"Seraphita"
The Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was established by President Harry Truman on January 23, 1946. William Colby was Director of the CIA from 1973-1976. Colby was another intelligence professional who was promoted to the top job. His autobiography was entitled "Honorable Men", and he believed that a nation had to believe such people made up its intelligence service.
In December 1974, Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh broke the news of the "Family Jewels" in a front-page article in The New York Times, revealing that the CIA had assassinated foreign leaders, and had conducted surveillance on some seven thousand American citizens involved in the anti-war movement (Operation CHAOS). Congress responded to the "Family Jewels" in 1975, investigating the CIA in the Senate via the Church Committee, chaired by Senator Frank Church (D-Idaho), and in the House of Representatives via the Pike Committee, chaired by Congressman Otis Pike (D-NY). President Gerald Ford created the aforementioned Rockefeller Commission, and issued an Executive Order prohibiting the assassination of foreign leaders.
Colby cooperated with congressional investigations, not out of a desire for major reforms, but in the belief that the actual scope of such misdeeds was not great enough to cause lasting damage to the CIA's reputation. He believed that cooperating with Congress was the only way to save the Agency from dissolution. Colby also believed that the CIA had a moral obligation to cooperate with the Congress and demonstrate that the CIA was accountable to the Constitution. This caused a major rift within the CIA ranks, with many old-line officers such as former DCI Richard Helms believing that the CIA should have resisted congressional intrusion.
Colby's time as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was also eventful on the world stage. Shortly after he assumed leadership, the Yom Kippur War broke out, an event that surprised not only the American intelligence agencies but also the Israelis. This intelligence surprise reportedly affected Colby's credibility with the Nixon Administration. Meanwhile, after many years of involvement, South Vietnam fell to Communist forces in April 1975, a particularly difficult blow for Colby, who had dedicated so much of his life and career to the American effort there. Events in the arms control field, Angola, the Middle East, and elsewhere also demanded attention.
William Colby's death (April 27, 1996), officially in a boating accident, happened on the same date when a New York prosecutor got permission to set up a grand jury to investigate the role of the CIA in the death of Frank Olson who worked at Fort Detrick, Maryland and was involved in chemical warfare research.
Frank Olson was one of the experimental subjects in the CIA MKULTRA experiments with LSD and other drugs. He did not give informed consent for the CIA to experiment on him, as would be ethically required under the medical research principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The CIA claimed that he committed suicide by jumping out of a hotel window but the family did not believe this explanation. An autopsy of the remains of Frank Olson had found blunt force trauma to the head, which might have come from the fall, or been inflicted before the fall. The Olson matter remains unresolved and continues to arise in reviews of questionable activities.
The last two paragraphs above could ‘make a most fascinating movie’.
Twenty-five years ago today:
July 16, 1985
Tuesday
Well, I was all hyped-up to have lunch with Christie, today. Then Margaret Lai asked if I’d join her on a visit to SAKS FIFTH AVENUE at 1PM. I traded my lunch time with Angela and ended up going with Margaret.
Christie Williams (that’s her surname) did call me and said, “I’ll have lunch with you tomorrow.”
Surprise, Surprise! Uh-oh, am I in trouble? No, it’s just a casual lunch with a fellow co-worker (who happens to work in another department of our office building).
Dale was being his usual big “ass” self. We went to watch Wheel of Fortune at 10AM (during break time) and he made an issue of my not being able to solve two of the puzzles (JUDGE’S CHAMBERS and AREA CODE).
“Give me a break!” I thought.
I never said I was perfect to Dale or Rachelle. They’re the ones who accuse me of thinking that I am perfect. So, what this tells me is that I seem perfect to them. Ha-ha.
Anyway, after listening to Dale’s bitchiness I assertively said, “I have other plans for lunch today and tomorrow. I just wanted you to know.”
“Oh, okay, that’s fine,” Dale answered in a monotone voice.
I have not told him a thing about Christie Williams in the AIC (Account Inquiry Center). I want her to remain unblemished by his nuisance. I did reveal to Dale that I was having lunch with Margaret Lai today.
I enjoyed a Root-beer float during my last break while watching PHIL DONAHUE. Donahue had a former Director of the CIA as a special guest named William Colby. He was CIA Director from 1973-1976 (during my high-school years). I thought it was quite interesting. I remember when I almost worked for the CIA. I wonder what would happen if I applied to work with them again.
After work I went to mom’s house to pick up a package that was delivered there. Dale’s gift had arrived (a Pillsbury Doughboy Cookie Jar). I continued home to lounge for a while when Rachelle telephoned.
“I can come over now,” Rachelle suggested.
“Great, come over then.”
Let's not go through that again. Redirect it, reduce the amount of money spent, but let's not destroy it. Because you don't know 10 years out what you're going to face.
-William Colby,
Former CIA Director
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