Chile: the balanced view : a recopilation of articles about the Allende years and after

U,S. POLICIES IN CHILE UNDER THE ALLENDE 'GOVERNMENT(*) An inlerview 10 former Ambassador Edward Korrj. By WILLIAM BUCKLEY ,WILUAM BUCKLEY: The argument rages over the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in Chile during the Allende years. Critics focus on two situations. The first is the appaIent contradiction. On the one hand, CIA Director William COlby apparentlytestiffed in secretto aCongressional cómmitteethatthe CIA had been authorized to spend up to eight million dollars to prevent Allende from being inaugurated. And in the event he was inaugurated, to destabilize his regime. BUt meanwhíle, two government officials had testified before another committee of Congress that the CIA had dpne nothing to interfere in Chilean affairs. Now there is talk of bringing action against these two officials charging them, at least, with contempt of Congress. The other situation inflamed bythe CIA-Chilean development isthe continuing question of the covert responsibilities of the CIA. There are those who desire to punish the American State Department officials but mostly to deny the CIA any fu·rther licence to engage in covert activities. One ofthe Americans under fire is Edward Korry. He's our Ambassadpr toChUe during the critical years 01 1967 trought the election of Allende 1970 to end of the first year of Allende's term in 1971. Mr. Korry had been Ambassador to Ethiopia, appointed there by President Kennedy. He is, however, in real life, ajournalist. Agraduate of Washington and Lee with advanced training at Harvard, he was aforeign correspondent with NBC and then with the United Press. Before being discovered by Kennedy, he was European Editor for Cowles Magazine. Since leaving Chile, he has served as President ofthe Association of American Publishers and as President ofthe United Nations Association. He is now engaged in writing a Dook about Chile. 1'11 start it again by asking Mr. Korry whether he acknowledges the truth of CIA Director Wllliam Colby's revelations. EDWARD KORRY: I should, I think, Mr. Buckley, first clarify the point about the time period to whichMr. Colby is referring. His testimony concerned 1970 to 73. And in a letterto the New York Times he has also denied that he ever used the term destabilization in his testimony. I left Chile in October'71 more than two vears before the end of this periodo ~heretore. I'm in no position to comment about that time over which the furor is going on nght now. BUCKLEY: Excuse me, but ther's some furor going on about something that allegedly happened while you were there. . KORRY: Right. Now. as far as to what I testified and the Senate Subcommittee has now. told the full Foreign Relations Committee, that I testified truthfully and that the only thing they accused me -that is, the staff accuses me of having done is refusing to testify as to the specific actions that the CIA took in Chile or as to the instructions I got from the Executive Branch ot the government while Ambassador. I did not deny in my testiQ1or;¡y that there was an anti-communist, CIA program in Chile in 1970. They cited a specific amollnt. I said simplythat I was under oath, not to speak about the specifios of any CIA program, that was the unique obligation of the Director of the Central Intellígence Agency. And then they called the then Director Mr. Helms to testify. That is, those are the bbjective facts. BUCKLEY: Well, there is nothing so far as I know, that is grounds for believing that William Colby reported falsely to this Congressional committee. It seems to me for him to have reported falsely something 01 this nature would be an admission very much against interest and, therefore, one simply (')Transcript from Ihe Program Firíng Line. broadcasled on Seplember 29. 1974. by WNET,TV and PublíC Broadcastíng System. Reprinted with permissíon from (he producer. 287