REF ID:A42946 

... 

Is Our Intelligence Adequate? 

By Robert S. Allen. 

If Senator Wayne Morse, of Oregon, has his way, the Armed Serv· 

ices Committee, as part of its in· 

vestigation of the MacArthur con- troversy, will pry into another one that has been sputtering threateningly for a long time. This is the 

vital question of the competence 

l!nd effectiveness of our intelligence 

system. 

Because of the secret nature of 

this moot subject, the protracted 

argument about it has been largely "off the record." But at times the 

discussion has been bitter and heated, particularly after a resounding 

intelligence bungle. 

A glaring example of this was the 

surprise Communist attack In Ko- rea last June. 

As a member of the Senate 

Armed Services Committee, Morse 

wants to find the reason for that 

intelligence fiasco and others that 

have occurred in the Far East. He 

particularly wants to know whether 

the fault was MacArthur's G-2, long 

under fire, or that of the Pentagon, the recently-reorganized Central In· 

telligence Agency, or what? 

To conduct this aspect of the 

probe, Morse has prepared a long 

list of questions based on data he 

has gathered over a considerable 

period of time. This includes a re- port . on information about the 

enemy that was in MacArthur's 1 

hands at the time he launched his 

disastrous "home-by-Christmas" of· 

fensive. 

While Morse is squaring off to 

try his hand at turning the spot· 

light on the intelligence system, the 

House Appropriations subcommittee on the State Department budget 

had a g-0 at the matter but with 

little results. The attempt was made 

during a private interrogation of 

W. Park Armstrong, Jr., Special Asaistant for Intelligence. 

Although closely questioned by 

Representatives Daniel Flood and 

John Rooney, the State Department ·official said little except to deny 

that our intelligence is incompetent. 

Following is a summary of this 

testimony as recorded In the un· published transcript: 

Flood: "There is a widespread 

opinion that United States intelli· 

gence is incompetent and inefficient 

and is manned and operated by a lot of rank amateurs who aren't 

worth the powder to blow them up. 

What about that?" 

Armstrong: "May I speak off the 

record?" 

Flood: "I don't see why you 

should. It seems to me it would be 

very desirable for you to put some kind of an answer to my question 

on the record for y-0ur own protection." 

Armstrong: "Then I disagree with 

that opinion 100 per cent. However, 

there is no }9articular harm in that 

opinion prevailing." · Rooney: "What do you mean by that?" · · Armstrong: "Well, the less competent we are considered to be, the 

easier our job will be. There will 

be less resistance to our opera· 

tions." 

Flood: "Now in view of that btil· 

liant defense you have just made, 

have you any comment on the 

quality and quantity of the work of 

the intelligence service in Korea?" 

Armstrong: "I think it's only fair 

to point out that it is inconceivable 

to expect that intelligence will never miss some piece of informaSENATOR MORSB 

tion that might have made a bJg 

difference." . Flood: "Would you say that aU 

reasonable and intelligent information was present concerning the 

crossing of the Yalu River by the 

Chinese Reds last year?" 

Armstrong: "No, I couldn't B8¥ 

that." , Flood: "What was missing?" · · Armstrong: "It is now apparent that we were not in possession of 

all the necessary intelligence. But 

whether it was possible to get that 

is still obscured by condition• 

there." 

Rooney: "Is that failure being examined by your office?" 

Armstrong: "It is primarily a 

field problem, but we are exanun. ipg it."