LETTER TO ADMIRAL B.R. INMAN FROM JOHN C. CHANDLER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83M00914R002900140003-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 6, 2007
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 20, 1982
• Content Type: LETTER

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JOHN C. CHANDLER
March 20, 1982
Admiral B.R. Inman
The Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20505
Dear Admiral Inman:
Thank you for
Y your letter of March 16. I am deeply gratified that my per-
sonal concerns have been given such high level attention despite the
partially reported remarks upon which they were based., I received the
issue of Science News which reported your remarks to AAAS, and I must
confess that much of my concern was dispelled by the more complete re-
porting offered by that publication. I apologize for any inconvenience
that I may have caused you.
The issue of selective reporting of fact to support a subjective view-
point has been dear to me since my participation in the Viet Nam con-
flict. The war I saw on television and read about in the newspapers
bore very little resemblance to the situation I found myself in during
my year in the war zone. The manner in which the Watergate scandals
were reported did little to improve my opinion of the media. Aire
recently, as a contributor to the nation's nuclear power industry, I
see more attention given to the uninformed bleatings of the New Left
detractors than to the meticulous attention to detail required in the
design, construction, and operation of modern nuclear power facilities.
I sympathize with your chagrin at being quoted out of context.
I have no desire to provide free technology to our nation's enemies.
Personally, if I were to develop some bit of technology that I thought
might have national security implications, I would voluntarily submit
it for screening. Probably the vast majority of the technical people
in this country (who tend'to be a conservative lot) would have much
the same opinion, and that solves most of the potential problem. I
have mixed feelings about how to address the problems of researchers
who would openly publish security-related technology in disregard of
the nation's best interests and the technology that is not screened
because its national security implications are not obvious. It is my
sincere hope that the magnitude of these problems is negligible, be-
cause I see direct conflict between the best interests of the nation
and the rights of the individual in the obvious solution.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to answer my concerns. I
wish you the best of fortune in developing a solution to a very sen-
sitive problem.
Since}ly yours,
az-cv.~/"
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January 8, 1982
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C.
The publication in this morning's newspaper of comments by _the CIA's
Admiral Inman.are cause for significant unrest.__His_strong desire
to put the civilian scientific community under the control of the
foreign intelligence office bears too great a resemblance to the
Third Reich and the infamous Gestapo for any legitimate s,cient.st
to feel-safe, even within his own country. It is not my intention
to label the CIA as a neo-Nazi organization,' but well-meaning in-
tentions of any bureaucrat must be tempered with judgement from
outside the bureaucracy or the proverbial horse-cart interchange
is inevitable.
Admiral Inman cites as his main reason for concern the potential for
information on the mathematical theory of codes falling into the hands
of the Soviets. Apparently, he feels that the Soviets are incapable
of original thought in that particular area. If that is indeed the
case, the inability to develop original thought in the area may well
be the direct result of the extreme censorship imposed on the pro-
fessional community by the Communist Party since the overthrow of
the czar. Admiral Inman and the CIA are advocating a similar action
for this country, and I object.
The government has no right to control the publication of information
not directly generated by the government or its contractors. To
bring the publication of the results of basic or applied research
done by the private sector under the censorship of the CIA or any
other arm of the federal government is tantamount to controlling the
creative efforts of the scientists being subjected to that censor-
ship. Admiral Inman's concerns over the publication of work on the
mathematical theory of codes might be well founded if that work were
being done in government laboratories or under government contract
and were directly involved with active cryptology, but the work of
individuals without contractual ties to the government cannot be
censored by the CIA without violating the First Amendment rights
of the persons performing the work.
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The President
January 8, .1982
Page Two
I am as loyal an American as anyone else. I served as an Air Force
officer in Viet Nam (earning six Air Medals and the Distinguished
Flying Cross), and I am as concerned as the next fellow that the
Soviet Union has plans to bury us. But we cannot allow concern
over perceived leaks in our intelligence game to undermine the prin-
ciples upon which our country was founded. I urge you to call an
unequivocal halt to the CIA's efforts to impose censorship on the
private scientific community.