“Turner’s most disturbing discovery was the harsh questioning and illegal imprisonment that the Agency’s Counterintelligence Staff had imposed for several years on Soviet defector Yuri Nosenko. This convinced him that CIA could be a dangerous organization if not kept closely accountable to the DCI, the President, and the Congress.”
CIA History Staff
January 18 2022 — Former DCI Stansfield Turner died on January 18 2018 at home in Seattle, Washington. Turner was sworn in as 12th DCI on 9 March 1977 and remained at the helm of the Agency until January 20, 1981. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
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“The Vela incident was a man-made phenomenon.”
Stansfield Turner — Former Director of Central Intelligence (2003)
UPDATE (January 18 2022) — On December 08 2016, the National Security Archive posted a large number of recently declassified files regarding the ‘Vela Incident’. (September 22 1979)
According to some sources, “There was, and remains, much doubt as to whether the VELA satellite’s observations were accurate.” [WIKIPEDIA]
First thing first — Actually, there was never any real controversy about the VELA incident. The science pointed to a nuclear test. And logic left just one prime suspect: Israel.
The intelligence was — for once — a slam dunk. The CIA knew. The DIA knew. And the White House had been immediately and correctly informed.
Stansfield Turner, the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) during the Carter administration, admitted that much in 2003 when he stated that the Vela incident was a “man-made phenomenon.”
On February 27 1980, president Jimmy Carter wrote:
“We have a growing belief among our scientists that the Israelis did indeed conduct a nuclear test explosion in the ocean near the southern end of Africa.”
And yet… The TRUTH was denied from the start. And a controversy story was manufactured. Why?
Israel signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) in 1963 and ratified it in 1964. The VELA nuclear test puts Israel in violation of the LTBT, which has been signed by 108 countries, including all the officially recognized nuclear weapon states plus India, Pakistan, and Iran.
Israel would also be in violation of the Glenn Amendment to the Arms Export Control Act, a US law passed in 1977, requiring the cutoff of military assistance to any country setting off a nuclear explosion.
This was a perfect storm for US president Jimmy Carter, and therefore leading figures within the administration were keen to bury the story and put forward alternative explanations.
A panel of scientists was carefully selected by the Carter White House. Their report concluded that the VELA incident was probably not a nuclear test.
Four decades later, that idiotic conclusion has been derided by nearly all independent observers who have studied and reported on the issue. [Leonard Weiss — Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (August 3 2018)]
Back to the Present — When the TRUTH about past events is revealed, you should always ask yourself two questions. What does it mean about current events. How does it impact the things you thought you knew?
After 5 years of investigation, C.I.A. officers and government scientists have found no evidence pointing to what — and who — is causing the Havana Syndrome pandemic…
As I write in a short comment recently,
Whenever you hear that the CIA has found no evidence, you are left with three possibilities.
The first is that the evidence simply does not exist. Of course, this does not always stop them, but that is another story…
The second possibility is that they are not capable of finding the evidence. It is certainly worrisome but hardly implausible.
The third possibility is that they have solved the ‘mystery’ of the Havana Syndrome, and they do not want to name the culprit.
Since 2014 — that is 2 years before the first reported case in Havana — I have regarded Israel as the prime suspect in this case.
And yet, Israel has never been named once in the context of the Havana Syndrome mystery.
Why on earth not? Simply because neither the CIA nor the White House wants to deal with such a political nightmare.
PS — A few weeks ago, we learned that nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by “an unknown assailant” using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group.
NSO has close ties to Israel’s intelligence communities and the Israeli Ministry of Defense must approve its export licenses.
Cuba is sanctioned for “mystery” attacks that are neither scientifically understood, nor documented by the US Intelligence Community.
If the NSO group was based in Moscow, there is little doubt that Russia would face new sanctions.
And yet, ask yourself a simple question. Do you think the US will impose sanctions on Israel?
“It is time to end an existing double standard that has allowed Israel to escape accountability,” wrote Leonard Weiss.
Absolutely. It was true at the time of the VELA incident. And it is true today. But it did not happen back then, and it will not happen today.
PS 2 — If the CIA really wanted to solve the “Havana Syndrome” mystery, all they had to do is to investigate the Brussels Environment Agency. For more than a decade, that agency made sure that certain frequencies were not monitored by their inspectors.
You only have to find out who paid these corrupt public servants for these fraudulent measurements. And the “Havana Syndrome” mystery would be solved. The CIA does not seem willing to find out… Why not?
