Notes on the CIA Shambles

1) In all the fanfare the most important point has been lost sight of: the United States has been badly hurt. True enough, a good many of the exposed activities did more harm than good. It’s no loss if CIA is now forced to drop some Vietniks, African terrorists, Juan Bosch and Norman Thomas from its payroll. But the bac was mixed; valuable projects that have served the nation were also killed or wounded.

The nation suffers, too, from the manner and mode of the blowup. The nation’s prestige and credibility, in bad enough shape already, have been further damaged. Scores of institutions that were or might have been useful will have to be discarded; creating substitutes will be very expensive. The torrent of revelations will indirectly blow hundreds of CIA operatives. Future international activities of individual Americans and of American organizations, no matter how clean, will be embarrassed. It will be difficult for citizens of other nations to have any connection with an American organization of any sort, or to express any pro-American opinion, without meeting the scorn.

JB

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James Burnham

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1) In all the fanfare the most important point has been lost sight of: the United States has been badly hurt. True enough, a good many of the exposed activities did more harm than good. It’s no loss if CIA is now forced to drop some Vietniks, African terrorists, Juan Bosch and Norman Thomas from its payroll. But the bac was mixed; valuable projects that have served the nation were also killed or wounded.

The nation suffers, too, from the manner and mode of the blowup. The nation’s prestige and credibility, in bad enough shape already, have been further damaged. Scores of institutions that were or might have been useful will have to be discarded; creating substitutes will be very expensive. The torrent of revelations will indirectly blow hundreds of CIA operatives. Future international activities of individual Americans and of American organizations, no matter how clean, will be embarrassed. It will be difficult for citizens of other nations to have any connection with an American organization of any sort, or to express any pro-American opinion, without meeting the scorn.