Another Fine Mess, the CIA Way

The United States expects its intelligence agents to be secretive, but not to the point where the American ambassador is shut out of an operation and learns about it, as happened this year in France, only when the host country blows the whistle. The French case was particularly embarrassing and detrimental because the spies were engaged in economic espionage, something friendly nations are not supposed to countenance against one another.

In this case, the costs were high. A Times investigation uncovered evidence that the blown operation forced the CIA to shut down virtually all its activities in France for a time, and these presumably included monitoring developments in international terrorism, arms smuggling and other areas vital to our security interests. The chill ran even beyond France, which delivered an official protest to Ambassador Pamela Harriman. CIA sources speculated that the angry French government may have shared its distress with Germany and Italy, making U.S. espionage operations suspect throughout Western Europe.

The Times report disclosed that the bungled operation targeted in part an exclusively economic matter, the French bargaining position in difficult trade talks on television and telecommunication imports. Paris seeks to restrict its market to American products in these areas. In effect, the CIA was working for Hollywood in this instance. There’s something wrong here.

Economic espionage, particularly involving industrial targets, is a practice that makes many agents uncomfortable. They are trained to sniff out military and political threats. But attempts to ferret out a friend’s or foe’s economic secrets have grown in the second half of this century, and the CIA, reluctant to get involved but under pressure from Congress and others, is hardly alone in being accused of such activities. During the Cold War, California was a target. The computer industry of Silicon Valley was particularly tempting, and personnel of the former Soviet consulate in San Francisco were closely watched. But business is business, and among friends the CIA should keep out of it. Meanwhile, the agency should give Mrs. Harriman a break--and a call.