MEMO FOR: COMMENTS CONCERNING SSC DRAFT REPORT (THE PERFORMANCE OF THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES WITH RESPECT TO THE INVESTIGATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY)
Originator: CIA
To: INSPECTOR GENERAL
Document date: 1976-06-04 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32396944

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JEK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER

:104-10429-10002

RECORD SERIES : JEK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER

RUSS HOLMES WORK FILE

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : WC

FROM

TO

TITLE

INSPECTOR GENERAL

:

MEMO FOR: COMMENTS CONCERNING SSC DRAFT REPORT (THE

PERFORMANCE OF THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES WITH RESPECT

TO THE INVESTIGATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY)

DATE: 06/04/1976

PAGES : 8

SUBJECTS: AMLASH

DOCUMENT TYPE

PAPER

CLASSIFICATION

SECRET

RESTRICTIONS

1A

CURRENT STATUS

: RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

08/.25/98

COMMENTS

JFK-RH17 : F13: 1998.08.25.09:20:06:483128

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection &et of

1992(44 USC 2107 Note]. Case#.Nw

85990 Date: 11-01-2021

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED.

104-10429-10002

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WANACN CENAISSIEW

Review

Staff:

4 June 1976

76-0450

MEMORANDUM FOR: Inspector General

ATTENTION

: Mr. Scott D. 'Breckinridge, Jr.

VIA

SUBJECT

: Chief, Review Staff

Conments Concerning SSC Draft Report

(The Performance of the Intelligence

Agencies with Respect to the Inves-

tigation of President Kennedy)

1. Attached hereto as Tabs A through C are the

undersigned's comments

regarding the above-noted SSC

Draft Report from a security, factual, and editorial

standpoint.

2. It should be noted that the SSC intends to

this draft report two additional sections, a

Conclusions and Recommendations Section and a

sections have

almost been completed by the SSC,

and will be made available for review by

the Agency. As

indicated in the attached,

the report as written is re-

petitive, and makes two main points:

a .

U.S. Intelligence Agencies were in

error by not

fully advising

the Warren Com-

mission of U.S. involvement with Cuban Exile

groups, with specific emphasis on any attempts

Agency to assassinate Castro.

became known

The Agency's involvement with AMLASH

to Castro,

and because of his

knowledge of the AMLASH operation Castro re-

taliated by assassinating President Kennedy.

c 003604

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-2-

The atiached comments are provided for your

information,

and it is understood

that the

draft report

being reviewed by appropriate representatives

of the IG, DDO, and DDA.

Jonn

Review Staff

Attachments:

Tabs

A -C

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Til 11

EDITORIAL COMMENTS

General -- The paper begins by emphasizing that it did

uncover any evidence that the Kennedy

assassination

was the result of a conspiracy, but that they did dis-

cover evidence that various intelligence agencies were

not forthcoming with the Warren Commission.

The paper

then goes on to leave the impression that the JFk assas-

sination was the result of a conspiracy by Castro in re-

taliation for our AMLASH operation.

The entire paper is highly repetitive, and begins

a summary,

followed by a slightly more detailed

version, followed by

a more detailed version,

The paper relies heavily on the testimony of

current/former Agency employees,

with specific emphasis.

on the individual within CI Staff who stäted that he would

have altered the manner in which he conducted the investi-

gation of the Kennedy assassination if he had known of the

AMLASH operation.

The paper hammers away

again and again

that we were meeting with AMLASH when JFK was killed.

As a saving

factor, the paper is far

more derogatory

to the FBI

is to the Agency,

and in short asks why

no one in the Executive branch thought to bring the AMLASH

and other Castro operations to the attention of the Warren

CommissIon,

while admitting that the Agency did an excel-

lent job of reporting and

assembling information on Oswald

and in immediately reporting our information to the FBI and

the Warren Commission.

Specific ---

Page 44

mony of the

Mr. Karamessines regarding a cable

and Cuban involvement in the assassination.

portion should be closely reviewed by those familiar with

this cable:

2951052

a discrepancy between the testi-

further identified) and

concerning Sylvia Duran

I think this

dow.

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Throughout Report -- The paper spends a great deal of time re-

hashing the story that Oswald

received money from the Cubans

in Mexico City, while at the same time clearly demonstrating

that this allegation was a fabrication.

Since it was

fabrication,

and this does not seem to be of question

to the SSC, Warren Commission, FBI, or ClA, there seems

either

to

be little justification for such repetitive treatment of

Pages 10ó and 107 -- This section criticizes the Agency for

not having interrogated AMLASH concerning

the Kennedy assas-

ination,

in the context that both we and

the FBI should have

begun extensive interviews with our various Cuban sources to

determine if Castro was

involved.

