Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site fisher.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!astrovax!fisher!david From: david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin) Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: Reagon's mistakes - list wanted Message-ID: <341@fisher.UUCP> Date: Tue, 2-Oct-84 08:32:45 EDT Article-I.D.: fisher.341 Posted: Tue Oct 2 08:32:45 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 3-Oct-84 19:16:30 EDT References: <5218@nlm-mcs.ARPA>, <255@whuxl.UUCP> <1010@pyuxa.UUCP> Organization: Princeton Univ. Statistics Lines: 35 [] There goes TC Wheeler again. The Carter administration did not reduce funds for spying for the CIA. After all, intelligence gathering is what it's all about. What was reduced were funds for "operations", i.e. covert intervention. As far as I can recall, the Ford administration placed similar emphasis in budgeting the CIA. Thus, the ability to gather information was not what was gutted, but rather covert activity. The Carter administration would certainly have flown spy planes over Nicaragua (and were), and placed operatives in the country for information (and did), but would not support a covert war (well, I think they wouldn't have) or mined harbors or poisoned Ortega's soup (I don't think the CIA is back to this, even under Reagan). Besides, how much intelligence (read this both ways) does it take to realize the Embassy was insecure? Yet the Reagan administration WITRHDREW most of the Embassy Annex's marine guard. Security measures had no more priority, it appears, then kitchen renovations. It doesn't take more than a day to dig a ditch to prevent vehicular access. When the Embassy was bombed, Reagan blamed terrorism. When the Marine Compound was bombed, Reagn took the blame. When the Embassy Annex was bombed, Reagan blamed previous administrations. Thus, a new version of that famous Scot adage: Fool me once---shame on you. Fool me twice---shame on me. Fool me thrice---shame on Carter and Ford.