Webster Denies Decision to Oust 2 in CIA Tied to Iran Scandal

CIA Director William H. Webster denied Saturday that he has made a decision to fire any agency officials over the Iran- contra affair, but he said he will hire a special counsel to help deal with its aftermath, a newspaper reported.

Webster’s statements, which appeared in the Omaha World-Herald’s Sunday editions, concerned a story in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times. Congressional and intelligence sources told The Times that the CIA’s deputy director for operations, Clair George, and its chief of counterterrorism operations, Duane (Dewey) Clarridge, will be dismissed or allowed to take early retirement.

Both men are 30-year CIA veterans who worked with former National Security Council official Lt. Col. Oliver L. North and the late CIA Director William J. Casey, who were involved heavily in the Iran-contra affair.

‘Drawn No Conclusions’

“I’ve made no decisions, drawn no conclusions yet,” Webster told the World-Herald, which interviewed him at a judicial conference in Colorado Springs, Colo. “There are many investigations going on right now, including the independent counsel’s.”

The CIA’s Office of Inspector General is conducting its own inquiry into the agency’s operations, said Webster, who took over the CIA’s top job in late May after Casey’s resignation. Casey died that month.

“A lot of people in Congress have pointed up things that are troublesome,” Webster said. “But there is not a complete enough record to take any action.”

(Although Webster has taken no formal action, The Times reported that several knowledgeable sources said he has spoken privately of his decision to relieve the two men of their duties. One source told The Times that he understood that Webster intended to “dismiss” the two.)

Counsel Not Identified

Webster declined to tell the Omaha newspaper whom he is appointing to serve as special counsel to help deal with the Iran-contra matter’s aftermath.

In the meantime, the CIA will continue to carry out already authorized covert actions “aggressively with no interruption,” despite the attention brought by the congressional hearings, he said.

“I don’t want anyone to be afraid to do what is expected of him because of fear of public attack,” and future covert activities will get closer scrutiny, Webster said.