END of UPDATE
“Similarly, his discovery that former CIA officer Edmund Wilson, who worked for Libyan President Qaddafi, had contacts inside CIA raised doubts about the DO’s probity and security.” — CIA History Staff
UPDATE (January 18 2021) — On January 11 2021, President-elect Joe Biden decided to nominate William Burns as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Burns — a veteran American diplomat — is certainly an interesting choice. If confirmed, Burns would become the first leader in the CIA’s history whose lifelong experience comes from the State Department.
I wonder how many “Yuri Nosenko” stories the good diplomat is about to discover as he walks inside the walls of the Agency.
Soon or later, we will find find out. I would bet on soon rather than later… Stay tuned!
END of UPDATE
Stansfield Turner was a Navy admiral and Rhodes Scholar. Turner was Director of Central Intelligence under President Jimmy Carter.
Turner downsized the Agency’s clandestine arm and emphasized technical intelligence collection over human intelligence.
Statement from CIA Director Pompeo on Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner
It is with sadness that I note the passing of the former Director of our Agency, Admiral Stansfield Turner.
Admiral Turner was a devoted patriot and public servant who led our Agency through a turbulent period of history, including both the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution.
An analyst at heart, Admiral Turner championed analytic innovation and applied his extensive military knowledge and insight to the challenges of the day, even taking a direct role in preparing the annual estimates on Soviet offensive strategic nuclear forces.
On behalf of all of us at CIA, I pass along our deepest condolences to Admiral Turner’s family, and I thank them for his faithful service to our country.
First 100 Days — Official CIA History
When newly elected President Carter called him to the White House in early February 1977, Adm. Stansfield Turner, then commander of NATO’s Southern Flank in Naples, thought he might be offered appointment as DCI.
At this suggestion his deputy observed, “Stan, the President is your classmate and friend; he wouldn’t do that to you.” He did, and Turner accepted, although he regretted the end of his military career.
President Carter had rejected George Bush’s offer to remain DCI for a few months to demonstrate that it was not a political or policy position that had to change with a new administration; Bush left CIA on 20 January.
In the face of stiff Congressional opposition, however, Carter’s original nominee, Theodore C. Sorenson, had with some bitterness withdrawn his name. After this setback, it was natural for Carter to look for a nonpolitical senior military officer who could be quickly confirmed for the post.
In retrospect, Turner recalls that his attitude toward CIA was strongly influenced by the experience of his first 100 days. In that period he permitted the courts to examine CIA evidence which led to the convictions of Christopher J. Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee in the spring of 1977. This case convinced him that CIA had severe security problems in managing its contractors.
Similarly, his discovery (on information from Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward) that former CIA officer Edmund Wilson, who worked for Libyan President Qaddafi, had contacts inside CIA raised doubts about the DO’s probity and security (although Turner trusted his DDO, Bill Wells).
By summer CIA had unearthed and turned over to Congress more information about CIA’s massive drug testing programs of the 1950s and 1960s, which again put CIA into the headlines.
Turner’s most disturbing discovery was the harsh questioning and illegal imprisonment that the Agency’s Counterintelligence Staff had imposed for several years on Soviet defector Yuri Nosenko. This convinced him that CIA could be a dangerous organization if not kept closely accountable to the DCI, the President, and the Congress.
Turner soon found that he did not have a close working relationship with DDCI Knoche, whom Bush had appointed the previous year. By summer, when he asked Knoche to leave, Turner had become convinced that the Agency’s culture was an obstacle to the reforms that CIA needed.
Taking stock : Fifteen DCIs’ First 100 Days — CIA History Staff
“I think Mike Hayden is extremely well qualified for the job, but there is this big question mark over the legality of the wiretapping that was done under his supervision. I happen to think it was illegal.”
Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner — (On the nomination of General Michael Hayden as head of the CIA )
Stansfield Turner — The Quest for Peace
REFERENCES
Statement from CIA Director Pompeo on Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner — CIA Website
Ex-CIA Director Stansfield Turner dead at 94; served under Carter — Reuters
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Statement from CIA Director Pompeo on Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner
On This Day — Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner Dies (January 18 2018)
On This Day — Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner Dies (January 18 2018) [2020]
Three Years Ago — Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner Dies (January 18 2018)
Four Years Ago — Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner Dies (January 18 2018) [Opinion — The CIA Knew the Truth about the Vela Incident. And I suspect, they know the Truth about Havana Syndrome.]
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