Pages 113 and 114 -- Deals with a lead developed concerning.

a Cuban/American who mysteriously left Mexico City on a twin

engine aircraft for Havana shortly before (after ?) the

assassination. The paper criticizes us for not thoroughly

tollowing up on this lead, despite the fact that we immediately

turned the lead over to the FBI to investigaie turther.

Pages 126 and 127 -- After having spent some time explaining

the Agency's and the FBI's mistakes

not informing the

Warren Commission about plots

to assassinate Castro, the re-

port finally points out that with respect to the "underworld"

plots, Robert Kennedy, Allen Dulles, and many other senior

officials were already aware of these plots.

then states

"there would have been no clear reason to connect

these underworld plots to the President's assassination"

Page 128 then goes on to explain that the AMLASH

operation

since it was made clear to AMLASH

that the CIA and the U.S. Government approved of his plans

assassinate Castro.

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Tel 15

FACTUAL OBJECTIONS

Page 12 -- States that "Hoover

and other senior officials

first learned

of plots

to assassinate Castro in July 1964".

NOTE: While this is clearly incorrect, Mr. Johnston

indicated that the above

sentence should read that

the officials first learned of the "AMLASH" operation

in July 1964.

Page 55 -- paragraph three -- Concerning an Agency cable

outlining

an unknown passenger in the cockpit of an air-

craft to Havana, the following

sentence appears:

"The

cable was received in Mexico

City since it may be fourd

in the station's files".

sentence is apparently in-

complete,

and does

make sense as

it is presently written.

Page 56 and 57 -- Discusses the 8 December 1963 cable to

JMIVAVE to halt all operations pending a high level/Cuban

policy review.

In this regard, the paper flatly states

that one of the operations

to be halted was the delivery

of the rifles and telescopic sites in connection with

I don't believe that

the cable, nor other related

documents, specify which operations were to be halted.

Page 120 -- In discussing the various Cuban exile groups,

and the interest in these groups by

the military, FBI, and

CIA, the paper

does not make it clear that the Agency did not

have any operational interest in either SNFE'or Alpha 66.

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Tel. C

SECURITY OBJECTIONS

Page 76 -- paragraph one

--- Identifies the source of an

allegation that Oswald had received

in Mexico City

"Nicaraguan".

The country should be deleted.

Page 78 -- paragraph two

_-- Identifies the above source

by the name

"Alvarado", which should be deleted.

NOTE: All other references to this fabricated

story refer to the source as "D".

Page 144 -- middle of page --- Quotes from the polygraph

report on AMWHIP.

All references to

the polygraph,

gether with the quote should be deleted..

parase so as nutty necessar intent its outa be aroust

polygraph.

Page 177 -- top of page -- Outlines information

which the

Agency provided to the Warren Commission on a suspected

KGB agent in the Soviet Embassy, Mexico City (Kostikov) -

Believe this should be deleted on the basis of sources and

methods.

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Page 10

"Oswald contacted

a known KGB agent" with the

Soviet Embassy in Mexico.

that Oswald contacted the Vice Consul at the

Soviet Embassy

in Mexico City, to the best of

our knowledge it was for the purpose of

a visa for the Soviet Union.

The fact

Vice Consul happened to be a KGB officer

complicates the matter but

there is no evidence

that Oswald knew this Soviet was KGB.

Therefore,

recommend this sentence be modified accordingly.

Page

14

We are not aware of any requests by CIA's investi-

gators for files

on the AMLASH operation.

that when the Kennedy assassination

was being investigated whomsoever held the AMLASH

files did

not associate the AMLASH case with the

assassination or discern any connection.

Page 53 Believe the word "technical" should be removed

when referring to CIA collection capability in

Mexico City.

Page 79 Alvarado or "D" claimed that he saw Oswald being paid

by Cubans to assassinate Kennedy.

He volunteered this

to CIA and was interrogated.

the request of the

FBI Washington, Alvarado was turned over to

authorities for interrogation.

Later Alvarado was

polygraphed by CIA with

the FBI providing

the interpre-

Therefore comment that the FBI was denied access

to Alvarado

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113

Re the "intriguing" case of a man crossing the

23 Nov. then flying to Cuba.

case was investigated and pertained to

Gilbert Lopez, a U.S. citizen who had secured a

fifteen day Mexican tourist card at Tampa, Florida,

on 20 November 1963.

He entered Mexico on this

document at Nuevo Laredo on 23 November 1963 - the

day President Kennedy was assässinated.

He checked

into the Roosevelt Hotel on 25 November 1963.

27 November he checked

out of the hotel

departed for Havana aboard a regularly scheduled

Cubana Flight # 465.

He happened to be

according

courtesy visa to visit Cuba.

On the general question of identifying Kostikov as

a KGB officer in Mexico

and his relationship

to Department 13 of

the KGB,

this was checked with

appropriate

office and feeling is

that nothing

be lost by this identification.

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