Title: INTRODUCTION FROM "CIA: THE PIKE REPORT

Author: n/a
Pages: 13
Agency: CIA
RIF#: 1993.08.11.17:38:20:280028
Subjects: PIKE REPORT PIKE COMMITTEE BOOK
Source: AARC
 NARA IDENTIFICATION AID

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Document id number 1993.08.11.17:38:20:280028

Recseries JFK
Agfileno 80T01357A
JFK Box # JFK35
Vol/Folder F8

Title INTRODUCTION FROM "CIA THE PIKE REPORT.

Ti rest N
Document Date 5/5/1977
Whofrom
Fromrest
Whoto
Torest
Numpg 12

Originator OPEN
Daterev 08/11/93
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Comment PAGES 7-22 (ENTIRE INTRODUCTION) AND COVER TABLE OF

CONTENTS PAGE

Keywords PIKE REPORT

PIKE COMMITTEE
BOOK
'c ,t
FOR:Office
MEMORANDUM cam. the DDCI
/c,2
The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation Lon
don has just published [Spokesman Books 1977]
CIA The-Pike Report The main text is indi
cated to be that originally published in the
Village Voice in February 1976 supplemented by
photo-reproduction of the Pike Committee's pub
lished recommendations. "New is the intro
duction by Philip Agee a copy of which is at
tached for your information

SEIKO
FOR Ittl
OPROIEB MOM
ROO
~p ~I~ORtCAt
The Pike

With an i
by Ph

Spokes
 Con

Introduction by Philip
Introduction c Spokesman Books 1977
The publishers acknowledge their gratitude to the New York
Village Voice which first published Parts I and II of the Pike Section One
Report in newspaper format in February 1976 The Select Committee
Oversight Experience
Hardbackedition ISBN.085124 1727
Paperbackedition ISBN0 85124 173 5 Section Two
The Select Committee
Investigative Record

Section Three
Committee Recommen

Publishedby SpokesmanBooksfor the BertrandRussellPeace

FoundationBertrandRussellHouse GambleStreet
Nottingham
Printedby the RussellPressLtd. 45 GambleStreet
NottinghamNG74ET Tel (0602)74505
 Introduction

.by Philip A

"Pike will pay for this you wait

him for this."

Strong words quoted on the

of Representatives by Congressm
He was quoting from an al
Mitchell Rogovin the CIA's S
affairs to Searle Field staff
Select Committee on Intellige
According to Pike the CIA
"I'm serious There will be politi
cal ambitions in New York that
will destroy him for this."2

