In an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.,
on 12 September 1995, the Director of the CIA, John Deutch, declared
a policy of expanding covert operations. What CIA "primarily" has in
mind are operations against drug smuggling, the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction and international crime and terrorism
- or so they say. From the tone of the pronouncement it appears that
CIA, with Deutch a participating member of the cabinet, is pushing
the Clinton Administration to adopt covert action as a universally
used, foreign policy blunt instrument. Deutch, said "the U.S.
needs to maintain, and perhaps even expand, covert action as a
policy tool."
There is speculation that Deutch is not really in control of the
cowboys of the CIA who want to go back to the good old days. Deutch's
appointment of the notorious manipulator of intelligence, David Cohen,
to be the Director of Operations, is an indicator that the Old-Boys
are still in control. Deutch's naming of Cohen also signifies the
continuation of the nearly 50-year CIA history of using slanted
intelligence to justify covert operations. Now if the Old Boys can
only find a worthy "Enemy" and sound the alarms loud enough to energize
the American people and Congress to justify the massive use
of the Agency's covert abilities, the scenario will be complete.
Addenda re David Cohen who was recently appointed to
the crucial position of Director of Operations of the CIA.
Italy, 81 In a prepared statement to the Senate Intelligence
Committee, David Cohen records he was one of the Intelligence
Directorate managers directly involved in the April 1985
assessment re possible Soviet involvement in Agca's assassination
attempt on the Pope. He was the senior Directorate manager and
reviewer for that paper and associated research. Source: Senate
Intelligence Committee Report "Nomination of Robert M. Gates,"
10/91 Volume III, pages 110-116.
USSR. In July 1985, the CIA's papal task force issued
the "Cowey Report", a critical analysis of CIA's April 1985 report
outlining Soviet involvement in the Pope's assassination. CIA
analysts interviewed noted that calling the paper "The Case for
Soviet Involvement" and marshalling evidence only for that side
"stacked the deck" in favor of Soviet involvement.
Analysts thought the report lacked qualifications, especially in
the area of source reliability. The Cowey report noted that,
"the paper was deliberately skewed to make a case for Soviet
complicity look more solid than it is; they thought the authors
had been `manipulated.'" Washington Post 10/4/91 A8
Ralph McGehee
CIABASE