Evening star., 1951-01-07
Three-Stor Rookie in Big-L League Intelligence
CIA Chief Aware
Thut Mistakes May
Spell Disaster
By John ScoIi

General Walter Bedell Smith,
a rugged soldier-diplomat who
knows the Russians first hand,
is well on the way to revamping
and streamlining the Govern
ment's secret intelligence op-
erations.
If his mission as director of
the Central Intelligence Agency
succeeds, the Nation can expect
a clearer picture of what Rus
sia, or any potential enemy, is
plotting.
If he should flop, his explana-
tion, if any. might be drowned
out in the roar of world wide
war.
The general, now Sc, has
tackled many tough chore for
his Government since the day
he enlisted in the Indiana Ma
tional Guard at the age of Is.
After rising from the ranks,
he served with outstanding sue
cess as Gen. Eisenhower's chief
of staff during the last war
from the earliest stages until
the victorious Allied armies
forced Hitler's legions to sur
render.
Later, at the Presidents re-
quest, he doffed his Army khaki
and went to Moscow to serve as
American Ambassador, one of
the most important assignments
in the diplomatic service. His
achievements from 1946 to 1949
won him the praise and respect
OF the State Department.
Despite this impressive rec
ord It's doubtful that Beetle,
as his friends call him, has ever
faced a more pressing assign
ment. or one in which the odds
are stacked so high against him
from the very beginning.
Under the best conditions, try
ing to figure out what the Rus
slams are apt to do, either di-
rectly or through their faithful
Communist satellites, is a haz-
ardous, uncertain business.
Drafted by Truman
To make the generals task
even more difficult, the United
States ranks as rookie in the
big league of intelligence.
1t was only three years ago
that Congress somewhat re-
luctantly authorized the ad-
minlstration to create a peace
time Central Intelligence
Agency. Until then the Govern
ment's various departments had
gathered their own intelligence
and swapped it back and forth
on a hit-or-miss basis.
Now we are trying to do in
a big hurry and in time of
crisis what it has taken the
British some 300 years to &C
complish," says one key Gov
eminent intelligence expert.
President Truman drafted
Beetle" to take over his new
job last October 7. At that time
critics were still lambasting
Central Intelligence with
charges that it failed to warn
the Government in time of
North Korean Communist plans
to launch military invasion of
South Korea.
Beetle" had just returned to
active Army duty then and was
serving as commanding general
of the 1st Army area, with head
quarters at Governors Island,
N. Y.
A telephone call from the
President was all that was
needed to make him change
back into civilian clothes and
head for Washington to see
what he could do to strengthen
the Nations intelligence arm.
His predecessor, Rear Admiral
Roscoe Hillenkoetter, returned
to active naval duty in accord
ance with his wishes. True to
the CIA's secrecy traditions, he
never replied to the attacks on
him or his agency.
Beetle" took on the job
knowing he was no great INTEL
ligence expert. During his dis
tinguished Army career, he was
primarily a foot soldier; one
who stood out because of his
grim determination and his al
most instructive ability to brush
aside detail and hit the heart of
a problem.
But he had a good working
knowledge of the intelligence
problems of both diplomats and
generals from long Army service