In Search of Enemies - A CIA Story - John Stockwell

Propaganda and Politics [197]
skyscrapers on Third Avenue, and East Forty-second Street. The
MPLA and Soviets were active too, but defensively so. Although
they managed to prevent an open debate of Angola on the floor of
the General Assembly, they could not check the momentum of sympathy
which UNIT A and the FNLA began to enjoy. Secretary General
Waldheim expressed his concern, and announced that the
United Nations would send a fact-finding mission into Angola.
During a staff meeting I voiced my concern to Potts- were we on
safe ground, paying agents to propagandize the New York press?
The agency had recently been warned against running operations
inside the United States and propagandizing the American public.
Potts seemed unconcerned. We were safe enough, he said, as long as
we could plausibly claim that our intent was to propagandize foreigners
at the United Nations.
I wasn't satisfied with Potts's attitude toward the situation in New
York. It seemed to me that our propaganda operation was leading
us onto explosively dangerous ground.
On October 2 the New York base telephoned headquarters, advising
us that it was sending the two UNIT A representatives down to
Washington for the weekend for some medical treatment and to talk
to members of the black caucus in Washington, seeking introductions
to key senators and administration officials. The New York base
requested that I meet them and give them whatever support they
needed. I refused. After the call I went in to see Carl, then Potts. They
both agreed that the UNIT A representatives had to be reined in. We
sent a cable to the New York base reminding them that lobbying in the
United States by CIA agents was not permitted.
On Monday, an officer from New York arrived at headquarters,
and I learned with a jolt that it was I who was out of step. To begin
with, the two UNITA reps had spent the weekend in Washington
after all. The officer cheerfully admitted that he had given them
money for the trip because, he claimed, they were coming anyway,
with or without his approval, and besides, they were damned effective.
He described their progress in New York with infectious enthusiasm.
Potts bought the whole show. He and the officer devised a neat
solution to our little CIA charter problem. In order to keep the two
delegations doing their "good work" in New York and in Washington
and still protect the CIA from any blow-back, funds would be