Pike's revelation of the threa

diately denied by the CIA's Co
9 1976 a month after his comm
the CIA had submitted its recom
out of existence Even if the th
or if they were in fact express
suggestive fashion they were c
troversy within the committee a
with the executive branch that
time the committee was establ
earlier
In his denuncation of'the thr
to a series of events that culmin
when New York's weekly Vi
supplements on February 16 an
most of the secret report based
 investigating Committee Publication of the report investigating committee After th
highlights of which had already leaked into the press Pike described his committee's w
from January 20 onwards provoked an emotional in futility and lamented that th
and angry outburst from Secretary of State Henry will not ever have a strong over
Kissinger who was criticized severely in the report for Nevertheless despite the House'
his "passion for secrecy and for making false state executive and despite renewed p
ments to the Congress At a news conference Kissinger wards the CIA with the executiv
denounced the committee's "totally irresponsible lation of the killing of Richard We
behaviour the misuse of highly classified infor Chief in Athens in December an
mation in a tendentious and misleading manner [that] lash against the continued leaks
must do damage to the foreign policy of the'United House Report it should be noted
States the use of classified information in a factors militating against disclosur
manner that is so distorted that the total impact got out
is to produce a malicious lie a new version of In late January someone still
"3
copy of the report to Daniel Sc
Meanwhile a spokesman for the White House said vision news reporter based in Was
President Ford believed the report published in the using parts of the report in his br
Village Voice was leaked by someone in the Congress full publication was expected sh
while Congressman Pike suggested that it was leaked House voted to allow executive c
by the Executive Branch to help the CIA by making House vote Schorr tried first to
the committee look bad Only days later in early lished in book form but in the a
March the CIA claimed that the committee had failed atmosphere prevailing in February
to return and couldn't find some 230 documents at let was the Village Voice After t
least some of which were classified secret that the Schorr explained
Agency had given the committee in the course of its "I found myself unexpectedly beca
investigation by the House, in possession of poss
Pike had problems with his own House of Repre 'copy of a.report bearing no classi
sentatives as well As significant leaks of the report principal sensations already divulge
began to appear in the New York Times and other that doing nothing would mean that
a report that might be interesting
publications during the last two weeks of January record."S
1976 then-CIA Director William Colby pleaded with
the House not to publish the report because to do so Schorr's admission brought cal
would damage the country's intelligence activities and revocation of his Congressional pre
endanger Agency operations Then on January 29 the at,the same time,the Department
'full House voted to suppress publication until the whether he should be prosecuted
White I-louse had been able to censor it an action laws thus reviving First Amendm
tantamount to a rebuke by the House to its own resolved when the "Pentagon Pap
9
 Ell-berg and Anthony Russo was a'uorted during the President can command For
Watergate scandals The House voted to have its order to strengthen the inte
ethics committee (House Committee on Standards of recommended to Congress a
Official Conduct) investigate the leak later approp and prison terms for person
riating .$150,000 for the effort CBS for its part information In his appeal
suspended Schorr from all reporting duties pending said
the outcome of the Congressional = investigation "It is essehtial that the irrespon
Schorr was clearly and surprisingly on the defensive of our nation's intelligence s
What had happened in the United States during the is a hallmark of our democra
two months since Welch's death It seemed that the people have never believed th
American public had had enough Almost two years secret war plans of the Depa
had passed beginning with publication not think they wish to have
in May 1974
vealed either.
after a long court battle of The CIA and the Cult of
Intelligence,6 during which one scandal and "abuse Nevertheless the world alre
after another were charged to the CIA FBI and other a truly extraordinary and rev
security agencies After an initial overlap with the to the persistence and coura
Watergate episode and the end of the Nixon presi members of his committee
dency the scandals had grown dramatically with reve the Village Voice When read
lations of the CIA's subversion of the Allend .govern
keep in mind not only the
ment in Chile (September 1974) and of the CIA's its original pu
'surrounding
massive illegal domestic operations (December 1974) , quite real possibilities that ex
My own book on the CIA7 appeared first in January tee's early months first tha
1975 the same month President Ford appointed the make no real investigation o
Rockefeller Commission to investigate the CIA's mittee would be abolished
domestic activities and the same month the Senate work
established its investigating committee under Senator Established by a House
Frank Church By February 1976 when the Pike 1975 the Select Committee
Report was published a large sector of the American placed under the chairmans
public seemed not to want to hear it some no Lucien Nedzi of Michigan w
doubt having no more stomach for scandal disillusion of the House Armed Services
and moral conflict others surely because they were tee Since this Subcommittee
beginning to realize just how damaging the revelations exercised the House's watch
had become the CIA Nedzi as Chairman
In the midst of the controversy on February 17 would in a very real sense
President Ford seized more initiative by announcing .performance Fortunately h
