S. HRG. 102-799 VOL. 3 NOMINATION OF ROBERT M.GATES HEARINGS BEFORE THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SECOND CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON NOMINATION OF ROBERT M. GATES, TO BE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE OCTOBER 3, 4, 18, 1991 VOLUME III Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Intelligence U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 60-284 WASHINGTON : 1992 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-039542-9 60-284 - 92 - 1 SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE [Established by S. Res. 400, 94th Cong., 2d Sess.] DAVID L' BOREN, Oklahoma, Chairman FRANK H. MURKOWSKI, Alaska, Vice Chairman SAM NUNN, Georgia JOHN WARNER, Virginia ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina ALFONSE D'AMATO, New York BILL BRADLEY, New Jersey JOHN C. DANFORTH, Missouri ALAN CRANSTON, California WARREN RUDMAN, New Hampshire DENNIS DECONCIN I, Arizona SLADE GORTON, Washington HOWARD METZEN BAUM, Ohio JOHN H. CHAFEE, Rhode Island JOHN GLENN, JR., Ohio GEORGE MITCHELL, Maine, Ex Officio ROBERT DOLE, Kansas, Ex Officio GEORGE J. TENET, Staff Director JOHN H. MOSEMAN, Minority Staff Director KATHLEEN P. McGHEZ, Chief Clerk (II) CONTENTS Hearings held in Washington, D.C.: Page O ctober 3, 1991......................................................................................................... 1 O ctober 4, 1991.......................................................................................................... 193 O ctober 18, 1991........................................................................................................ 263 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1991 Testimony of: Gates, Robert M., Nominee for Director of Central Intelligence................... 4 Statement of: Allen, Charles E., prepared statement................................................................. 89 Cohen, David, prepared statem ent........................................................................ 110 Haus, Lance W ., prepared statem ent................................................................... 100 Ekedahl, Carolyn McGiffert, prepared statement.............................................. 82 Hibbits, John, prepared statem ent ....................................................................... 77 Oliver, Kay, prepared statem ent........................................................................... 62 Seeger, Elizabeth, T., prepared statement.......................................................... 117 Supplemental materials, letters, etc.: Gates, Robert M., Remarks to DDI Analysts and Managers.......................... 9 Gates, Robert M., memorandum to the Honorable Anne Armstrong, dated May 20, 1985, re: Attempted Assassination of Pope John Paul II............. 135 Gates; Robert M., Memorandum for The Vice President, re: Attempted Assassination of Pope John Paul II.................................................................. 136 Hodnett, Grey, Memorandum dated 29, April 1986..................... 152 List, Published Assessments, Soviet Activities in the Third World............... 28 List, Published Assessments, Afghanistan War ................................................. 31 Matthews, Mark, letter to Chairman and Vice Chairman, SSCI, dated Septem ber 30, 1991............................................................................................... 169 FRIDAY, OcTOBER 4, 1991 Testimony of: Gates, Robert M., Nominee to be Director of Central Intelligence-re- su m ed ...................................................................................................................... 200 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1991 Statement of: Boren, Hon. David L., a U.S. Senator from the State of Oklahoma, Clos- ing Statem ent........................................................................................................ 269 Chafee, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island............... 301 Danforth, Hon. John C., a U.S. Senator from the State of Missouri.............. 280 Supplemental materials, letters, etc.: Questions asked of Robert Gates in Open Session............................................. 309 Vote on the Nomination of Robert M. Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence ............................................................................................................ 318 NOMINATION OF ROBERT M. GATES TO BE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1991 U.S. SENATE, SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, Washington, DC The Select Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:54 a.m., in room SH-216, Hart Senate Office Building, the Honorable David L. Boren, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. Present: Senators Boren, Nunn, Hollings, Bradley, Cranston, DeConcini, Metzenbaum, Glenn, Murkowski, Warner, Danforth, Rudman, Gorton, and Chafee. Also Present: George Tenet, Staff Director; John Moseman, Mi- nority Staff Director; Britt Snider, Chief Counsel; and Kathleen McGhee, Chief Clerk. Chairman BOREN. If Members could be seated, we will commence in just a moment. For the benefit of Members and staff in terms of planning, we will have the nominee as our witness today and we will go until approximately 12:30 or 12:45. We will then have a recess for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes before resuming this afternoon. We Went until 11:30 last night. You can more or less determine by looking at the Members of the panel, the audi- ence and the media, who was here with us until 11:30 last night and who got a good night's sleep. It's not my plan, to keep the Com- mittee past 6:00 o'clock today. If we do not complete by that time today, we will resume in the morning with the nominee. Following the nominee's testimony in open session, we will go into closed ses- sion for any questions of a classified nature to the nominee and also to complete in closed session our briefing of the Members on the issue of the collection of intelligence involving Members of Con- gress and Congressional staffs. Over the past several days, the Committee has made a compre- hensive evaluation of the qualifications of this nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency. As we began this process, it was with the understanding of both the nominee and the, Members of this panel that this is a decision of historic importance for us. With all of the changes going on in the world and with the need to reshape our thinking to coincide with those changes, the next Director of Central Intelligence faces a great challenge to marshal the best technical and intellectual assets of this country to serve policymak- ers with the best 'flow of information possible on which to iMake these crucial decisions. They will prepare our country for the next century. In many ways, upon the quality of that information will rest the quality of those decisions which will have much to do with determining whether or not this country is ready to .continue a leading role in the world as we go into the next century. So we have all been mindful of the very serious responsibility which the Members of this Committee have. It is a responsibility that is far more important than any political considerations, any partisan considerations, or any personal considerations. It is a re- sponsibility to the country. And as I indicated, my hope was when the work of this Committee is completed on this matter that all of those who have watched these proceedings would use three terms to describe what we had done in the course of our work. Those three words would be: fair, thorough, and non-partisan. The goal of this Chairman, whatever the outcome is on this nomination, is still that the work of this Committee will be evaluated in those terms. We have also hoped to use these hearings as a way of beginning an important public debate about the future of American intelli- gence. The American taxpayers pay for the intelligence budget. I believe that over the last several days, they have probably learned as much both about the strengths and the weaknesses of the Amer- ican intelligence operation from these hearings than perhaps has been available to them over the past several decades. I think we've learned a tremendous amount and have been able to share with the public a tremendous amount of information about the Intelli- gence Community. To be sure, there have been some problems that have been aired and there have been some areas that have been identified as need- ing improvement. But we have also seen people come before us of tremendous capability, talent, intellectual strength, and dedication to their country.. So I think the American. people, while seeing some of the problems with the Intelligence Community, have also gotten to glimpse both the talent and dedication of many who serve. Their,.contributions are often not able to be aired with the American people because' of the very nature of the intelligence business.. The successes often are never known to the public. Those of us who sit around this table often have the frustration of not being able to tell the American people about acts of bravery and courage and dedication on the part of those who serve in the Intel- ligence Community, because those actions of necessity have to remain secret. So we have learned a lot. And I would say to the nominee we have identified even more clearly the challenges that will face the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Committee is dedicated to working with the next Director to make some of these improvements as we go toward the next century. One of the words