ARA. Like most Govern-
ment lending agencies, ARA is out hus-
tling business.
It is easy to lend money when the
money belongs to the taxpayers. No
stockholders, bank examiners or deposi-
tors to worry about.
mented that the United States would
be branded an aggressor by all our
Latin neighbors.
Would Sen. Gruening like to see re-
stored to power a Dominican President
who never has taken a firm position
against Castroism or communism in his
own country? Does he think the United
States is more justified in intervening
in the Dominican Republic than in
Cuba?
It all adds up to Bosch, we think.
Goad, a Democrat, didn't run for re-
election last year after he had some
family troubles.
When his appointment as a "consult-
ant" became known to Sens. Hicken-
looper and Miller of Iowa, they promptly
squawked. So Mr.. Goad was permitted
to resign. The question is why he was
hired in the first place. Is AID in-
tended to help foreign people, or ex-
congressmen?
'WHEN THE WHOLE
WHERE WILL
WORLD IS
WE GET
COMMUNIST,
WHEAT?'
'Letters
Many 'Get a Big
Kick Over Crime
YOUR editorial about
Valachi, the "Two-bitKill-
er," makes us wonder how so
stupid a gangster remained
alive; indeed, why society per-
mits him to be alive. As
t h e late Henry L. Mencken
pointed out, there is no sense
in civilized society "support-
ing" a confessed and habitual
criminal.
The whole affair seems to
be a political circus to warm
up future votes for politicians
who, in the past, have never
cared less about crime a n d
criminals. In the first place,
the Cosa Nostra probably has
more money to keep crime
going than the Government
has to fight it. In the second
place, the average citizen is
so bothered by inflation, in-
tegration, and the high cost
of living, he doesn't give a
hoot about crime unless he is
actually involved or a victim
of big-time crime.
For example: there are citi-
zens from the Bowery to high
society who get a kick out of
using dope. Since they can't
get enough of it legally, they
buy it from a pusher prob-
YZ 01.91 Soolc
"514OPPE
NO $00 RS Seto
a 'Cr .r4vo SUCH
ably under the control of a
crime syndicate. Likewise,
the citizen who wishes to play
the numbers or place a bet on
the nags, does it illegally,
since, unlike the Irish, we
haven'tsense enough to let
the race tracks and lotteries
pay our hospital bills.
In my own hometown we
to the Editor
Letters to the Editor,
to be considered for pub-
lication, must bear the
writer's name and ad-
dress. However, these
will be withheld if the
writer so requests. 'lease
keep letters brief. The
Editor reserves the right
to cut them.
have a shop that moves fre-
quently. You ask why? A citi-
zen shrugs and says: "Oh, So-
and-So, he's running a bookie
and numbers joint. He has to
move once in a while."
Maybe So-and-So is part of
Cosa Nostra? If he is, there
is enough pay-off so law en-
forcement officers look t h e
other way. And how are you
going to indict criminals who
have invested in legitimate
business? Outwardly, they
are as proper as the parson.
HIRAM HOGWALLOW
Initiative Being
Supressed by Taxes
AS one of the taxpaying
Americans who strongly
object to t h e Administra-
tion's proposed tax cut, I sug-
gest to the President and to
his economic dreamers that a
revision of the tax structure,
which is long, long overdue,
would be a positive step in the
right direction. The present
tax structure is, and most
certainly is meant to be, a
social equalizer which is pul-
ling individuals down into and
making others stay in the so-
called middle income group.
Individual initiative is actual-
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ly being suppressed as are in-
dividual rights.
The Administration is try-
ing to do nothing more than
buy another election, only this
time with OUR money. Do
not forget the "tax cut" will,
if passed, become effective in
1964 which is a Presidential
election year. It is designed to
impress the voters with an
imagined accomplishment of
the New Frontier which has
had a noticeable lack of ac-
complishment with its pro-
grams in a Congress con-
trolled by its own party.
M. C. WARD.
'Mismanagement'
at Zoo Assailed
wovE just seen your ar-
tele on the Fine Arts
Commission's rejection of the
"plans for improving the
Zoo." So we had to speak up;
let's stop this continuing mit-
management of the Zoo which
is being undertaken in the
name of "improvement" by
making plans to bring the
animal collection back to the
high standard achieved under
the late Supt. William "Doc"
Mann.
Yes, new buildings are need-
ed but the top people in the
Zoo are sacrificing the expe-
rience of the past for an un-
known future. Taking advan-
tage of the natural beauties
of the Zoo should seem to be
the first thought of planner.
?a park without trees is al),
surd. Perhaps a panel of
rectors of other zoos is nee&
ed since those in charge of
the National Zoo have not
been able to do their job
fully. ZOOPHILL.STNA