CIA Spooked by Domestic Surveillance (Updated Again)

During the 1960s and 1970s, CIA documents reveal, the Agency mingled with mafiosi to off Fidel Castro, routinely spied on reporters, and detained a Soviet agent for more than five years. But even at the heights of all that questionable and illegal activity, the CIA's "family jewels" documents show, there was one operation that made Agency officials particularly uncomfortable: widespread electronic surveillance of American citizens -- the kind of activities that federal agencies have routinely been engaged in since September 11.

"On late September 1972, NSA, through Division D/DDO requested that the Special Programs Divsion initiate a hearbaility study of certain HF long-distance commercial telephone circuits between the U.S. and South America. The circuits carried drug related long-distance calls of interest to the BNDD and other U.S. agencies... On 15 January 1973, formal NSA taking of the intercept was insituted. On 30 January 1973, all coverage was terminated by Division D because of possible legal implications. (p. 140)**

Acquire routing slips recording the fact of overseas telephone calls between persons in the US and persons overseas and telephone calls between two foreign points routed through US switchboards. This activity lasted for approximately six months but has ceased. (p.185)

Prohibition against COMINT vs. U.S. citizens*: In September 1972 XXXXXXXXX Commo to conduct ** hearbaility tests of certain HF long-distance commercial telephone circuits between the U.S. and South America. **The circuits carried drug related traffic. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The tests were successful. The activity was terminated on 30 Jan 73 following OGC determination that they were illegal. *(p. 436)

There has been a subsequent series of exchanges between Division D and the General Counsel as to the legality of radio intercepts made outside the U.S., but with one terminal in the U.S., and the General Counsel has ruled that such intercept is also in violation of CIA statutory responsibilities. (p. 544-545)

UPDATE: Despite the reservations, Agency officials continued to conduct domestic spy operations from time to time.

*We conduct an intercept operation in XXXXXXXXX targeted on radio telephone conversations XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. These intercepts contain a large number of unrelated conversations often involving US citizens. *

*Testing in the US of [Office of Research and Development] ORD-developed electronic collection systems occassionally result in the collection of domestic telephone conversations. When the tests are complete, the intercepted material is destroyed... *

*Since 1953, CIA has operated a mail intercept program of incoming and outgoing Russian mail and, at various times, other selected mail at Kennedy Airport in New York City. This program is now dormant pending a decision to continue or to abolish it. *(p. 436)

And it's not like these guys had clean hands. Despite CIA chief William Colby's insistence to Agency employees that "we're not trying to do espionage on American citizens" (p. 454), the Agency tapped reporters' phone calls, watched over peace groups, etc. etc.

But poring over the the "family jewels" documents, it becomes clear that many in the leadership of the Nixon-era CIA did not want to practice the kind of electronic eavesdropping that would later become a hallmark of the Bush-era intelligence community.

Before the release of the "family jewels," some speculated that CIA director Michael Hayden might be allowing the documents to see the light of day, to make today's operations seem meek, in comparison. But, at least in this one small area, yesterday's spooks seem a lot more scrupulous than some of today's. After all, it was Hayden himself who authorized the surveillance programs that wound up ensnaring so many American citizens in their nets.

UPDATE 2: "Do the actions of the intelligence agencies in the era of Al Qaeda, which include domestic eavesdropping without warrants, secret detentions and interrogations arguably bordering on torture, already match or even eclipse those of the Vietnam War period?" asks the Times.

**

At both times, Americans faced a hostile global ideology — communism then, violent Islamic jihadism today — and feared cells hidden in their midst. In the face of such a threat, it may be no surprise that secret agencies, wielding powerful technology and with the formidable backing of a president, sometimes come into conflict with democratic ideals...

**

James Bamford, whose books on American intelligence cover the period from the Korean War to the Iraq war... said the scale of the National Security Agency’s interception of phone calls and e-mail messages of Americans and others in the United States in recent years... almost certainly dwarfs the electronic surveillance and the review of mail carried out by the N.S.A. and the C.I.A. in the 1960s...

“These documents are supposed to show the worst of the worst back then,” Mr. Bamford said. “But what’s going on today makes the family jewels pale by comparison.”