his "reform plan for the CIA and other security strong and effective pushing
services With media coverage that only an American mittee members whose oppos
10
 destine interventions abroad was well known: Michael of expensive Pentagon weapons p
Harrington of Massachnssetts and Ronald Dellums sible for some of the most.important
of California revelations on CIA operations to d
Even so by June 1975 the committee had hardly Part 1of the Select Committee's
turned a stone when the New York Times dropped in the February 23 issue of the
a blockbuster on them On June 5 the Times revealed 'delays obstructions and refusals
that two years earlier Nedzi had been briefed by the executive mainly Director Colby
new CIA Director William Colby on the results of 4 and President Ford to provide the
recent CIA "in-house investigatiOn of assassinations by the committee for its investiga
illegal operations and other abuses Nedzi had taken ministration tactic was to delay
110 action and had not even informed the other mein ments in spite of the President's
, bers of his House Armed Services Intelligence Sub that he would cooperate in m
committee Harrington 'Dellums and liberals on the material in the executive branch T
Select Committee demanded Nedzi's resignation provoked a number of subpoenas
which he gave but which was refused by the full tee some of which at length brou
House in a vote on June 16 Thereafter Nedzi refused ments 'stet the administration
to function as Chairman of the Select Committee committee had a short lifetime
and a move began to abolish it against an approaching deadline
Complicating the impasse was Nedzi's 'refusal to after issue in order to conceal a m
make classified information available to Harrington material over the investigative per
from Nedzi's Armed Services Intelligence Subcommit mittee which wasted the Febru
tee because Harrington had been partly responsible internal disputes really only had
for the leaking September 1974 of details of the from August to December 197
CIA's subversion of the Allende government Harring tigation and get a report written
ton's information had come from the subcommittee the House by its January 31 976
documents of Nedzi who was determined not to Besides delay the executive ag
give Harrington any more ammunition rendered important documents
Finally on July 17 the House abolished the Select significant content and even by fl
Committee under Nedzi and established a new Select over documents requested by the
Committee under the chairmanship of Otis Pike Both fierce battles were fought over t
Nedzi and Harrington were left off the new commit information obtained by the com
tee which set about the investigation that eventually the specific information and the
produced the Pike Report In one of those apparent Usually the reason given was som
contradictions not uncommon in American politics gation that revelation would end
Pike 54 son of a Republican Long Island banker and and methods of the CIA or one o
representative of a conservative Long Island district Yet another tactic was to prevent
a Democratic Party member since he was 21 and foe tam witnesses as in the case of th
12 13
 officer In charge of the Cyprus desk at the time of the amount The committee found
coup against Makarios This officer had written a secret 'funds lacking and the
dissenting report on the handling of intelligence in abuses considerable One CIA
the State Department at the time of the Cyprus spent $41,000 on whisky and
crisis but he was prevented by Kissinger from testify rages during 1971 'after which
ing on what had happened and why he dissented In was placed 'in charge of Agency
another instance a witness who had revealed financial Failure to anticipate major e
improprieties in FBI purchasing of wiretapping equip reflects in the Select Commi
ment was afterwards subjected to a six-hour `.inter shortcomings of the entire US i
view by two FBI agents who convinced him to sign 'The Tet offensive of 1968 for
a statement recanting insignificant details of his seen partly at least because o
testimony The witness later repudiated the statement judiced,degraded view of the V
claiming intimidation by the two FBI agents technical monitoring system lost
With all the administration's delays refusals of army in Poland dining the first
documents interference with testimony and deletions 1968 American intelligence faile
of content there can be no doubt that President Ford Warsaw Pact invasion move aga
Secretary Kissinger and Director Colby to name only President Johnson's first news o
the major administration figures wee determined to from Soviet Ambassador Dobry
prevent the Pike Committee from making a thorough Similarly the Egyptian and Syria
and effective investigation In this respect the charge ched the Yom Kippur war in 19
can validly be made that the administration tried a gence community by surprise
cover-up operation with the Pike Committee and Portugal in April 1974 the India
to a certain degree probably succeeded in May 1974 and the coup a
Yet the content of Part II of the committee's government in Cyprus in July 197
The The Select Committee's review
report is most extraordinary and revealing
major sections deal with costs failures to anticipate operations is perhaps the most i
events and an analysis of covert action the'report Unfortunately the c
important
between 1965 and 1975 We find that was limited to the covert action
operations
the total US intelligence budget exceeds $10 billion the Forty Committee during the
The Congress however which the As only the most sensitive and cos
appropriates
money has been told consistently that intelligence approval by Forty Committee
costs much less because intelligence activities have Assistant to the President for Natio
i)
been placed in non-intelligence categories in the the Deputy Secretary of Defense
exercises On the of State for Political Affairs t
budget analysis foreign intelligence
budget was found to total between three and four Joint Chiefs of Staff and the
times more than Congress was told while the domes Intelligence the Select Commi
