THE CRISIS THAT IS BRING [ ] BASIC CHANGES TO CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000300280020-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 30, 2004
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: September 16, 1974
• Content Type: MAGAZINE

U. S. NNE 9S & WORLD REPORT ILL 16 SEP 1974 C'z~ ,~
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Outside pressure is forcing
CIA to shed some of its old
ways---including supersecrecy
of the past. No one is yet sure
that it's all for the best.
It's a time of sweeping change inside
America's top-secret "cloak and dagger"
organization-the Central Intelligence
.Agency.
In broad terms, the CIA is putting less
reliance on its "dagger" while at the
same time it is revealing more of what's
hidden behind its "cloak." In specific
terms:
Covert operations aimed at
influencing or overthrowing foreign
governments are losing emphasis. Those
still authorized are coming under closer
scrutiny and supervision.
a Activities by the CIA inside the
U. S. are being subjected to tighter con-
trol than ever before. The aim is to
prevent the agency from becoming in-
volved in illegal operations against
Arner icans at home, such as happened
during the Watergate affair.
A policy of greater openness on the
part of Director William E. Colby marks
a bid. for wider popular understanding
and acceptance of CIA. He hopes to
overcome widespread distrust of
Government intelligence secrecy and to
demonstrate that his agency performs a
constructive and indispensable service
to the nation.
a A far-reaching reorganization has
been carried out to meet official criti-
cism of the way the CIA operates. The
critics-led by Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger-complained that much of the
agency's work was too academic anc
unrelated to the needs of Government
policy makers. Now the emphasis i
shifting from projects that intrigue the
CIA to others with practical value #oi
officials such as Mr. Kissinger.
Survival of CIA. All these change:
result from the most serious challenge tc
the CIA's existence since its establish
meat in 1947. In fact, the pressure of the
challenge has been so heavy that some
high-ranking officials in the agency are
wondering if a secret intelligence orga
nization can continue to function effec
tively in the political climate prevailing
in the U. S. today.
Outside the agency, critics ask this
question: Is a secret intelligence organi
zation really necessary--especially one
that has concentrated so much of its re-
sources on operations against foreigr
governments?
Over all, the Central Intelligence
Agency employs more than 16,000
people. Its budget totals roughly 750
million dollars a year-v ith more than
half that amount reportedly spent on
covert activities of one kind or another.
Besides a small army of officials and
experts at its headquarters outside
Washington, the agency has teams as-
signed to most U. S. embassies around
the world.
The crisis that now is raising questions
about the CIA's future was fueled by
three developments:
1. CIA involvement in Watergate.
The agency was strongly criticized for
allowing itself to be drawn illegally into
the Watergate affair on two occasions.
One involved the delivery of spy para-
phernalia to a former CIA agent, E.
Howard Hunt, who was a member of the
White House "plumbers." He used the
equipment for the break-in at the office
of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg,
accused at that time of giving the secret
Pentagon Papers to the press.
The second involved the preparation
-.of a psychological profile of -Mr. Ellsberg
by CIA experts at the request of the
White House. Both actions were de-
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reveals much about the inner v-orkings
of the U. S. intelligence establishment.
The CIA went to court to contest publi-
cation on the grounds that the authors.
Victor L. Marchetti and John D. Marks,
were violating contracts signed when
they joined the intelligence services.
The court allowed publication with
168 deletions for security reason.::,. '.::
.another former agent, Philip B. F. Agee.
is preparing to publish a 220,000-word
book in Britain describing the CLA's
clandestine operations in Latin America.
CIA officials warn that its effective-
ness could be gravely damaged if this
trend continues. As one put it: "We're
not worried so much about Marchetti as
we are about the 999 others who might
follow him with other books."
One point made by intelligence offi-
cials: Under existing laws, a Department
of Agriculture employe can. be jailed for
divulging secret crop figures but a CIA
employe-present or past-can escape
prosecution even if he reveals the iden-
tity of secret agents.
3. Reaction to Vietnam. The CIA's
clandestine role in the Indo-China con-
flict is blamed by many critics for
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