INTERIM REPORT ON PRESIDENTIAL CLASSROOM

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP80-00308A000100130001-3
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
U
Document Page Count: 
5
Document Creation Date: 
December 9, 2016
Document Release Date: 
May 24, 2000
Sequence Number: 
1
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
March 26, 1975
Content Type: 
MF
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PDF icon CIA-RDP80-00308A000100130001-3.pdf374.02 KB
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Approved For Release 2000/09/11 CIA-RDP8Q p0308ADO0'L1130001-3 March 1975 SUM FOR: Director 1t 1rathing SUBJICT interim Presidentia Introduction: ,our, of the six scheduled runnings olv'in of the 1400 high S,!hod 1 students from all over the, country who have part is i of tech in tine pru r a e Attitudes: Tito students' attitudes are shaped i - aliss and their lack of historical th$rvatl 3 t b . y r consciousness, but they a:,a also very such influenced by the Vietnam and Watergate btc& lsshes. 3" There are 5.tru g currents of i.: and there i q. little Perception of any acifi . frog the USSR. The ~.eed for intelligence is less obvious than it was -,luring the great confrontations perspective of the present, somewhat like an aberrat of the older generat-can. ib The preystl,.~e of the Presidency and Executive Branch is sow. CIA accountability to the e.sidant and the does riot quiet concerns any more. it is what they fear. By accountability, e , can Congressic! ai accountability.. Some go connection, the~tidet is running very strong against any secrecy in OVSrnmerY- and irc are the model of a secret governmental organi F: ltion. CIA's secret budget has be tcome a symbol of t ,is resentment. CO There is tigreat a oralisa evidenced, particu-- iarly in regard to ,.IA intervention in the STATINTL affairs of other ccaut3tries"' t is the model) and to allegations of CIA er ssassinat e3 . The attitu ~e t.owaicd the press is compi.etmly uncritical. Journa;s .sts arks, considered the heroes who uncovered the abuse:, of Watergate. Approved For Release 2000/09/11 : CIA-RDP80-00308A000100130001-3 Approved For Release 20001 Q~/11 : CIA-RDP$:p 003-08 80M0130001-3 0. The "right 4.0 privacy" and the repugnance against files is running very strong. Everyone wants to know about CIA "spying" on. American citizens and accumulating ,files? in them. f. Conspiracy theories, are beginning to bloom, particularly those revolving around the assassination of President Kennedy. There is a great revival of interest in this trag=,-dy manifested by the students and a great reluctance tc accept the findings of the Warren Commission. Generail'r the conspiracy questions are asked in a probing Sco r t of wsLy rather than hurled as accusations. g. On the posi ive side, there is still an inherent interest in the work of intelligence and, at times, some express .i apathy for CIA in reaction to the assaults of the press. one regional variable has been noted: students frog= the South are more apt to be receptive to CIA thai those from other regions. questions: a. Most of the questions are the usual sub- stantive, operational, or administrative questions. For example : What will happen to South Vietnam?. .. What happens when a CIA agent is caught? ... What are the requirements for becoming an intelligence officer? b. Some of the more persistent and/or sensitive questions follow. T`ey are not new this year, but are asked more frequent :t . (1) Political Action Questions: Does CIA overthrow governments?...Did it overthrow Chile?... Didn't CIA supply arms for killing Allende? (2) Assassination Questions: Does CIA assassinate people?.. .Would you comment on the rumor that CIA ;assassinated. President Kennedy? (3) Accou.rEtability Questions : Does CIA take action on its own?...Wh.o is CIA accountable to?... Why is the CIA F udget secret? c. Last year': persistent question is not frequently asked any more: What was CIA's involvement in Watergate? Approved For Release 2000/09/11 : C.IA=RDP80-00308A000100130001-3 Approved For Release 2000/09/11 CIA-RDP80-00308A0( 130001-3 IN i M ct. The new q7,ic tions that have come up this year are as follows: (1) Don`est; c spying Questions: What types of domestic actt. ities are prohibited in your charter?...It nais recently been brought out that CIA trained over twelve US police departments in the use of explc: sives. How does this deal with intelligence?... fo what extent does CIA keep files on American c it:i :ens? ...Please comment on the charges that CILk has be+bn opening the mail of US citizens?...Wit- the current allegations that pri- vate citizens a-e being bugged, what checks are there to assure that the privacy of US citizens will not be disturbed? (2) Questions Dealing with Morality: Does CIA exercise any moral judgment? ...Is there any code of ethics on how far you can go or can you just do whatever you want? ... What moral right do we have to mess around with other governments? (3) Variations on the Domestic Assassination Theme : Did CIA make a deal with Nixon to help him win the 1960 cla: ctions so it could have a free hand in dealing with Castro, so that when he lost, it then plotted Kennedy's assassinaation?...as Oswald a CIA ag ?nt1 (4) Miscellaneous Questions: There have been many rumor, that CIA was involved in the Kent State affair, t.Eaat you hired students to start the riots in the sixxtios. Did you have anything to do with ; rom Puerto Rico. We were told that in. 1940 -I!,- changed our economic system from an agricultural to an industrial one so that we could never be .ndepend[ent as we do not have the proper economic basis. Please comment. 4. Feedback: PacF: Presidential Classroom attends 17 seminars du z t ieir wce _ in Washington. At the end of the week, they rate each one. We have received the ratings for the first two programs. a. The first week, CJ[A was rated 7th of 17, outranked by Jacks :lerson on the News Media, Vic Gold on the Presidency, 1,,anator Humphrey on the Senate, General Brown on t1-wc Military, Justice Tom Clark on the Judiciary, and the 1partment of State on Foreign Policy. Approved For Release 2000/09/11: CIA-iDP80-00308A000100130001-3 i L U Id IA Approved For Release 2000/09/11 CIARbP8 dU b8A000100130001-3 b. The secord week, CIA was rated 1st of 17. Two factors my have inf]ucaced the difference in ratings between the two weeks. I,;, the first week, the film "Need to Know" did not have a posiive impact. For the second session, it was dropped and the O minute briefing was expanded to 50 minutes. The longer period allowed more time to establish rapport and credibility. The second factor involves the seminar on the News Media which is presented on the day following the CIA program. In the first week, it was handled by Jack Anderson rho undercut us with several anti- CIA remarks. In the sect: nd week, James Kilpatrick handled that News Media seminar and said some good things about CIA, thus reinforcing what we sought to convey. STATINTL OTF. Briefing ,cer Approved For Release 2000/09/11: CIA-RDP80-00308A000100130001-3 F d ifLASSI Fi ID t ' --- --- L I SECRET SUBJECT: (Optional) Interim Report on Presidential )[assroom FROM: EXTEI, SION NO. DT R 1026 C of C 3245 DATE TO: (Officer designation, room numbs?, and building) DA TE OFFICER'S INITIALS COMMENTS )Number each comment to show from whom to whom. Draw a line across column offer each comment.) RECEIVED rO VARDED l DDA 7D 18 a N As - types t questions and attitudes toward the Agency displayed by students in the Presi del tiai Classroom , sTL 14. 0 UN ^ UNCLASSIFIED