tic budget was more than five times the reported missed the vast majority of these
14 15
 which would have been approved internally in the
1975 which cost some $16 mil
CIA Nevertheless the revelations on covert action in
the request of the Shah of Iran
the report are quite significant
'border dispute with Iraq Once
We find for example that interference in the settlement favourable to Iran the
revered "free electoral processes of other countries to the Kurds cut off The rebe
was the largest covert action category comprising 200,000 Kurds became refugees
32 per cent of the Forty Committee approvals the US set up 'adequate refuge
Twenty-nine per cent of approvals were for media high-ranking but unidentified w
and propaganda operations in which American govern `"covert action sho
Committee
ment sponsorship was to be hidden Twenty-three per
with missionary work
cent of approvals were for paramilitary operations in
The third major covert action
volving secret support to foreign armies and irregular
by the Pike Committee was the
military groups in the form of finance training and
Angola in support of the Holden
weapons supplies Still other CIA covert action oper Savimbi forces Here we find
ations involved CIA funding of a "plethora of civic the massive Soviet and Cuban
religious professional and trade union organizations
large part a reaction to the CIA
In-depth analyses appear in the Select Committee's that threatened to upset the three
report of three major covert action projects each of
ing before the CIA got going
great interest Intervention in Italian elections since As a final observation on cov
1948 cost the CIA $75 million including $10 million
and one that is perhaps the most
spent in 1972 alone Most of this money went to the Pike Committee destroyed the o
Christian Democrats although Ambassador Graham
ible denial whereby a President
Martin obtained over the CIA's objection a donation
could plead ignorance if operat
of $800,000 in"1972 for political forces of the Italian
neo-fascist movement public testimony Secretary Kis
The Ambassador insisted on
the donation in order "to demonstrate every CIA operation of consequen
solidarity for the President under the Ford
the long pull Underlining the CIA's intervention in administrations And in its re
Italy was the revelation in early 1976 from govern
concludes "All evidence in ha
ment sources other than the Select Committee that
CIA far from being out of cont
President Ford had approved in December 1975
the spending by the CIA of an additional $6 million responsive to the instructions of
Assistant to the President fo
in the Italian electoral process during the months pre
Affairs.
ceding the next Italian elections (At the time of For all the valuable informatio
approval it was not known that elections would be one
Pike Committee's report
held as soon as June 1976.)
of CIA operations was com
Paramilitary support by the CIA to the Kurdish
rebellion against the Iraqi government from 1972 to possibly because the committee
too hot to handle These are t
16 17
 the CIA and foreign intelligence and security services the CIA to be primarily counter-in
commonly known in the Agency as liaison oper produce results quite similar t
ations Through these operations 'the CIA trains operations i.e. they strengthe
finances and in varying degrees guides the foreign forces and weaken others just
services into operations that will help the CIA Over and election operations do
the years the CIA has played a major role in the Only Congressman Ronald
growth and strengthening of many of the world's for abolition of all covert acti
most dreaded and cruel security services the South Recommendations section of th
Korean CIA the Indonesian KOPKAMVITIB the face the political issue
Thieu security services in South Vietnam the SAVAK "Where have covert operations ta
in Iran the OBAN CODI DOPS and SNI in Brazil that we have been involved with
the DINA in Chile and the Federal Police in Argen where the masses of people have
tina These services and others helped by the CIA or are those nations for the mos
right-wing juntas or regimes w
happen to be the most notorious practitioners of and power in the hands of a few e
institutionalized torture and murder in the "free it totally contradicts stated princ
world today They also happen to be the main sus we have been involved in covert
taining force for .the gross social and economic in democracy freedom and justice
justices prevailing in their countries we might arrive at some differen
P think anyone can justify continued
Nowhere in the Pike Report can one fine an indi
that we foster and develop democ
cation that the Select Com>;riittee even considered
the CIA's role in promoting and supporting such Part III of the Pike Report
repressive security services On the contrary the Committee's 32 recommendatio
1I committee laments the termination of the AID additional recommendations of
Public Safety programmes of assistance to foreign members This section was no
police services (a "legitimate foreign aid -program secret and was not published
me") because of the CIA's involvement in it and bad with Parts I and II At its last
publicity such as the film State of Siege If the 10 the committee approved
committee had wanted to get the truth it could have which were then filed with the C
discovered that the Public Safety programmes were possible future action and they
an extension of operations already initiated by the released to"thc press In fact ther
CIA to establish better "internal security in foreign that the House would take-early
a countries and that the CIA has continued police sals partly because of the em
assistance work even though the Public Safety pro campaigns but mainly because
grammes were abolished lash against intelligence com
If the Select Committee had investigated the following the Welch death and
r CIA's liaison operations Parts I and
they would also have dis secrets.- including
covered that these operations while considered within Most of the recommendations
18 19
 -as
} v

