Lost Crusader: William Colby, DCI

  

Lost Crusader: William Colby, DCI

Peter Schultz

 

                  The following are some reflections on passages from John Prados’s book on William Colby, Lost Crusader, in the context of Colby’s nomination as Director of the CIA.

 

                  “A related aspect of this … is the degree of comity that … existed at that time. In not exhibiting much interest in the CIA’s Family Jewels, [Senators] Stennis, Symington, [and Representative] Hebert followed norms long established: {Representative] Nedzi’s inspection was the exception. Intelligence oversight in 1973 was exercised with a light hand, if at all.” [264, emphasis added]

 

                  Now, “intelligence oversight” meant accountability. So, what does this tell us about government? That it functions best when there is little or no accountability. “Functions best” means acting freely; it does not mean achieving the desired results, because without accountability the results cannot be known or evaluated. Demanding  little or no accountability means that those “investigating,” say, the CIA, are not interested in knowing or evaluating the agency’s results. Whether the CIA achieved its goals are of no interest to the “investigators.” Perhaps that is because they know it is highly unlikely that the CIA did achieve its goals. Duplicity is essential to maintaining the illusion that government works.

 

                  “Nedzi also confronted Colby with the question [that was the] hardest of all: Why not make public the report? Colby argued that such an action might cripple the CIA, and Nedzi accepted the argument.” [263]

 

                  Take note that duplicity and/or secrecy is absolutely essential for the government, here the CIA, to function. Why is that? Because without duplicity and secrecy the illusion that the government works or that it reflects the popular will would be shattered. Governments must deal in delusions, meaning politics and politicians are and must be delusional. And insofar as politics is intrinsically delusional then it is fair to say that politics is the problem. That is, the political, meaning every particular form politics takes, is problematical. Affirming the political in order to solve political problems is delusional, it is madness. Politics is a madhouse and, very often, it becomes a mad slaughterhouse. Which explains why Plato Is reputed to have said: “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”