[104-10217-10221.pdf — page 119]
CONTINUATION OFDISPATCHCLASSIFICATIONPRIORITYSECRETDISPATCH SYMBOL AND NOOFLA-42,75014. GIBSON and security, to this point: GIBSON has met only myself, under alias, and under the impression that I was here temporarily. This idea was apparently made to stick, throughout our conversations. We would propose that, if GIBSON be recruited in fact, he be handled in alias and at a good, safe distance - more than arm's length. Until sufficient operational testing had been carried out, we would suggest that he not have a "resident case officer" anywhere - i.e., neither here nor in Algiers. Control of GIBSON is partly exercised by the documents we have received from him (receipts, memo of understanding) plus the voluminous taped comments. These, while not worthy of a court, are sufficient to do him considerable professional and personal damage - note particularly that his wife, according to him, would not approve of any of our contacts, and this appears to be quite meaningful to him. Financial control would be a continuing factor. And, perhaps to an unusually high degree, we feel that GIBSON would feel considerable gratitude to whoever (i.e., KUBARK) rescued him from his present and difficult position, "forgiving all", and providing him with a measure of respectability (at least in his cwn eyes) that he has henceforth been, unable to achieve and maintain. In sum, we feel that a reasonably strong combination of control factors exist, and can be continued for as long as GIBSON would be properly handled.15. We should also like to comment on the reliability of GIBSON's comments in the course of our meetings to date. We have found him to be thoroughly consistent in his comments and attitudes throughout. We found no indication of deliberate deception or serious attempts to mislead. He may have provided some erroneous materials, or he may have erroneously interpreted some events; but his comments and attitudes remained sufficiently consistent to lead us to believe that he was being reasonably honest all the way. He played down some items, no doubt, and played up others. In the course of a debriefing such as this was there seemed little or no point in pushing hard at such points - besides, his knowledge of the areas covered so far outdistanced mine that I could not have attempted to probe or pin him down on specifics. (Note also his tendency to make corrections in the debriefing questionnaire, as when the wrong name would appear for a political group in Switzerland.)16. GIBSON's present status is that he is out of work, in debt, and without any prospects of reasonable employment in the near future. He is somewhat occupied with an article he is writing for *Encounter*; this will probably keep him from taking another job for the next few weeks. Beyond that, nothing is definite. If we would like to give him a try, then, some move should be made to formalize matters with him before he accepts some job that will put him out of the market.17. Recognizing that there are risks involved, it nevertheless seems most undesirable to pass up what has the earmarks of being a highly useful asset. We request, therefore, that Headquarters review and consider the entirety of our knowledge of GIBSON to this point, and give us a reading on his potential worth, as viewed by LCHARVEST, AF Division, KUDESK/ICG and other interested parties. If, for reasons of which Headquarters is aware, and we are not, GIBSON is considered unacceptable as a KUTUBE asset, let us know. Iî, on the other hand, there appears to be a market for his talents and capabilities, we should move rather rapidly to pre-empt him. His present flexibility is not likely to last for long, and any plan to use him should take this into account. As WE/BC is aware, we are not in a position to put this into the form of a London Station project. This should not be the reason for neglecting what appears to be such a potentially rewarding asset for KUBARK, however.18. We would appreciate a reply within a couple of weeks of Headquarters' receipt of this dispatch.George H. KATZENBACH