Congressional control over the intelligence commu ment of which the investigator
nh y especially the CIA and to improving the quality interests protected
private
of management and of the intelligence product The Yet for all the limitations
report recommends a permanent House Intelligence cise the work of the Pike Co
Oversight Committee along with closer review of bodies is an exceedingly positiv
intelligence spending While the committee would history Who would have dre
require that the CIA advise the I-Iouse Intelligence that such a great volume of
Oversight Committee within 48 hours .of the approval American intervention in for
of any covert action operation the main restriction ever be made public Who wo
recommended is to limit each operation to I.2 months the vast illegal domestic opera
Assassinations and paramilitary operations would be and NSA would be revealed in
prohibited except in time of war and'the general of this information together w
approval mechanism for covert action operations dology that emerges, can be
would be institutionalized and upgraded Finally the to protect `them
organizations
4 Pike Committee recommended that the Director of the next wave of the same o
-Central Intelligence become a real manager of the areas of CIA operations were o
whole intelligence community and that an Inspector such as those in the trade unio
General for the community be established to watch say the world's knowledge
out for "abuses hasn't improved thanks to the
Many will conclude that the Pike Committee Of equal importance is the
failed because its recommendations were so limited the best popular traditions in
and in any case would serve to strengthen the CIA the investigations demonstrate
and the other agencies To evaluate the committee's matiorl resistance to oppres
work one must examine it along with the other in bureaucracy. resistance to go
vestigative bodies the Senate investigating commit coverups. Through the effe
tee under Frank Church and the Rockefeller Com these traditions Americans ha
mission Both of these groups and President Ford how necessary corruption caw
as well in his "reforms of February 18 19,76 way the current system e,scrate
concentrated quite naturally on the same areas as the action 'operations which corr
Pike Committee increasing Congressional oversight pressed principles cannot co
improving the quality of intelligence and the manage changes are made in other in
ment of intelligence agencies and their budgets and the treasure of knowledge g
preventing future "abuses To expect more like the vestigations must surely cont
complete abolition of covert action operations or standing that government in a
ia prohibiting CIA support to foreign services that torture of necessity function in favou
and murder was unrealistic After all the CIA and the detriment of another
the other services exist to protect both the govern In July 1976 the chief inv
20 21
aE

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct who

had been trying since March to discover how the
copies of Parts I and II of the Pike Report were
leaked to Daniel Schorr reported that nearly 50
copies of the report were in different executive
and congressional offices when the leak occurred
None of the 207 government officials questioned
including Secretary Kissinger and the members of the
Pike Committee would admit to being the culprit
Thanks to one of them at least the Bertrand Russell
Peace Foundation is able to present for the first time
in book form Parts I II and III of the Pike Report,.a
document of truly historic significance not only for
Americans but also for peoples the world over who
have suffered from clandestine American intervention

,Cambridge England
August 1976

FOOTNOTES
1 As reported in the International Herald Tribune March 11
1976
.2 Ibid
International Herald Tribune February 13 1976
International Herald Tribune January3l-February 1 1976
Daniel Schorr letter to the New York Times dated February
16 1976 published in the New York Times February 22
1976
The CIA and the Cult "of Intelligence by Victor M rchetti
and John Marks Jonathan Cape London 1974 Coronet
Books 1976
Inside the Company CIA Diary Penguin Books Harmonds
worth 1975
8 Los Angeles Times February 19 1976