Editing 78-15-A3 (section)

= Intelligence and the Media =

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=== Transcript ===
Last spring the House Select Committee on Intelligence was
investigating alleged CIA manipulation of the news media. It was
all part of the hysteria over the possibility that intelligence
gathering agencies and even law enforcement units were threatening
the privacy of citizens and the freedom of the press.

As a member of President Ford's commission to investigate the
CIA I know that the CIA sought information from American newsmen
and women stationed around the world but this was hardly cloak and
dagger stuff. Much intelligence-gathering work is devoted to
evaluations of public opinion, economic conditions and characteristics
of public officials in various countries. Journalists covering
those countries are well informed and able to provide this kind of
information--indeed it is the very kind of thing they write for
their papers and news services.

One member of the House Select Committee with the common sense
for which he is known--Congressman John Ashbrook of Ohio--asked
Admiral Turner, director of the CIA, to report on the Soviet Union's
manipulation of the media. The Admiral was delighted to respond.
Just recently the committee received that report. Somehow it hasn't
made the headlines.

According to the report, the primary target for Soviet propaganda
worldwide is the United States. To carry out that mission the
Soviets have created the largest propaganda network in the world.
While they deplore Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, our broadcast
efforts aimed at penetrating the Iron Curtain, the Soviets
maintain a radio broadcasting schedule in 84 languages, 2,000 hours
a week. They also have 13 International Communist fronts, one of
the most effective being the world Peace Council. The Soviets do
have a gift for coining nice sounding titles for their burrowing
units. That World Peace Council has held a couple of meetings in
our country this year.

If you were a listener to any of those broadcasts in any one of
the 84 languages you heard that our CIA was behind the Aldo Moro
kidnap-murder. It wasn't that communist gang at all--they'd never
do a thing like that. The President of Zaire--Mobutu-is engaged in a
conspiracy with the United States, France and West Germany to produce
nuclear cruise missiles in his country. And of course they are still
carrying on about the inhumanity of the neutron weapon, the production
of which President Carter has stalled. Actually its inhumanity consists
of being potentially most effective defense against the 40,000
Soviet tanks lined up on the NATO line.

The only thing lacking in the CIA report that Congressman Ashbrook
requested is information about Soviet propaganda in the United States--
The CIA is no longer allowed to look into such things and I don't know
of any other agency in our government with an assignment to do so.

This is Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for listening.
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=== Details ===
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<TR><TD WIDTH="150">Batch Number</TD><TD WIDTH="150">{{PAGENAME}}</TD></TR>
<TD>Production Date</TD><TD>10/31/[[Radio1978|1978]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Book/Page</TD><TD>[[Radio_Commentary_Books#Reagan:_In_His_Own_Hand|RihoH-127]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Audio</TD><TD></TD></TR>
<TD>Youtube?</TD><TD>No</TD></TR>
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===Added Notes===

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